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The Hornby catalogue influence


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For Tri-ang catalogues, it has to be the Cuneo paintings - my favourite was of a Bulleid pacific c1962.

 

For Hornby-Dublo, it was the inside picture of a large set-up layout - all track and tight curves. Wonderful! Think my favourite was c1959 - it had a painting of the original blue Deltic on the cover.

 

All from a more innocent age; well for me anyway.....

 

Regards,

Peter

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Yes great memories, to the point that I hjave started to collect them and even fill in the gaps, thanks to eBay.

 

The annual catalogue - always announced at the Twickenham MRS exhibition was a must have and then a rush to see what I should be building that year. - Nothing much has changed really! - Other than now I look at the images and know I can do better!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 years later...

As a 7 year old in 77, I would pour over the 77 catalogue, marveling at the HST on the front cover. Even back then though, I felt like the alpine scenery was out of place... at least for this Croydon lad. The 78 Catalogue that followed was in stark contrast, but I really liked the product photo's, especially their bleak nature, with the painted illustrated version of the loco below. Its this same artwork that was replicated on the rear of the Large train set boxes.

 

There was one photo of a kid looking through a Model Shop window... Even then, I was quite bemused by the fact that in the rear of the shot was a huge billboard for cigarettes!

 

Swanley.jpg

 

It was a real Model shop, but sadly, its now an open all hours mini mart...

 

You can see here, a few angles of the old bakery that is still a bakery

 

Finding it was just a process of elimination, as the creative agency that did many of the catalogues were based in Swanley Kent, and knowing creatives as I do, they do their up most best to find what they need close to home if they can get away with it... and clearly in this case, they did. 

Chances are, its a local lad in that pic...I wonder if he was that enthusiastic about the hobby in real life...?

 

Swanley_1.JPG

 

Swanley_2.JPG

 

But my all time fave image from that catalogue was this one....

 

CoachLights.jpg

 

It just dragged me in, and as a result, you would often find me ignoring the 6x4 layout in the garage until it started to get dark...

 

If you go to my blog, you will see straight away how much that image stayed with me as I planned the garden railway... (www.craigsgardenrailway.blogspot.com)

 

79 carried on the bleak looking photography, with stark scenics. But I guess they really raised the bar with the 1980 issue. SUddenly, Hornby looked just like some of the cooler layouts I would salivate over whenever there was an exhibition at Croydon's Fairfield halls...

 

81, was an even broader departure, and Ticket To Ride was just so multi layered, that I never tired (and still don't) of flicking through its pages... There was also a lot of new product in those two years and Zero 1 was gaining momentum.

 

As a side note, I wonder how much impact or influence a young SImon Kohler may have had at that part of his tenure in Margate...

 

Needless to say, I feel that those few years were the golden era of the brand's annual publication. 82 was ok, and 83 and 84 just seemed a little tired by then, and by 85 I was out of the hobby and enjoying other pursuits ;)

 

Its also worth noting that Hornby were given a bit of a run for their money by the chaps up in Coalville, Leicester. Mainline looked not only great on the packed shelves in Beatties, but also on the page, and their photography really picked out the detail in their superior models (sorry Hornby).

 

I also loved the Airfix GMR issues, and as soon as I saw the Inter City St Pancras to Sheffield I knew I had to have it, despite the fact that whoever took the image clearly couldn't be bothered to use all four coaches...

 

I must have absorbed all of the catalogues to the point of distraction. Technically, you & I were that kid telephoning the local model shop, asking him if he knew the R503 signal box... Happy days

 

The TV adverts were also a great event, with Mr Cribbens and his many adventures still fresh in our minds (and for those of us that kept the How to care for your Hornby flexi disc) & ears.

 

But do you remember the old Palitoy Mainline Adverts?

 

No, me neither... but whilst researching for a feature film I'm developing, I set about trying to find the best possible source for old Palitoy adverts, specifically for Action Man. 5 years of rooting around, dead ends and false leads left me doomed to cruddy you tube videos, until one day, I managed to locate the original 35mm film reels for the adverts I was looking for... and 105 others, all from Palitoy, including Mainline... I subsequently had them all cleaned (the film stock was old and not in good shape), and we ran it through a Telecine and remastered it all at 2K rez. Apologies for our watermark but we don't want anyone to use them elsewhere...

