Innholdsfortegnelse for OCTOBER / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2023 - 115 i Voie Libre international

October, november, december 2023 SHARING Sharing means contributing something to a community, creating ties with other people, or more accurately preserving those ties because they are protective, because the others help us and contribute something in return. Sharing is also a response to our need to exist, to be individuals, to be considered. Sharing is vital. So, let's share! By building a layout together, by displaying a personal project, by describing a model we have built. And precisely, because this issue of Voie Libre is very much focussed on joint projects, we suggest you tell us more about how you bring them to life, about the model you have designed, about the documentation you used as a base. Because the model you built deserves it, but above all because our…

HALLING REF. OLD-L44-M MOTORIZED MODEL PRICE: 169€ REF. OLD-144-S NON-MOTORIZED MODEL PRICE: 119€ HO The Austrian firm Halling is celebrating the 150 anniversary of the Lisbon tram system. This Tw 444 driving unit, put into service in 1920, is nowadays preserved at the Tramway Museum of the Carris company. The stickers supplied with the model correspond to both the contemporary Museum markings or to those of the historic lines. The model is made of injected plastic and fitted with the Halling driving mechanism allowing it to run on a range of gauges, but mainly 16.5 and 12mm, by moving the wheels closer on the axles. For 9mm gauge, it is advisable to buy the specific axles separately. François Fontana…

Like all départements of North-Eastern France, Marne was devastated by 1919. 36 villages had even been completely razed to the ground. It was in this context that the Ministry of Liberated Regions (MRL in the French acronym) attempted to organize reconstruction. It classified the areas into three categories depending on the scope of destruction suffered. From the Chemin des Dames to Argonne, the North of Marne was listed in the yellow and red areas. However, this devastated region did have one small advantage. It was criss-crossed by the extensive 60 cm gauge Champagne network. This system had been built as early as 1915 by the IVth Army (see Issue 111 of Voie Libre). And adjacent to it were the networks of Argonne (IInd Army), of the Reims mountain and of…

O LAYOUT * Translator's note: the names of the Escadrille's layouts are always a play on words related to the consumption of alcohol. In this case, “LeverdaPairau”, when spoken out loud, is identical to “Le verre d'apéro”, meaning “a pre-meal drink”. With the merry Escadrille gang, you have to admire the layout, the quality of its construction, of the rolling stock, you must immerse yourself into the universe that is displayed… Then, having uprooted the few hairs you have left, enjoy a good laugh about the layout's name… This time, you will probably end up bald! As you have probably understood, it is pointless to seek delightful cities or brilliant industrialists at Levarda and Pairau on an ex-GDR map or phone directory, but try pronouncing the name out loud!* As…

FEET IN THE GRASS Quittancourt will soon be five years old. Despite the care taken building it, and despite regular maintenance, the vegetation is beginning to show its age. The synthetic fibres, faded by dust, now display bald and squashed patches. So, without starting all over again, I decided to carry out some renovation on the large area of vegetation located on the left-hand side of the layout. It consists of a meadow and of moorland, and was designed to draw the viewer's eye. To do the job, its appearance must be impeccable. To carry out this renovation, rather than reload the existing scenery with electrostatic fibres, I thought it better to use a different type of product: flocked mats. Several industrial or artisan brands have them in their catalogue.…

The layout at a glance Scale: 1/13.3 Gauge: 45mm Dimensions: 100 × 80cm + 2 fiddleyards Control: digital with sound On the Gizeh plateau, the archeologists are busy clearing a site. A few celebrities have come to visit! Professor Siclone, busy painting graffiti, obviously intrigues both Tintin and the captain! Franck's work has become familiar over the last few years, with earlier layouts such as Sidi Fontana in 009 or Lucky Luke Nugget Gulch in 0n30… We were mainly struck by his choice of modelling, on small surfaces, in a much larger scale: 7/8ths of an inch, which corresponds to 1/13.3 scale on 45mm gauge track, reproducing prototype 60cm gauge. He returns to this scale with the first instalment of what he plans to be a trilogy around the reporter…

Bachmann has released modern versions of Linda and Blanche, two 0-4-0 saddle tanks built by Hunslet in 1893 for the Penrhyn Quarry Railway. When the railway closed, the engines were preserved by the Ffestiniog Railway, converted into tender locomotives fitted with a pony truck, and turned into oil-burners before reverting to coal firing. This is the version that has just been released, with their specific tenders, without a shelter for Linda and with one for Blanche. These models are fitted with a coreless motor, a flywheel and a next18 socket for fitting a decoder. The sound versions are also available off-the-shelf. Of particular note is the green livery with black ornaments and red lining. One small drawback is that these models are available only from the Ffestiniog shop at a…

We have here a delightful small building kit, in 1.5 and 1mm thick MDF and 0.3mm thick card. The high quality parts are laser-cut, assembly requires just a bit of care and a touch of glue. Colouring the model is probably the trickiest part of the job, I recommend a coat of primer applied with a spray can or a brush, before applying ultrathin coats of paint. Avoid water colours that risk damaging the surface of the materials. Weather the building lightly and the result should be very pleasing indeed. François Fontana HO DEBELEM REF. ABRI/STATION TRAMWAY PRICE: 28€ DEBELEM.FR…

