Wright writes.....

[micklner]

Tony

 

Quote

 

"Your work and ingenuity never ceases to amaze me, Mick,

 

Yet, with that amount of ability, I'm surprised you employ it on such poor starting points (though the transformations are outstanding). Would it not be better to simply build a metal kit? 

 

As I've done with these.................................... Some more LB V2s."

 

 

As you mention V2's in particular, where is this 'mystical" metal actually available ? From your list of models above you have, the only one that is maybe currently available , I believe  is the very old NuCast kit , I have no idea if it is still available ? a Internet search failed to show any for sale. 

 

 NuCast were and still are in most cases, models of a 20/30 plus year old standard , all white metal bodies and a basic etched chassis , most do not have etched cabs or other etched parts enhancements such as Tender sides . Where is the advantage in building these metal kits other than haulage ? , certainly not in some cases, the actual appearance of the kit when built. To me appearance, is far more important than pulling power alone. If there was a current standard etched kit of a V2 ,then I would consider one to build, but there are none that I know of ?.

 

As it is when Bachmann actually produce a complete current standard r.t.r V2 example I may buy another one , at the rapid increasing prices being asked ,It would have to be very good for me to now even consider buying one . The same problem with the pending new Bachmann  J72  , my current Bachmann ones are a bit  noisy ,but still work well and look reasonable. No real incentive to buy again.

 

As to choosing items to build/own my view is very simple. If I like the loco or any type of kit I actually need or would like , and I then think its buildable , the  price is right , it is an interesting challenge, then I will have a go.

 

e.g I am at the moment repairing a wreck of a Hornby J50 which had been dropped, ripping the footplate off a dire attempt had been made to repair it, this was  sourced via eBay for a reasonable price , the Body  is now repaired and has been repainted due to amount of filled repairs, the  detail is superb ,far better than anything moulded in whitemetal could ever achieve. Hornby have filled it with metal side castings and chassis and it is very heavy as a result. I used  the same method of obtaining  virtually all of my Hornby Pacifics via eBay,  they were bought as spares repairs and rebuilt and painted if needed. Not only do you save a lot of money, you still do actual modelling as well.

 Another item I have on the go is a 3d printed NER railcar, this the first time I have used  this medium. Detail is very good, and I have to scratch build a simple chassis for it,  a good challenge and something a bit different . It weighs virtually nothing ,but it will only have to pull itself when built.

[Jesse Sim]

8 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Considered by many to be Gresley's finest locomotive, I've had a bit of a trawl through my photo archives to find some model shots of V2s............................

 

 

 

Farish produce an N Gauge V2 (does it still have solid wheels?), which probably isn't that bad, though the valve gear looks a bit 'armoured' to me. 

 

 

Bachmann has had a V2 in OO its catalogue for many years. This one has the old split-chassis (which splits) and it's the old-style (and rather inaccurate) body. The complex livery is well-applied, though. I can't decide which of the industry-standard couplings is worse - the N Gauge or the OO Gauge respectively! 

 

 

Friend, David West, must have thought the original Bachmann V2 worthy of doing some work on. This one still has the original chassis, and he's made a nice job of detailing it and weathering it. 

 

 

I did a similar job of detailing/weathering the body on a Bachmann V2, but couldn't 'live' with the poor chassis, so built a Comet substitute. 

 

 

Eventually, I couldn't live with the body-limitations either, and thus put a Graeme King V2 body on top of the ready-made chassis.

 

 

Which Geoff Haynes then painted (as the same loco) perfectly. I then sold the original body for a fiver!

 

 

Now with a much better RTR chassis, the Bachmann V2 is improved beyond comparison with the original. However, despite Tom Foster's brilliant weathering, I still couldn't live with the body limitations (despite fitting a new dome), so I gave this one away to a friend. 

 

Obviously, the original Bachmann V2 was considered good enough to see service on The Gresley Beat...............

 

 

 

And very natural they look, too. This one has been repainted.

