Our world in miniature, hobbies

Bloomin' brilliant, Philip, your first photo looks too good to be true. Clever one that one.

I hope Philip was wearing his hi-viz vest when taking the first photo

At first glance that first photo really could be the real thing. Bit of flooding on the tracks in the distance I think. MR's right, a high vis vest should be mandatory at track level. Will you be getting to the model railway exhibition at the canal warehouse next weekend?

Hi all, it's Friday evening. Just blether! Synonymous with over a decade of model railway fun. As well as my son, my two grandchildren, also my model railway chum Mick, this was the activity evening. Any shortcomings highlighted, so as to be rectified by the following Friday. To maintain interest, railway building continued, all within the grand plan, designed just prior to the millennium. So what am I rabbiting on about? Mick so sadly died a few years ago & my grandchildren are now past playing trains. They've all grown up. I never took that into account when designing & building. The railway was deliberately designed to be operated by three, plus an overseer, often me. So, as daft as it sounds, our railway is too big. I can shut areas off, so making operations easier, which is what I tend to do now. The glass of port is nice.

Not quite miniature at 1:18 scale. It's my latest model acquisition taken using a smartphone. Who'll be first to guess the make and model?

Wild guess - is it a 1959 Chevrolet Impala convertible? Whatever it is, it's looking good.

Oh, was it that easy? Here's a more obscure car to try your luck on.

Karmann Ghia, Volkswagen based.

No, but it does come from that part of the world.

Is it a Wartburg from the former East Germany? I have never seen a convertible but the wing shape looks correct.

Well done NL. It's a Wartburg 311-2 Cabriolet.

I'll confess that I cheated. I could read the 1959 and thought it looked American. A Google search suggested a Cadillac but failing to find a match, I moved on to the next biggest name. I've never heard of Wartburg.

To put a Coventry twist on this - in the 1970's there were always about 6 or 8 cars parked in Aldermans Green Rd outside the still unoccupied old butcher's shop. One of them was a Wartburg saloon of this shape. They were never common, but I did once drive a later Wartburg Knight which was bit disconcerting. They had a 2 stroke engine which burbled away but when you took your foot off the accelerator the car just carried on forward because it was fitted with a free-wheel system. To slow down you needed to brake so I gently pressed the brake pedal - nothing. I pressed a bit harder, still no reaction, and with the junction looming up I pressed even harder. The car then shuddered to a stop under the influence of a braking system which was either on or off. They were cheap to buy so people bought them, but they soon fell out of favour when you could buy a brand new Lada or Skoda which both had a more conventional feel, and had brakes which worked a bit better.

Helen. The Wartburg was a car marque manufactured in former East Germany founded in 1898. The name derives from Wartburg Castle on one of the hills overlooking the town of Eisenach where the cars were manufactured. Yes, NL, I forgot to put the Coventry link to the Chevrolet Impala. It was the first American car I saw in Coventry during my teens. It was parked at the eastern end of Pool Meadow.

Hi all I wonder where this goes? I love mysterious gateways.