G SCALE CLASS 66

An Aristocraft 'G' scale Class 66, repainted by me, on John Peck's garden railway. Precision Labels produced the Colas decals and their application will be demonstrated in Model Rail issue 163 (November issue).

I can't believe it's October already and just a couple of days until the next issue of Model Rail hits the shelves. MR162 is on general sale on Thursday and, as I work a few months ahead, I'm now putting together my stuff for MR164, the Christmas issue. It's true that, when working on a magazine, you're somehow speeding through the year with indecent haste.

Most of last week was spent glued to my computer, writing up lots of features, reviews and other odds and ends. I also had a jaunt to Chester to meet up with Precision Labels' John Peck, for a tour of his garden railway and an insight into how he creates his superb range of model railway transfers.

We take for granted most of our model products, but the amount of work that goes into every Precision Labels pack really took me by surprise. With the origination of each graphic, logo and digit within a CAD software package, it's a labour-intensive operation and, considering the prices of the end products, we modellers are getting incredible value for money. So, if you've never tried the range of decals, headboards, nameplates and more, have a look at www.precisionlabels.com for more information.

John has modified his '66' for DCC control, including sound and a smoke generator. There's also a mini CCTV camera in each cab.

Although MR162 is on sale this week, I've just finished a substantial feature for MR163 on the subject of detailing the ubiquitous '66' in three different scales. That issue will be out on 3 November.