New from the Fens

[Martin Field]

Hello all,
why didn't join up when I first heard of WT I don't know. I used to often link through from Iain Robinson's blog, but he has alas decided to go away from modelmaking.

Anyway, here we are, actually all joined up.

My interests would appear to be in 7mm scale as for many years I made brass master patterns for the 1/43rd scale collectors' model car market, so I figured that it would make sense to make all my scenic stuff to that scale and then I could use all the cars on my layouts. Then I recently had to face the fact that I have only a very few of my models and that finding examples of them would cost me a fortune, so I am now considering going back to my first real interest of S scale as I am too tight to buy anything, so scratchbuilding everything, especially when I have only a limited space for a few small set-pieces would make sense.

I am delighted to see that the bulk of your membership are still happy to make stuff and look forward (now the summer's gone) to reading entries and threads.

My railway interests are things like Light railways, narrow gauge, M&GN and Southwold.

Cheers,
Martin

 

[Heather Kay]

Welcome aboard Martin!

We like piccies here. Personally, I'd like to see piccies of the cars you made patterns for, but that's my inner petrolhead coming out!

 

[Martin Field]

Hi Heather,
thanks for the welcome. I checked out your website. Some nice stuff there. I would like to point out though that the Austin Seven isn't a Ruby. It's a "Box Saloon", more properly known as an RN. The Ruby (which I did for Mikansue many years ago) is a much more rounded car and was the post 1934 iteration of the baby Austin. I also did the masters for a Open Road Tourer and a Ruby Van for Gearbox Models and an RN, RN van Chummy and Chummy van for South Eastern Finecast, not to mention an RN in 2mm scale fr Scale Link (as were). I have never been great at taking pics of my work. I can never seem to get a crisp image, but here are some I've done. Gordon Gravett has one of "my" RNs in the garage scene of Ditchling Beacon. Had a good old chinwag with him and Maggie at a Spalding show.

The narrow boat is an accurate model of Heather Bell, an ex Barlow boat and our home for 5 years. 4mm scale for N-Drive. The racing boat is a Raysoncraft drag boat with engine details and a trailer, in 1/43rd scale for RJ Miniatures. The microcars are all from my brass masters for RJ Miniatures, who also went under the name of S.A.M.S. Models. The narrowboat is in styrene because the production models will be made in resin.

If you ever need any patternmaking done, maybe we should talk, although I do less and less these days, I like to keep my hand in so I'm sure an arrangement can be reached as I hate painting!
PM me.

Cheers,
Martin

 

[Martin Field]

Here's another I was looking for.
1/32nd scale Invicta S Low Chassis for a slot car company
The engine and gearbox for a Matchless G45 in 1/8th scale
1/32nd slot car Honda F1 car. I also did the slot car chassis for this one
Cockpit of a 1/8th scale model of Miss America X, which is now in a restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia. Right down to Gar Wood's two Teddies.
Chassis and some platework of a Southwold Railway 2-4-0 in 7mm scale 21mm gauge. Nickel silver.

 

[Heather Kay]

I shall correct my site accordingly! Thank you! It's the South Eastern Finecast kit, if memory serves, so I can thank you for making the original patterns!

 

[Martin Field]

Ah, I thought it was the SEF kit, although the louvres looked a little softer than I recalled. Dave asked me to make one piece bodies where they had been multi piece and the very Devil to hold together when building. The Frazer-Nash still is, but only the A7s warranted the cost of re-mastering. I still have one of the original brass body sides here and I don't know what the original maker used for silver solder, but I could never get the rear wing off despite heating it to bright orange! Dave (or more likely Bob Wills) was the first to use p/e for wire wheels, something copied by everyone these days. I recently designed some wires for slot racers so we could do pre -War cars on skinny 19" wires. But what a faff I had getting them done as I'd specified! Not like when I used to do artwork with a pen and supply negs made this end.

Cheers,
Martin

 

[Osgood]

.......Dave (or more likely Bob Wills) was the first to use p/e for wire wheels, something copied by everyone these days. ....

Welcome Martin, from someone east of the Fens. What is p/e in the context of wire wheels, please?

....My railway interests are things like Light railways, narrow gauge, M&GN and Southwold.....