 

 

I was so impressed with the Graeme King resin V2, that I made another; again making a Comet chassis for it. 

 

However, my preference is still for making metal kits.

 

 

Here's an old Nu-Cast one I made earlier this year (currently being painted by Geoff Haynes). I made a Comet chassis for this as well (did anyone ever get the original white metal lump of a chassis to work?). 

 

 

It goes with my 40 year old original Nu-Cast V2; I scratch-built a chassis for this one. 

 

 

Bern Mundy of the East Beds Club also built a Nu-Cast V2, putting it on to a brass chassis. I bought it off him, fitted a replacement DJH motor/gearbox combo for the old Romford Bulldog, and cheerfully sold it for a profit to The Green Howards. I hope it's still working well, Andy. 

 

 

Crownline (now PDK) produced a pretty good V2, which I built some time ago.

 

However, I'm not a particular fan of resin boilers...................

 

 

So, for this one, I substituted a metal boiler - spare from a part-wrecked ancient Nu-Cast one, which I bought for a song. Ian Rathbone painted both these Crownline V2s for me. 

 

The old Jamieson V2 still makes into a reasonable representation of the class.

 

 

Especially when painted by Geoff Haynes. I made this for service on Grantham, and it saw use during the LB LNER weekend last year. However, I've now sold it on. 

 

In O Gauge, nobody scratch-builds locos for everyday use as well as Barrie Walls.

 

 

Doesn't this look good? 

 

 

Finally, is this the most 'notorious V2 kit? Alan Hammet built this Pro-Scale example, and it saw service on Stoke Summit and Charwelton, before being sold to Gilbert Barnatt for use on Peterborough North. Except, it was no use, because it had a D13 motor, which is incompatible with DCC. I part-dismantled the chassis and fitted a DCC-friendly unit, installing the chip at the same time. 

 

What do others think of V2s? 

 

I wonder how many models are out there of them? May we see some, please? 

 

 

 

Tony, on the subject of V2’s, I have three Bachmann split chassis locomotives, I was thinking of buying three of the Bachmann BR V2s and placing the old LNER body on top of the new chassis, would that work? 

[nerron]

Jesse, Why not wait for the new Bachmann V2 with the revised body?  You are young enough to be still alive when it finally appears!

[Jesse Sim]

2 hours ago, nerron said:

Jesse, Why not wait for the new Bachmann V2 with the revised body?  You are young enough to be still alive when it finally appears!

Of course I’ll wait for them, but I could have four V2’s instead of one! 

[davidw]

29 minutes ago, Jesse Sim said:

Of course I’ll wait for them, but I could have four V2’s instead of one! 

A new chassis LNER version was produced. It can be made to fit.

Edited August 4, 2019 by davidw

[micklner]

7 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

Tony, on the subject of V2’s, I have three Bachmann split chassis locomotives, I was thinking of buying three of the Bachmann BR V2s and placing the old LNER body on top of the new chassis, would that work? 

You need the LNER version  otherwise you have to repaint all the wheels and line them too. The old body is a straight fit onto the new chassis, as far as I can remember !!

[Tony Wright]

10 hours ago, Theakerr said:

One of my two Bachmann V2s. Both split chassis, both running after at least 15 years, both will pull like the real thing after a bit of weight added, lightly weathered, coaled, crew added and that horrible bogie cartazi truck unit with the daylight gap replaced.   

To have two Bachmann V2s, with split chassis, running (well?) after 15 years means (in my book) you're very fortunate. Only last week I had to replace the plastic muff in the rear drivers of one, after it turned its rods into an impression of metal spaghetti! 

 

Whenever I do my loco-doctoring (at home or at shows) there's always an example or two of split-chassis locos brought - and they've split! 

 

Even if the Bachmann V2s are still running, I cannot reconcile the facts of the too-fat boiler, too bulbous smokebox door, daft dome and a dead straight top to the firebox. In BR green, the real 60800 seemed to have lost her worksplates from the cabsides (where did they go?). Well done for changing the Cartazzi truck, though.

