Morgenergy

Ayup. Pretty much as the title suggests, I'm on the hunt for etched window frames for Mk1 and 2 (non-aircon) coaches. From what I can gather, ModelTec made a fret of Mk1 frames but these seem to be out of stock doing a quick search.. the Mk2 equivalent is available, apparently. I know of Shawplan's etches, but these are vehicle specific and although lovely, I'm after a generic sheet I can apply to a model willy-nilly. I've a growing army of Tri-ang, Lima and Mainline MK1 and 2s that are dying for some decent windows that aren't just SE Flushglaze - it's effective, but takes hours with the filing involved - so would rather spend the time tacklling them similarly to replacing the windscreen on various diesels with etched frames laid on top of clear plastic sheet. Would be great if any of you could point me towards what I'm after. Surprised they're not more readily available... or maybe I'm just blind. Morgan

I noticed that the subject of ''what will happen to the stock Hattons once bought?'' and wanted to give my two cents as it's something discussed within my circles. Hattons were massive and their annual orders with the likes of Hornby and Peco especially would've been eye-watering in value... losing that must be one helluva gut punch for suppliers. At the local shop we often find our orders cut down to a negligible number in the case of Hornby, with orders having numbers sliced - we don't offer pre-orders as there is no chance of us receiving the numbers ordered and that's if we're even sold any of a particular product at all! Very strange. With a big buyer of stock now gone, I'd hope that such suppliers will allow willing retailers more allocations on what they order, what with a mountain of stuff now presumably being unspoken for, for the next year at least. It'd be a shame to simply cut those numbers entirely and under-supply the market that Hattons have left behind. That's assuming it's all financially viable. As for second-hand goods... there's loads of it going through the dealers regardless of Hattons power in buying it up. Not a day goes by where there isn't numerous emails and phone calls from folks wanting to shift Grandpa Joe's collection. I don't think things will change very much will change in that regard and even if so, it'll take time for any possible effect to take hold. Things will be fine once the initial shock has evened, all in all. Basically: keep buying! Morgan

I managed to grab one of those kitbuilt Class 17s the evening before the deadline. Arrived today, it's an interesting thing. I opted for the non-runner with loose wires as it was cheaper and I planned to wire it for DCC anyway. 'Twas my only ever package from Hattons; I feared I wouldn't have a chance to receive one. Being something I was after - and missed out on via eBay - is a bonus. I can now say ''that's a Hattons job'' if somebody asks about it. RIP indeed.

My Kelloggs example is still sat on my desk looking all manky. I've got transfers for it and everything; just haven't got around to it. Oops.

I do find myself - admittedly - increasingly biased towards and against certain things owing to my growing preference to doing it myself. Got called pretentious for it! There’s a reliance on RTR product that I find difficult to comprehend… and that’s fine. I would think that way because I’m the type to bodge what it is I want. Horses for courses and that. I’m in the same boat to be fair, albeit more due to reach and dodgy ads. I don’t think the networking is worth it combined with the questionable user base. I was hoping my response be seen as a rather low-blow gag but the gloves came right off, not just against me either. 😳 I can’t say it was undeserved.

The incident I saw was on Facebook (I know, what was I thinking?) in the Modelling BR Blue group; unsure if a public link can be shared. Frankly I’d recommend you save the sanity which I’ve already clearly parted with. I really must stop engaging with it all… again, having been dragged back into social media somehow. Is it what’s called doomscrolling these days? It’s the reason this thread is even here in the first place. Must remember to touch more grass. In the real world (that many find too haunting..) I’ll absolutely agree with this and it’s my belief that 99% of railway folks you’ll meet are harmless, with a good chunk of those offering a lovely spirit and being quite happy to chat or support you. As mentioned in one of my previous replies, it should be celebrated how this hobby can really bring people together. We’re all trying to achieve our own goals and in my experience, folks will help with that even if it’s the polar opposite of what they’re into, if they happen to realise they have knowledge or an item useful to your musings. It’s not something I find so readily available in other hobbies, where a sort of low-key competitive nature seems to prevail.

