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1 hour ago, Atso said:

While I agree that there seems to be a smaller percentage of people who are willing to build for themselves, I'm not convinced it is all doom and gloom. At the risk of being controversial (and starting a new debate on the subject), I believe that The Great Model Railway Challenge has increased interest in railway modelling. While helping out with a layout on the exhibition circuit, I noticed an increase in attendance at the shows I was at; the increase in younger people was very noticeable. As I see it, this could well be the pathway to getting new blood into the hobby and this should be fun; getting youngsters serious about their modelling can come later.

 

I'm not convinced either that 3D printing should be seen as a worrying development. It is simple another tool/method to model building and, as with every method, it has its positive and negative points. As with most things, it is best used alongside another methods and materials. Personally speaking, I doubt I would have progressed to building these etched kits if I hadn't started dabbling with 3D printing first.

 

 

 

Fully agree Steve. I do think all this doom and gloom about the number of modellers who still make stuff is overblown. Go back to magazines of the 60s, 70s and 80s and they are full of layouts that were largely RTR, and not very good at that. The stuff we remember from earlier times is the good stuff, the rubbish is quietly forgotten. Its like those who argue that music from a particular period was much better than it is now - watch one of those old reruns of TOTP on BBC4 or Youtube and it soon becomes clear that no decade had a monopoly on rubbish!

 

I also fully agree about your point regarding 3D printing - its just another tool in the armory (albeit my inability to drive a computer means I'm reliant on others)  and should be used to complement other techniques, not replace them. Steve's 3D loco bodies will still require detailing and a chassis built using many more traditional techniques.

 

My recently completed Midland shed group for Bath is very much ‘old school’ utilising paper, card, ply, plastic sheet, PCB track etc. However, the water tank with its repetitive pattern of flanged, rivetted, fielded panels is a perfect example of where 3D printing comes into its own, offering a crisp, consistent finish which is far better than I could have achieved with more familiar methods. Steve did a fabulous job for me and Ive recently asked him if he could print me some 2mm tender axleboxes after the multi part etched ones defeated me!

 

The hobby has definitely changed over the years but I'm not convinced its any less creative - just different.

 

Jerry

 

1071990773_20190903_213956(2).jpg.514539597fc52171f1ecd667360a3511.jpg20190301_215458.jpg.65fe00c97c0d55963c20e612e75842d3.jpg

 

IMG_9854.JPG.b18fb435f10f3e217812992e7fe88e53.JPG

 

 

Edited by queensquare
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1 hour ago, john new said:

The debate also becomes a bit selective as to where is considered to be the cut off. My stock at the moment is mostly r-t-r, but I’ve scratch built the baseboards from components rather than buy a ready made baseboard kit. However, I didn’t turn the nuts and bolts from raw metal they came from Screwfix et al. Made from one of the new baseboard kits I’m sure they would have been much neater but my average DIY level wood bodging means these are mine. I’ve wired the layout from scratch but with bought in wire, switches and control gear not soldered those up from sources like MERG. The buildings to go on will be a mix of scratch built and some kits. 

 

This is all still application of crafting skills Into the current (small) layout build even if most of my track and rolling stock is bought in. I do have some simple rolling stock kits on the go, time will tell if they are acceptable for others to view.

 

It is application of modelling/crafting even if nowhere near the skill levels that went into that exquisite 2fs 9F.

Reading John's post has me thinking about my own layout and modelling.

 

Baseboards, timber from Wicks, they had an offer on which meant it was cheaper than B&Q and their chipboard came in 8ft by 4 ft sheets ideal for the main station boards. The baseboards were of a bespoke design, which not only included the track plan at the design stages but get at-ability into all corners, suitable height and clearance for the fat bald bloke to get around. So I had to bodge them myself.

 

Track, Peco. It is reliable, easy to lay, compatible with most RTR stock post 1970, a good variety of types of points, crossing and slips and readily available. Looks rubbish compared to some other track systems. I can build better looking track, but time wise and reliability wise.....Peco.

 

As I enjoy wiring, honest I do, there is loads of it because I am a DC operator.

 

Buildings and other structures are at the moment  mainly mock ups from card and paper. In the main they will be scratch built to fit the location and what I am trying to portray. This cannot be done with ready to plonk models in my mind. Saying that I have a Bachmann Scalescenes water tower that looks like it could be a GNR one so that is going to be used.

