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.
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. His presentation may be linked here shortly, if the computer gods smile.
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.
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