Something I realised earlier is certainly leaving a horrid mark on the hobby that stinks to high heaven: brand loyalty. blind brand loyalty. With this hobby being such a web of smaller interests and preferences, can we really tolerate punters being so militant towards each other in the name of *insert toy train maker here*? A visit to a Facebook group or similar will find you downed with accusations of lying if you even dare share your rightful disdain towards quality or customer service of a particular manufacturer, the reports of quality issues, breakages or lackluster customer service being viewed as trends not worthy of notice. I became entangled in this sort of attitude earlier and thought it shocking that genuine complaints and a gag lead to abuse within minutes, with passive aggressive suggestions and remarks received from more influential users from publishing and manufacturing. It wasn't a good look, only making me feel terribly uneasy even if the whole saga was initially hilarious. It hurts the hobby at least in the retail part, very well playing into the changing of buying habits from retailer to direct. Not to mention, the perhaps jaded admiration means that issues some companies would get crucified for (Hornby, Bachmann and Heljan are still blasted about mazak rot on 20+YO locos) end up dismissed and forgotten due to favoritism. A growing demographic that no longer wishes to hold our suppliers accountable should be discussed more and discouraged. Fixing brand new items has become commonplace with returning seen as too much hassle, even when pre-paid postage slips are supplied. I may be exaggerating, but considering the risks? I dunno about yourselves, I find it terrifying.

Many views some have regarding this hobby are either outdated, offensive or just downright false. Typically within niche circles and influencers, they're nothing that we can't fix or change within a timely manner. Nearly 5 years ago I began giving my time and effort to my local shop - The Locoshed, owned by Jim of Model Fair fame - in Manchester. I was only 19 when I initially asked if he needed help with things: I wouldn't have bothered if I wasn't that interested in the hobby, or if I thought things were on their way out. The same few weirdos online had the same idea that the hobby was dying back then, and have since it's boom in the 60's. Despite rising costs, never before has so much stuff been available. Now, so many are involved and so many are getting on board as folks young and old realise their need for a creative hobby with something you can actually hold and touch and make. Things are booming, yet vocally dominated by honest to God cranks who feel a need to dictate their own negative narrative of things. Some of them come into our shop and are members of local clubs... they're so passionate to uphold the hobby that... they don't spend anything! Shops and companies have gone... but look at how many have replaced them. Things are doing well, it's just a rough world right now. There's an idea that the new generation supposedly doesn't exist. This is where I get rather miffed off because we're right here and always have been. I'm 25 now and supposedly one of those lippy youths who don't lift their head up from their phone, who would rather spend money on an Xbox, stay in bed... and yet, I'm here, with piles of kits and etches on my desk, smashing away at my keyboard on RMWeb. Warley's comment about younger modellers ''failing to materialise'' REALLY irked me, even moreso as it's a opinion shared by many other societies and unaware individuals. Youngsters exist in the hobby, and these groups should be asking themselves ''Why won't the young come to us?'' rather than wonder where we are in the first place. I don't think the naysayers know that folks have numerous hobbies, especially these days with how rough the world is... we need distractions, not all attention is gonna be on the trains. I started a new playthrough of a Resident Evil title yesterday... then primed and airbrushed a bunch of wagons I recently built, before working on my digital art commissions. Tomorrow, I might even do some woodwork, whilst I wait for transfers to arrive from Railtec! SHOCK, HORROR. We should embrace change and affordability, as well as people who are quite simply different. These trains really can bring people together, it's amazing to see. What's somehow more amazing is how many would, seemingly, rather keep it selfishly within their own ignorant idea. Typically it regards things being better back in't day... stuff like that. This hobby has kept me going for years now.. and I mean that literally: mental health often relies on fettling and creating. It also relies on friends.. friends I wouldn't have if not for modelling. This passion has become a job, a life. Why folks would want to bet on it's downfall is beyond me.. If this hobby appears to be dying to you, perhaps do your best to keep it alive or better yet, find a new hobby and take the attitudes with you. So far, I've seen little effort so far from those so very inclined things are all doom and gloom, and that people aren't getting on board... meme relevant.

Being based on a sizeable estate, I hope the staff end up hired by one of Hatton's neighbours. All the best to them indeed. I wasn't a customer myself - only once spending a whopping 6.99 directly at Smithdown Road circa 2012 on a Hornby box van, since merely happening to get my gear at fairs and other shops - but can appreciate that they were, for many, the first port of call in the hobby. That leads them to other little businesses and will be felt so badly. It takes some guts to admit that things aren't quite positive in the world of business - especially considering the giants which have allowed themselves to go properly bust in spectacular fashion in recent years. It speaks massive volumes that Hattons of all retailers are shutting up shop to explore other opportunities. It's quite brave IMO. As some have suggested, this perhaps says a lot about online shopping in the hobby as a whole and, at risk of sounding like a parrot or broken record or going off topic, there's never been a more important time to support your local retailer: that pack of fishplates, that inquiry about a spare part or perhaps asking about a hard to find product they happen to have sat in a cabinet for years? It could be the difference in them still being here tomorrow, or feeling that it's time to move on. This will have a shockwave effect throughout the hobby especially perhaps to Hornby who coincidentally have their 2024 range reveal tomorrow. If we can support each other even a little bit, we can minimise negative impact. Keeping tuned for updates, Morgan

