Last month I mentioned that a Rapido Kerr-Stuart Sirdar had arrived. It needed a little personalisation before entering service. It is supplied with a bag of detailing and optional parts. I chose to swap the straight tapered "stovepipe" chimney with this capped design, using the supplied screwdriver and checking it is fitted vertically. I also attached vacuum pipes, although I found they had to be set far enough from the coupler that the loops of adjacent vehicles didn't foul them. 

I found the couplings drooped slightly, enough to uncouple on the join to Hexworthy's fiddle yard. This was easily solved by punching a "washer" from 10-thou plasticard using a leather punch. This was inserted below the coupling on the pivot and held by the screw - which fits the same supplied screwdriver as used for the chimney. This means the coupling is clamped by the screw and doesn't pivot though. 

Light weathering takes a box-fresh model to a more convincing look. As usual, I used water-soluble oil washes; a dark black-brown over the body, wiped off with a damp brush or cotton bud, leaving an oily-rag finish and dirt/shadows in the crevices, plus a mid-brown over the chassis. Finally, the airbrush was used to mist some sooty black over the top and mid-brown up onto the lower frames and buffer beams. The result, I hope, shows a cared for but working loco - and tones down the paintwork slightly.

I added the toolbox from the supplied detail pack but smoothed off the moulding line and painted it matt brown first. I left off the coal loads but put crushed real coal in the bunkers, secured with matt modge-podge. Finally, a driver was recruited from the Dapol (Kitmaster) agency, I only added one figure mainly so that the delightfully detailed back-head is visible from some angles and partly because of a lack of space on the footplate. 

The two Rapido wagons got much the same weathering treatment which improves them greatly. The couplings look rather large, but I may replace them with Microtrains couplings for use on Loctern Quay. 

I also prepared the additional coach by painting details such as the end steps and handrails and weathering in a similar way with the airbrush, focusing on the roof and underframes as the body remains relatively clean other than a little splashed dirt along the bottom.

Sadly, shortly after this the loco developed a fault and stopped moving! I did a brief investigation but could not identify an obvious cause, so I reached out to Rapido. They promptly replied with details on how to return it to them, so it was packaged up and dispatched, exactly a week later it was returned fully working. 

The loco spent the whole Sunday at the Aldershot exhibition running the freshly extended GVT coach train without issue. 

Hexworthy will be out again at the Wycrail exhibition (High Wycombe) on the 7th November. This looks like being an excellent show, held in the Brunel railway shed. Do say hello if you are there, 

Uckfield Model Railway Exhibition 2026

Last Saturday I made my annual pilgrimage to the highlight of the local club exhibition calendar - the Uckfield exhibition. This has a reputation for attracting high-quality layouts, and this year was no exception.

Coalbridge Street (HO) - James Hilton. It was nice to catch up with James as since the demise of Expo-NG he rarely makes it to the South-East. 

I know nothing of Canadian SG, but as usual with James' layout, that didn't matter as the atmosphere is what it's about - and it has more of that than than you'd expect for it's tiny size.

Keindorf (HOe) - Tim Ticknell. Austrian narrow-gauge. 

Nethercombe Quarry (O-16.5) - Adrian Ponting. Just a narrow gauge mineral railway, no frills, but nicely done.

Port de Crozon (1:50, 18.2mm gauge) - Gordon & Maggie Gravett. The masters of scenery have built another stunning layout based on the metre-gauge railways of Brittany. 

It doesn't even need a train in sight to wow you. And one glance tells you it is unmistakably French.

Compass Point (009) - Chris O'Donoghue. This remains a popular, and dare I say it, fun layout, and I'm surprised it's taken this long to appear at Uckfield. I think the estuary is one of my favourite scenes. 

While the slipway, boatyard, and ferry provide the crowded feel of many harbours combined with a very simple track layout that feels right at home. 

Marlborough 1865 (1:76, 28mm gauge or OO-28) - Andy Cundick. Andy has moved from narrow gauge through standard to the opposite extreme - GWR broad gauge. As usual, the modelling is excellent, and the sky threatening. 

Tellindalloch in Autumn (OO) - Terry Tew. Having seen this in Railway Modeller, this Scottish layout is surprisingly compact in the flesh, and the autumn forest and mountain stream are impressive. 

Surrey Arms (EM) - Martin Marrison. A surprisingly compact but busy terminus somewhere in London, evoking the spirit (although not the track plan) of the famous Minories concept, and showing fine modelling and subtle colouring.

Corrieshalloch (2mm finescale) - Anthony Yeates. Astonishing to think that this scene is 2mm scale, and the section photographed is probably less than 2 feet long, this model based on the Highland Railway achieves dramatic Scottish scenery in a relatively small space - and looks superb. 

