sjp23480

268kwh for us in April, which is the highest month since the system was installed at the end of August last year. Consumption was 330kwh We had to import 133kwh (@£0.35/kwh) or £46.55, and exported 86kwh (@£0.04/kwh) or £3.44. Our 3kwh battery discharged 113kwh and self use was 83 kwh - so a saving of £103.60 or £3.45 per day - very close to @hayfieldprojection. Steve

I have a small selection of these frame spacers. PM me if you want them. Free to a good home

Hence why dealers pay so little for collections. If this was your only source of income the volume of transactions needed to make a decent living is frightening.

Double furst from the univursity of liff

So, these two kits were sold this evening. The WD 2-8-0 (with wheels and motor) went for £82.51 plus P&P. Someone got a bargain! The WD 2-10-0 (also with wheels) went for £213.88 plus P&P. These kits have always been more popular than the 2-8-0. So, for an estimated outlay of ~£150, they got a return of ~£296, less 10% ebay/paypal fees so ~£267. So a £117 profit or 78% margin on the sale of the two items. Steve

My wife is equally supportive, frequently telling me to : "go away and do some modelling!". 🤔

@MattR looks good to me

@hayfield, I guess it comes down to affordability? If you have the capital to invest in a system and do not anticipate needing or wanting access to those funds. Then solar could be evaluated as an investment. I am of the opinion that doing a return on investment calculation is a better measure of value. So what is the return on your investment of £2688? Given your payback projection of six years, you must be seeing a return of >15% per annum? As investments go, that is pretty much unbeatable. Any environmental benefits are a bonus. Steve

I note the challenges of finding 1:76 ship models. These are not ferries, but the saleroom has a couple of 1:87 resin ship models that might be useful: https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/special-auction-services/catalogue-id-srspe10544/lot-046c19ed-7614-45f8-8206-afdc00d209d7 https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/special-auction-services/catalogue-id-srspe10544/lot-cd0e8ae6-3b7a-470b-861f-afdc00d20851

Most national charities' shops are commercially run. As I understand it, all donations are graded: 1. Items with no/negligible value are sold to dealers by weight for recycling: books for pulp, clothes for rags, etc..... 2. Items with any potential value and siphoned off and marketed to maximise their value. I believe some charities run eBay shops to do this. 3. Everything in between is sold via the shops. If it remains unsold for a few weeks is then regraded as 1 and sold off for recycling Whilst some sortation still happens at the point of donation, so some things slip through. The larger charities have sortation centres so you are much less likely to find "valuable" bargains. I suspect the smaller, local charities which are less commercial are a more likely source of bargains? Steve

I don't recall exactly, but around £15 I believe. Steve

@hayfield like any auction, there are unloved bargains to be had from time to time. I picked up a DJH Standard class 3 2-6-2T for <£70 including postage on TheSaleroom.com. Partially started, 80% of the parts loose in the box, no guarantee of completeness and a poor picture. Luckily (unusual for me), it was complete, with wheels, motor and gearbox and a small selection of the previous owners tools that were thrown in for good measure (jeweller's screwdrivers and needle files). Mine was the only bid at the starting price. I guess it was my lucky day. In the case of this auction, it was clearly publicised and attracted more bidders - which is a good thing for the seller and is (i suggest) the role of the auction house to try to realise as much money as possible. By contrast, another concurrent auction had one lot consisting two unstarted DJH WD kits (a 2-8-0 and a 2-10-0). Complete kits with wheels. They went went for £100 (for both). So probably £150 when you add buyers premium and p&p. I believe both kits have now appeared on ebay. So it will be interesting to see how much they realise: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314526877046?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=UVfbf5dpTV-&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=saSnTyIOQLy&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314526877046?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=UVfbf5dpTV-&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=saSnTyIOQLy&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Steve

I am reminded of another RMWeb thread on the value of models. Yet there are many instances of RMWebbers "paying it forward" with offers of help, spares and surplus items.

So much for the chap who was going to use his £20k collection to fund his retirement!

I agree, it feels a bit belt and braces given the body is such a secure clip fit to the body. To use the buffers are retainers is wholly unnecessary. Also the need set up with the headcode lighting panel is such a faff - the wiring feels very vulnerable and having to unclip/clip the panels in whilst the body/chassis are detached is a bit nerve wracking. They must be a nightmare for the factory to assemble?

@M1AYM thanks for the steer. I have two Claytons, one seems fine and up to Heljan's normal quality whilst the other has a bit more noise from one of the gear towers than I would like. Haven't yet had the courage to take it apart in the hope that someone might have a couple of pictures to post to help me figure it out!

John, I agree and made a similar comment earlier in the thread. The way I see it, our politicians are pinning their hopes on lowering/lowered energy prices, restoring the status quo and removing the energy subsidy. Steve

I recently purchased Heljan's D8600 - rather dismayed to hear of other's trials and tribulations with this particular model. I am keen to take preventative steps described by may posters above to extend the longevity of the motor. Having taken the body off I am now rather nervous about going any further dismantling, as it all looks a bit tricky. With regard to to lubricating the gear box towers and adjusting the thrust washer - would anyone have any pictures illustrating the dismantling and the specific components that need to be tweaked? I appreciate the earlier descriptions of the process, but a picture paints a thousand words. Many thanks Steve

Me too, I had my eye on some Dapol 22s. IIRC there were 3 identical lots with the same pair of locos: 6100 and 6112. They went for £110-£120 per lot, so £60 per loco. When you add the 35% fees/VAT and £15-£20 p&p the cost soon racks up. ~£180 per pair is fair value for money.

Thanks all for the replies, didn't realise the significance of the blue stars. My two (8600 and 8612) will run as a pair and I can redeploy the driver (well his top half at least) to another loco. Steve

I have a pair of Heljan Class 17s, which invariable ran as pairs. Does each loco needing a crew, or were both locos controlled from the cab in the lead engine? Sorry if this has been asked before, but I did try a search but couldn't find anything. Thank you, Steve

For me, its when shop staff laugh when I ask them if they want my proof of age when buying alcohol. I've just turned 57. Customer service is not what it was when I was under 25!😒

Only one there at the moment: £89.99 + £9.50 p&p. From the same seller as the O4s, again advertised as unopened. Says it has wheels on the box and one piece boiler and smoke box - so must be an older kit, the one I recently bought has separate castings? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354705144536?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=1G1r6ZW_SoC&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=saSnTyIOQLy&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Tony, Sometimes it pays to ask a few specific questions or for more pictures - it is usually a good litmus test of the seller's integrity and credentials. Most sellers will oblige. They offer a 14 day refund, buyer pays return postage and paying via Paypal provides additional protection, although it can take time to process a disputed payment. Take a look at their other items - this seller has over 380 model railway related items for sale - so clearly a specialist, the other listings appear to have much better pictures than for these kits - but they may not want to open them, as noted above. They have over 880 followers which is a good sign. Finally, review their feedback is 100% on 73,000 items sold since 2000 when the account was registered. Lots of very positive comments. On the balance of probabilities, these add up to this being a good seller. Steve

Tony, I see a Little Engines O4/8 (and an O4/7) have appeared on ebay this week (both starting with bids of £89.99. 04/8: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354704950758?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=1G1r6ZW_SoC&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=saSnTyIOQLy&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY O4/7 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354705182947?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=1G1r6ZW_SoC&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=saSnTyIOQLy&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY That should push the prices up - I wonder if I can get commission? Steve