I've been looking for the Carter book of drawings (I have the diesel equivalent somewhere) but don't wish to pay over the odds; I've got the diesel one and it cost me something ridiculous like 4 quid, I was most pleased. One will turn up soon enough.

Cracking photo that - exactly what I needed for eventual bogie work. Been looking for ages. The brackets have been a subject of much of my thoughts for this bash - I think besides giving the bogie frames more length, slapping those on will be the biggest improvement to the Tri-ang frames and should make them look the part... I'll attach them to the underframe a la Hornby 86 Zebedees. Morgan

This is the kind of input I live for; thanks a bunch. I was hoping to use Triang bogies since they loosely look the part; I've seen Hymek bogies used before by an infamous former member of the forum and it's very clever. I'm inexperienced in building and detailing bogies at the moment though, so I'll stick with working on the Triang ones when I find some. For the basic representation that I'm going for, they'll do as a starting point. I purchased a pair of ringfield Hymeks fairly recently at a toyfair for cheap, that had been outfitted with Ultrascale wheels. The idea of swapping things over was certainly present, though they're too nice to break up... Morgan

Receiving notifications about responses only to see folks still debating what bogies Dublo fitted is rather flummoxing. I'd prefer if the topic of conversation in my thread was about the modelling (Even it is a bit Heath Robinson) at hand. Show us yours', tell how you did it; it's an uncommon subject is the AL2, so would be nice to get folks involved in cutting up these things. Thank you for the corrections of course - OP edited to reflect this. With other projects and jobs getting out of the way, I'll soon find myself having the time to fettle this thing further. I've decided to indeed cut out the entire roof panel as suggested earlier; it's an easier job than cutting and filing away the existing poor mouldings, and the screw threads beneath will no longer be necessary owing to a new chassis being built (eventually..) with the Hornby 86 chassis I'm very familiar with being used as guidance. I've procured some brass strip and tubes to begin putting together a basic mechanism - first time doing so! - and will be on the hunt for a pair of Triang dummy bogies so I can cut off and detail the frames later. Pantograph I'm hoping will be a Marklin 7219 or similar. Along with it's similar offerings, it's a bit cheaper and more readily available than a Bachmann 85 pan and, let's be honest, probably better quality too - the Bachmann ones I've come into contact with all seemed a bit dodgy to me. The greatly welcomed MMRS Christmas show at the Sudgen sports centre is this coming weekend - 9-10 Dec - so provided I can make it, I may pop down to see what ingredients I can procure. It's always a good turn out and there'll be a pair of hoovers working a tour into the nearby station an' all. A grand day out, kids are free entry so you'll have a few extra quid to spend on trains... not affiliated, just recommending the local show. Thinking about it, I may be able to cast the sideframes in Milliput with the help of Bluestuff. It managed to replicate a 1/700 Type 1936 (Mob) hull rather well last year amongst other things. Morgan

I feared this would be the case but considering the filing done already and the new plan to build a new chassis, I may as break out the razor saw again...

Impatience growing, I have gone ahead and added B-side vents. Again, very basic and rough representations. I've done it now because I realised I'd be wasting time filling and sanding the entire bodyside - with these on, work is saved! Starting to look like an 82, now. Mr Dissolved Putty applied once more; a scrap piece of card becoming a helpful scraper to keep things neat, flat and minimise sanding. I've also gone ahead and got the yellow sprayed on; I use Vauxhall Mustard Yellow from Halfords for all my warning panels and ends - coverage is excellent with a white undercoat and I think the colour looks ''right''... See also another Metro-Vick masterpiece having received the same treatment; this being one of the aforementioned repaint commissions that have been keeping me otherwise occupied. It's headed into BR blue, being formerly green. The roof is next and I haven't a clue where to start on it. Debating cutting out the entire panel and making new, or just leaving it as is and adding new detail where truly necessary. References shall be studied. Morgan