brushman47544

Speaking of 50008, have you noticed that the right hand marker light in the headcode panel is non-standard (less opaque) and allows the light bulb behind to shine through more (at No 2 end only)? 50008 was like that from the early 80s and looking at the photos posted elsewhere today in the new HH livery it still is. Accurascale modelling that oddity in the Run 1 model would be a nice touch.

Hi David. J5920 is 47011

No..... without the radio pod on the roof please, and preferably with the original round crest too. I like it but already have the Hornby Laira Blue version (R3050) so couldn't justify that.

I wouldn't be so sure. Older tooling seems to last much longer in general then newer tooling. Look at how much use Hornby has made of some of the ex-Lima tooling - they may be more primitive in terms of detail but the models are still crisp. The same goes for the last run of Mk2Ds. No a reason not to retool though.

In my case being taken as a child to see both steam and diesel trains, it’s not a preference for BR liveries per say, rather a preference for authenticity - a preserved loco should only be painted in a livery consistent with its current state. So rebuilt Bullied Pacifics should only be in BR liveries etc.

Very interesting, Kevin. Until now I hadn't realised there no run round loop at Little Muddle, or have you missed a bit of track?

That looks like the previous Heljan model, not the new one.

My announcement email from Bachmann with a link to the video arrived in my inbox at 08.59 this (Monday) morning! Also includes an announcement about the newly updated Routemaster tooling - four RMs at this stage, three London Red and one Leicester Confidence Bus.

Accurascale have said on several occasions that they use more than one factory, so a delay to one model does not necessarily impact delivery of another. Have they said the 66 and 31 are being manufactured in the same factory?

I have long suspected that Heljan has a policy of going through a maximum number of iterations in making tooling changes at which point - presumably on cost grounds - no further substantive changes are made. So the accuracy of the final CAD and the ability of the toolmaker to turn that into an actual model is critical. As you say, some models are absolute crackers and other leave something to be desired. The will and the knowledge, with Ben, to get it right is clearly there, so there must be something we don’t know about that has a negative impact on the final versions of some models.

J7213 is 55021 Argyll & Sutherland Highlander and C3874 is 55012 Crepello

Love is a minestrone - 10CC

J2945 is interesting. Other than the fact the passengers would have had to put up with a DMU all the way from Reading to Birmingham (I'd simply wait for the next loco hauled train), it's the first time I've seen a Reading based Pressed Steel Class 117 unit with a fourth coach added - and a Met-Cam with non-suburban seating to boot.

J3702 is 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier

The line from Dieppe used to pass close to my aunt and uncle’s house near Gueures. In the late 60s there was still a goods train most days from Dieppe that went at least as far as Luneray. One day my cousin and I were offered a cab ride in what I suspect was a 63000 but we turned it down. We were only about 7 or 8 though.