Time for an early Christmas present I think- my planned build programme for 2014!

I'm quite happy with how much I've managed to build this year- I would have liked to get further along with my carriage rakes but on the other hand all of the locos I had planned did get built in some form or another, and a few unplanned ones too.

So, first off will be the overflow from the 2013 programme- four GCR clerestories and a pair of GCR full brakes, from Hornby clerestory stock.

Keeping with the rolling stock for the present, I'll be adding to my rake of Robinson mainline stock- this time it will be an Open Third and a Restaurant Composite, again converted from the Mainline/ Bachmann LMS carriages. Unlike the compartment stock I built this year, these carriages will need a lot more in the way of work to convert them- both will need their sides substantially hacked up and replaced.

I've also got a couple of Ratio Midland suburbans to rebuild into GCR suburban stock, and two more kits from the stable to build and convert.

Finally I have a couple of Ian Kirk kits for Gresley stock- namely a 1921 GNR cabriolet composite (3.5 1st class compartments, 4 3rd class) and a 1938 buffet car- the former being my favourite carriage on my local 'big' preserved line and the latter giving me a more unusual piece of rolling stock.

The above will give me: two rakes of five carriages each of suburban stock (one set clerestories, one set arc roofs), a five carriage mainline rake of the correct set-up for a Marylebone express circa 1926 and a few spare carriages.

On to the locomotives! (This is what everybody really gets excited about....)

I think I'll start off with listing the models I've bought this year as 'projects'...

There will be a Jaycraft resin 'Director'- this will give me a second D10 and, in all, four Directors of both GCR classes- Sir Clement Royds, Butler Henderson, Jutland and Purdon Viccars.

There will be a semi-scratchbuilt B3 'Lord Faringdon'- bought off of ebay described as being a hacked-about Triang Princess. I've already replaced the driving wheels and leading bogie, I will be adding new steam pipes, handrails and repainting into LNER green.

There will be a kitbuilt A5 'Coronation' tank. I bought this just last week, again on ebay. All it needs really is a repaint.

New announcements!

I will be building a Robinson D9 with 4' 9'' boiler. This will be built from a Triang 2P.

There will be a new D6. I'll be building the etched brass chassis that came with the Ratio Midland 4-4-0 kit that I used to build my first attempt, and I'll be building the body around a Triang Jinty body.

I will be building a Metropolitan 'E' class from a Triang M7, and an 'F' class from an M7 bodyshell on a Hornby generic 0-6-0 chassis.

If time permits I'll be building a neverwazza- a Gorton mogul design from 1912, from a Mainline 43xx.

I've also started buying in parts for a 'Sam Fay'- this will appear either in 2014 or maybe slip back into 2015.

And I would really, really like a 'Hush Hush' still- if Dean Sidings do a resin kit for the watertube boiler version I'll be picking one up at Stafford in February....