wombatofludham

2D or not 2D, that is the question... On the Vintage Trains rake, their Mk2 z/a rake is different to the Mk2b/c by having a centre vestibule with door separating the two seating saloons (like the Mk1) and lavatories at one end, whilst the 2b-c did away with the centre vestibule, had lavatories at both ends and was slightly longer. However, I suppose it comes down to how many penalty points you want to get on your modeller's licence.

Whatever the merits or demerits of Cromwell to modern eyes, back in 1951 it would not have been seen as controversial. In model terms, and going off at a tangent, when my family history research dug up a family connection that went back to the first Earl of Dudley who lived in the eponymous Castle, and another more plausible connection to Josiah Wedgwood, it gave me the impetus to rename two Heljan 86/2s after my old manor and Great x7 Uncle Joe. Well, if you have your favourite class of loco with coathanger on the roof named with tenuous family connections you have to, don't you? The same research also found a number of great uncles who were killed in the First World War so the plan is to get a Bachmann 45 named after the Staffordshire Regiment and the Heljan 45 named after the Sherwood Foresters which were two of the regiments they served in, as a small act of remembrance. Fortunately I have no connection to Cromwell so I can dodge any controversy model wise.

That's good to know, it would be nice to have a couple of /2s for my 1975 timetable alongside the /0s and others. I had a mare removing the plated headcode box from the Bachmann 85 to backdate it to 1975 as it was a moulded in panel so a simple pop-out plate will be good.

The 86/2 EPs looked nice as well, I do hope @61661 considers doing them in TOPS with Headcodes in rail blue as well as the announced liveries. It is a style that has never been produced previously yet some ran un-named with headcode boxes (post 75 as 0000) for about 5 years, and would complement the 86/0 models giving them another boost in sales!

And people wonder why I have a dim view of the gene puddle bottom feeders who inhabit the world. I just had a quick look at the Dapol Faceache page where Dapol explicitly say they have no authorised dealers who ship from China so if the Tatbay listing says "from China" then you would have thought even the densest of social media gene puddle slime would be able to cotton on. They just want spoon feeding so they can buy some, and then resell as "boxed, unused" back on Tatbay claiming the mark-up, to the unsuspecting having neatly circumvented the "from China" clue. The Irish have a word for them - "Gougers"

I've bought carriage lighting rigid LED bars, with magnetic reed switch and battery holder, from one Chinese retailer direct and have been very happy with them. They do other useful electronic stuff, none of which is a grey rip-off as they can't be found anywhere else, so whilst I agree some of the figures do look they have been bathing in battery acid (although useful carriage fillers if repainted and the Kim Jong Un hairstyles are repainted) if you look you can find stuff which is genuine and very useful. As always buyer beware and look around. There are a number of places with weird names that appear to be doing knock-off Brawa working streetlamps and I had twigged the cheap Irish class 121s appeared to have come out of an unauthorised source so gave them a swerve but I am confident the supplier I use for carriage lighting is legit and not doing knock off items.

Well, enough people have bought their 45s to make them happy enough to do a second run of them despite the electron microscope examiners declaring it wrong. I think some forget that for every one on here who finds fault there are probably ten others out there who don't read posts on here or watch YouChoob video reviews but are happy to part with their money. For me I think the 47 looks good in some liveries but others seem to make it look slightly out, fortunately most of the livery variants I would like are in the good category, and as I will be watching them moving and not double heading with a Bachmann Duff I think I will be able to live with them. The fact Heljan have covered a lot of very useful livery variants in one release, whereas Bachmann tend to dribble the liveries out over a few years, will be a swing vote for me. Basically, if you don't like it because you feel it is compromised, don't buy it, but I suspect your boycott won't upset Heljan too much. PS @61661 Now King Fred has got his legs under his mother's table given the amount of stuff I'm buying from Heljan any chance of a coffee and pastries at the Amalienborg for my contribution to the Danish economy? Just asking.