 

No doubt the new Bachmann V2 body will be superb (to complement the excellent new chassis) but it puzzles me how some folk can accept the originals on their 'accurate' layouts.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Paul Cram]

Brassmasters do the Finney V2. It is expensive but good.

[grahame]

1 hour ago, Jesse Sim said:

Of course I’ll wait for them, but I could have four V2’s instead of one! 

 

Do you need four, do you just want four quickly or is a matter of being a tight old git about money before your time?

;-)

G

[Jesse Sim]

36 minutes ago, micklner said:

You need the LNER version  otherwise you have to repaint all the wheels and line them too. The old body is a straight fit onto the new chassis, as far as I can remember !!

Didn’t think of that, it could be done still, may have to think on it 

[Tony Wright]

10 hours ago, micklner said:

Tony

 

Quote

 

"Your work and ingenuity never ceases to amaze me, Mick,

 

Yet, with that amount of ability, I'm surprised you employ it on such poor starting points (though the transformations are outstanding). Would it not be better to simply build a metal kit? 

 

As I've done with these.................................... Some more LB V2s."

 

 

As you mention V2's in particular, where is this 'mystical" metal actually available ? From your list of models above you have, the only one that is maybe currently available , I believe  is the very old NuCast kit , I have no idea if it is still available ? a Internet search failed to show any for sale. 

 

 NuCast were and still are in most cases, models of a 20/30 plus year old standard , all white metal bodies and a basic etched chassis , most do not have etched cabs or other etched parts enhancements such as Tender sides . Where is the advantage in building these metal kits other than haulage ? , certainly not in some cases, the actual appearance of the kit when built. To me appearance, is far more important than pulling power alone. If there was a current standard etched kit of a V2 ,then I would consider one to build, but there are none that I know of ?.

 

As it is when Bachmann actually produce a complete current standard r.t.r V2 example I may buy another one , at the rapid increasing prices being asked ,It would have to be very good for me to now even consider buying one . The same problem with the pending new Bachmann  J72  , my current Bachmann ones are a bit  noisy ,but still work well and look reasonable. No real incentive to buy again.

 

As to choosing items to build/own my view is very simple. If I like the loco or any type of kit I actually need or would like , and I then think its buildable , the  price is right , it is an interesting challenge, then I will have a go.

 

e.g I am at the moment repairing a wreck of a Hornby J50 which had been dropped, ripping the footplate off a dire attempt had been made to repair it, this was  sourced via eBay for a reasonable price , the Body  is now repaired and has been repainted due to amount of filled repairs, the  detail is superb ,far better than anything moulded in whitemetal could ever achieve. Hornby have filled it with metal side castings and chassis and it is very heavy as a result. I used  the same method of obtaining  virtually all of my Hornby Pacifics via eBay,  they were bought as spares repairs and rebuilt and painted if needed. Not only do you save a lot of money, you still do actual modelling as well.

 Another item I have on the go is a 3d printed NER railcar, this the first time I have used  this medium. Detail is very good, and I have to scratch build a simple chassis for it,  a good challenge and something a bit different . It weighs virtually nothing ,but it will only have to pull itself when built.

Thanks Mick,

 

As far as I'm aware, the ex-Crownline V2 is available from PDK. It has a resin boiler (which I dislike), but the rest of the kit is etched brass, with a well-detailed chassis. 

 

The Nu-Cast V2 shown in a previous post has a DMR etched tender (I should have mentioned that). You mention Nu-Cast kits as being '20/30 plus year old standard'. What 'standard' is a much-less-old Bachmann V2? And, as for 'appearance' (forget the added benefit of much-greater haulage ability), I'd rate a Nu-Cast V2's looks far more than a Bachmann V2's looks.  

