August 2026 Forth and Clyde Area Group meeting

The August meeting had a reasonable turnout given that it was the holiday season. James, Jim, Angus, Alisdair, Graham, Simon, Stuart and Stephen were present. Most of us worked on individual projects but final tweaks were also made to Mearns Shed before its next outing to the Edinburgh show in a month.

Angus was busy with a Worsley Works etch for West Coast Joint Stock vehicles. 

Stuart was contemplating control arrangements for his NFine layout. He revealed that it will have a ten-track fiddle yard with a spiral and the intention of three sets of alternative scenic sections which other members of the Perth club will work on. All quite a lot more complicated than he's previously let on! The fiddle yard is built and ready apparently. This could get interesting. 

James was putting DG couplings on a dozen wagons for a shunting puzzle layout he apparently has up his sleeve. Another project hiding in plain sight! At this rate the FCAG news desk may have to hire a new reporter.

Alisdair had done some work on detailing a Highland 20T brake van 3D print from Lothian Railway Models. The vehicle to the right is Alisdair's scratchbuilt model of the later version of the same van: the sloping sections to the guard's lookout were apparently added after complaints of bruised heads from the (prototype) occupants!

And why, you ask, are there no model occupants? Because at the moment the model has no floor (and no glazing). It does have handrails and rain-strips however, so the union can complain all it wants.

Alisdair also had his scratchbuilt Highland brake coach for comparison.

 

Mearns Shed had been put together and connected up...

before being taken partly to bits again so Simon could install some corrugated iron fencing he'd prepared along the shed boundary next the backscene. This works nicely to ease the eye into the slightly-blurred backscene an inch or so behind, while leaving a gap of undefined distance where a burn might plausibly run below the viewer's eye level. It looks better once all the buildings are in place.

 

In the afternoon there was an informative presentation on Alex Jackson couplings in 2mm scale from Jim. Here's what he showed us:

A Youtube video showing the coupling in action, albeit not in 2mm scale, is here.

The presentation does not include Jim’s comprehensive explanations, but he’s happy to field questions if you have any (2mmSA members can write to the Data Officer e-mail address given on the front page of the Newsletter; non-mambers who are RMWeb users can contact “Caley Jim”).

Several group members will be demonstrating at the Scottish Finescale Modelling Skills Day in Linlithgow in a couple of weeks. It's free, so do pop in if you're in the area.

July 2026 Forth and Clyde Area Group meeting

 Jim, James, Alistair, Alasdair, Simon, Jack, Graham and Stephen attended the group's July meeting.

Mearns Shed was brought out for testing after some remedial electrical work.

The test loco was Jim's Caley Jumbo.

Jim had also been working on his etched chassis for the Caley diagram 70 prize cattle van from Lothian Railway Models. The 7mm wheels are distinctive. This is a test fitting under an unpainted body.

 Jim also showed us some recent painting work for a commission, lining a steel-sided coach (3D prints of the Caley 57’ vehicles preserved at the SRPS, source unknown).

 Jim's usual technique for panelled vehicles is basically to flood the panels with a number of very thin coats to build up a solid colour, and to line on top of the beading with a mapping pen. This time he had to find a different way for the lining since the steel-sided coaches have no beading! He did this using the method he developed for lining locomotives: Sellotape on a ceramic tile, painted, then sliced with a scalpel and steel rule into thin strips, then the paint is gently separated from the Sellotape (which is left on the tile; use of a tile is critical to the technique, other substrates are less effective) and coaxed into place on the model. This was used to form the chocolate-brown uprights and the gold (yellow plus a tiny drop of red) lining.

Jim uses thinned varnish as adhesive (dip a spatula into thinner, touch in a Dappen dish - google it - to drain; repeat; then repeat in the varnish, mix in the dish, and apply) for the paint-strips. This also  softens the paint-strips so they are flexible. In this case it worked better to apply a thin line of varnish to the vehicle then place the paint strip on it to soften, teasing it into place with a couple of cocktail sticks and (one presumes) large amounts of patience and concentration.

The key, Jim says, is to work on a small part or a single side at a time, leaving it to dry overnight, before moving on to the next section.

The rest of us got on quietly with a range of projects. Alistair worked on a Highland diagram 19 coach. Graham pondered adding Simpson springs to the tender chassis of a part-built J39 acquired at the Derby bring-and-buy stall: the plan is to replace the tender drive with a coreless motor in the boiler, but retain current collection from the tender. Simon footled about with coach couplings. Alasdair enlisted James' help to debug some MERG kits.