A fine bunch of volunteers had gathered around a single objective: organizing and hosting a show, and ensuring its full success; this was definitely the case, so congratulations to all of them! Some 40 layouts were present in the large circular hall, in scales ranging from 1/450 to 1/35, together with some 30 actors from the modelling world, retailers, artisans, publishers, manufacturers, etc. The weather was particularly pleasant and the temperatures almost summer-like. More than 3100 paying visitors were in attendance and obviously enjoying themselves. In summary, an excellent show! PLENTIFUL NARROW GAUGE Narrow gauge layouts were well represented, in gauges ranging from 16.5 to 6.5mm: Gérard Force's depot in 1/35 scale,, the Escadrille Saint-Michel in 0-14, Michel Lecoursonnais in 0-9, the MRL team in 009, Jean-Pierre Dereux et Jean-Pierre…

TECHNQUE I have a soft spot for the Phoenix and Omen ranges; more than 300 references for Phoenix, more than 150 figures and animals with Omen. Generally speaking, the Phoenix figures are better sculpted than the Omen items. Preiser's range of figures is less accurate; on the other hand, this brand's animals, sheep, goats, poultry, etc, are of excellent quality. Although the figures have clothing of different colours, they do have the drawback of being seen on a large number of layouts. To avoid this, I give them a personal touch by swopping heads. The attitudes can also be modified, this is what I did with the Preiser sheep which were then repainted, allowing me to obtain a fairly large flock. The poultry family have their legs fixed to an…

TECHNIQUE To feed the lights you need a constant source, independent from the driving current. So, at least one additional conductor is necessary. The simplest way to achieve this is an overhead catenary system. However, you need two lines for plus and minus and the catenary only provides one. Hard to believe but that's no problem. In 1845, the German physician Gustav Kirchhoff formulated the “Node rule” (First Kirchhoff's rule). It says: “In a node of an electrical network, the sum of the incoming currents is equal to the sum of the outgoing currents.” Well, yes, very scientific. It simply means: when there are several different power sources in an electrical network, they all separate from each other, no matter which voltage or polarity they have. OK, so far for…

To complement their splendid little 4-wheeler wagons (see VL 113), Bachmann Europe has announced the forthcoming release of a Drewry-Baguley 4-wheeler tractor. The prototype wes delivered to the Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD) in the early 1980s and its appearance is distinctly modern. The scale model should be of high quality. Read on: coreless motor, axles fitted to steel bearings, cast metal to increase the adhesive weight, detailed cab furnishings and of course, a next 18 socket to ease digitising… And all this for quite a bit less than 150€ (109.95£)! The model is expected at the end of this year or in early 2024. Bachmann has just received the decorated pre-production units. This tractor will be available in yellow military livery with black stripes or in green and red…

009 motive power To be quite clear from the outset, this engine is not an exact scale model of the original. More accurately, the working model whose construction I describe here is not absolutely faithful to the prototype. For reasons of convenience and ease of construction, I ignored the chassis featuring outside frames and attractive spoked wheels, and opted for a diminutive Japanese chassis with smaller wheels, but the right wheelbase. For the remainder of the project, I trusted Vincent Lepais’ drawing and a load of photographis found here and there, including in the pages of… Voie Libre! MY BASIC PRINCIPLE I therefore decided to use two TU-koppel chassis from the Japanese artisan Tsugawa. They are available, inter alia, from the Micro Trains online shop. I used the tiny, vertically-mounted…

CENTRAL FOLDER The canal du Centre, or canal du Charollais, was built between 1783 and 1793. Passing at Montceau, not yet renamed Montceau-lesMines, it was vital to connect it to the early mine shafts of the Blanzy basin, for shipping the coal. In 1834, the mines produced 800 000 hectolitres (hl) of coal. The original projects for connecting them to the canal dated back to 1828 but were implemented only in 1835. Several very short lines were built, connecting the shafts to the canal. Some were short-lived, closing at the same time as the shaft that supplied them. The routes were made as direct as possible, and were usually 500 to 1300m long. The 80cm gauge tracks called upon 10 kg/m rails laid on wooden sleepers. Skips having a capacity…

SUPPLIES • Styrofoam • Sandstone or granite pebbles • Fine sand • Gesso • Acrylic paints: white, black, Sienna earth • Cutter, brushes (round and flat) • White glue and hot melt glue On my model of the 60cm gauge line leading to the Bonhomme Pass during its period of operation between 1918 and 1921, I needed a large cliff to act as a scenic divider between the entrance to the layout and the small terminus station. This Haut-Rhin cliff is of grey granite; it displays many crevices and the stone blocks, not always horizontal, are significantly eroded. I wondered which material would be best to use, or rather which one would enable me to best evoke this very specific geological formation. Cork bark – somewhat forgotten nowadays in my…

It's new and it's good Rules In your workshop or on your workbench, there are models and kits that you designed, built, modified, decorated… These models deserve to be displayed, how you dealt with them needs to be explained, a specific turn of the hand should be emphasized. Send us a short text, a few well-lit high definition photographs, an explanatory or technical drawing. Publication in the magazine will come with a free subscription (or the extension of a subscription). Grab your tools! The order and delivery process went smoothly, and the kit was received a few weeks later. On opening the box, no special remarks, the parts are neatly printed. After some touching up and removing any remaining printing supports, assembly was quick. I added some handrails and a…