 

 

Built near-on 40 years ago (before I knew any professional painters) from a Nu-Cast kit. Scratch-built chassis, sable-brush-painted and transfer lining. Yes, I agree, it's a bit 'chunky by today's standards. 

 

 

But, as a 'layout' loco, hauling a (heavy) 'layout' train (all kit-built)?

 

 

It's certainly less 'chunky' than this current Bachmann V2 (look at the cabside thickness!), even though Tom Foster's beautiful weathering and a replacement dome are present. The approaching A2 is modified Bachmann, by the way. 

 

 

And this view highlights the Bachmann V2's too-fat boiler, too bulbous smokebox door, flat top to the firebox, battleship handrails and the chunkiness of the plastic all round (even though it's on a Comet chassis).

 

 Jamieson V2 kits appear from time to time, and there's always a Comet set of frames to replace any 'basic' V2 chassis. 

 

There's always the Brassmasters/Finney V2 (thanks Paul, for mentioning that). 

 

I state again, I'm astonished at the superb standards of your models, 'in spite' of some of their origins. It's just that I wouldn't start to make a V2 from a Bachmann V2, that's all.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited August 4, 2019 by Tony Wright
to include a thank you

[Tony Wright]

8 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

Tony, on the subject of V2’s, I have three Bachmann split chassis locomotives, I was thinking of buying three of the Bachmann BR V2s and placing the old LNER body on top of the new chassis, would that work? 

As others have suggested, Jesse, it could work.

 

However, I don't know; though the new Bachmann B1 chassis fits the original body.

 

It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation, I think. The latest (and excellent) Bachmann V2 chassis obviously fits the old-style body. So (one assumes?), when it's available (when?????), the much-improved body will fit the much-improved chassis without modification. Or will it?

 

It might be worth (as Mick has suggested) waiting for the full LNER-painted new chassis. 

 

I'll tell you what (and I'm sure Steve won't mind), when you come over in the autumn, I'll give you that part-built Jamieson V2 he gave me. Then you can build a 'proper' V2. How's that? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Woodcock29]

Hello Tony

I built this Bristol Models V2 in 1978.

It was my first kit with outside Walschaerts valve gear. Bristol Models didn't supply cylinders or valve gear so I used old Triang Britannia cylinders originally and Ks P2 valve gear which was available separately. Later on I replaced the cylinders with NuCast cylinders and also fitted a NuCast chimney. I think the boiler is a bit too narrow at the front end - the opposite to the Bachmann body! Also the boiler handrails and vacuum ejector pipe are a bit too low- this was dictated by the position of the superheater header covers. The lettering and lining is mostly the old Kingsprint with some hand lining.

I don’t run it very often. At one stage I planned to rebuild it with a NuCast boiler that I got as a spare but other priorities prevented this - particularly my growing interest in pre-grouping locos and coaching stock.

Regards

Andrew

Edited August 4, 2019 by Woodcock29
typos

[Tony Wright]

16 minutes ago, Woodcock29 said:

Hello Tony

I built this Bristol Models V2 in 1978.

It was my first kit with outside Walschaerts valve gear. Bristol Models didn't supply cylinders or valve gear so I used old Triang Britannia cylinders originally and Ks P2 valve gear which was available separately. Later on I replaced the cylinders with NuCast cylinders and also fitted a NuCast chimney. I think the boiler is a bit too narrow at the front end - the opposite to the Bachmann body! Also the boiler handrails and vacuum ejector pipe are a bit too low- this was dictated by the position of the superheater header covers. The lettering and lining is mostly the old Kingsprint with some hand lining.

I don’t run it very often. At one stage I planned to rebuild it with a NuCast boiler that I got as a spare but other priorities prevented this - particularly my growing interest in pre-grouping locos and coaching stock.

Regards

Andrew

Over 40 years old, Andrew!

 

And still better than the current RTR equivalent.

 

Great stuff!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited August 4, 2019 by Tony Wright
typo error

[Jesse Sim]

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

As others have suggested, Jesse, it could work.