 

http://vimeopro.com/palitoy/palitoy-for-the-boys/video/81531911

http://vimeopro.com/palitoy/palitoy-for-the-boys/video/81531910

http://vimeopro.com/palitoy/palitoy-for-the-boys/video/81531909

 

Moving on, dont forget that beatties also released quite a catalogue every year, with all the RTR stock they carried. Nothing flashy or creative. A functional affair, but still great to browse. 

 

Now, at 44, I find myself enjoying the hobby again, but I do look at all the recent batch of Hornby catalogues, and its very hard to distinguish one from the other. In terms of the creative, they all look like they are cut from the same cloth. The layout, format and style are identical. Its not just Hornby... Bachmann are guilty of the same. Maybe guilty is too strong a word... but you know what I mean. Its all so "samey". Its a point I have wanted to raise on the occasions this year I have found myself working closely with the boys & girls at Margate. But we are often pushed for time, and we end up chatting about the job in hand. 

 

I would love to see a break from the current format, but I'm also very aware that the catalogues now define the brand and must remain consistent in appearance... so I guess I'm very glad that I managed to keep not only the catalogues that I loved as a kid, but also many others that I have found over the years... as a collector of toys, they are a valuable resource, and a happy distraction when you need to just switch of, and open the pages to a much simpler time....

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Used to pour through the pages of a Hornby Catalogue for hours. It was well thumbed through the year. Still have most of them and buy them faithfully each year.The latest ones although being very professional are a bit bland and boring. Hopefully now that marketing has been changed at Hornby we might get something different next year.

 

Favourites

1973 with Oliver Cromwell leaving Paddington on the cover. Fantastic layout on first two pages.it had the new black 5 with crimson and cream stock featured. I used to wonder where all these tracks went to and designed my own layouts on paper. Pure inspiration

 

1974 with layouts from the new 3rd edition of the track plans book. The book itself (I was desperate to get it) didn't appear until 1975 by which time many of the items in it had been discontinued, including the R408 turntable. As a result they had to produce the 4th edition with necessary modifications the next year.

 

1980 the one with the APT. One layout featured. All locos were taken on the layout. Again inspiring, I went out and bought Woodland Scenics ballast and ballasted my layout because of the layout featured in catalogue.

 

Other inspirations

 

Mainline original 1977 catalogue . The trains just looked so detailed. They had track plans in it too and a layout that I think used Prototype models card kits.

 

Mainline 1979 catalogue with red Jubilee on front. Train consists included

 

Airfix 1978 catalogue some nice scenes

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Old Hornby catalogs do feature stuff that to me are very interesting and yet I've never seen mention in mags or forum & even eBay . One item I saw was a foam version of their track mat and expanded into three sections which you could have a couple of loops ,a terminus , a couple of sidings including a section for engine house plus a yard for a few coaches or wagons R697 was the model number

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I asked this question some time ago without any conclusive reply, but as several years have passed and more people have joined the forum I'll take this opportunity to raise the point again.

 

Can anyone explain why the Cuneo painting on the 1963 catalogue http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/2800404213_fdaf86a617.jpg represents a Class 40 crossing the Royal Albert Bridge? - an occurrence that at the time I don't suppose anyone would have dreamed of actually happening.

 

The only reason that occurs to me is that Triang might have had a plan - abandoned before it was made public -  to produce both a D200 and a Grange and wanted a scene representing both. But I'm not really convinced by my own hypothesis. For one thing, did Triang ever commission Cuneo to do their cover paintings, or did they use existing ones?

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dana - 1979 catalogue - 3 part expanded foam board. Few were sold and do come up on ebay with many bids. Think last one went for £70 ish but a while back. Since production moved to China and the catalogue remains printed here, no models of new items are available for real photos so for me the cat. is far impoverished compaired to years past. Give me photos of what I am actually buying !