What about the Scole Railway? Why does nobody mention the Scole Railway?

Tony

 

[Martin Field]

Tony,
thanks for the welcome. p/e is photo-etched spokes for the little wire wheels f the PreWar car kits that Dave Ellis does.
Erm there IS no East of the Fens....ah, or are you in Broadland?
I have never heard of the Scole railway, although I know Scole very well, having lived in Eye and Mendham in the past.

Martin

 

[Osgood]

....Erm there IS no East of the Fens....ah, or are you in Broadland?
I have never heard of the Scole railway, although I know Scole very well, having lived in Eye and Mendham in the past. Martin

There USED to be an East of the Fens, until it became buried by all the peat blowing off the Fens!

With regard to the Scole Railway, the description underneath this map of said line sums it up well:

Scole Railway Map c1869

A modeller at the Southwold show maybe 3 years back had a micro layout and a small display on this line.

Tony

 

[Peter Insole]

I met and proposed to my future wife in the Fens...

...She sometimes ruefully admits that she should have seen me coming from a mile off - many miles in fact!!!

Pete.

 

[jamiepage]

Welcome. What a superb selection of photographs. Really interesting stuff.
The M&GN in S would be very interesting indeed. Better in G3, but definitely interesting in S!

 

[Martin Field]

Thanks for the welcome Jamie. Pics. are just a spattering of stuff I've done over the years. I wish I'd taken more, but am a crap photographer as you'll have spotted!

Phil, so did I! Does your wife say "writ, frit and tret"? "Here be giants", the maps say.

Tony, I think you can say that the Fens stop level with Downham Market but tuck around the back to Feltwell. "Flat as a witch's Lalas for 30 mile".

Martin

 

[Rob Pulham]

Welcome Martin

 

[Martin Field]

Thanks, Rob. Nice to find a grown up forum.

Martin

 

[Eastsidepilot]

Here's another I was looking for.
1/32nd scale Invicta S Low Chassis for a slot car company
The engine and gearbox for a Matchless G45 in 1/8th scale
1/32nd slot car Honda F1 car. I also did the slot car chassis for this one
Cockpit of a 1/8th scale model of Miss America X, which is now in a restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia. Right down to Gar Wood's two Teddies.
Chassis and some platework of a Southwold Railway 2-4-0 in 7mm scale 21mm gauge. Nickel silver.

Welcome to WT Martin, the Matchless looks great, bit of me there

Col.

 

[Osgood]

I just took a big risk and googled images of 'Miss America X' - fortunately all I got was 7,000hp of total insanity:

 

[john lewsey]

Welcome to WT Martin, the Matchless looks great, bit of me there

Col.

Hi Col I had a Matchless G9 500 twin (with a wooden box as a sidecar) of course and a Matchless G12 CSR 650 twin in those days the biggest bike you could have solo was a 250 so I had the 500 twin because if you put a sidecar on it you could have whatever size engine you wanted and you could take passengers so I could cart my mates around
John

 

[oldravendale]

Tony, I think you can say that the Fens stop level with Downham Market but tuck around the back to Feltwell. "Flat as a witch's Lalas for 30 mile".

Martin

When I was working somewhat north of Montreal the locals referred to the local "big sky" countryside as "somewhere you could see your dog run away for five days....."

B

 

[Martin Field]

Haha that's a good un. my doctor tells me to take walks. My response is that I'd die of boredom, seeing where I'd been before I leave.

Col and John. I'm currently doing a Vincent Black Shadow in 1/6th scale, but today have ground to a halt with iffy measurements of the headstock.

Osgood, you got the right boat there. 4 Packard 2700M V 12 aero engines, each with 2 huge blowers, twin ignition. I had to make moulds and resin cast all 4 with their blowers and carbs, 24 plug distributors, etc. Here's the model, dwarfing my dining table. It was 5 ft-3" long!

Cheers,
Martin

 

[mickoo]

I did a photo shoot out in big sky country around Turves and the 100 foot drain a few years back, luckily the weather played ball and gave a decent back ground, one things for certain, you never get mugged by a rain cloud

Turves


100 foot drain, probably the highest point in the fens


Nice models BTW, always nice to see modelling from a different church, lots to be gained by cross fertilising skills and techniques.

MD