 

However, I don't know; though the new Bachmann B1 chassis fits the original body.

 

It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation, I think. The latest (and excellent) Bachmann V2 chassis obviously fits the old-style body. So (one assumes?), when it's available (when?????), the much-improved body will fit the much-improved chassis without modification. Or will it?

 

It might be worth (as Mick has suggested) waiting for the full LNER-painted new chassis. 

 

I'll tell you what (and I'm sure Steve won't mind), when you come over in the autumn, I'll give you that part-built Jamieson V2 he gave me. Then you can build a 'proper' V2. How's that? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

I will definitely wait for the new LNER V2, maybe down the years I could just build a chassis for the old Bachmann Body’s. Shame to waste them. 

 

Wow Tony, thankyou, what is left to do on it? Maybe I could knock it up whilst I’m there? 

“Do as I say and not what I do”, weren’t they your words....

 

I will be in touch over the next weeks on confirmation about my trip aswell, thanks again for the accomodation, 5 stars Wright’s Towers get! 

[rowanj]

This V2 is a Graeme King resin body on an original Bachmann chassis. As 60850 it is a New England loco, and highly unlikely to be seen at my prototype, Little Benton. It was among the last to be given a General and turned out in lined-black livery, and among the first to be withdrawn from Doncaster. At some point it will be renumbered to a Heaton loco. Like , a few others, I seem to have been fortunate with the split-chassis continuing to run well enough.

 

Until the Bachmann re-issue appears, Graeme's body on a modern Bachmann chassis is the best way to get a V2, in my view,

[micklner]

6 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Thanks Mick,

 

As far as I'm aware, the ex-Crownline V2 is available from PDK. It has a resin boiler (which I dislike), but the rest of the kit is etched brass, with a well-detailed chassis. 

 

The Nu-Cast V2 shown in a previous post has a DMR etched tender (I should have mentioned that). You mention Nu-Cast kits as being '20/30 plus year old standard'. What 'standard' is a much-less-old Bachmann V2? And, as for 'appearance' (forget the added benefit of much-greater haulage ability), I'd rate a Nu-Cast V2's looks far more than a Bachmann V2's looks.  

 

 

Built near-on 40 years ago (before I knew any professional painters) from a Nu-Cast kit. Scratch-built chassis, sable-brush-painted and transfer lining. Yes, I agree, it's a bit 'chunky by today's standards. 

 

 

But, as a 'layout' loco, hauling a (heavy) 'layout' train (all kit-built)?

 

 

It's certainly less 'chunky' than this current Bachmann V2 (look at the cabside thickness!), even though Tom Foster's beautiful weathering and a replacement dome are present. The approaching A2 is modified Bachmann, by the way. 

 

 

And this view highlights the Bachmann V2's too-fat boiler, too bulbous smokebox door, flat top to the firebox, battleship handrails and the chunkiness of the plastic all round (even though it's on a Comet chassis).

 

 Jamieson V2 kits appear from time to time, and there's always a Comet set of frames to replace any 'basic' V2 chassis. 

 

There's always the Brassmasters/Finney V2 (thanks Paul, for mentioning that). 

 

I state again, I'm astonished at the superb standards of your models, 'in spite' of some of their origins. It's just that I wouldn't start to make a V2 from a Bachmann V2, that's all.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Yes good points, I would never defend the Bachmann version it is simply horrid in all departments, the new chassis is better but still has a enormous expansion link ( why?) , perhaps I should have put a file to add the slight angle on top of the firebox at the time, too late now. Other than that I have never noticed anything wrong with boiler diameter, and the difference appears slight to me. IMHO.  I see no advantage to the Nucast version cosmetically whatsoever , other than the firebox angle. 

 

One other chassis not mentioned so far is the Branchlines version , of which I have read good reviews .

