richard i

I agree, it was running really well. My kids and I loved watching it. Memories of times in China when they were younger for them. richard

Having taken the train set across the Atlantic and back again. Things were damaged on both journeys. To save space in the container and therefore cost. I would take a small selection to tide me over for the short period of time. As long as you can store the rest with someone in the meantime because a storage unit is money draining away. It is such a great shame what the postal service has done to the A2. Careless human or these days an unthinking machine. Photos were enough for the insurance claim after our move. richard

Am I missing where they are in the photo? I might be being un observant richard

I think Rathbone prefers if the boiler is removable to make painting easier. If I remember the csection in his book correctly. something to plan in at the building stage. richard

It is on the way up from here. The difficult bit is done. richard

Are they so large you cannot manage to bring both?

I pay attention but have little I can constructively add as the is far beyond my capabilities. it looks very impressive. richard

14 V2. Impressive. The most I will muster in a class will be a couple. 2 Atlantics once finished should be enough for me, though I feel I may break that rule when it comes to O4s. There there are some things which make them very different from each other. Interestingly the kit/ frames / tender sources are all mentioned. Poor romford is left out. Perhaps as it is taken as a given? The only time I have seen wheels mentioned in these circumstances is when they are not romford. Humbling s for instance. for being the most consistent part of the models romford should have a plaque on little bytham. richard.

Or the extra length can be cut out. you could do the sides as plasticard cut out on to the frame of the auto coach so you don’t have to fight the windows etc. my steam railmotor has stalled. Just motor bogie, and roof to go. Put away until I can find a solution. The only model I started but have not finished yet. I am not a fan of half finished projects. richard

You make it sound like a4 were more than rare. I only know of photos of silver link, woodcock and mallard in blue. We’re there others? richard

Stiff front axle and residual power keeping moving forward?

The mix and match option. transfers for letters but numbers in raised numerals. ignore bright brown pant it is trying to redo puddles of black wash which just looked wring to my eyes. not as bad as before but lettering is a bit small, clearly different to the numbers. Does that matter? carriage number lost below lettering. Have bitten bullet and ordered fox alphabet. Will try. A sheet does 1 1/2 carriages but very few number 3 so would need three sets if it is a solution. experiments 2 & 3 when the transfers arrive. richard

What a kind lady June is. My female friends won’t help me lay track.

Looks great but the boiler bands look a bit thick and melty richard

The numbers are not as pronounced as the letters so I might leave the class designations but change the end numbers/ letters. Perhaps see how that looks. Might have to bite the bullet and get fox gold alphabet. richard

Cat definitely amongst the pigeons. plan A for letter was the upper carriages style. It painted plasticard letter. A fraction too big but with relief like the originals, but more relief than needed. plan B came about because Guard would not fit on the guards door. Therefore I used a transfer. I then tried transfers for the end lettering and numbers - as shown on the bottom carriage. Lettering is slightly too small and so are numbers. It is more subtle though and I wonder if that compromise is a better one as it looks more natural and less toy model like? Views? As an aside. The numbering for the class designation does not look too bad in the raised numbers. But would mix and matching work? Again views gratefully received. many thanks richard

Good to hear the progress. looking forward to it all being up and running. Such possibilities. richard

They look good, but I hope the lining is just for effect rather than the design which will be used as it is missing some of the detail. There should be a step out from the top curve to the section running down the back rather than a straight feed in. richard

Use it and see if anyone notices. richard

Why not just use a photo backscene made out of the images shown earlier? richard

I am sure there will be more than a couple who would bite your hand off for that offer. I for one would. richard

If everything else handles the track then it is the loco not the track. imho. richard

What a difference a colour makes. certainly easier than chocolate and cream. window frames and buffer beam detail to paint then interiors to build. I will be giving it a wash of black to vary the side colours a little more Please point out any errors of colour richard

Thanks jim has also warned me off the keyser one. The info on the motors and gearboxes is useful. I will play around with them to what fits each loco when they are built enough to weigh it up. richard

The weather allowed a diversion back to the carriages. Sunny but not quite warm enough so I took over the shed put the heater on and sprayed away. only the brown body colour to hand paint on. The variation of background colour of red and black should I hope give a subtle variation in top colour. That’s the plan anyway. I will need gold numbers for the first and third but simple not fancy without any other colours. I can find yellow ones is there a railway company which had similar? richard