 

I don't like seeing the same figures on every layout so I will be making my own, not too many either. Again too many model stations are over populated and the people are in the wrong places . Most terminus stations have empty platforms for most of the day, they are only populated when a train is decanting or passengers are piling on, and that is all over in a short time.

 

Now we come to the bits that move. It will be a mixture of RTR, kits, conversions and scratchbuilt. There are a lot of reasonable looking and reliable working RTR locomotives, so why not use them to aid in the overall effect I am trying to recreate, on the other hand I do enjoy making my own locomotives so that will continue. Coaches, and DMUs, I have been having so much fun lately cutting and shutting RTR coaches to supplement the range of RTR ones I have. Some might question why do all these cut and shuts when there are very good kits or even just brass side overlays? Good question, I am sure I would enjoy making a kit or two, or even cutting an RTR donor coach to place an etched side on it. I enjoy working out how I am going to make a coach type and the coast of a secondhand coach, I have been buying them at £7.50 to £10, say to me "have a go matey". I do not envisage large amounts of freight stock, I do have a van train that arrives with the "perishables" for the local markets and that is a mixture of RTR, converted RTR and kits. I might scratchbuild some 21 ton Loco Coal wagons for the steam yard.

 

Now I do not consider where I have built my own stuff to be something special, it is a means of achieving what I want and thankfully having fun at the same time. Having fun is the special bit.

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15 hours ago, Coach bogie said:

I have really been intoxicated with everyone's loco builds. I finished the Pannier and, instead of going back to coaches, started another.

 

Did I stop there. Oh no. I bought a much reduced in price, Bachmann Earl for possible reuse of the power unit and tender. The boiler/cab arrangement comes off in one piece. I had another K's wreck so I did a 'quick fix' job and made the K's boiler fit. Not as easy as it sounds as the castings are very thick and needed reducing down to fit around the motor. Now watch Bachmann do the same, I assume this is what they had in mind when they designed the boiler to come off the way it does.

Very nice conversion.

 

 

I have given the same conversion a lot of thought over the past couple of years, (along with thinking about a similar approach drawing up a new boiler / firebox in CAD and 3d printing the replacement).  The main stumbling block for me has been sourcing a cheap Ks Bulldog to provided the boiler (cheap Bachmann Dukedog's seem to come around with a reasonable frequency), net result the price starts approaching that of a brass kit (sans wheels etc) which would give more modelling enjoyment.    Once Brent is more complete the need for Bulldogs will be more pressing and I will have to bite the bullet and get on with it, one way or another!)

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3D printing is an interesting one, because it is based on a skill set and equipment that is totally different to the hobby’s traditional kit building skills.  The making takes place on a computer screen and a 3D printer, you don’t need brass or solder or reamers....  the physical tasks involve moving a mouse, pressing keys and spooling filaments onto the printer!  In time, this will become much more common, as it is more attuned to the skills used by younger generations in their workplace.

 

Designing a locomotive body or water tank on a computer for 3D printing is more akin to kit designing, in my mind.  With a few keystrokes, the kit then assembles itself inside the 3D printer.  The labours of the designer can be easily passed on to others over the Internet, who can then print exactly the same thing off on their own printer at home, without having to design it themselves.

 

As the technology develops, in time it will provide an alternative to kit built chassis too.  The RAF can now print off jet fighter components in a field tent, so working components for us are surely not too far off.

 

Is all of this modelling?  Yes... but we must accept that what we associate as the traditional skills will not necessarily be needed any more!  Many trades have succumbed to monumental change through technology... look at photography for example.  I sold my enlarger and darkroom equipment years ago, and haven’t looked back!

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2 hours ago, jwealleans said:

Where we are with the hobby is to some extent a microcosm of society.   People don't tinker and make things at home because they don't make things at work  - getting the tools or lathe out isn't second nature to as many people as it used to be.  Opening a computer, however, very much is and I think that's where 3D printing, cutters and machines we haven't thought of yet are going to be the future of the hobby.    I want to make a building - I'll draw it on the computer and cut it out of plastikard, or send it off to be laser cut.    It's just a different skillset in the way Tony's generation didn't (often) have to cut outtheir own wheels or wind their own armatures.

Whilst this is undoubtedly true, it does have repercussions.

