Stabliofarmer

That's great detail with the godcake Zach, looking forward to seeing the finished piece!

Here you go Paul, I'm sure the guide started on here but it's all neatly formatted on my blog post https://modelfarming132.blogspot.com/2018/02/making-square-bales-making-straw-and.html?m=1

Worth noting that I'm now using water washable resin, used the Elegoo and Jayo branded stuff both to great effect. No more faffing with alcohol and wash stations. I just rinse under the hot water tap, even the most delicate parts will then fall off their sprues and chuck them straight under the UV light. Real game changer!

Whilst still a staunch advocate of craft knife modelling (not that I seem to do any these days) I'm still blown away at just what printers can do every now and then!

A busy couple of weeks at Braemere HQ! With three new kits developed and released. First up a Bailey Drop Deck Lowloader, been pondering one of these for a while but was put off at trying to sort suitable hydraulic rams for it. It finally clicked and I have a way of getting the drop deck feature working using a little tab on a lever. Next up a 3.5ton plant trailer, I think the exact model is a 2.7ton trailer but that doesn't have the same marketing ring to it! Based on a Brian James it made sense to add some other brands decals to the decal sheet too. Finally the penultimate silage/grain trailer I've had planned for this year. A Stewart GX16-21 S Grain/Silage trailer. Pleased with how this kit has come out, surprises me how well the decals can transform a model.

You've certainly got the formula cracked for this scratch building business John, I wouldn't know where to start with these complex chassis! Always amazed at how tidy the glazing is too, most jealous!

Looks brilliant Paul, Ian's done a really nice job on the design of these

That's some of the best muck I've seen made Jack, really nice effect and looks the business

That looks spot on Ian, the paint really brings it to life

I think that sums it up very well. We buy and sell miniature steam engines and there's a few CNC machined engines cropping up that just lack the sole, or feel of an engine that's been built over the course of many years by an individual's hand. The same absolutely applies to a scratch built model over one of my kits or a 3d print where a machines done most of the work.

I would possibly look at buying a couple of A1 sheets of double wall cardboard and fabricating your own box. That's a really unusual size being so thin, I imagine most things around those dimensions are 30cm+ deep? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264639075592?hash=item3d9db7d508:g:xkcAAOSwdE1kheHK&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8LUgmhuT%2B7O48gwC7vWRXPIIwuUyOXkvvjHMVn7mYmuavSA1%2BmmVyJU5BohbCHW2fENWFqK7O%2Bnvh7fKCEAt93RniUHcxtTBOusICrJo%2Ftm32MGHz4Z9jNOsg7VqCFDnFbnXIe%2FIfORipyEbxhRxeGFSj%2FlpbE8xG6ft3jiC66AQR9vPFPUFtOa3Dk2TkoV%2F7TrxGJwJkQU3iS4cuMhXeV2YcvxxBUGgXTDi%2BTr29FgAUDb5es4ozqPSEqXzhAkrvlZ3Di6C15g4njImyXl%2FgPSvX6c9lFh%2FyNjK%2FdYGOYx3vwn64fzzpgOX575%2FM8sORA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABFBM-KiPnsZi The other alternative is wrap heavily in bubble wrap 10-15 layers and then wrap in single sided corrugated card?

That's coming together really nicely Jack, great work with the static grass!

3D printing, a discussion in it's own right Ian! I'm not sure I'd agree its let anyone make their own. It still requires learning CAD, and even then you need some core physical modelling skills to take a printed part and turn it into a finished model. I do think it will become more and more accessible though, the volume and quality of Youtube guides for learning CAD already far outweight weight those for physical modelling. I would though say the set up costs for printing are dearer, a reasonable computer to run the software, the printer itself and the resin add up to alot more than a craft knife and £20 quid of styrene stock.

I was pleased to see in the original topic the 'Justy's campaign for a 3cyl Ford' was already up and running 😄 As you've said there's plenty of gaps to be filled, I expect unless someone was brave enough to set up an English version of Replicagri most of those gaps will remain unfilled. Replicagri impress me the most out of any of the bands, the level of French obscurity they manage to cover, and the price they manage to do it at is admirable.

I'd agree with this, the increase in availability leads to greater pickyness. A tractor from the same stable and loose hp bracket no longer suffices, it has to be the exact model being used by the individual buying. I'm not sure where the hobby will head price wise, that old topic has people discussing £40 models as being expensive, £40 is £60 in todays money so their only matching inflation, and drop to 2008 pre banking crash and that £40 model needs to be £70 to match, which I suppose it is.

The model railway stuff was very interesting to read about. I did a university assignment centred around Hornby's business practices and with Kader group buying Sanda Kan it shows just how much of a monopoly Bachmann/Kader have leading to a pricing system that goes up and up till it reaches the limit a customer will pay, rather than competition between firms giving a detail to price balance.

I was just getting into the hobby around this time, I joined the old Moira forum in 2011 and then FTF the end of 2012. Reading through old topics back then it felt that everyone was happy to have a go at converting or improving a model, maybe not a full scratch build but certainly wheel swaps etc. I guess that if UH were in their infancy then most of these conversions were on old Britiains and Siku which would be cheap and robust, I know I certainly feel uneasy at the prospect of prying a £70-80 model part which I think is part of the decline. It's very difficult to take a Replicagri etc and make it more detailed, you can change what the tractor is but you can't necessarily improve it, whereas with a Britians or Siku you can.

