News


28th August 2025 - Brass Bushings Trial

Trials of the new style brass bushing inserts have shown them to be extremely successful and I've made the decision to replace both the existing brass bushings and the steel ball bearing sets with these new inserts.

While the bushings are less tightly machined than the steel bearings they are far more suitable for general use and perform equally well in most cases.

They are more secure after installation, more forgiving if slightly misaligned and able to be glued in place if necessary without damage.

Steel bearings will remain available for purchase if you prefer them, please let me know when you place your order.

Pre-cut axles and bushings/bearings will be available to buy separately in the shop very soon.



15th June 2025 - Standard range brass bushings

I have begun shipping a new solution for the brass bushings used in the "standard" range of 16mm models. The bushings I was creating in-house using round stock cut and drilled to spec - despite an increasingly automated process - simply weren't consistent enough for me to be happy to continue to supply them.

The new pieces are threaded brass heat melt inserts meant to be used as anchor points for bolts in plastic construction but provide a quick, easy & consistent running surface for the axles.

They're identical, easier to install using the same methods and provide a much more solid fixing into the plastic than the smooth-sided stock I was using before.

There is about a 0.5mm tolerance around the axles so don't be alarmed by some play once assembled - under load they run smoothly in testing but please get in touch if you experience any issues using these new parts.

Alternatively I could also simply start to use the steel bearings across all ranges but these are more expensive to source and would likely result in a £1 price increase per model if I did this - please let me know your thoughts on this?



8th May 2025 - Garden Rail Magazine Article - 16mm Standard Multiple Wagons

Many thanks once again to Mark Thatcher for testing out some of my Standard 16mm Wagon kits in the June 2025 issue of Garden Rail magazine (#370).

In his fantastic five-page construction feature he builds a rake of RK wagons and equips them with a variety of fabulously realistic and expertly crafted loads from Rannoch Sidings and upgraded buffers from Cambrian Model Rail - once again demonstrating that no matter which supplier you use we're all in it to have fun and work & play together.

Get your digital or physical (while stocks last) copy from World Of Railways by clicking the cover <-- and turn to page 40 to seee "Loads of Wagons for Wagon Loads".



21st November 2024 - Pricing changes (or "eBay strikes again")

From around the start of December 2024 you may notice the price of my items on ebay will be increasing. I had planned to wait until the new year to do this but ebay have decided once again to penalise my success and withhold all money from my account for at least the next week while expecting me to continue spending money to do business with no income.

I have no recourse since ebay now do everything in their power to keep seller's money for as long as they can get away with; so in order to keep doing business over there I have no choice but to increase the item prices to incorporate the inflated ebay seller fees, advertising fees, payment processing fees, european compliance fees (yes this is a thing they charge for) and now delay/harrassment/incompetence tax when ebay decide to go on an ego boosting power trip.

Current calculations place these fees at a 20-30% increase, which I'm informally dubbing "ebay tax".

For the best prices (without ebay tax), highest priority service, my complete range & latest updates please use this website or contact me directly here.

You can read my full statement on the ebay / Etsy situation here.



8th February 2024 - Garden Rail Magazine Article - 16mm Industrial/Estate Snow Plough

Many thanks to Mark Thatcher for testing out one of my Industrial 16mm SM32 Snow Plough kits in the March 2024 issue of Garden Rail magazine (#355).

In his five-page(!) feature he shows the various stages of assembly, adds his own flair to the build and finishes with some additional fine detailing which really elevate the basic kit to a new level.

Get your digital or physical (while stocks last) copy from World Of Railways by clicking the cover <-- and turn to page 48 to "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!".



11th January 2024 - eBay Issues

eBay have restricted access to my seller account without warning and removed all my active listings. After repeated attempts to contact them they refuse to provide an explanation or definitive course of action to recover it. I have heard excuses ranging from marking an order as despatched and not immediately supplying a tracking number, to "your email address has numbers in it, that's what fraudsters do..."

I am doing everything I can to restore my account but at this stage it is unlikely I will resume selling my full range on eBay if I regain access to my account as they simply cannot be trusted. I am in the process of updating my website to a new format and upgrading my ecommerce capabilities to allow me to serve you better directly. As always if you require an item or a combination not currently shown on my site please get in touch and I will be happy to organise this for you.



25th March 2023 - 16mm Industrial Wagon Issue

An issue has been identified with the side rails on the 16mm industrial outline wagon kits affecting both the SM32 and SM45 versions. This was determined to be a problem with the bearing hole depth being too deep resulting in the axles having too much play in the bearings. If you have experienced this issue please get in touch and I'll do my best to remedy the problem for you.