 

My day time job is as an architect .... looking at how this job has changed over the last 30 years is a case in point. Back in the day hand drafting was the name of the game - this included artistic representation and painting/colouring alongside technical drawing. It also included a fair amount of modelmaking ... both exploratory and for presentation.

 

Today everything tends to be done in digital format .... drawings are managed via keyboard and mouse, 3d representations are developed automatically from the data via the given software, rendering is 'created' by rendering packages rather than by painting. Modelling tends now to be a virtual skill (a 3d model on screen), and increasingly physical models are now 3d printed direct from the computer.

 

All of these activities certainly require high level skill sets and are highly creative and subjective .... but my point is that increasingly craft skill and the employment of the 'thinking hand' is no longer relevant. In this virtual world I do fear for the 'crafts' as it will become increasingly easy to let machines and the software take the strain - they are quicker and in most cases better. For someone who gains pleasure from 'physical' crafting (I just like making things :whistle: ), this is a sadness. There is an element of letting the baby out with the bathwater in all of this for me, as many of the psychological benefits and rewards of working with your hands are being lost.

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11 hours ago, jukebox said:

Tony,

 

I think it's human nature to fear the new / unknown / different / change. 

 

It *does* take courage to repaint or renumber an expensive model the first time, for fear of totally botching it.  And the 20th one you do will be better than the first - practice makes better, if not perfect.  Overcoming the prejudice that a less-than-perfectly-executed modified RTR loco is acceptable, nay, superior to one out of the box, is a theme of this thread that I applaud you for.  Few of us are going to ever be able to reach your stratospheric skills set when it comes to model construction (and you manage to admit your own limitations in your choice to barter off your painting chores!)

 

One of the best ways to overcome the fear of "failure" is to be guided by someone who can do so confidently, but not lordingly.  I've tackled challenges as out-of-my-comfort-zone as replacing the screen on a laptop computer, after studying well produced "how to" videos on You Tube, and suspect that there's a niche for many railway modelling related tasks in that space - many do exist - but they can't replace the one-on-one sort of advice that is needed to make a chassis run sweetly, I'd suggest...

 

The great thing is, at the end of the day no one is too old to learn something new.

 

In the spirit of others who have shown what they've built, here's a shot my first completed kit loco - a DJH Duke I built and painted a few year's back - posed with a Bachmann Evening Star.  No prize for guessing which I am prouder to own:

 

277420230_Duke2.jpg.e605a23c51582e27fd3bc13dbb2b3008.jpg

 

Cheers

 

Scott

 

 

Thanks Scott,

 

And no prizes for guessing which one interests me more! I can see the one behind in any catalogue, model shop or at a show (hundreds of 'em). I can also own it, should I choose. But so what? I'm not saying the Bachmann EVENING STAR is not a good model (quite the contrary; Bachmann's 9F at source in many ways is superior to a DJH equivalent) but, to own one, all one needs is cash. That's not to decry those who cannot make one the right to own one, either, but one is personal property, the other is a personal creation, which, I hope, this thread is all about. Should anyone take the Bachmann 9F a stage further, by altering/detailing/weathering it, then that's also a personal creation, and there's great merit in that. But only if one does it oneself. 

 

That DoG of yours is beautiful. My compliments.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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5 hours ago, Andy Hayter said:

If we look at our esteemed leader we can see the broad church of modelling put into very effective operation.

 

If I have understood correctly, many of his wagons are rtr, most of his coaches are highly modified rtr (new sides on rtr donors for example) and almost all of his locomotives are kit built.

 

We do not need to pick "fights" with one group or another almost all of us will sit somewhere on Tony's modelling spectrum.

Thanks Andy,

 

I hope I'm not responsible for starting fights with anyone (though, at times, it seems some would like to 'fight' with me). 

 

Just to clarify what you've said above, if I may, please? 

 

Regarding wagons on LB, it's about 50/50 modified RTR/kit-built. I've modified/made about 10% of the over 300. 

The majority of the Mk.1s on LB are modified Bachmann (all my work). They constitute about a third of the carriage stock. The remaining two thirds can be split into about two thirds brass/plastic kits (mainly built by me) and one third (as you say) highly-modified (all by me, with some outside painting). There are over 250 carriages/passenger-rated vehicles

Also, as you say, just about all the locos are built from kits (steam outline), 99% built by me, with about 40% painted professionally. Bit by bit I'm selling off any RTR locos I've modified, because I never use them. There are over 200 locos.

