TonyK

Thanks for the reply. It sounds worth a try. However, just got back from walking the dog and I was wondering if it is feasible to replace the bottom doors with lead; shave the top detail off the doors and stick it to the lead. Two ideas to try. Thanks again. TonyK

Hi I've been building 3 of these and thought that they were really good. The small details were awkward for my eyesight but worth it. They assembled squarely with no problem. The only difficulty I can see is how to provide any weight without hiding it under a load if you want to run them empty. Any ideas? Thanks in advance. Tony K

Thanks to both of you it's exactly what's needed, I don't think you can have too much information. Thanks again. Tony K

Hello I hope you all had a great Christmas but with responsibilities behind me I have got an opportunity to play again for a while until the boss extends my list again. I am building a couple of kits that I have hanging around for a while. These are an LNER Diagram 327 Thompson Brake Van and a Kirk kit 8842 Gresley brake van. The instructions for these are very sparse on the underframes. Each kit comes with two battery boxes. However in comparison the Bachmann Thompson has four, two each side, which is correct? If two is correct then if I am looking at the lookout side are the battery boxes (and the dynamo) on the near side or the far side; also would the dynamo then be left or right. I've tried googling this but the images are pretty dark and indistinct around the underframes. Thanks in advance for any information and a happy New Year to everyone. Tony K

Hi I've bought this magazine for years now by getting it through my local model shop and until relatively have not had a problem. However getting an issue with the DVD is becoming increasingly difficult. It seems that if I go to the local supermarket I can get one which hopefully attracts new readers but if I stay with my model shop and am a regular buyer then I can't. It doesn't seem to make senses that there are two different packing lines to do this. Anyway in the magazine there is a page where I can send for the DVD so I tried it and it didn't work! Where next?

Thank-you to everyone for your replies and the information supplied. At the moment most of my mainstream stuff is packed away as we are hoping to move soon but the German kitmaster are still out so I have still got something to play with. I have not been able to find any other models at exhibitions or on eBay that match my budget so I have probably decided on a different tack. I maybe be condemned for sacralige but if I can find some decent side on photos then it may be possible to kitbash the other types from the Kitmaster kits. As it looks easier I planning to start with the composite and keep looking for one more German kit and the older Jouef coaches and Revell kits for the French train. If people are interested I will report progress here but it will be slow because my workrate is not rapid and with a house move in progress I'm sure the boss will keep me distracted. Thanks again for the interest shown TonyK

Thanks for the replies. Firstly for the German train it seems that Fleischmann and Roco have or still produce these coaches. The pictures of these show the Roco coaches in what appears to be older boxes which may be available relatively cheaply. I have also seen another manufacturer has produced these, it may be Bemo or Brawa? But these are beautifully detailed and expensive which is probably overkill for my needs. It apears that I need a 2nd/baggage and a 1st/2nd to complete the rake. Would the baggage be at one end out of the way and would the compo be near the middle to line up with the station buildings on the through stations? A suitable loco may be the german "warship" v200? Class or the 218 series in wine red maybe. Further thought needs to be given to the French train but I like the idea of one of their B_B diesels (like the one Playcraft made when I was a kid but with a better drive). Thanks again TonyK

Hi all I have recently come by the kitmaster German 2nd class coach (3off) and the French 1st class coach (2off). The question is has there ever been available suitable coaches to make reasonable rakes, say 5 or 6 matching coaches, at a similar level of detail and at budget prices. These are well away from my normal areas of interest and I would like to have them as just "fun" trains for a bit of light relief. Also what would be a suitable loco for each of these trains. Thanks in advance for any advice. Tony K

Thanks for all the replies. It seems that I have got the slots in the right place so I have carried on assembling them. I got four of these kits from my uncle's estate plus one that he had made so I thought it would be nice to finish them. However on all four kits the valves (parts 60 and61) were incompletely moulded and were just stubs so I will have to make them from bits of wire etc or see if I can salvage any bits from the ones I made when I was a kid. As mentioned above they were wonderful kits and still look good today, I have just fitted metal wheels and bearings and some weights, three pennies in each hopper. Just smoothing out the silo seams and they will be ready for painting although looking at photos the welding was a bit rough and the joints are quite visible. Just a couple of questions: Kylestrome - where did you get the transfers from they look really good And secondly how were these used, ie in block trains or small numbers, as I would like to use them on a layout set in the East Midlands. Thanks for the interest. Tony

I don't know if it's just me but I always seem to get the tops on wrong. If it's of any use I think that this is correct

I've managed to convert the ready to run tender to the 3500gal version. 3slices out of the body to preserve the rivets and 2 slices from the chassis to shorten the wheelbase. I've still to finish the chassis and weather the loco. A drawing is available in the RM Jan 1966. Not as good as a Brassmasters but a lot cheaper. I used the older Mainline/Tender as I wanted to fit a flush sided tender to my long firebox Jubilee. I'm also cutting down the newer tender to fit another one as these seemed to be quite common on ex Midland lines.

I'm very slowly building an outdoor test track and have had a couple of Peco points down for two years which are worked manually. The blade hold over springs have corroded but they still work as the friction in their movement seems to have increased. Tony