I recently came across this forum topic from just over 10 years ago and think it makes for some interesting reading at this point in the future. It should also make for some interesting current discussion. The key themes were: The sheer volume of new models coming out each year means there'd be nothing left to make, both as scratch builders and to some extent big manufacturers That it would be companies like DBP that suffered most as it becomes riskier to invest in new patterns and moulds The speed a scratch builder can develop a model means they can reap the rewards in the year or two before a major manufacturer starts building. The topic gave a 5 years in the future look so where are we now, 10 years on? If the figures for new models coming out each year weren't over inflated then there's definitely fewer models released each year, interesting that Wiking weren't even in contention back then, I guess they jumped from model railway scales around this time? I think builders like John Gibson and RJN show there is still plenty of room for scratch built tractors. DBP have produced less but I think this is more due to age, someone else will surely know more about this and Marge have gone from strength to strength, few would describe them as a small player in the game now. There definitely seems to be fewer scratch builders, or even converters out there these days, particularly those working commercially. I can't particularly pin point why though? There's a range of possibilities, lots and lots has now been made to satisfy those that just want a 'similar' model to something they use in the real world, the rise of the 3D printer has certainly made some obscure items alot cheaper to acquire, many scratch builders, myself included, may have had a reality check on wether it's worth doing for others, if you say typical collectors wage can be £12-15/hr as a very rough outlook then for them to scratch build an item taking 15-20 hrs of work the labour on the model alone is £180-300 so how could you make money when £150-200 is the top end of many peoples budget for farm models. I'm not sure I've made any real points or asked proper questions to give answers to but hopefully its some food for thought and fuel for an interesting discussion!

I think there's maybe a key link being overlooked here. Any modern machinery coming from a model maker will be approved by the OEM before final production, they'll look over the prototypes shipped from China and state any alterations required. They will have also provided alot of the spec in the first place, what type of wheels they want it on, what decals are expected to be on the final machine etc, don't forgot often these models are in development before the real machine is announced and last minute changes can happen to a real machine, not just a model one. So what's being overlooked? From the small number of people I know working for big OEM manufactures it won't be someone at CNH group who is giving sign off on each new model, Case, New Holland and Steyr will all have different people, quite possibly in different departments (and different countries), giving this sign off. I would like to suggest that the person working at Case is alot more passionate, has a greater product knowledge or simply has a greater eye for detail than their counterparts at the sister firms, leading to a more regularly correct Case model. When I was on placement at Mecalac I did abit of digging as Conrad had just released a model of the new Mecalac 6MDX Dump Truck. I wanted to know what the process had been, unfortunately most of the communication was with the French side of the business, the only communication with the UK was a marketing manager. Given that the machine was developed in the UK it means Conrad probably received vague information from the manufacturer, in their case not a big problem, there's no real variation to a 6 ton dumper, but you can imagine this lack of information causes problems with an item like a tractor that has so many options. I'll also add that in my conversations with manufactures out in China they have a tendency to simply say 'yes we can make it' to a series of photos and measurements. So unless they get photos of one single machine they're likely to pick and choose aspects from each machine they receive photos of. I'd be interested to know who is in more control when it comes to what gets made, the OEM's or the model makers like UH? I've just ordered the NH T6.175 and Case 165 models, the NH because I've used one briefly on hire, the Case simply because it's a good looking tractor and UH have made a good looking model of it! I expect the 260 will also join my collection for the same reasons.

Awesome work so far with that Will, some really clean scratch building!

Kits, kits and more kits! Possibly have some slurry equipment ready in time

I'll be heading over the water again this year but with a trade stand rather than a diorama. Very much looking forward to it, the most impressive show I've been to!

I will also add that if anyone is looking for the strongest/best option for the kits you want Tensol 12 Plastic Adhesive. It's specifically formulated for gluing cast acrylic sheet (which is what the kits are cut from). It's abit more viscus than plastiweld etc and also has a longer work time, say 30-60 seconds before it grips and another minute or two before you can't split a part. But once its cured (72hrs) you'll break the acrylic around the joint long before the bonded area gives up. I used it on the very first run of 10 Bailey trailers I did and it worked very well. I don't advertise it as it's not readily available and has abit too much of an industrial feel/look for the average modeler to pick up and use.

Interesting stuff Peter, just ordered a bottle to see for myself. I've used EMA Plastiweld for fifteen years now and wouldn't opt for anything else when it comes to modelling in Styrene however I found it incredibly poor at adhering Acrylic plastic despite stating it can on the box, hence why I've never recommended a solvent cement in the manuals. Gorilla super glue is the most readily available option I know of that works but its very fast setting with no mercy when taking apart, which is tricky for beginners hence the option of Revell Contacta, however I'll boot them both down the list on the manuals if this Deluxe works as well as you say! Thank you for sharing the information, I take on all feedback and put it back into the products to make them as good as they can be.

That's some really nice work Alex, well done