 

As can be seen, I do what I like doing best, and I'm very fortunate to be part of a team which has produced all the rest of the layout. One particular thing which has 'delighted' me is how visitors comment on 'everything fitting' on LB. May I use the following shots to illustrate this, please?

 

316084729_A1160113GREATNORTHERNonDownexpress.jpg.bd14e6330aa170b793dfd37863dfff0b.jpg

 

259272340_A160116HALOTHEWYNDonDownNorthumbrian.jpg.db36bc8766be15555eb5a6669ce12ad6.jpg

 

1862753380_A2260504MONSMEGonDownFlyingScotsman.jpg.38963c027cc67f55368424686f5b02d9.jpg

 

Locos/passenger rolling stock all by me (green ones painted by Ian Rathbone), goods stock mainly by Rob Kinsey, trackwork by Norman Solomon, architecture/structures by Ian Wilson, Bob Dawson, Scott Waterfield and me, signals by Mick Nicholson and Graham Nicholas, visible figures by Geoff West and PMP, and scenery by Richard Wilson, Gilbert Barnatt, Rob Davey, the late Dave Shakespeare and me.

 

I think it all fits rather nicely into Little Bytham's modelling spectrum. If nothing else (at least to me) it shows the advantage of modelling an actual prototype. How else would all the elements be arranged?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

Edited by Tony Wright
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3 hours ago, queensquare said:

 

 

Fully agree Steve. I do think all this doom and gloom about the number of modellers who still make stuff is overblown. Go back to magazines of the 60s, 70s and 80s and they are full of layouts that were largely RTR, and not very good at that. The stuff we remember from earlier times is the good stuff, the rubbish is quietly forgotten. Its like those who argue that music from a particular period was much better than it is now - watch one of those old reruns of TOTP on BBC4 or Youtube and it soon becomes clear that no decade had a monopoly on rubbish!

 

I also fully agree about your point regarding 3D printing - its just another tool in the armory (albeit my inability to drive a computer means I'm reliant on others)  and should be used to complement other techniques, not replace them. Steve's 3D loco bodies will still require detailing and a chassis built using many more traditional techniques.

 

My recently completed Midland shed group for Bath is very much ‘old school’ utilising paper, card, ply, plastic sheet, PCB track etc. However, the water tank with its repetitive pattern of flanged, rivetted, fielded panels is a perfect example of where 3D printing comes into its own, offering a crisp, consistent finish which is far better than I could have achieved with more familiar methods. Steve did a fabulous job for me and Ive recently asked him if he could print me some 2mm tender axleboxes after the multi part etched ones defeated me!

 

The hobby has definitely changed over the years but I'm not convinced its any less creative - just different.

 

Jerry

 

1071990773_20190903_213956(2).jpg.514539597fc52171f1ecd667360a3511.jpg20190301_215458.jpg.65fe00c97c0d55963c20e612e75842d3.jpg

 

IMG_9854.JPG.b18fb435f10f3e217812992e7fe88e53.JPG

 

 

'Go back to magazines of the 60s, 70s and 80s and they are full of layouts that were largely RTR, and not very good at that.'

 

Very true, Jerry.

 

However, they tended to be in the Proprietary Modeller section of the mags, and, in my memory, were in a minority. Unlike today. 

 

Great 2mm modelling, by the way! Thanks for showing us.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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1 hour ago, Chamby said:

3D printing is an interesting one, because it is based on a skill set and equipment that is totally different to the hobby’s traditional kit building skills.  The making takes place on a computer screen and a 3D printer, you don’t need brass or solder or reamers....  the physical tasks involve moving a mouse, pressing keys and spooling filaments onto the printer!  In time, this will become much more common, as it is more attuned to the skills used by younger generations in their workplace.

 

Designing a locomotive body or water tank on a computer for 3D printing is more akin to kit designing, in my mind.  With a few keystrokes, the kit then assembles itself inside the 3D printer.  The labours of the designer can be easily passed on to others over the Internet, who can then print exactly the same thing off on their own printer at home, without having to design it themselves.

 

As the technology develops, in time it will provide an alternative to kit built chassis too.  The RAF can now print off jet fighter components in a field tent, so working components for us are surely not too far off.