 

I had also forgot the Brassmasters version but at £245 without wheels , motor etc = no chance for me , would it go around anything other than scale curves either ? I remember a build of the A4 version that wouldn't go around anything , that was on here a few years ago.

 

PDK version (again forgotten) ? after the hassle I had with their A1/1 I am in no rush to try any again  ( another curves problem). At  £123 it still comes out at about £200 or more  before building as well.

 

Horses for courses !! Cheers !!

Edited August 4, 2019 by micklner

[Tony Wright]

5 hours ago, rowanj said:

This V2 is a Graeme King resin body on an original Bachmann chassis. As 60850 it is a New England loco, and highly unlikely to be seen at my prototype, Little Benton. It was among the last to be given a General and turned out in lined-black livery, and among the first to be withdrawn from Doncaster. At some point it will be renumbered to a Heaton loco. Like , a few others, I seem to have been fortunate with the split-chassis continuing to run well enough.

 

Until the Bachmann re-issue appears, Graeme's body on a modern Bachmann chassis is the best way to get a V2, in my view,

'Until the Bachmann re-issue appears, Graeme's body on a modern Bachmann chassis is the best way to get a V2, in my view,'

 

I think you're right, John,

 

Though I'm still not sure about RTR chassis, new or otherwise. 

 

 

I'm more than happy with my King/Comet combinations to produce a decent V2 (even with a signal protruding from its chimney!). I painted/weathered this example.

 

 

I think they're even better with a professional paint finish (in this case by Geoff Haynes). 

 

 

I think the Crownline (now PDK) version turns out all right as well, especially if the likes of Ian Rathbone paints it (though I'm not entirely convinced of the cabside/windows proportions).

 

As Graeme King has observed, the different renditions of 4mm V2s is quite astonishing.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[glo41f]

V2's are one of the best proportioned locos on the east coast route. They also have small splashers hidden below the running plate which I have only seen modelled by Barrie Walls. Have any of the 4mm ones seen here have them?  (Barrie is still fine but his mobility is not as good as it was before he had the stroke. He is still an avid operator and Wallsea see regular sessions.) Barrie also purchased a San Cheng V2 which he reckoned was a good replica and certainly value for money.

 

I just wish that the proposal to transfer some to the GE actually happened but then we would not have got my beloved Brits! on the line!

 

I once was tasked with selling some EM gauge items for a late friends family. It was a difficult task and the models (all scratch built  to a very good standard) never achieved much in resale value. The same applies to P4 where an ex GE E4 class  made from brass was eventually sold for £15. In the resale game it pays to be mainstream it seems.

 

Martin Long

 

 

[gr.king]

The Thompsonised Great Northern had similar eye-brow type part-splashers under the running plate, as did several other types whose running plates were above the wheel tops, with the frame tops lower down, and frequently the bottom of the (fat) boiler lower too. The features are rarely visible in photographs as the area under the running plate is usually dark. Inboard of the flat section of the running plate, further plating sloped downwards towards the tops of the main frames and the wheel tops were in the way, hence the splasher shapes were necessary in the sloping plates. At least one of the models of Great Northern that I completed included a representation of those splashers.

[Northmoor]

Re: Sales prices for OO vs. EM/P4/S4, surely this is simply a function of supply and demand and even simpler maths. 

Of all the households with a model railway or train set, I would guess over 98% is OO.  Of the remainder, about 90% will be N, O or HO.  That leaves less than 0.2% divided between all other finescale or specialist scales, or about one in 500 model railway customers.  Of course if you are EM, P4 won't appeal to you or vice versa.  Then consider that a good proportion of finescale modellers are interested in quite niche prototypes, e.g pre-Grouping NER etc., so that 1 in 500 might now be 1 in 10000.........

[jamie92208]

When a group of us had to dispose of a friends large collection of models there were quite a few EM gauge ones among them.   The locos were sold for quite decent prices through contacts in the EM Gauge society.  However the rolling stock was much more difficult to dispose of.  Even though much of it was converted RTR 00 stuff people wouldn't buy it.   We even resorted to taking the wheelsets out and selling the wagons for, IIRC 50p and the coaches for £1, this was to club members.  Even then most members were reluctant to buy them even though they only needed new wheelsets.