Aaaanyways... How about this for a mad idea to have a discussion about at the next brainstorming over a few Liffey Waters... ...a Class 150. With a few adaptations. Hear me out. The 150 seems to be the railway equivalent of last night's curry smell, and are not going anywhere soon. The Bachmann model, whilst nice, has a few compromises and none of the three car sets, both the original prototype and the Centro and GMPTE 150/1 and 150/2 three car lash-ups have been made (although I have modified three three car lash-up sets and am happy not to have through lighting). Now, the prototype units had a full intermediate car, and also had recessed drivers doors, so, with a different cab end slide, and another body tooling for the motor car, you could chuck out an NIR 450 class. That would be a good tribute to NIR's make do and mend design, which combined used English Electric diesel engines salvaged from scrap 70 class, some bomb damaged 80 class and possibly the odd spare from the Southern, bolted to second hand Mk1 underframes onto which were welded Class 150 style bodies, kitted out with PEP style low back seats, at a time when getting any money for trains was virtually impossible given the stranglehold Ulsterbus had on public transport funding at the time. One of these yokes even carried the Queen across Belfast at one point, Lord only knows what she thought of that. Of course, there are more differences than the cab ends between the 450 and the 150 but oh, the joy, if you decide to progress a 450 when you announce you are planning a Castle Class, only for the fans of those poncey green painted things that took posh people to Cornwall, to collectively whine when it turns out to be an NIR DEMU. Northern Irish humour at it's best, naming the cut and shut 450 class after Castles. The only sort of Castle I like given my main line experience with those 4-6-0s resulted in two partially cancelled railtours when they developed tummy ache after being fired with something other than Welsh finest champagne coal. Joking and pithiness aside, I can't help thinking that the 150 could be worth a punt despite the Bachmann offering. Price wise you would probably be competitive, they are widespread, have worn a paintbox worth of colours, have lasted from BR early sectorisation to now (and are knocking on for the same age as the trains they replaced) and if the tools were cleverly designed could also get the NIR 450 out on the back of the Sprinter, I can't help but think there is room for a competing model. And before the "why do you want more duplication" team start, to be honest, Bachmann's pricing would leave room for Accurascale to come in with a better detailed product at a similar price without the compromises some of the Bachmann models have due to the way they were designed. I would like many other units but given their longevity, colourful liveries, widespread use and possible crossover potential with the Ulster Castles subject to details etc, I have a strange feeling there could be a market for a better 150.

I think I might just wait and see if Accurascale are sniffing around especially as the two latest green with yellow bib releases from Bachmann have post preservation high intensity lamps and I'm not about to start hacking them to make them suitable for 1968! (edit) Having said all that, I've just found a fantastic image on Flickr of D292 (one of the current releases sans yellow bib) next to D302, the latter sporting weathered full yellow end livery similar to the recent 40039 release. D292 has a non standard yellow bib that looks like a depot job which would be easy to apply to the current model of D292, and a bit of T-Cut and some D number transfers on 40039 and Robert is your mother's sister's latest squeeze...

Am I missing something? I've just had something pop up from Rails in my Faceache feed about pre-orders being open for the KR Models Class 40, which is claiming "We have been working closely with the Class 40 Preservation Society to bring you the most up-to-date and accurate model of the Whistler that is possible." (other opinions may or may not be available) but when I decided to have a curious look all there were to pre order were a load of fictional liveries and preserved examples. Nothing from their days in normal service. I'll leave the discussion of the model accuracy and fidelity to those who have got their electron microscopes and photo editing software on standby but I must admit to being genuinely baffled as to the choice of launch liveries including no "normal service" offers and three two (can't count) comedy liveries.

I would be in for an original "Bedpan" 317 in OO as they worked briefly out of Euston. I could see a case for the 455 and 317 in both N and OO even with the additional cost of tooling up the pantograph and trailer composite vehicles over a straight 455, and minor detail differences. The 455 is an obvious candidate having a long life and many attractive liveries, and with the stabiliser rail becoming more popular there are a number of contemporaneous units from other manufacturers which would help sales, but the 317 could also make sense with them having moved around the greater London fleets, and I think they ran on London Overground routes for a while, which could give a nice opportunity for a London Transport Museum dealer exclusive. With experience of tooling up for the "Mk3" based units with the 320-1-2 sets (and thanks for giving in to the nagging from us OO gauge modellers to announce the model in OO!) I imagine you'd have some ideas as to the kind of work needed to bring a 455/317 to market.

