G-DIMB

Is the sound of the new Bachmann 37s that bad? I was tempted to get one each from Model railways direct (currently £172.00 each) but did wonder if its better to get unsound fitted and then add it from someone else. Mike Bravo

The show opens at 9.15 to advanced ticket holders so 9.30 would be about right to avoid the first charge. Normal ticket holders get in at 9.45am. I used to stand at the entrance and watch the people come in and its the only time i have seen grown men run to save a few quid on a Bachmann return. Its not so bad now they have stopped with the returns but i note Dapol have started doing it themselves so might see it again this year once people realize.

Having done the craft show as a trader for many years up till COVID it was actually pretty quiet there on Saturday (like you i was visiting as a bag assistant) compared to the past and it was noticeable even before COVID it was getting more expensive to go but takings were dropping. The cost for a stand in that show would for a 14ft front (they work in meters) would be £5000 just for the space an with some of the larger traders would be spending £10 to £15k on their stand space. And yes those trolleys are ten times more annoying than rucksacks. but i never smelt any of the wafts smelt at Warley. Up there again for the classic motor show this weekend before warley at the end of the month. I almost lived at Premier Inn Hockley Heath for the month of November. Mike Bravo

Hi James Its mainly the Bachmann 37430 that i want to renumber to WHL line versions. Ive used cocktail sticks and a little bit of T-Cut before but Ive not done of the new ones yet and as they will be considerably more money i dont want to make a start and ruin them! Richard

It was the modern bus that broke down. The older ones kept going all day reliably so your argument is flawed on that one!

I did the journey from North Somerset today. Parking tomorrow will be at the stadium as normal so no problem. Mike Bravo

I went today and got there around 8.30am. At that time there were three buses doing the service. Unfortunately one then broke and as that was also the high capacity vehicle which allowed standing passengers it left it badly short. The other two vehicles allowed 56 and 48 seated respectively with no standing. What i will say to their credit that the Hornby Mag staff started using their own vehicles to act as taxis including their editor Mike Wild. Because of this shortage it meant that the bus drivers maxed out their hours in the morning so had no choice to take breaks as required although by that time a third vehicle had arrived which helped. I only queued about 20 minutes to go back at 3pm so was quite happy. I also noted a couple of people i knew had said they had parked in the Gym car park so it will be interesting to see if they get fines for doing so! The show itself was heaving. I never know how or why this show defies the trend it seems of shows at the moment getting quieter. Also there seemed to be plenty of money changing hands to the delight of many traders! Didn't see many of the layouts but i did see what i wanted to see so all good. Will i go again next year, yes i will but i think i will book a hotel on the Friday night as i don't half feel tired now after 6 hour round trip and it seems Milton Keynes has 5 premier inns 3 travelodges and 3 holiday Inns which means rooms are dirt cheap! Mike Bravo

Hi A quick question for you. You say you use Humbrol Thinners when removing printed on numbers, sector logos etc from locos but i have tried the same but have found they don't affect them at all. Am i missing something here as if i could get them to curl up like you do it would make some of the modelling projects Ive got to much easier. Thanks in advance Richard

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256061003329 Apologies if this has already been posted but 0.99 for the pictures and i think at least 1 too many zeros. Suprised this has stayed up so long as i'm fairly certain it breaches ebay regulations.

Hi Thanks for the reply. They certainly look perfect for my needs. Do you have a link for these as i cant find any reference on eBay for these. Also i wasn't aware Accurascale offered the screw link separately and they seem reasonable value.

Good Evening For my new stabling point layout i want to fit full buffer beam detailing on my locos. Now i know many of them come with detail packs but some seem to be quote poor and chunky. As i would like to get some standardization amongst my locos i would like to use common parts but apart from the replica railways pipes i haven't seen anyone doing loco brake pipes so i wonder what do other people use to detail their buffer beams? The same goes for screw link couplings. The last time i modeled in OO you had either Smiths, which werent that great or Romford which seemed rather over scale to me. Any advice would be most welcome on the subject as i have been out of the OO modelling world for well over a decade and i know times have certainly changed.

Hi Guys Think i will need to raise a return for this then. I just wanted to make sure it wasnt a technical issue that it would need an update or such like. Thanks

Hello I have recently purchased a Gaugemaster Prodigy 2 set. It was second hand but it was advertised as full working. On booting it up i find the handset very slow to respond to my commands such as when i turn the control knob it seems to react rarely unless i do it one notch at a time and even then it doesn't always work. Also when pressing some of the buttons i find sometimes they respond and other times they don't. Is this normal or does it need some update or is it simply dud and i need to return it for a refund? Any help gratefully received.

Were there advance tickets available for this as i havent seen anything advertised?

Is the famous secondhand stand there this time as i didn't see it mentioned. I only ask as i know how much physical cash to bring with me!

Another little new project that I've been looking to itch is this one as i need somewhere to park my fleet of locos. Its a 7x2 footprint on two boards 3.5ftx2. Its standard OO track with dcc control. Its designed to be set in the late 90s which is a rare era to see at the moment. The stabling sidings are to the left as you look at it with the shed to the right in front of the fiddle yard. The track at the rear is a simple out and back passenger line for a 2 car 2nd gen DMU. I wasn't initially going to do it that way but the DMUs looked just as bored at the locos so i indulged it a bit. The scenic break will be a road that then descends behind the shed as I'm not a fan of these ones with scenic breaks split by a retaining wall so i was looking to do something where it would still look vaguely realistic. Ask me again once Ive got the scenic stage if i feel i have achieved that! My next job is to decide whether to put two inspection pits as some LIPs have pits, might only have a pit on one road and others none at all so i would appreciate any advice on the subject.

I have seen a photo of seacows on the WHL but no shark was with the rake so i assume they used manpower to do the final work. I wonder if also the lower line speeds mean that possibly the more basic approach wasn't a problem hence the more regular use of Turbots for general engineering work.

Every time i see this thread together with @young37215layout thread i always get tempted to do west highland around 1988. I really must get these thoughts out of my head as i already have far too much to do and not enough space to do it all in. Also I'm not sure how easy it would be to turn a GWR BLT into a Scottish WHL terminus but now you have got me looking. Better take my meds! 😃

Wasn't in Bournemouth was it perchance? If so then i remember that shop. Everything had to be checked using some ancient computer from the early 80s. I cant say i have been into any shop recently where this was the case. Maybe the odd item that got forgotten or the like but not anyone that never puts any price on it.

I just sold my layout on ebay and they were more than happy when i exchanged details. Perhaps if you put collection only then they realize that for it to be collected you actually have to provide some way of contact people. Also if you end your item early if it has bids on unless its due to damage they will charge you the fees up to that point of bidding.

After the sale is done then they will let you transfer a number or address then as by that point they will have their bit so don't care. They also dont like links in listings either although sometimes they seem to miss them.

Some of the Hornby live steam stuff can be worth very good money as many parts were particular to the live steam models. They have also been out of production for many years with limited supply in the first place it means parts go for good money. Having said that £59 for some valve gear i think is on the pricey side as I'm not sure there is much difference with that.

BOO I didn't get anything. Perhaps i need to stop selling and leave it a few weeks.

There are so many questions that i don't even know where to start........

The last few courier deliveries i had from them were with UPS although they always used to use DPD. If its with DPD you normally get sent an email with the details. Never had it with UPS.