Posting before introductions

[Tim Marlow]

Narrow gauge...I never went into O/16.5, OO/12, OO/9 etc....my brother in law works in Live steam garden railways at 16.5mm/foot on O gauge track.....

[Gern]

Happily though, you guys do regard 28mm models as MODELS not just 'stay over there you strange wargamer-type' as you can find elsewhere
I feel welcome already

I recently did a whole model diorama in 15mm (1/100) scale ('Somewhere in Russia' over in the diorama section) and no-one suggested I go off and play with the fair.... I mean wargamers!

I can't think of anyone who's posted any kind of built item here that's been criticised for it being on the wrong forum. We've even had guys posting builds of their 1:1 scale mancave sheds.

Anyway, now for the important stuff. Why 'Steve-the Duck' when you're signing yourself as Chris?

[Guest]

Original railway scales were 0, 1, 2, like brush sizes....They had to be big to fit the mechanisms available at the time. When small scale electric was developed it was half O gauge, hence HO. OO (Which is the next “brush“ size down from O) used HO scale track,

Part of the problem, then, is the confusion between 0 (the digit) and O (the capital letter). In any case the whole system, including brush sizes, reeks of the Anglo-American custom of using numbers (gauges, whatever) to differentiate sizes rather than just saying how big it is. Why not just have called it, say, 18 mm track, half-inch track, etc.? That would make it immediately obvious and completely unambiguous to everyone, not just those already in the know. Hey, maybe that’s the real reason …

[Tim Marlow]

18mm track is EM gauge (for eighteen millimetre) LOL....I used to work in 18.83mm gauge 1/76.2, which was either designated P4 or S4.....(protofour society or scalefour society) There were two societies early on because some of the members fell out with each other when the scale was designed. That one is correct scale track with correct scale bodies, unlike OO which just looks wasp wasted front on....
Railways are basically weird....too many early compromises to fit bodies on existing mechanisms...certainly in Britain bodies and track gauge don’t match....
I actually found it easier to think this way....7mm/foot=O scale (1/43), 4mm/foot=OO scale (1/76.2), 3.5mm/foot=HO scale (1/87), 3mm/foot=TT scale (1/120), 2mm/foot=N scale 1/160).... etc.... But, these are for British Prototype, Continental and US scales sometimes varied.....

[Guest]

18mm track is EM gauge (for eighteen millimetre) LOL

:rolling: That’s it, I give up

[Steve-the-Duck]

Wait, how did my intro thread turn into a discussion of model railways anyway?
Oh, wait, it was me

Or, sorta kinda in answer to Gern, or is it Dave's question, why 'Steve'? That's him on the sig image, my (former) international cult hero alter-ego

Oh, you want to know WHY?

It's a secret. Really rather dull, but still a secret

[Steve-the-Duck]

Hi and welcome Chris, nicely varied subjects you got:thumb2:

Ah yes , 'varied' is my middle name

Oh. No. Wait.
My middle name is '-the-'

ACTUALLY, many years ago I came across the idea of 'thematic' collections - rather than 'ooh, that's pretty - I'll have one of those!', or, to show my age, building each Matchbox kit in numerical order as released, but to collect/build by trying to keep to a theme - then I found a complete set of the old Supermodel Italian aircraft at a particular old model dealer in soutg London and so...
Now I've got most major Regia Aeronautica types, many, many lesser types, foreign bought and war prize 'planes - basically anything that flew with the fasces roundel, and here's my main proviso, so long as they flew in Squadron service. War prizes allows me to justify the odd Blenheim IV or Beaufighter IF too. Still haven't found a 1/72 Albacore... A DECENT Albacore - I may be a modelling masochist but two old Pegasus biplane kits was too much...
How many of my RA collection have I finished though...?
Hmm, I did find a thread here about the difference between a builder and collector...

[Gern]

It's a secret. Really rather dull, but still a secret

OK Chris. I can respect that. It's the old story innit:

"Two people can keep a secret - but only if one of them is dead"

Gern or Dave - either one is OK and both are better than 'Hey you!' Although even that is better than what most of my students used to call me!

[Guest]

"Two people can keep a secret - but only if one of them is dead"

I prefer the U2 line: “A secret is something you tell one other person.”