 

Is all of this modelling?  Yes... but we must accept that what we associate as the traditional skills will not necessarily be needed any more!  Many trades have succumbed to monumental change through technology... look at photography for example.  I sold my enlarger and darkroom equipment years ago, and haven’t looked back!

 'I sold my enlarger and darkroom equipment years ago,'

 

I gave mine away, Phil!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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Doesn't this thread shift along?

 

I've just completed the body of the 'new' K3 I'm 'making'.

 

As I mentioned earlier, I bought the original of Geoff West after he'd bought it of ebay. It was an old Wills K3, but on a new SE Finecast K3 chassis. I don't normally buy locos built by others, but in this case, why not?

 

745583469_K3rebuild04.jpg.665157872bb92c8ab2417655817e29a3.jpg

 

1137166619_K3rebuild05.jpg.907ccc5a2c25edd4749e1a831672bb35.jpg

 

It does run really well, and the new body really makes it into a K3. I'll paint this one, and try and match Geoff's subtle weathering (on the tender).

 

Even at a good price, all told it's probably still come out more than a Bachmann equivalent, so why? Well, the drivers are the right size, it's got front steps and it pulls a lot more. Enough reasons?

 

 

Edited by Tony Wright
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Following an inspiring chat with Tony at the 2018 Glasgow show I then spent an hour and a half trawling through the vendors stands trying to find a brass wagon kit as I was dead keen to give soldering a try.  Couldn't find a single one! nor any loco or coach kits and this, remember, is Scotlands biggest and most prestigious show.   Now. Is this because there's no appetite in the community to build metal kits or are modellers not building metal kits because the vendors won't sell them?   In the end I bought some plastic wagon kits; not as satisfying but they'll fill a hole.  

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19 minutes ago, jacko said:

Following an inspiring chat with Tony at the 2018 Glasgow show I then spent an hour and a half trawling through the vendors stands trying to find a brass wagon kit as I was dead keen to give soldering a try.  Couldn't find a single one! nor any loco or coach kits and this, remember, is Scotlands biggest and most prestigious show.   Now. Is this because there's no appetite in the community to build metal kits or are modellers not building metal kits because the vendors won't sell them?   In the end I bought some plastic wagon kits; not as satisfying but they'll fill a hole.  

Taking Bill Bedford and his Mousa Models range as an example .... I fear the latter! His earlier kits were mainly etched brass and a lot of fun to build - but he appears to be phasing these out in favour of resin and 3d printing. The chassis is still brass ... but the rest you don't even glue together.

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I then spent an hour and a half trawling through the vendors stands trying to find a brass wagon kit...

 

They are out there but they're not common, I suspect mainly because plastic ones are so cheap and most people think wagons are unimportant.

 

It depends what and where you model, but you won't find better than Ian MacDonald's kits (MacGeordie of this parish).   Outstanding quality, superb instructions and interesting prototypes. 

 

Lochgorm Models do a starter wagon kit which makes an ex-LNER 12T van.  There are no castings with that.

 

You can find D & S, Connoisseur/PocketMoney and Jidenco/Falcon Brass kits on Ebay.  The first two are good, don't try a Jidenco as your first brass kit. 

 

I'm sure there are others but brass wagon kits have always been a relatively rare breed.

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Taking Bill Bedford and his Mousa Models range as an example .... I fear the latter!

 

Bill has said he wants to move away from etching, but there are plenty of others who still do it.  It's becoming easier to do, I think - I know of a couple of people (Nick Easton for one) who have done short runs of very esoteric wagons mainly for themselves.  There doesn't seem to be the mass demand, but it isn't completely dead.

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6 minutes ago, jwealleans said:

 

 

 

You can find D & S, Connoisseur/PocketMoney and Jidenco/Falcon Brass kits on Ebay.  The first two are good, don't try a Jidenco as your first brass kit. 

 

 

and this is really the point I was making. Sure, there's plenty available online BUT why oh why can't they appear at shows so we can examine the merchandise and chat to the manufacturer (or whoever) about making the kits.

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Well, Jim McGeown does plenty of shows and will be very happy to talk to you, but he doens't do his 4mm range any more.Jidenco/Falcon have been out of business for  long time.

 

Ian MacDonald does do shows - he was at S4N - but you probably need to be at the specialist scale shows to see the sort of supplier you're looking for.  I can recommend them, but I'm not sure how many there are in Scotland.

