Sotto

If it was this one, it's on their website!!: https://www.festrail.co.uk/a-summer-of-footplate-rides/#!

This media response to model rail related events is simply in keeping with the modern tendency to report everything as a prospective unstoppable disaster, whether it is next week's weather, aging populations, too much violence, air pollution, etc etc irrespective of whether it actually is a disaster, or indeed whether it is happening at all. The fact that many of these stories contradict just adds to the fun (NHS in trouble because too many old people, no one interested in model railways because not enough old people).

Panel lining can become an obsession though. I have a (waiting to be built) 1:350 U boat. I have watched a video by a military modeller which shows dramatic panel lining which to scale would mean panel gaps a foot wide. I have also seen photos of the real thing taken from a similar apparent distance- not surprisingly, no visible panel lines! I do agree though that there are some astonishingly high standards amongst military modellers.

This is a really interesting topic. My standard of what is 'acceptably realistic' is quite low by some standards, and for me it is easier to say what spoils the effect of realism in an otherwise acceptably realistic model. I'd say the main one is inconsistency- the standard of realism needs to be similar for the whole landscape. Then there are scale errors, such as using a 1:50 scale truck on an O Gauge layout. To get better than 'acceptably realistic' a layout has to take you somewhere. I remember seeing Pempoul at an exhibition; it just shouted rural France, and I wouldn't have minded if no trains ran. It is still the layout I have most enjoyed seeing. More on topic, I'd agree that eyelevel is most realistic, but in an actual layout compromise is needed, otherwise foreground items obstruct the view.

Leaf has a large table the top of which is the original Hattons sign from their shopfront, or a repainted version of it. I guess that will soon be all that is left, bar the memories.

Never wanted one of those before, now I do. 1 left now!

For me, and probably many of my age group, Hattons is/was more than just another retailer. I remember the old 180 Smithdown Rd shop as a place to visit as a special treat with a railway enthusiast uncle who lived nearby; more recently I have lunched in the restaurant that occupies the later Smithdown Road shop. I probably sound stupidly sentimental, but this news is for me at least a shock in the way that no other retailer's demise has been. A David Bowie moment.I hope the staff all find decent new jobs. With a bit of luck some of them may even look back and discover that an enforced change works out better for them. That was my experience of redundancy and I wish them equal luck.

I have had trouble gluing plastic brick sheets to laser cut structures in the past - I guess plastic to paper is similar to plastic to wood and my eventual solution was Rocket Card Glue, so I would second that suggestion. The name led me to initially assume it was just for card kits, but it is much more versatile than that!

There is a pop up video ad that I often see here which shows a chap not in the first flush of youth crawling around a layout that appears to be in a space about 3 feet high under a floor. Every time I see it my back and knees hurt in sympathy...

I think it depends on which generation of the loco you have- mine had no original enclosure. Still not enough room for that particular speaker. Plenty of others seem to be small enough though, it is just knowing how good they are, or not!

Well back from tinkering, as you will have already worked out if you have taken the body off there is only about 6 to 10mm of height for the speaker depending on whether it is narrow enough to fit between as opposed to on top of the rails on the chassis - either way the full sized Megabass speaker will not fit without cutting its enclosure off- probably best to use it for something where it fits without that!

Just spotted that you asked same question in the main HM7000 thread and had a useful answer. Oddly, that answer has also enabled me to identify my unknown 'too big' speaker- it is one of the Road and Rails megabass examples- the biggest. I might try seeing if it will squeeze in with some chopping....

No suggestions I am afraid, but I am interested in the answer as I have a couple of 66s awaiting sound fitting and space seems limited. Or at least, too limited for the only spare speaker I have lying around.

I have just heard from Hattons to the effect that they expect deliveries between January and March 2024, so they must have done just that!

Must try harder! Scratch build a periscope...

You are being perfectly reasonable; we moved earlier this year and my initial demand was for a railway room and a garage. That gave room for negotiation- didn't get the garage!

That makes sense from simple observation - I back onto the Waterloo- Kingston - Waterloo loop line, and all the gardens have their own fences, with a gap to the railway fence. The gap isn't really big enough to be useful for maintenance, but the gardens have been here since 1880s and have no doubt gradually encroached on the gap. Digging at the end of my garden reveals a ditch parallel to the line and filled with rubbish (broken bottles etc). I suspect this was the original boundary and there would then have been useful space between the two.

That's a whole new topic. I'll add 'getting a trackpin (or other sharp object) stuck behind your thumbnail.'

Let it Grow - Eric Clapton

Look, I am not suggesting it is some sort of swindle or conspiracy . It is a high cost sales model, rather like selling insurance door to door used to be. Both lead to the cost of the product being higher than it otherwise would be. Neither are conspiracies or cons. In addition it has the potential for problems caused by the numerous transactions required where one would occur in a conventional sale. You may think the way they are sold is totally fair and they are good value- that's fine. I don't think so and that's fine too. There is not much point arguing because we clearly won't agree, and the data to settle it is confidential to Hachette and the rest of them so we won't get anywhere.

Well, a bit of googling reveals only complaints; Hachette have a Trust pilot score of 93% Bad or Poor out of 232 reviews, mainly around customer service . I know that people who are happy don't write reviews but that's still not good- and the fact that you have to interact in the first place with customer service means there was a problem which you would prefer not to have had, even if you are happy with the solution. And there is so much more scope for problems with this business model than a normal sale. The forum is going to be populated mainly by serious hobbyists who know how the system works and put up with/deal with the problems, a bit like those on here who buy a loco and are prepared to fix faults rather than sending it back- neither represents the general buyer.

I was half hoping for a contrary view, so thank you- I would like to have faith in traders in general! Nevertheless, you are taking a risk that you would not take with a conventional purchase (failure to produce for whatever reason, not just insolvency). It may be a small risk but its still there. I did not realise how big Hachette were- I just associate them with partworks. Interestingly the Wikipedia article you reference mention problems with missing parts- which is one of the issues I would anticipate. Also surely there is an inevitable value problem- you are not just buying the parts, but also 'free ' gifts, and magazines which you may not want, plus a lot of post charges. And their internal admin is surely higher than for a conventional 'all in one piece' kit sale. I guess the proof of the pudding is in how big a proportion of those who buy the first parts continue to the end and build the model- they are the happy ones - I imagine such information is impossible to find but i'll have a dig! Regardless of that though to me that advert is just designed to catch the unwary.

Who knows? I was not making a judgement on whether it was worth £1200; my issue is with the deceptive method of selling and the risk that you won't get all of it. Although you are also asked to take it on trust that it is worth £1200.I wouldn't buy a finished model for that price, unseen by me or any one else, unreviewed, just from a manufacturers advert. It's a gamble. It might payoff, it might not.

Looks fairly sharp practice to me. Not immediately obvious that it costs £1200; the number of issues is lurking in the FAQs. And the ridiculously large increase in price per part after initial £2.99. I know you can work these things out from the advert, but they are relying on people signing up without noticing the actual cost, many of whom will not see it through so will have been ripped off. If you are happy with the cost, what guarantee do you have of getting all the parts? You could spend £1000 and end up with part of a model if they cease trading. Essentially you are gambling on their solvency. Perhaps I am over cynical.

Not just Kings Cross; I remember being accosted by ladies of the night just around the side of Leeds main station. No doubt all been gentrified since, but I think it was within the last 20 years, so legitimate modelling territory even for recent times. Obviously though, they were/are not naked -that seems a bit unnecessary on a layout to me, but other views are valid as well!