Dai Davies

I saw Brian from Shawplan at York show. A few points, questions: He has a flying banana on his desk back at the ranch. He now has a Replica Collet 60' all 3rd. Is this the same as the Mainline or the Bachmann version? (I bought the Replica body at the show for £2.50p!!) I shall be sending him a Centenary or two in the near future, but I don't have any more body shells for Colletts. Volunteers? One area we discussed concerned ventilators. It would make his life easier and introductions faster if the ventilators were etched brass overlays applied to the Laserglaze window (this would not apply to the flying banana as the model is easier to work with). This is what he now does with his diesel introductions. Anyway, he is going to play around with the Replica bodyshell to see what is feasible. Are you OK with his ventilator approach? Let me know your thoughts, and I shall push on. Cheers, Dai Davies

Hi, FYI Laserglaze is already available for the B-sets and the Bachmann Toad. And they fit very nicely too! Edit. And also for the autocoach.

The reason I chose the Bachmann version was because this is still being produced and sold, so would be more commercially viable for Shawplan. When I reviewed my coaches, I have more Mainline in original condition than Bachmann:they are more prototypical.In the main, my Bachmann coaches have various Comet sides applied. I would be willing to forgive the window inaccuracy of the Bachmanns if Laserglaze were available for them.

If Shawplan were to introduce flush glazing for GWR stock, which would you buy? FWIW, my picks are Bachmann Collet 60' coaches, and Lima/Hornby flying banana. What's yours?

I totally agree with your last comment about the new Hornby 57' (and also other recent coaches, such as Hawksworths, porthole stock,etc). I just wish that Shawplan would bring out glazing for older coaching stock: Bachmann Colletts, GWR railcar, etc. I am sure there would be a big market for these retrofit exercises.

I wouldn't use the SE Flushglaze windows on your autocoach. I'd go for the Shawplan Lazerglase version instead: much better looking. If you're thinking of the A28 (not A30) diagram, then leave the windows as they are: the A28 windows were recessed in real life.

Auction fever?! Tempted to buy a few Bristolian sets, mark them up and sell them on (insert emoticon of your choice here), but ,no doubt, I'd make a loss!

Yep, Hornby do both in the new range. Make sure you buy the new range, not the old (which is still sold under the Railroad range, second hand,etc). The new range is excellent, and includes all 3rd, composite and brake thirds; but does not include restaurant car, full brake. You would expect to buy this range new, not second hand, and you would expect to pay £35-40 each plus postage. They come in GWR and BR colours (crimson/c ream). But to reiterate, you can make very good models from your kits, just make sure your rooves fit well! All the best.

You can buy a scriber from shows, model shops, Eileen's Emporium,etc; but any sharp pointed metal device will do - even scalpel blades, though they lose their sharpness very quickly! The aluminium sides do scribe pretty easily. Coming back to a few points others have been raising, eBay is as good a source as any for bits. The new Hornby coaches will probably knock the spots off anything that can be conjured up by normal people from kits. Your kits would be better for the earlier Collett 57' coaches where the sides weren't flushglazed.

These are the older versions if they have wooden rooves. That means they have different ends from the later ones. The later ones have metal rooves that fit over sides and ends, whereas the wooden ones fit over the sides but between the ends. In my experience, the wooden rooves are often a poor fit: warped, too thick at one end, etc. So I would look to see if another roof can be fettled to fit instead. Also, the older models don't have scribed doors,etc, so look at doing that before you assemble and paint. Re bogies,etc: you'll struggle to get 247 bogies, so I would look at Bachmann, Replica, Dapol bogies from b-sets, Collette, and others. Check whether you have the plastic windows frames and drop lights: I think you can get these from the current owners of the BSL range, Southern Coach Preservation Society or whatever they are called?

Well, I took the plunge and pulled out the existing wheels on their axles. Loco works fine, but had to rejig the brake rigging; and also remove some wheel arch plastic. Take care with this procedure: the plastic is quite thin thereabouts, and I managed to puncture it --- but not fatally! You could well see the outcome on Culm at ExpoEM North in a few weeks. Thanks for your help on this.

Yes, there is an extra benefit in modelling GWR locos - apart from 15xx and suchlike - regauging should be much easier!

Thanks for this: you've put me off 'simple regauging', and now I'll look at replacement. In the meantime, I shall clean up my EM 14xx and run that on the line!

Can anybody help on this please? I want to simply pull out the wheels on my 64xx on the current Bachmann axles to EM gauge. I am sure, however, that I read somewhere that this is not the easy solution as with other locos, and not to try it! So, I haven't! Have I dreamt this? Or is it true? Has anybody tried this approach on this loco, and can they give advice please? Thanks, Dai Davies