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33 minutes ago, jwealleans said:

 

They are out there but they're not common, I suspect mainly because plastic ones are so cheap and most people think wagons are unimportant.

 

It depends what and where you model, but you won't find better than Ian MacDonald's kits (MacGeordie of this parish).   Outstanding quality, superb instructions and interesting prototypes. 

 

Lochgorm Models do a starter wagon kit which makes an ex-LNER 12T van.  There are no castings with that.

 

You can find D & S, Connoisseur/PocketMoney and Jidenco/Falcon Brass kits on Ebay.  The first two are good, don't try a Jidenco as your first brass kit. 

 

I'm sure there are others but brass wagon kits have always been a relatively rare breed.

'don't try a Jidenco as your first brass kit.' 

 

Sound advice, Jonathan.

 

Though I'd take it further - don't try Jidenco as your two hundredth brass kit!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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6 minutes ago, Lecorbusier said:

There are still some white metal ones around ... which can be quite nice. 51L does a nice range.

 

@Lecorbusier, I'm heavily into whitemetal right now; there's plenty around: 

Who knows? I might be building my own engines next...

 

(Probably need whitemetal engines to pull these whitemetal wagons.)

 

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13 minutes ago, jwealleans said:

Well, Jim McGeown does plenty of shows and will be very happy to talk to you, but he doens't do his 4mm range any more.Jidenco/Falcon have been out of business for  long time.

 

Ian MacDonald does do shows - he was at S4N - but you probably need to be at the specialist scale shows to see the sort of supplier you're looking for.  I can recommend them, but I'm not sure how many there are in Scotland.

 

He has done short runs of the 4mm locomotives.

 

Maybe if demand is there he would consider reissuing the Pocket Money wagons. I did hear the moulds for the castings needed re-doing, but most should be available elsewhere.

 

http://www.jimmcgeown.com/4mm Scale 00 Gauge.html

 

 

 

Jason

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29 minutes ago, jacko said:

 

and this is really the point I was making. Sure, there's plenty available online BUT why oh why can't they appear at shows so we can examine the merchandise and chat to the manufacturer (or whoever) about making the kits.

I think the point is pure economics, Jacko,

 

It's just too expensive for the niche traders to take stands at some of the major shows. Glasgow's not unique. Try to buy metal loco/wagon/carriage kits at Ally Pally as well. 

 

Is it a chicken and egg situation? Not enough punters who actually make metal things to make it viable, or/or, because knowing there are few 'specialist' traders, 'specialist' punters don't attend? 

 

My observation (in general) is that there is a preponderance these days at 'major' shows of 'box-shifters'. Clearly it's worth their while, and, because of the size of their stands, they'll pay a lot more than the kit-manufacturers. Fortunately, there are still some 'larger' shows where one can get metal kits. Just off-hand, there's Stevenage, York, Railex, Warley (of course), Wigan and a few 'smaller' ones as well - Railwells, for instance. There are probably many more, and, even though the metal kit-makers are absent, Glasgow (in particular) is always worth going to; as is Ally Pally. 

 

Generally, though, if one wants 'specialist' goods, then the scale/gauge shows are the ones to go to. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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Maybe if demand is there he would consider reissuing the Pocket Money wagons.

 

I spoke to him when ordering some of the loco kits and asked exactly that question.  I forget the details - I did say they'd be fine as etches only as the castings could be sourced elsewhere - but I came away with the conclusion that he wouldn't be producing any more.

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49 minutes ago, Lecorbusier said:

Taking Bill Bedford and his Mousa Models range as an example .... I fear the latter! His earlier kits were mainly etched brass and a lot of fun to build - but he appears to be phasing these out in favour of resin and 3d printing. The chassis is still brass ... but the rest you don't even glue together.

 

On the counter to that, and related partially to my earlier post too, the great move to etched brass and away from glue together white metal body kits on r-t-r chassis was one of the things that aided the drift away from kits. The elite modellers were happy as were some of the upper middle ground as it improved quality. They have the skill set to do it.

 

Beginners and lower middle standard were deterred. I tried a brass kit, was dissatisfied with it and have rarely tried brass since. It aided my drift in the early 1990s away from modelling into other railway related interests.

 

 I will have another go with brass as I’ve returned to the active modelling fold but card, plastic and resin for me will be a first choice. Horses for courses, but brass valve gear and all that fiddling with soldering pin heads requires watchmaking skills we don’t all have.

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