 

Jamie

[Tony Wright]

52 minutes ago, glo41f said:

V2's are one of the best proportioned locos on the east coast route. They also have small splashers hidden below the running plate which I have only seen modelled by Barrie Walls. Have any of the 4mm ones seen here have them?  (Barrie is still fine but his mobility is not as good as it was before he had the stroke. He is still an avid operator and Wallsea see regular sessions.) Barrie also purchased a San Cheng V2 which he reckoned was a good replica and certainly value for money.

 

I just wish that the proposal to transfer some to the GE actually happened but then we would not have got my beloved Brits! on the line!

 

I once was tasked with selling some EM gauge items for a late friends family. It was a difficult task and the models (all scratch built  to a very good standard) never achieved much in resale value. The same applies to P4 where an ex GE E4 class  made from brass was eventually sold for £15. In the resale game it pays to be mainstream it seems.

 

Martin Long

 

 

Martin,

 

The Crownline V2 actually has the tiny, internal splashers present. It's just that they're all but invisible from most viewing angles. 

 

The V2s, being RA9, were always too heavy for the ex-GE main line. It's not always mentioned, but they're actually heavier than a GWR 'King'! However, had the route allowed, they might have been the perfect tool. They were certainly more powerful than the 'Brits'. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

42 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Re: Sales prices for OO vs. EM/P4/S4, surely this is simply a function of supply and demand and even simpler maths. 

Of all the households with a model railway or train set, I would guess over 98% is OO.  Of the remainder, about 90% will be N, O or HO.  That leaves less than 0.2% divided between all other finescale or specialist scales, or about one in 500 model railway customers.  Of course if you are EM, P4 won't appeal to you or vice versa.  Then consider that a good proportion of finescale modellers are interested in quite niche prototypes, e.g pre-Grouping NER etc., so that 1 in 500 might now be 1 in 10000.........

'Re: Sales prices for OO vs. EM/P4/S4, surely this is simply a function of supply and demand and even simpler maths.'

 

Though I've always struggled with 'hard sums', I think you're right. 

 

I also think one of the main reasons why OO is more easily sold-on than EM or P4 is that both the finer and finest gauges attract actual modellers. Modellers who actually model - make things for themselves. Why should they pay for something built by someone else when they can make it for themselves? 

 

If, as you guess, 98% of model railways are OO, I'd say at least 90% of that percentage is made up of RTR/RTP systems. Thus, when stuff comes up for sale, it'll be the OO material which is the most 'desirable.' Not only that, unaltered OO stuff. I've been astonished at the times when much-improved RTR OO models I've had for sale reach a lower price than those unaltered. ' You've changed the couplings. That's no good to me!' is one frequent bleat. 

 

As a sort of empirical 'proof' regarding OO's 'popularity', in my days as a professional model builder, what must have been 99% of my output was in OO (I just built a few locos in EM; never in P4 - not skilled enough. Plus a few in O Gauge). Almost without exception, I built locos (in OO) which weren't available RTR. In the beginning (near-30 years ago) there were far more types to choose from to build, and even if any equivalent loco was available RTR, it was usually a dud; so, I built a kit instead. Though I no longer build professionally (except for mates, at mates' rates, including a current GWR 517 Class in EM!), such is the quality of more modern RTR locos and stock that the need to kit-build has diminished immensely; except that I still prefer that way. 

 

When John Houlden's currently on-loan locos and stock for Retford come up for sale, I'll be narrow-gauging the lot. For obvious reasons!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited August 4, 2019 by Tony Wright
to clarify a point

[Tony Wright]

Returning to the theme of internal splashers on V2 models....................................

 

 

It's only from an elevated view that they can be seen (just).