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I asked this question some time ago without any conclusive reply, but as several years have passed and more people have joined the forum I'll take this opportunity to raise the point again.

 

Can anyone explain why the Cuneo painting on the 1963 catalogue http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/2800404213_fdaf86a617.jpg represents a Class 40 crossing the Royal Albert Bridge? - an occurrence that at the time I don't suppose anyone would have dreamed of actually happening.

 

The only reason that occurs to me is that Triang might have had a plan - abandoned before it was made public -  to produce both a D200 and a Grange and wanted a scene representing both. But I'm not really convinced by my own hypothesis. For one thing, did Triang ever commission Cuneo to do their cover paintings, or did they use existing ones?

 

Some of the Cuneo paintings used on the Catalogues were already in existence.

 

Some were from British Railways Posters, amongst these are the Condor ("Night Freight"), Britannia loco leaving Paddington ("Forging Ahead").

 

There was a B.R Commissioned painting for a Poster celebrating the centenary of the Royal Albert Bridge. This is NOT the Tri-ang Catalogue cover you mention.

 

Some others, including the "Evening Star"  and "Flying Scotsman" at "Halfway" on the ECML were painted as private commissions.

 

It seems that some covers were commissioned by Rovex.

 

1962 Locos at Nine Elms shed.

 

1965 Rocket and Class 31.NOT a Cuneo painting, though in a similar style.

 

1965 Al1 and Jinty (Amalgamation Leaflet used existing artwork for 1966 catalogue)

 

1966 Al1 and Jinty at Crewe

 

1967 M7 Loco at Stratford Shed.

 

More research to do here......

 

EDITED to correct wrong assumptions!

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After further research into our book and catalogue collection, including a book by Terrence Cuneo, "The Art of Hornby" by Richard Lines, Pat Hammonds "History of Rovex" books, the following has come to light...

 

Tri-ang and Hornby Catalogues and Terrence Cuneo.

 

Terrence Cuneo, the famous painter, was approached by Rovex to paint the cover of the 1962 Catalogue in November 1960.

The company had been inspired by the covers of the "Hornby Book of Trains" painted by famous artists of the time.

 

1962. Locomotives at Nine Elms Depot. painted November 1960.  Includes Re-built "Merchant Navy" 35026 "Lamport and Holt Line" and BR Standard 73000 "730xx" (Number unreadable.)

Rovex Commission.

 

1963. Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash. Class 4 Diesel and GWR "Grange" 4-6-0 at Saltash Station.

Cuneo also painted a B.R. Poster to celebrate the centenary of the bridge from a different viewpoint. It is possible that earlier studies for the B.R. poster may have been used for the Rovex painting.

Rovex Commission.

 

1964. A painting, artist unknown, of the Tri-ang Railways "Blue Pullman" crossing a Minic Motorways level crossing with a Minic Jaguar in the foreground, and proposed Model Land buildings in the background.

 

1965. A painting, artist unknown, in the style of Cuneo, of the "Rocket" with a Brush Type 2 Diesel on an elevated concrete viaduct.

 

1965 "Amalgamation"  Leaflet. This used the artwork produced for the 1966 Catalogue cover.

 

1966. "Voltage versus Steam". Al1 electric loco alongside "Jinty" 47338. Painted November 1964. The headcode on the electric loco,  1K64 signifies "Express Passenger, Crewe. The 64 is 1964. Sketches taken from an overbridge at the eastern end of the Depot Yard at Crewe.

The catalogue gives the painting title as "Night Scene at Crewe".

Rovex Commission.

 

1967. "Southern Tank". M7 30245 at Stratford Depot, East London, where the loco was stored pending preservation at the Clapham Museum. Sketched in B.R, livery, Cuneo painted the loco in Southern Railway Green Livery as No. 245.

Rovex Commission.

(Also used for an "Arrow" Jig-saw. Another Lines Group Company.)

 

1968 - 1969 Various Covers. Not by Cuneo.

 

1970. "Express Engines at Tysley". LMS "Jubilee" 5993 "Kolhapur" and GWR "Castle" 7025 "Clun Castle" at Tysley Depot (Birmingham Railway Museum).