The previous weekend the group had its summer outing to the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway. This was an all-day affair, starting with a trip behind an ex-colliery 0-6-0 tank, in a restored Thomson third. Great fun.

Simon is often ribbed over his penchant for buying Thomson coaches at every show he attends, so unsurprisingly he was delighted to be on the real thing.

After that we had a run in a Class 117 DMU - also great fun - then we had lunch in the café. Next, thanks to some string-pulling by Alisdair, it was on with the hi-vis vests and over the sleepered crossing to visit the signal box.

 

This was followed by a guided tour of the loco yard and carriage shed. The yard tour provided a chance to grab some detailed photos of Class 26 mini-snowploughs and buffing gear.

We tried out the newly-opened viewing platform in the erecting shop, where D49 62712 "Morayshire" had its boiler out, and several other projects were under way.

We wrapped things up with an extensive visit to the Museum of Scottish Railways.

In fact our group remained there until closing time and had to be gently reminded that it was time to leave! Thanks, Alisdair, for organising such a successful outing.

June 2026 Forth and Clyde Area Group meeting

The wind blew and the clouds glowered for our June meeting, but 2mm modellers are not diverted from their rituals by such trifles. Alistair, Alisdair, Alasdair (eventually), Graham, Angus, Simon, Stuart, James and Stephen obeyed the call.

Simon was working on bogies for Gresley observation coaches.

Angus was also making coach bogies, of two different types - one an LMS design, the other an ex-LNWR design fitted to former ambulance coaches demobbed after WW2. Both are destined to recreate a 1947ish train for his Callander and Oban extravaganza.

Alistair was painting a grounded coach body.

Alasdair was assembling a Model Electronic Railway Group CBUS kit. Apparently MERG's local area group have started to meet monthly at Almondell as well, and he has been indoctrinated. There may now be enough MERG members in the FCAG to form a seditious Fifth Column. Or perhaps the MERG members will be converted to the One True Faith. The battle for hearts and minds commences.

Stuart was painting wagon bodies. For the third month running. Perhaps he is being ironic - he has a good poker face does Stuart. You can ask him yourself at the Perth show in a couple of weeks, where he is showing an "under construction" section of his mill layout. (Perth is his local club; the FCAG is a mere monthly dalliance for Stuart).

But the FCAG will be at Perth as well, with the 2mmSA Further North roadshow.

Alisdair has moved on a bit with his Highland Big Goods, which (as he kept telling everyone) was the Most Powerful Locomotive In Britain (or perhaps the universe, since was not Britain Top Nation at the time?) for at least five minutes, 130 years ago. Hoots mon! Whaur's yer lum? Dae ye no' hae ony siderods in the Heelans?

More prosaically, he had his Beetlecrusher (Caledonian 498 class) dockyard tank, which he painted by immersion in a tank of tar... err, by careful brushwork delicately suggesting the grime and soot characteristic of the Second City of the Empire back in the day. The model is of No 498 herself in BR guise, allocated to Dawsholm shed in the 1960s, near where Alisdair bides in fragrant Maryhill. The Beetlecrusher duly obliged by creeping around Mearns Shed, derailing on the dodgy pointwork and dropping sparks through its firebars.

Its place was soon taken by a Peak, which James had brought along for some running maintenance. Beetlecrusher my ****, said the Peak, I'll crush your beetles for you Jock, all 139 tons of me. And it did.

 

 

After that it had to go on the naughty step. 

In the afternoon Angus gave a rather good illustrated talk on his personal journey searching for the perfect coupling. No, not that. He put forward a persuasive case for the DG, telling us it was cheap, fast, and shuffle-free; in short, the least-worst, best-fit option for the pragmatic two-miller. He spoke highly of the Association's NEM-pocket adaptor, 2-113, and of blackening fluid from AK. His secret for a supple couple? Set your DGs to be within a narrow height range, rather than a single standard height, so that the feared Loop Clash is less likely to obstruct successful liaison between consenting coaches. It's better, he said, to be a bit random, a tad unpredictable. Keep it quirky. Click below for his presentation: 

In other news, FCAG members are reminded of our Group Outing to the wee pretendy railway at Bo'ness in a couple (geddit??) of weeks. That's All Folks.

 

 

 

May 2026 Forth and Clyde Area Group meeting

Due to the Derby 2mmSA expo last weekend, this month's Forth and Clyde Area Group meeting was a week later than usual. Despite the sunshine, the change of routine seemed to scare off a number of regular attendees, and only seven of us convened at ESME's Almondell clubroom: Alasdair, Alisdair, Alastair, Jim, Graham, Stuart and Andy. By coincidence or not, most seemed to be working on wagons.

