Model Engineers Laser

Model Engineers Laser Laser cutting service aimed for model makers and the trades that supply to them. Providing off the shelf products and custom cuts from your drawings.

We are back in the office today after a quick week's holiday before the start of the new school term, and someone had a ...
01/09/2026

We are back in the office today after a quick week's holiday before the start of the new school term, and someone had a special day as well, our Apprentice turned 8!

Straight into it today getting the next batch of parts cut, so any orders placed in the last couple of weeks are now in process. Because of the Bank Holiday yesterday that puts us one day back from normal so we anticipate completion on Monday with inspection and shipping starting straight away, hopefully we can get everything away for the end of next week too. We'll be very busy this week working through everything, lot of quotes to get out as well, we'll do them as quickly as we can so if you're waiting sorry for the delay and we'll be in touch very soon. Thursday is also back to school for the Apprentice so Ed will be back on the schoolrun, and it's also new school too, and as yet we have no idea what the timetable is!!!

Don't forget, the Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition is fast approaching and if you want something to collect there we need to know sooner rather than later!

In a shade under two months we will be at the Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition 2026 so at the same time as cutting ...
19/08/2026

In a shade under two months we will be at the Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition 2026 so at the same time as cutting and shipping all the regular orders we are also restocking on the few items that we do normally keep on the shelf, one of which is popular blower kits. We had a run on the stainless steel body version recently so we've just done a batch more, and we'll be making sure we have more of the stainless versions on the stand than we did last year🤦‍♂️ Still priced at £45 for the steel kit and £55 for the stainless, the kits include all the plates, a ready-rolled housing, motor, fan hub and all the fixing screws. The only thing you need to make is a spigot to suit your model's chimney, assembly video on our YouTube channel! (Note, at the time of filming we didn't have the fan hubs, they are now in the kit!)

On that same score, if you are looking to save on shipping and collect orders from the Exhibition, you need to get you order to us sooner rather than later so we have a chance to make the parts! There are a guaranteed two more batches between now and then, possibly a third. If you phone us the week before, it ain't happening!!

Its the end of the week and another batch is completed. 1,444 parts on this batch, everything from a 7mm scale LNER B1 ...
14/08/2026

Its the end of the week and another batch is completed. 1,444 parts on this batch, everything from a 7mm scale LNER B1 all the way up to a 7.25" Holmside, with lots of bits in between. There's 4 tender kits on the brass bench which are all stacked up, and a selection of stainless steel firebars, ashpans and blowers.
We will get cracking on inspecting all of the parts now, we'll be aiming to have everything dispatched before the end of next week.

It's a Monday morning of cutting week, so lots to be doing. There's a little over 1300 parts on this weeks batch, and w...
10/08/2026

It's a Monday morning of cutting week, so lots to be doing. There's a little over 1300 parts on this weeks batch, and we're cutting in steel, stainless, brass and plywood.

All the order paperwork has been printed and is in the all important weekly file. There's about 80 individual orders all separately filed together ready for the end of the week when we come to sort everything ready for shipping. If you placed an order before the latest deadline, it's in here!

First job of the day is to upload all the new files to the system. Our booking software outputs a list for us of every drawing file that's either new or a revision from last cut, and this week it runs to 327 lines. Once all those are uploaded the long job of nesting all the parts and ordering materials can begin.

Next job though, definitely morning coffee.....

Keep promising, finally got around to it 🤦We promised at the end of 2025 that we would try and keep a record of the fram...
04/08/2026

Keep promising, finally got around to it 🤦

We promised at the end of 2025 that we would try and keep a record of the frames that we sent out this year, purely as a matter of interest. This was where we were at the end of June, 47 sets of loco and/or tender frames in everything from 10mm Scale Gauge 1, up to 7.25". There were also another 7 sets of frames the builders wish to keep secret, making a total of 54 sets, and over the course of 25 weeks that makes an average of roughly 2 per week.

We think that's a very healthy number for a hobby that we are constantly being told "is dying", especially given that since we totted this up, further sets of frames have been cut and delivered. It's actually a very interesting read, look how few duplicates there are.

Laser Cutting is very much a feature of the hobby now. 40 years ago it didn't exist, and there was no choice but to cut everything by hand. However, since those days, people have less and less time to spend on their hobbies (and that's not just Model Engineering) and now if we are ever to achieve the build of our favourite loco's, then we need to save time wherever possible. Even Ed finds it hard, these day's it's a battle to manage even 5 hours in the workshop a week.

Oh yes, and for those who claim laser cutting is cheating, what were the frames cut with in the big railway works🤔Oh yes, that's right, oxy-fuel gas,,,the forerunner to laser cutting, so it's not cheating at all, it's following full size practice!