Possibly commissioned to illustrate the "New Famous Company" Liveries.

Rovex Commission.

 

1971. "Evening Star". Sketched at Southall Depot. Painted October1963.

The painting shows the loco on a goods train working.

Private Commission.

Painting reproduced by Rovex "by permission of Mr. John S. Haworth."

 

1972. "Night Freight". The "Condor" Express Freight train. Taken from a B.R. Poster, by permission of British Rail.

B.R. Commission.

 

1973. "Forging Ahead".BR Standard 7P 6F 70000 "Britannia" leaving Paddington. A BR Blue EX GWR "King" Class 4-6-0 in the background. Taken from a B.R. Poster, by permission of British Rail.

B.R. Commission.

 

1974. "The Lickey Incline". LMS "Jubilee" 5993 "Kolhapur" climbing the Lickey Incline near Bromsgrove. Painted in June 1968.

Possibly a Private Commission.

 

1975-1992 Various Covers. Not by Cuneo.

 

1993. "The Flying Scotsman - Halfway Between Edinburgh and London". LNER A3 4472 "Flying Scotsman" on the East Coast main Line at the "Half Way" marker sign. A LNWR Train is alongside. Painted in December 1975 for Sir William McAlpineBt., the then owner of the locomotive.

Private Commission.

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I found this one on a bookshelf when I started playing with my railway again:

 

HornbyBookOfTrains.jpg

 

Then, when going through some boxes from storage a month or so ago I came across a few catalogues.  Must get round to scanning some bits to share if Lima allowed on this thread!

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I found this one on a bookshelf when I started playing with my railway again:

 

HornbyBookOfTrains.jpg Ltd.

 

Then, when going through some boxes from storage a month or so ago I came across a few catalogues.  Must get round to scanning some bits to share if Lima allowed on this thread!

 

 

That's the "Tri-ang Hornby Book of Trains" from 1968. It didn't have quite the success of the various Hornby Book(s) of Trains (Meccano Ltd. Liverpool Hornby).

It remained a one-off until the "Hornby Book of Trains" (Margate Hornby)  in 1979.

 

Both books used a similar format from the original Hornby books, that of having Prototype features as well as coverage of the models made by the company.

 

The 1968 book has the prototype features in black and white, with the section on Tri-ang Hornby (as well as illustrations of a wide selection of all the models made from 1952-1968) in colour sandwiched in the centre.

 

The 1979 book, a large format Hardback, has a whole lot of history of Tri-ang Hornby, and features on manufacturing etc., as well as prototype features in both colour and black and white, all mixed together.

 

Both books are well worth having, along with "The Art of Hornby", "Hornby The Official Illustrated History", "Tri-ang Railways - The First Ten Years" (Published in 1962), and Pat Hammonds 3-volume History of Rovex (New Cavendish).

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dana - 1979 catalogue - 3 part expanded foam board. Few were sold and do come up on ebay with many bids. Think last one went for £70 ish but a while back. Since production moved to China and the catalogue remains printed here, no models of new items are available for real photos so for me the cat. is far impoverished compaired to years past. Give me photos of what I am actually buying !

The 3 part pre-formed layout is actually vac-formed - I know, because I have one. BTW I think the main reason that pre-production models no longer appear in the catalogue is that these days, until the first EP samples are made, there are no physical prototypes as the tooling is made from CAD/CAM images.

 

The 1979 Hornby Book of Trains includes a fascinating article about how models were (then) designed, and the photos include the hand made prototype for the R352 Western Courier in unpainted form. It was that actual model that was (in painted form) included in the 1979 catalogue. These days, that stage would be entirely bypassed. 

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For me the early Triang catalogues where the models are hand painted are wonderful. The artist was/is very talented. I believe her name was Maggie Smith although my memory might be letting me down.

 

Also I agree about the latest Hornsby catalogues - they look great but lack inspiration IMHO.

 

Best

 

Paddy

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Hope reproducing these is permitted.  They are scans of the original Hornby & Lima catalogues, so copyright is no doubt with them.