Some of the Mk2f FOs were refitted with 76 airline style seats (actually if I recall to the design used in the APT-P) and used at first on Midland semi-fasts before moving over to Norwich and used in some high capacity sets which used a Mk2f RFB rather than the Mk3 RFM, allowing extra standard seating to be accommodated in the restricted platform lengths. I know I travelled on a couple when I lived in Norfolk in the Anglia era and found the legroom to be decidedly tight. That would make an interesting addition to the Bachmann range together with Anglia liveried FO, TSO and RFB to go with the Anglia DBSO

Having just watched two Bachmann FFA intermediate freightliner flats go for £123 and £132 respectively on Tatbay (when new they were roughly £50) I seriously think there is enough room for Accurascale to compete with Bachmann on the 1968 design Frieghtliner FGA-FFA sets, especially as Bachmann's models seem to have been a one-off and they do seem to have under estimated the number of FFAs that would sell. A multipack of 5, without containers, would I imagine be well under the second hand prices the Bachmann wagons are fetching and would avoid the scramble to get the outers and inners separately, whilst allowing modellers to pick and chose containers from a number of suppliers, although it wouldn't stop Accurascale from making their own containers if they wish. I've been watching the prices of the Bachmann FFA intermediates on the very rare occasions they come up on Tatbay as I'm one short of a five set and the prices are becoming rather over the top, which really does suggest there is some demand out there and the figures achieved (roughly between £80 and the latest record £132) must really indicate a commercial potential. After all even Hornby admitted that the second hand prices of their lemon 4-VEP units persuaded them there was enough demand to fund a retool, so these daft prices would suggest there is the cash waiting for a more readily available, full five rake boxed set at Accurascale prices, with or without the boxes.

Don't forget the Mk2b onwards were longer than the Mk2 and 2a, and were closer to 66ft long than the 64ft and a bit of the 2 and 2a types. The extra length was largely down to the larger end vestibules. That's why I think the 2d might be a better bet for the next release as it has exactly the same dimensions as the 2c, and all the internal design will also be the same as the 2c. Basically to move from the 2c to the 2d will require a new bodyshell and some additional underframe details. No doubt though a 2a shouldn't be ruled out given how Accurascale are not afraid to compete head on with Bachmann.

I'm about half an hour from Traws (my ex-Welsh language tutor lives there) in Fairbourne. Birthplace of Hedd Wyn, the Welsh language war poet who won the Eisteddfod Bardic Chair three days after he was killed in the same battle of Passchendaele as a great-great uncle of mine from the Midlands. "Byd Bach" as they would say locally!

Current plans are for the Heart of Wales line to have a new class of 153 "Active Travel" single cars running with one of the "superbog" fitted 153s as a two car set. The active travel 153 will have bike spaces and some seats similar to the Scotrail units. However, some of the PRM modified fleet will also work singly, and with non PRM units as two car sets in "West Wales" (no further details on that) until about 2040 where they will be replaced by 197s cascaded from other services, at least that is what TfW are saying at the moment. One thing you can say about TfW is they have embraced the "survey-analysis-plan-review-plan again" model we students of Town Planning were taught back in the 80s as their "traction plans" seem to have all the solidity of Mercury.

No offence taken so long as you are working up an 80 Class. You thought I'd stopped pestering you about that didn't you....

@McC You must have the patience of every Irish saint whose name has ever adorned something flying with Aer Lingus with all the discussion about the fulfillment process.

It will be sad to see the 323s go, I was working at Centro when the electrification happened and went to the mock-up at Tickfords in Coventry, plus following a tip off in the office did get a ride from Aston to New Street on the first public run of the units on the Cross City! Despite their teething troubles they have proven to be the perfect all-rounder unit and don't really owe the West Midlands anything, and the fact they will continue to run in the North West shows they still have some life left in them.