Friday is the deadline for the next batch of cutting. We're always open to custom cutting as well as the catalogue items, however if we're to stand a chance of quoting the parts before Friday, we really need your drawings by the end of Wednesday.

We seem to have started something 🤔 Daaaad...can we run a train....... Ok..guess we're running trains again then.... G...
31/07/2026

We seem to have started something 🤔 Daaaad...can we run a train....... Ok..guess we're running trains again then.... Graham Duncan Smith built Midget got to play this time, with the Accucraft Welshpool and Llanfair coaches.

Ed is out of the office today for a boiler test on the Garratt "Mount Kilimanjaro", but he'll be back later and will tend to anything

Workshop Wednesday was slightly delayed yesterday, due to the Apprentice wanting to run a train...We recently completed ...
30/07/2026

Workshop Wednesday was slightly delayed yesterday, due to the Apprentice wanting to run a train...

We recently completed the main loop of our own test track, built primarily so that could actually test the locomotives we have designed or worked on. Still some sidings to lay, and we are planning to get Brunel Models over to look at a station for us (they have already built us a super pair of viaducts).

Today's test train was a Roundhouse Engineering Lilla and some of our Accucraft wagons, but as the Apprentice enjoys the summer holiday sunshine, I'm sure there will be some of our own wagons appearing very soon

Another week and another batch of cutting completed. There are 1260 parts this time, the usual mix of steel, stainless,...
24/07/2026

Another week and another batch of cutting completed. There are 1260 parts this time, the usual mix of steel, stainless, brass and some aluminium this week. The brass bench is reasonably tidy today so we've included a photo this time, parts stacked are for an LMS 4000 gallon tender, a BR1A tender, and a Stirling Single tender body, oh and a stack of parts for a G1 Austerity.

In this batch we are covering nearly all the major scales we think (that we normally cover), comprising parts for 10mm, 16mm, 2.5", 3.5", 5", 7.25", 2" scale and 4" scale, possibly 3" scale with some custom parts which we haven't been told the scale of.

We've been a little quiet this week, but that has allowed us to make some progress with development working going on behind the scenes. At the moment we are actively working on 3 locomotive designs, two in 16mm and one in 10mm, and currently working on 5 wagon designs in 16mm, 3 of South African Railways design which will go with the NGG-11, one of our RNAD range, and one Talyllyn Railway wagon

We are continuously adding new parts to the database and extending the range we offer here at Model Engineers Laser. A ...
09/07/2026

We are continuously adding new parts to the database and extending the range we offer here at Model Engineers Laser. A recent addition has been something of a rare beast. These are the main and tender frames for "Eagle". This is a design by Martin Evans for a GNR(I) 4-4-0 Express Passenger locomotive, published in 1979, no expert but don't think it represents the preserved example running today, think it's another class.

In addition, we've also been updating some of the older parts in our database, adding new parts, improving what we offer in line with updated technology, and also don't forget if a part you want isn't listed, it's probably only because we haven't been asked to do it yet, so pop us an email!

It's been a busy couple of weeks, but there is still a lot going on. There has been a lot of work in the background recently with developing new models, particularly for 16mm modellers, and they'll be some new releases soon.

Also, as promised we've been keep a tab on how many main frames we've produced this year so far. We've got it in a list on a spreadsheet, and as we're halfway through the year we thought it would be good to share, just need to figure out a way to post it...it makes for interesting reading ☺️

Firstly and most importantly, the Apprentice is home! So many lovely messages from followers wishing her well, thank yo...
03/07/2026

Firstly and most importantly, the Apprentice is home!

So many lovely messages from followers wishing her well, thank you one and all. Her surgeon said she was very pleased with the outcome of both parts of the operation, and all being well there shouldn't need to be any more interventions, and she can get on with growing up a happy little girl again....besides the thousand and one follow up appointments of course!

In other news, it's Friday and that means the latest batch of cutting is complete. 1140 parts on this batch, including steel, brass, stainless and plywood, there's a mix of commercial jobs, and everything from 16mm up to 7.25" models. The bench is looking a little more sparse than usual given the high part count, but the bits for the 7.25" V4 are all in the workshop waiting for the frames to be bent and are too big to fit anyway, and the commercial jobs are already packed and waiting for collection so they're not on the bench either. There's also two sets of bodywork for Fishbourne and a 5" Firefly, and they are all stacked up on the other bench. We have a stack of parts to sort out for our 16mm RNAD kits as well, they are all recognisable and dropped straight into a lin bin for sorting later, and there's also a number of other parts for development work which are also dropped straight into a lin bin, including a new wagon and two new locomotives, watch this space 😉

We'll be inspecting everything and starting to get packaging done for the rest of the day, courier is booked for first collection on Monday for deliveries Tuesday, and we should be able to get the first small packets dropped off with the Post Office later today

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Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 3pm

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