 

First the outside of a Hornby publication.  this folds out to about A1 or A2 so regrettably I haven't been able to scan the innards, although I think I may be able to by scanning it as A3 and stitching it together in Paint:

 

Hornby1.jpg

 

Although we had a ride on an APT (my father worked for the railways and they used staff an family as guinea pigs) we didn't buy this set.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered someone at work was a railway fan and had one of the sets which he lent to me to give it a gallop and a bit of a service:

 

IMG_1900.JPG

 

I love laying down an impromptu track in the garden:

 

IMG_1902.JPG

 

Then some of the Lima stuff:

 

Lima1.jpg

 

Dads have obviously updated a bit, although they still wear a tie to play trains with their sons:

 

Lima2.jpg

 

I always found the strong European influence in Lima publications a bit odd:

 

Lima3.jpg

 

I think this catalogue must have been from about the same time.  Railway Civil Engineers weren't paid a lot so much of what I had back in the late '70s/early '80s was second hand.  I did get new locomotives (Hornby King Class and Pannier tank) for Christmas and birthday, but the stock is a great mix of old and new Lima, Hornby & Triang inherited from older cousins and the son of my Dad's ultimate boss who is now a Peer with the same name as a railway timetable.

 

The publication was (as Bill Bailey has it about the Argos Catalogue) the book of dreams:

 

Lima4.jpg

 

They were pretty proud of their authenticity:

 

Lima5.jpg

 

There were handy guides to building up an authentic consist.  I can scan the versions for other companies if anyone is interested:

 

Lima6.jpg

 

And finally how to put it all together:

 

Lima7.jpg

 

Again I find it very funny how there is BR Blue and Private owner stock travelling through a plainly Alpine landscape!

 

And finally I hadn't consciously attempted to replicate a Horny ad when The Small Controller was trying on his new School uniform on a day we had the railway out, but here it is:

 

ThumbaCam_2013-09-27_21-06-54.jpg

 

Just a pity I was behind the camera rather than behind him pointing things out with my pipe!

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Worked out the way to stitch together the contents of this catalogue:

 

Hornby1.jpg

 

First of all the kiddies' stuff.  Is it any coincidence that the child here is wearing what appears to be a Canaries jersey & my railway-obsessed cousins were from Norfolk?  I also inherited their clothes, I don't know whether you can imagine the teasing I got for wearing a washed-out 1970s Canaries jersey in early '80s Oxfordshire:

 

Hornby2.jpg

 

Everyone can select those extra presents.  They could, but I got mainly handkerchiefs and hand-knitted jerseys:

 

Hornby3.jpg

 

And finally the offerings inside.  I find it very amusing that the little locomotive in R.535 is still available in starter sets:

 

Hornby4.jpg

 

I needed to get hold of a brake van a couple of years ago to make up a Christmas train.  There was no time for mail order and the only way I could get one was to buy a set with the little locomotive, a goods van, a seven-plank PO wagon and the van.  I was pleased with how it ended up, as long as Father Christmas waving from the van and a nativity scene on a Crocodile isn't too blasphemous:

 

IMG_2307.JPG

 

Funny thing is TSC loves the little wagon which he calls Number 104 (for that is on the cab side) as it was his first ever locomotive of his own.  It does prodigious feats such as pulling a train made up of two sets of Dapol spine wagons, a Railroad car transporter and a few GWR Colletts...

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I asked this question some time ago without any conclusive reply, but as several years have passed and more people have joined the forum I'll take this opportunity to raise the point again.

 

Can anyone explain why the Cuneo painting on the 1963 catalogue http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/2800404213_fdaf86a617.jpg represents a Class 40 crossing the Royal Albert Bridge? - an occurrence that at the time I don't suppose anyone would have dreamed of actually happening.

 

The only reason that occurs to me is that Triang might have had a plan - abandoned before it was made public -  to produce both a D200 and a Grange and wanted a scene representing both. But I'm not really convinced by my own hypothesis. For one thing, did Triang ever commission Cuneo to do their cover paintings, or did they use existing ones?