Littledene (OO) - Andy Jones. A fictional light railway with delightfully quirky stock.

East Lynn (S - 1:64) - Simon Dunkley. Great Eastern in a scale where everything has to be hand-built. Respect!

A Dreary Tuesday - in the Dearne Valley (OO) - Chris Matthews. I guess it lives up to it's name, although I saw it on a Saturday. Just needs a way to model rain and blow a cold wind over the spectators. 

Cranwood (O) - John Smith. A nice model set in Dorset, and featuring a radio-controlled bus. I wondered whether that was for the rail-replacement operation on the Sunday?

Abbeymouth (P4) - Jeff Day. The archetypal GWR branch terminus very well executed. 

So another great show, and with good specialist trade support too - although I spent most of my time engrossed in the layouts. 

Aldershot exhibition 2026

Last weekend I took Hexworthy over to Aldershot for the Farnham & District MRC exhibition. The show took over several halls and classrooms in a school, making for a but of a maze but hosting a good number of interesting layouts. Here's a few of my favourites, some I've seen before but some I hadn't.

Ventnor (O) - Charles Harrison is a condensed model of Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. With its miniature turntable, gang-plank island platform access, and tunnel at the station throat, the prototype looked like a model but you wouldn't make those features up! 

It's a lovely model that captures the prototype atmosphere well. 

Lochty (EM) - Andy Cundick. Delightfully bleak (Andy needs to figure out how to model rain!) and the trains are very finely modelled. 

Montarola (HO) - Paul Hannant. Unusually depicting an Italian prototype, the model beautifully captures the Mediterranean coast and Italian harbour town giving a holiday feel. 

Buxton (2mm Finescale) - Dave Tuck. Just occasionally, a model comes along that is difficult to believe it is such a small scale. If I had said this was 4mm scale you would think it a fine and highly realistic model... but this is half that scale. 

Of course, that station is instantly recognisable as Buxton, but most of the action took place in the yard beyond. 

The narrow gauge layouts were up to standard too. 

Bowaters Paper Mill (O-16.5) - St Neots MRC. I've seen this before but am still impressed by the detail and atmospheric colouring. It's an interesting prototype too.

Swillybegs (O-21) - David Holman is another layout I've seen before that is full of atmosphere. It captures the Irish narrow gauge beautifully. 

Hexworthy seemed to go down well with the many families and couples visiting, the playground proving popular as always and find the animals keeping some entertained. Here's Andrew concentrating at the controls. 

Andrew had brought a train of his own too... can you spot it? 

Hexworthy at Aldershot

This coming weekend I will be taking Hexworthy to the Farnham & District MRC exhibition in Aldershot. Full details of the show are here.  The line-up of layouts looks excellent, so well worth a visit - and do say hello if you do!

Worthing exhibition 2026

On Saturday I popped into my local exhibition by Worthing Model Railway Club, held at a new venue which had space for a reasonable number of layouts. The programme doesn't have much detail and I didn't make notes... but here are a few of the layouts. 

Not sure if this layout was listed in the programme, a rather traditional GWR branch line terminus in OO, with some nicely modelled and characterful buildings. 

Wendover was a very fine detailed model in 4mm scale. Sadly, the lighting was directly overhead making photography tricky. 

The Cruel Sea featured this highly detailed model corvette along with a dockyard - in N. The scene is inspired by an old movie. The subtle colouring and lighting is very effective. Operation was a bit less interesting - two trains shuttling at speed on separate tracks - I don't think that's what this one is about. 

Thredy's Wharf (O gauge) had this nice mobile crane. 

It also had a loco shed at the front of the layout, with the detailed interior open to view - a rather neat idea and nicely done. 

Small Dole Sidings (OO) was a modern image Inglenook shunting puzzle, working rather well. 

Larger and Lime Works - American NG in On30.

Wandleford (OO), a simple yet effective layout for watching trains go by. 

My favourite feature is the garden at the front, hosting a charity open garden event with stalls visible at the far end, it also has a working miniature railway (the blur passing the lawn!). 

Tittleworth was the only 009 layout. A bit of a rabbit warren, it looks nice enough if a little crowded with tracks. The RTR trains were rather short, and disappeared off stage for long periods before another appeared. It's party trick was that it was fully automated - note the operating colour light signals.

I took a peek around the back - like an iceberg, two-thirds of the layout was out of sight, which explains the long pause between trains. The electronics is rather frightening - this layout was part of the MERG stand and shows the electronics can become a hobby within the hobby. 

My favourite layout was Canute Road Quay, a OO shunting layout set in Southampton docks. A Cameo-style shelf layout it's compact and relatively simple in layout, but looks right. 

The engine shed is tucked out of the way and is easy to miss.