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Lithium grease

One feature of every gronk that's been out of the works for more than five minutes is that the blanking plate next to the exhaust port is always rusty. I assume that the paint gets burt off by the heat? See below:

Quite possibly a replacement part. From memory the part was made from that same grey plastic as the bumpers, then just got painted body colour with the van it was fitted to. Or not in this case! All my smileys were van versions. One was a 120 swb, all the others were 190 lwb semi high roof’s and one 190 lwb high roof. Wheel arches front and rear always rotted through eventually no matter how clean you kept them. It was moisture creeping in from behind where the two layers, outer and inner arches joined together. The only way to stop it would be to apply a good dose of thin cavity wax into the area when the van was new to stop it before it even started. Sadly Ford didn’t do anything! On the front arches there’s also a weird sponge type thing inside the panels for sound proofing, which obviously isn’t good as it soaks up water and holds it against the metal! On one of my 190’s the rot got into the seams where the chassis rails spot weld to the floors. Obviously you can’t realistically separate that area to do anything about it though. I kept it going by wire brushing it off and spraying wax all around it but once it’s set in it’s only a matter of time. I had an 84 mk2 lwb high roof too, which was an awesome van! Those old mk1 and 2 Transits are fantastic looking vans. Not as nice to drive as the later ones, but then you’d expect that! Believe it or not the mk2 was the least rusty out of all of them!

The more usual expression is "Screw it!"

That's not a defence. It's a request for further offences to be taken into consideration.

I’d need to build Maidenhead or reading in the early 80s - then I’ll get 50 of them !

Not quite, although the rat must have felt pretty ultra processed when it ended up in the mixing vat. What I didn't see in the story (apart from a reference to Japan's usually extremely high hygiene standards) is that a certain amount of insect parts, rat droppings and other detritus IS legally permitted in processed foodstuffs in many countries. OK the amount permitted IS minuscule and may reflect the difficulty in achieving a 100% rodent, insect and vermin free environment (though the high tech industry manages OK with their "clean room" production facilities). But even so... Not something you'd find in homemade cake (all the cakes produced at Schloss iD are guaranteed to be 100% rodent and insect free) Still, added insect and rodent (ahem) flavour (not to mention all those yummy additives) may explain why PB is so hooked on cheap UPF LDC.

I mentioned earlier that my guess as to the appearance of "4S-517-003 1158 G.W. Green - Open Cab" was that it would not be a lined pre-Great War version, but represent a picture I had seen of 1158. I now posess a postcard of said picture: The dome is clearly painted and the loco appears unlined, as these tanks would have been treated from the early Great War period onward. The best indication of date appears to be the MEX in the background, which has 16" letters, introduced in the early 1920s, though the locomotive has yet to be repainted in the 1923 scheme with 'GREAT WESTERN' on the tanks. It shows to my mind a 1920s condition loco, but probably not one on auto-train service, as these would probably have received a cab backsheet before the Great war and, by the 1920s, infilling to the bunker profile. Thus, it looks to me as if 1158 in the condition pictured would be more or less contemporaneous with the condition of Dapol's 523 version, the main difference in livery terms is that 1158 still has her polished safety valve bonnet. Thus, if one wants a non-auto/open cab 517 for hauling conventional stock, such as those long bereft Ratio 4-wheelers, for the period c.1906-1914, the best bet would seem to be to repaint the frames of the red-framed open cab release.

Sensibly with wording alongside that says something like “Genuine warning, this really does run very hot.” I have come across several hot taps in venue toilets over the years that were running very hot and where there wasn’t a warning.

When we had a bat get into our house (not roosting) we were in contact with the Bat Conservation Trust and given directions on how to get it safely into a box and transported to a bat hospital down in the Gower. The experience was a spur for us joining the BCT and buying a bat detector, which we continue to enjoy.

Surprisingly when he was a teenager Matthew used to like that TV programme. It wasn’t really like anything else he liked. He said it was educational as helped him understand English behaviour. I think he thought it was what other families were like.

No, keep taking the panniers and you'll be fine.

It is annoying but these Modelu figures are absolutely superb.

Still is, but some of it is now under Ikea and the other bit still entertains Network Rail traffic, so I think any inner loop would require a new route. However, there was an older LNW route from Audenshaw to Droylsden from Crowthorne Junction to the LNW Miles Platting to Stalybridge route whose alignment is still intact and crosses the Metrolink route to Ashton. So perhaps use the spare GC alignment from Fairfield to Guide Bridge and then a new alignement to get to the old LNW line to Droylsden and a westerly connection with the Ashton route to make the loop. There solved it, don't know why it's not been thought of before lol.

C1878 - a selection of BL's finest there, with a big dash of mustard😊

I've been wondering how the Lochan development has been going ... any updates Rob, please ? (Obviously after your trip out, a good while since I've made it down to the Swanage but definitely on the list for a return visit sometime.) Regards, Ian.

freightliner is running 1800ton trains at 15mph to check the formation

Mainly airbrush and pigments..

This has been gone over before but the Peco TT:120 and Hornby TT:120 logos use what appears to be exactly the same design and typography. There must have been some dialogue.

Have been watching 'This Country' and series 3 episode 5 'The Station' takes place mainly at Kingham station - on the Cotswold Line and served by GWR 8xx EMUs but still retains its black and white nameboard.

you might have to do one of these things, whichever is easiest: - swap the motor connections - swap the connections to the lights

Not certain, but I'm going to guess at some sort of Morgan, as per this photo. Same radiator cowling, same exposed cylinders, similar wheels.

Compliance with the 8000 series Rule Book modules has been fairly near the top of every Safety Certificate application I've ever read. Went home for the weekend once to find my then 70-odd yo mum huffing and puffing a bit, and wincing as she got up. "I've hade a bit of a bump" she said. "Tell him the rest" says dad. She fell off the worktop she was standing on to clean the tops of the kitchen cupboards, landing ribs first on the chair she had used to climb onto the kitchen table to reach the worktop. The difference is that you are allowed to take all the controls away in your own house and let common sense/Darwin sort it out. Not in a public place or if you're any sort of public or corporate body. Only if they said it was ok last week. Otherwise that's like contesting a speeding conviction on the grounds that you drive that fast every day and no-one stopped you before.

It's just one of my many modelling weaknesses! Painting in general isn't one of my favourite jobs, and on locos/buildings etc. I can usually either cheat by using transfers or use masking tape and spray cans. The precision needed for small organic shapes like people tends to evade me unfortunately... Wishing you a speedy recovery

Fixed! there was a line from Guide Bridge round to Crowthorn Junction, where it joined the Denton Junction - Ashton Moss line