Valid to UK only - excludes oversized items
To keep your brushes in the best condition, make sure you clean them as soon as you are done using them. Remove the...
I use both, separately and together. Static grass comes in various sizes from 0.5mm to 12mm while scatter is...
When it comes to hobby knives, the expensive part of the knife is often the bits surrounding the blade and not the...
Weathering powders are very much the same as powdered paint pigment. The only real difference is that weathering...
Contact adhesive (also known as contact cement) is an all-purpose adhesive that's popular amongst modellers thanks to...
End of year opening times
If you select next day delivery, please note deliveries are not made on New Year's Day.
The shop in Sandown is closed on New Years's Day and closing at 2.30pm on New Year's Eve.
Tuesday 30th: 10am to 4.30pm - Wednesday 31st: 10am to 2.30pm - Thursday 1st: closed - Friday onwards: 10am to 4.30pm.
Tools, tips, and techniques to wiring and command your layout.
Click here to receive the tips weekly in your mailbox. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Electricity is inherently dangerous and should always be treated with respect. But with model railways the voltage is so low and there is no risk of electric shock at all. You can touch the track and you will not feel anything (and will not hurt...
Yes, an N Gauge controller is compatible with OO gauge trains. You may have to change the power clip to the track but otherwise there is no difference, both scales run on 12 volts, so the output is just the same. The reverse is also true: you...
You do not always have a model railway controller on you. And even if you do, sometimes you do not have any power socket to use it. This means you may not be able to test an engine before buying it. The easiest solution is to get a 9 volt battery...
Yes, you can use a DCC ready train on your analogue layout. DCC ready just means that the train has been factory fitted with a socket that allows you to plug in the DCC decoder. In order to use it on DCC you will need to fit the decoder first....
In theory, it should be easy as the whole idea of being DCC Ready is to simplify the process. The first time I did this, it took me less than five minutes however it will depend on where the socket for the DCC decoder has been placed. Sometimes...
DCC ready means that the loco is designed to be fitted with a DCC chip. At the factory a small piece of circuitry is added to the loco with a socket that enables you to insert a DCC decoder to convert the engine from analogue to DCC. It is quite...
The blanking plate is a small circuit board that manufacturers add to the DCC socket to protect the socket that your DCC chip will go in. The blanking plate will need to be removed before the DCC chip can be inserted to allow you to run on a DCC...
"Analogue compatible" means the decoder is able to run on a traditional analogue layout that is not DCC. This is useful if you have two layouts, one being DCC and one being analogue: the same engine can be used with no modification on both...
As the DCC standard is still evolving, there are several different sizes and formats for DCC decoders.To give you an idea of the difference in pin numbers and their capabilities/functionality take a look at the list below of common DCC...
Surely more is always better, so a 21 pin decoder is bound to be better than an 8 pin decoder? Actually, the answer is not that straightforward. With more pins, a 21 pin DCC decoder will be able to manage more functions than an 8 pin decoder....
Whether your DCC engine can run on an analogue layout depends on the decoder fitted to the engine. If the decoder is "analogue compatible" and the relevant CV (function) is activated, then yes, the engine will work with an analogue controller....
This is quite straight forward as there are no real instructions on fitting 6-pin decoder. If you find that your loco won't run, try inserting the other way up, this should do the trick. Usually there is a small dot identifying pin number one on...