Valid to UK only - excludes oversized items
One of the trickiest tasks when model-making can be the positioning of very small or delicate parts. In most...
The reason for test fitting before gluing is simply to make sure the piece will actually fit into place. One example...
A wagon's solebar is the outer longitudinal beam of its underframe or chassis.Solebars are an integral part of a...
Vacuum pipes can be seen on the front and rear of many older railway locomotives and rolling stock. They are usually...
There are a couple of reasons why railway signals are oriented upside down compared to road traffic lights:...
Everything you need to know to build great kits
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Superglue has strong bonding properties but still takes time to cure. Depending on the type of superglue you use, the curing time may be too long for you needs. Hence the need for an accelerator which is almost immediate. Super glue relies on...
There are several trains of thought on the best way to secure parts together temporarily. Some suggest using a small amount of super glue, rubber glue or even PVA glue. All of these are fine but will leave a glue residue when pulled apart....
The easiest way is to buy sheets of corrugated plastic. I have used the corrugated inserts inside an After Eight mint box in the past, but if you like to scratch build and require a large amount, I would suggest buying something called a tube...
28mm scale or 1/56th scale is mainly used for wargaming figures. This means that a typical figure is 28mm tall and 1/56 means the model is 56 times smaller than the real thing. The scale is larger than 1/76th scale (OO gauge) and smaller than...
A resin kit is made from a liquid synthetic polyurethane resin, which is poured into a mould. Once it has set, the hardened model is removed from the mould revealing the model or model parts. In my experience there is a bit more flash with resin...
DAS is an air-drying clay. When dry it can be sanded and painted. It is ideal for many model making applications such as buildings, walls, terrain, even school projects, you name it! You are only limited by your imagination. When using DAS make...
Scale is a representation in figures of how small a model is in relation to its full-sized prototype.There are over a dozen different scales in the world of model railways, the most popular being 1:76 scale in the UK and 1:87 scale in...
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...
It is a good idea to give your model a coat of gloss varnish before applying decals as this helps with the gluing process. When you have finished adding the decals and they have had time to dry, you will need to re-varnish the model, in the...
The removal of flash from a model is known as deflashing. This is usually carried out either by an operative at the manufacturers or in more recent times by an automated process, however, occasionally some flash is left behind and makes it through...
At first glance, a scale ruler appears like any other measuring device, but on closer inspection, you will notice that the measurements printed on the ruler are not what we are used to seeing on a regular ruler.The purpose of a scale ruler is...
Metcalfe is a family run business founded during the early 1990s. They produce 00/H0 and N gauge card kits for model railways.Their range of kits are well known worldwide and are quoted as being "challenging yet rewarding" to construct using...