Reading this, I wonder if it was actually a mistake? Most catalogues depict the current range or even more likely items due to be introduced around the time the catalogue is released.

It would seem that the Class 40 would be a most unlikely candidate for Ti-ang's 1st radius curves, with its 4 axle bogies. So maybe it was supposed to be a Class 37, for which a model was released in 1965. The 37 would be far more at home crossing the RAB than a Class 40.

 

Similarly, the Grange could have been changed to a Hall, by the time the GWR 4-6-0 was released in 1966. Of course, the argument could be raised that one GWR 4-6-0 is the same as the next!).

Certainly, the take over of Hornby could have delayed the introduction of both the Class 37 & Hall models.

 

Ones thing for sure, that since Cuneo is long dead, we aren't going to find out from him.

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Straying a bit off topic, here are the books Dad must have picked up when building the layout which became Wallington-Super-Mare.  They are extra precious as i can see which examples he made note alongside in planning ours.

 

This one is great.  In one section entitled The Desirable Maximum it notes that  the largest practical home railway would be something between 14' x 8' and 20' x 12' (if only!) as "any private layout has to be maintained in good working order by one man".  Note only men can maintain them!

 

Peco%2520Track%2520Plans.jpg

 

Here's another.  Only a slim pamphlet as no DCC to worry about!

 

Peco%2520Starting%2520Out.jpg

 

This one is the real techy dream.  Best bit of this is the fabulous pictures of '60s & '70s furniture & how people built their railways to fit with a sort of Festival of Britain aesthetic.

 

PSL1.jpg

 

And finally this.  Published by Woolworth's/Woolco it i one in a massive series of hobbies to be tried including Adventures in Weaving  and How to be a Little Mother yet despite being another slim pamphlet it suggests projects like scratchbuilding buildings and making white metal kit locomotives!

 

Project%2520Book%2520198.jpg

 

I reckon along with a copy of John Ahern's works these would do me well!

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Straying a bit off topic, here are the books Dad must have picked up when building the layout which became Wallington-Super-Mare.  They are extra precious as i can see which examples he made note alongside in planning ours.

 

This one is great.  In one section entitled The Desirable Maximum it notes that  the largest practical home railway would be something between 14' x 8' and 20' x 12' (if only!) as "any private layout has to be maintained in good working order by one man".  Note only men can maintain them!

 

Peco%2520Track%2520Plans.jpg

 

Here's another.  Only a slim pamphlet as no DCC to worry about!

 

Peco%2520Starting%2520Out.jpg

 

This one is the real techy dream.  Best bit of this is the fabulous pictures of '60s & '70s furniture & how people built their railways to fit with a sort of Festival of Britain aesthetic.

 

PSL1.jpg

 

And finally this.  Published by Woolworth's/Woolco it i one in a massive series of hobbies to be tried including Adventures in Weaving  and How to be a Little Mother yet despite being another slim pamphlet it suggests projects like scratchbuilding buildings and making white metal kit locomotives!

 

Project%2520Book%2520198.jpg

 

I reckon along with a copy of John Ahern's works these would do me well!

I have the track plans book in the first picture - same second edition - but mine was only 17p!! Looks like they reprinted it but put a white square over the original price to cover it up (there is no white square on mine, just the price in white like the rest of the text).

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> SNIPPED

 

"any private layout has to be maintained in good working order by one man".  Note only men can maintain them!

 

>SNIPPED

 

And finally this.  Published by Woolworth's/Woolco it i one in a massive series of hobbies to be tried including Adventures in Weaving  and How to be a Little Mother yet despite being another slim pamphlet it suggests projects like scratchbuilding buildings and making white metal kit locomotives!

 

Project%2520Book%2520198.jpg

 

I reckon along with a copy of John Ahern's works these would do me well!

 

 

Yes, in those days the model press was a bit male centred! ;)

 

PECO was C.J. Freezer then......

 

I seem to remember that the "Project Book" series was originally something to do with the Milk Marketing Board, as we had these at school....

 

Then they were re-published cheaply for Woolies I suppose....

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