Voie Libre international No. 107

It is high time for us to get together again. Having created in our individual workshops, far from other modellers, real little gems – the following pages provide ample proof – the time has come for live gatherings and exchanges. We will be attending the forthcoming shows, so we look forward to meeting you there. As is customary, this autumn issue is dedicated to bashing, to construction, to making things. We see it as a compendium of tricks of the trade, a book of recipes, a source of inspiration. And to give you more - ever more!- enjoyment, we have decided to beef up the magazine: the issue of Voie Libre you are holding has a larger number of pages. And this will be the case henceforth. Good reading and happy modelling! Follow…

MINITRAINS : A SLEW OF NEW RELEASES A SCHÖMA DIESEL TRACTOR Contemporary train lovers, MinitrainS has something for you! The new releases at the end oif this year are perfectly contemporary. The Schöma (Christoph Schöttler Maschinenfabrik) diesel tractor reproduces the prototypes that run at the Freilisgmuseum in Salzburg in Austria and in the oil fields of Rühlermoor in Germany. The first version boasts the bright red livery with yellow lining of the trains that serve the large eco-museum park in Salzburg. The second, the white livery found in the oilfields of Lower Saxony. A third version, in green livery, will allow modellers who like more discrete locomotives to use this modern-looking little machine on their own layouts. The model, entirely made in Karlsruhe, Germany, is fitted with the MinitrainS universal driving mechanism,…

AB-MODELL : CHALETS AB-Modell, whose splendid reproductions of Swiss metre gauge trains in N scale are regularly reviewed here, has produced some typical chalets to bring life to the scenery. Two different surfaces and two models of each produce four different buildings. The large ones: Alpenblick and Alpenrose (71 x 50 x 57mm), and the small ones: Bergkristall and Bergsee (60 x 55 x 56 mm). All consist of a great many high density card and wood parts. The inside partitions are included as well as many outside details. AB-MODELL <www.n-schmalspur.de> PRICE: FROM 49.75 TO 55.80€…

BILLARD AUTORAILS DU MAQUIS Lets’ hop onto a CFD Billard railcar, and escape into the maquis! This excellent and very comprehensive study of the Billard railcars having run in Corsica takes us due south. There is plenty to watch, read and learn! The collective of authors who worked on this joint project has drawn on all possible sources, both for the study and the pictures illustrating it: family and professional memories, testimonials, archives from the railway and the department of Corsica, builder’s archives, press… All these «small papers», as the authors call them, help to describe a lengthy career. The book comprises 7 chapters, describing the activities of the CFD company, of the Billard company, how they cooperated, the technical studies, the railcars’ long career and their preservation. This work reminds…

DECAUVILLE STEAM LOCOMOTIVES – A WORKS LIST KW Clingan and JG Lanham have dedicated years of patient research to compiling sources, inventories, photographs… to draw up a numerical list of narrow gauge locomotives produced by Decauville. All that was missing was the contribution of the new team, Chris Down and Éric Fresné, who have added to the extensive list an in-depth study of the Decauville company and of its descendents, the economic and technical reasons, the various types of productions and the international cooperation. Very appropriately, the book is published in two languages: English and French. The illustrations, essentially in black and white, are almost entirely from Eric Fresné’s documentation. They include pages from the catalogues, a few engravings, some photos including a few that, to me, were completely unknown and -…

TRAMFABRIEK : A DETAILING SET FOR THE CITROËN HY VAN Many of us have fallen for the Citroën HY van produced in large quantities by Busch in the 90s. The model is fully in line with scale items of that period, well proportioned but lacking somewhat in finer detail, so not quite up to date any more! Tramfabriek has produced a small etched nickel sheet comprising registration plates, guard plates on the wheel arches, headlight strapping, windscreen wipers, and above all driving mirrors and a fine radiator grille. Once these parts are glued in place, our good old HY is quite transformed! TRAMFABRIEK <www.tramfabriek.nl> PRICE: 6£ + POSTAGE…