Flash on a model is the flat bits of extra material that you will often see attached to the various pieces of a model when you open the box. These are not to be confused with the sprues (or nubs) which are the pieces of plastic or white metal that...

Sandite is a solution made up from antifreeze, sand and steel-shot (tiny round steel grains). It is used on the UK rail network to combat that age-old-problem of "leaves on the line".Leaves on railway tracks can cause massive disruption even...

Most modellers will not need to calculate scale speed as our passion for railways would undoubtedly have led us at one time or another to experiment with our trains speed on our layouts until we have found one that looks about right, but for...

Departmental rolling stock is great for modellers. Often it is an excellent excuse to run much earlier locomotives and carriages alongside more modern examples because most departmental stock is only usually inherited at the end of its useful...

Over the years, signals have been at the mercy of numerous legislative introductions to improve safety on our railways, that together with regional variation means that you would have to pretty much be an actual signalman to get signalling...

Enamel was the original paint for modellers, acrylic being quite modern by comparison. Essentially the two paints start off the same, using the same pigment, however, enamel uses an oil-based solution mixed with the pigment to turn it into paint...

If you have ever wondered into your local model shop to admire, dream about or even treat yourself to a 00 gauge loco, then you might have noticed a few of the engines on display are modelled in H0 gauge, even though they appear to be the same...

We often use terminology in the world of model railways interchangeably, when people ask about gauge, they are usually referring to the size of model locomotives and carriages. Technically, this would be scale not gauge as gauge refers only to the...

We would loosely suggest that the best model railway gauge for children is 00 gauge, of course, each child has different tastes and ways of playing, which would influence the answer, but from a purely factual point of view, 00 gauge ticks most the...

We often hear modellers refer to their "fiddle yard", but unless you already know what one is, the name doesn't really give away any clues as to what it is or what it is used for.A fiddle yard is the bit of a model railway layout that is off...

If you are just starting out on your model railway adventure and you are trying to decide what type of layout to build, the best advice would be to go to a model railway exhibition and take a look at the different types of layout that are on...

To some extent, making the ballast look real on your model railway is one of the hardest tasks that you will encounter when detailing your layout.Your rolling stock already looks pretty good, the manufacturers have seen to that. A hill is a...