Alasdair had his head down dealing with North British wagons from his own 3D prints.

 

Alisdair was also working on a wagon, but with the intention of converting it to a static body parted from its underframe and used as a coal bunker on the group's Mearns Shed layout (I think). A side door was to be removed. Here is the donor wagon (from Mathieson Models) before surgery.

Alistair was painting wagons with acrylic colours. He'd also forgotten to bring his specs, but that didn't hold him back.

Jim was progressing assembly of the test etch of the underframe he designed for a Caley wagon 3D print from Lothian Railway Models. The day was spent fashioning brake and steam heat hoses from fine wire.

Graham was working on a Fence Houses J39 0-6-0 etch he'd bought at an attractive price part-assembled from the Derby bring-and-buy stand. He also had test 3D prints from his own designs of boiler and tender fittings for a K1 2-6-0, and for bridge railing stanchions. These were produced on an Anycubic Photon P1, which is faster and more precise than the Mono SE he used previously.

  

 Andy had brought his test track.

Returning to the wagon theme, Stuart was working on livery detailing of Peco kits.

There was a fair amount of "Derby debrief" - everyone who went seemed to have had a good time and found the format of one public day, one members' workshops day worked well.

A group Summer Outing was mooted for the first Sunday in July, to the Bo'ness and Kinneil railway. It's a while since we visited the B&K so that should be fun, especially since our group organiser Alisdair moonlights there as a guard, complete with oversized hat. He may have an unruly compartment on the train that day...

 And that's all for this month.

April 2026 Forth and Clyde Area Group meeting

Our April meeting took place at Almondell on a sunny but cool Spring morning. Jim, James, Alistair, Alastair, Alasdair, Simon, Stuart, Graham, John, Angus and Andy worked away on their individual projects.

Stuart was adding livery details to 16T mineral wagons, using Woodland Scenics dry transfers to add the end-door loading stripes.

He'd finished quite a few by the end of the afternoon.

Simon was working on Gresley bogies for BR-era observation cars.... somewhere in his box of bits...

The group's mini-layout "Mearns Shed" performed quite well at Model Rail Scotland last month but there were one or two things to fix. Alisdair was wielding a soldering iron doing something, possibly, to the trackwork. Jim was removing checkrails from the fiddle-stick cassettes, which he'd found frustrating to use during the show. They'll be replaced by a simpler styrene central strip to aid re-railing of locomotive bogie and pony wheels.

James was fixing assorted problems on various Class 37 diesel-electric models, both his own and other peoples'.

Alastair was working on the baseboard design for his South Queensferry layout. He'd aimed to buy a large sheet of ply from a DIY warehouse with a cutting service, and turned up there early one Saturday morning, cutting list and wallet in hand, only to find that the bandsaw operator would not be available until the end of the afternoon.... his rapidly-formed plan B was to buy smaller sheets (so they would fit in his car) and do his own cutting with a circular saw at home. This was duly done, and he was rehearsing on his laptop how to assemble them.

Angus was also planning with a laptop, aiming to ensure the curves and transitions on his nascent Callander and Oban extravaganza will definitely fit in the available space without going below minimum radius. Graham was busy with keyboard and screen as well, slowly advancing a design for 3D printing. Alistair was planning (without a laptop)  another layout backscene. 

John had brought with him the bits for his J39 (based on a D&S Huddersfield/BH Enterprises whitemetal kit plus a 2mmSA etched chassis)... he'd discovered the tender axle centres of the etch and the whitemetal parts did not quite coincide and canvassed opinions for the best solution... the consensus was to align the centre axle of the etch with the centre axleboxes of the casting, and live with the fact that the outer axleboxes will be misaligned by a fraction of a millimetre with the axles themselves. The etch may also require to be shortened slightly so it does not extend beyond the tender ends. All good experience-building stuff.

After lunchtime, the Short Talk was from James, on the subject of DCC keep-alives, their theory and practical construction. This was based on the article he penned for a recent issue of the 2mm Magazine (October/November 2025) ... the printed version had some unfortunate errors introduced in the production process, but a corrected online version is available in the 2mmSA magazine archive (members-only link here). There followed a discussion with contributions from those who'd tried keep-alives. All very informative.

After that we went back to our tables for the rest of the afternoon. Next month's meeting will be a week later than usual due to the 2mmSA Derby expo, which several FCAG members plan to attend.