Best practices

Most modellers know that flux should be used to make better soldering joins, however, too many articles on the subject assume a certain amount of knowledge and can leave the mere mortal a little baffled.But before we explain about flux, we must...

AFV stands for Armoured Fighting Vehicle. These versatile military machines come in many shapes, sizes and forms but generally are manoeuvrable, have armour plating and often have some sort of weaponry incorporated into their design.Armoured...

The term Gibbet is most commonly associated with the kind of gallows-like structure used to hang people, but thanks to their resemblance, the term is also used to describe a type of crane with a t-shaped frame.Gibbet cranes could once be found...

For most modellers, installing an incline can be challenging because they take up so much space, and space is something not many of us have an abundance of. That begs the question - What is the minimum space required to install a OO gauge incline?...

Many modellers can get through scalpel blades almost as quickly as surgeons do, but how should you dispose of them properly after use?Each council will have a preferred method for the disposal of blades and you should contact yours to find out...

When working out the gradient for an incline on a model railway, your research may well uncover advice and tolerances expressed in two different ways.A good example of this is the many articles written advising that an optimum gradient should be...

There are many stories of cheap alternatives to model railway locomotive lubricants. Unfortunately, there are also many stories about locomotives that have given up on life long before expected. The chances are, the two are linked.A model...

If you don't oil your locomotives often enough, gradual wear and tear will eventually turn into quite significant wear and tear, your locomotives will start to run badly and parts could wear out prematurely. However, if you oil your locomotives...

There's nothing wrong with a basic toolbox for the occasional job, and that's what most of us have, so why are there so many different types of side cutters available?For anybody who undertakes only occasional jobs on their layout or whilst...

Unboxing videos and video product reviews are very different processes driven by a differing set of requirements.An unboxing video is purely an objective process that aims to present the complete contents of a particular kit or item in a...

To some extent, how you cut model ship rigging will depend on a number of issues including the material that is used for the rigging, the scale and the historical time period of the model.Ship models representing vessels from the 'Age of Sail'...

The closest model aircraft scale to OO Gauge is 1:72 scale. That said, it is still useful to first compare the two scales in question.  OO gauge is most often categorised as being analogous to 1:76 scale when comparisons are sought with...