GeoffAlan

I think this is spot on. Given many Southern lines had weight limits on the low side, Bulleid had to keep the weight down, so leading to relatively poor adhesion.

It all depends on the crowd funder. Revolution have several projects under their belts. DJM fewer. N gauge Society have several under their belts, which required a deposit and full payment on delivery. None of the successful ones took 8 yrs!

2011 Dapol announce n gauge class 142. 2019 first models on sale. Both Dapol and Graham Farish announce J72, Dapol cancels fairly quickly, over 4 years later GF follow suit. That's no way to treat potential customers. I have no idea if the same thing happens in 00 but this sort of thing happens regularly in N gauge.

I feel that Hornby, and other manufacturers have got what they deserve. If you don't own the means of of production, merely commissioning runs from a factory in China, then you can't complain when someone else does the same. As an N gauge modeller I'm unlikely to ever buy a Hornby product but I do wish them well having started with a 2nd hand Hornby Clockwork 0 gauge set before moving on to Hornby Dublo as I got older, I owe the old Hornby for introducing me to the enjoyment of 60+yrs of playing trains. However the market has moved on from a factory building solely for its owner and nobody else, to production on the other side of the world with firms making items for any manufacturer. I have currently on order a Hattons N gauge LMS Garratt and two Hunslett diesel shunters from the N Gauge Society. That's the way production is going, neither would be likely to be made by the N gauge manufacturers [the 148 scale equivalents to Hornby]. Added to this, Crowd Funding has been with us for several years and seems to work at least as well as Hornby et al in producing what the buyer wants.

I've done it with N gauge code 80. Wet the whole thing under the tap as a lubricant.

I think this is the crux of the matter. My 9 yr old grandson is mad about trains, he would love his own layout, although his home circumstances make that difficult given the number of dogs they have. If he could have a layout then it would need to be fairly robust, not because he would be careless, but so it would survive the attentions of dogs and his little sister. I model in N gauge and have a medium sized home layout. When I buy stock I buy for looks and serviceability. If I were in the 00 market I'd apply the same criteria. It is a big ask for a company to cater for both markets and it seems Hornby has, at least in the past tried to do this. Some posters have mentioned the demographic, into which I most certainly fit, of old guys that represent the spending power in the higher end railway market. I suspect that the same criteria applies to potential purchasers of the 1/24th scale F6F. Any firm trying to cater for me and a 9 yr old deserves my sympathy. I do hope Hornby get the balance right. I was a customer many years ago, but unless they choose to re-enter the N gauge market, my only purchases from Hornby will be for my grandson.

Yes, I have them all from UM. They also make a D11 and D16, which I have. Other than the J94, only really in general use post WWII, and the long out of production J69, which even for 1975 [when I bought two] were woeful, the LNER modeller has no tank loco. Manufacturers say GWR sells, which, given the availability of other areas is no surprise. How many different Pannier tank model types are there on the market?

I may not have been clear, and I do know that the retailers don't take the money until they have the items. But I've had a sizeable chunk of cash ear-marked in my account for many months, nay years, for these J72s. As a North Eastern modeller the announcement was most welcome, now all I have is a sour taste in my mouth. Why do manufacturers announce items then wait years to cancel, or even produce rolling stock. IF all they are doing with an announcement is testing the potential market, then a lesson from crowdfunding, or the N gauge society would be to say you are thinking of producing an item and, at a later date, announce whether the response was sufficient to go ahead.

I'm not surprised that they've cancelled the J72. Bitterly disappointed? Yes! Feeling let down and ignored? That too! The J72 hasn't got any smaller since it was announced. So was it a cynical announcement to see off the Dapol offering, which was cancelled PDQ? Or simple incompetence? I think it was both, and feel very upset and let down by the firm. I had three on pre-order, I'll not be buying anything GF that's not in stock again.

I last bought a 'Hornby' product in the late 1970s IIRC, and that was 'Hornby-Minitrix'. As an N gauge modeller since 1976 I am not catered for by Hornby. That said, I'd be sorry to see them go, my first 'model.railway' was Hornby 0 gauge tinplate, second hand with two identical 0-4-0 locos, one marked LNER, my mother's company*, and the other LMS, [Boo! Hiss!]. At 5 I got a Hornby-Dublo set mounted on two boards. I owe them a lot as they got me into playing trains railway modelling, something that over 65 years has proved to be a relaxing, if expensive, hobby. I'd be gutted to see them close forever. *She was a goods booking clerk who had her office destroyed by a 'lone raider' on the day she was off work.

I'd be inclined to use duct tape to seal off all the gaps to stop water, wasps, ants and other unwanted things getting behind the dry wall. From the outside it will appear to be an ordinary, usable garage door. Unless the council are invited into the garage they'll know no better.

An update after a week of intensive running on my Kato layout Sunnisyde. Appearance, I'm sure it's not 100% accurate, but to me, in Northern Spirit livery, it looks right. Performance, It runs well either flat out or at a crawl over my pointwork [#6, #4 points and the scissors].

I'd like to be able to hide the rhs blogs etc.

Great for GWR modellers. I too crave an LNER N of almost any type.

I'm sorry to be yet another complainer, but.... In order of issues. 1. It's way too bright, a bit of colour on the borders would help. 2. And this was nearly 1. The topics have too much in the descriptors, making scrolling down far more often than I've experienced on any other forum, and I've been a forum user for over 20 yrs. Could the teaser be dropped and the font size reduced so more topics appear at one time? As is it's difficult to use on a large PC screen and a waste of time on a tablet or phone. Sorry to be so negative, I love this forum, but not the shadow of its former self it is at the moment.