Would make for an interesting discussion in Sports Direct. "I've just retired and want to take up golf so I need a bag of golf bats and some Rupert Bear trousers. Do you have any in stock?" "Certainly sir but have you thought about what you will do when it is raining or the course is waterlogged? We've got a nice selection of space efficient Hornby TT120 model railway supplies perfect for an indoor bad weather hobby" Pretty genius way of boosting sales when you think about it.

To be honest the 2d would be able to re-use a lot of the 2c underpinnings and interior so probably could come to market a bit quicker. I wouldn't be surprised if the 2d will be announced just after the 2cs come to market. It's not a low hanging fruit - it's a massive hoarding screaming "Hello Boys". Having seen the 3d printed Mk2 seating and having used some easy to install lighting strips from China in other Mk2 coaches I will be happy to upgrade a couple of Bachmann Mk2a coaches to mix in with the Accurascale coaches using these components, the earlier Mk2a coaches were shorter than the 2b/c and the later marks were a somewhat different design so I would expect them to have a slight difference in look, whereas the existing Mk2d is older than the Railroad LMS coaches from Hornby so are overdue a new version.

Does anyone know if there are preview sound samples out there for the sound profiles? I'm interested to hear what the 4-VEP sounds like to see if it might be a useful proxy for a Class 310 or 312. Things like the horn sound and brake sounds would be the main issue for me as the motor noise and compressors would be similar enough.

I could see someone like Kader group buying up the name and some of the product range to launch a budget, junior range with an emphasis on train sets and cheap robust but attractive toy/model crossovers to capture the entry level/budget modeller market with brand recognition that Bachmann probably doesn't have, leaving Bachmann to concentrate on the high end market.

Thinking seriously and speculating for a moment, looking at his past business model, if he does a deep dive into the Hornby group to see what are the profitable bits and which need to be sold off, with possibly a view to taking a bigger stake (speculation), I could see him making a bid for Airfix who do seem to be doing well, I could see him him keeping Hornby but focussing on the cheap to make but good selling "train set" market (possibly including TT if it is selling as well as people claim) whilst quietly dropping or selling off the more expensive to assemble (but higher priced) detailed model range (I'd be surprised if they fit his buy cheap, sell high philosophy but no doubt the models could find a new home if the toolings can be sold off, depending on the usual who owns the toolings issues over in China) which would leave Corgi, which I suspect is possibly the weakest of the three big UK brands, and Oxford which as others have speculated could end up back with Taff's family (who might make a play for Corgi as well). I'm not sure where the Continental brands would sit if he adopts a buy cheap sell high philosophy as the brands seem to have the same mix of cheap to produce legacy models and some high detail, presumably expensive to produce models like Hornby. Brands like Lima and Jouef have resonance in their respective home markets for train sets and the like (or so it seems) but I wonder how big their markets are for train set sales? I'm probably wrong but I can't help thinking how he has worked his other brands and interests might lead to this scenario. Clearly though Mr Ashley being given the keys to the accounts and business details as a "consultant" must be more than just taking him up on a free offer of his business experience and changes will probably be coming. In fact if we hear of Mr Ashley crying "I'm out" then I suspect we might read into that even he can't make a go of the business which probably would make the majority shareholder even more concerned.

It's rather like giving Jack the Ripper a set of top quality Japanese filleting knives and the Met Police watch list of Evening Horizontal Leisure Consultants on the pretext he'll give some advice on combatting prostitution. Getting "consultancy" access to how Hornby doesn't work is pretty blatant for deciding whether to go in deeper or cut and run. But hey ho, he has a pretty ruthless reputation and it'll be interesting to see how things progress. Personally Hornby have long ceased to have any relevance to my modelling needs and sadly I wouldn't miss the company if it is asset stripped. The name would no doubt be sold on as having probably the biggest value. However, I have a bit of a dim view of Mr Ashley having read a bit about him although he does know how to make money. I was shocked to see he was born in Walsall and as someone who emerged into the world at the Manor Hospital in Walsall can I offer my apologies on behalf of the town.