Wright writes.....

[Iain.d]

I thought  I’d show some of my current work, partly related to the discussion of buying online. I have had a pretty good level of success on eBay, missed some bargains mind! To find a lot of stuff I use ebay UK rather than ebay AU.

 

One such bargain was this Comet Coaches D1938 LMS Restaurant Composite; I got it for just shy of 40GBP including wheels and postage to Australia. I was the only bidder.

 

 

It’s an ‘old kit’, pre Wizard Models, (instruction sheets are dated 2006) and it’s fine other than the axle boxes, that I’m guessing someone has had a go at. Most of them are damaged and bent, the whitemetal casting being very fragile. I've made up the bogies, they're compensated with both outer axles being able to move very freely. I put tape over the truss rodding to stop them catching on things as I'm building. I’m in the throes of working out how to repair/reuse the axleboxes. I know I could buy some replacements from Wizard but they’ll take a while to get here and I don’t have the patience, and I get a satisfaction of making something damaged fit for purpose …..

 

 

I also got this Caledonian Railway 45ft Full Brake for not a lot. I don’t know much about it other than its from Worsley Works. The etchings are really good. I have rolled the sides and roof and folded up the internal strengthening ribs on the floor pan. The duckets are on the work bench as I think about how to bend those.

 

 

I’m not sure of the diagram number or how long they remained in service, I’d be surprised if any made it to Nationalisation. I have no idea what the underframe looks like but I’m guessing queen posts and wire rather than angle iron. Not sure about the three big holes in the roof either; are they for vents or those little skylights that some brake’s had? I have some images and a drawing of a Caledonian brake carriage and I’ll make it a representation of that. It’s not really crucial as it's going to be finished as a departmental vehicle (to go with a 6 wheel MR crew coach and a D&S 15 ton Cowan Sheldon crane that I bought many years ago from Mr Pinnock). I built some 8ft bogie frames for it, not sure what overlays/axle boxes to use yet, maybe Fox or MR but in some images images I've seen of CR stock, the bogies look very similar to LSWR ones.

 

I’ve also prepped the parts of a GW A44 Collett Driving Trailer. I’ve made up the bogies but not yet attached the sides as I want to make sure I’ve got the right clearances between the bottom of the solebar and the top of the bogie frame/wheels.

 

 

I spent a pleasant morning rolling and bending the various components for the above 3 kits in the garage before it got too warm . If I can this week I’ll solder in all the side and door furniture on the Comet Models kits, the Caledonian Brake will be on the back burner until I can acquire some more bits and try and find out a bit more about it. Or, as summer's coming, we might just go to the beach...

 

Kind regards,

 

Iain

Edited October 18, 2020 by Iain.d
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[thegreenhowards]

18 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

'This GWR engines I mentioned earlier cost me £160 for 7 of them (last year) although only three had portescaps. That’s what I call a bargain!'

 

Indeed!

 

The cheaper A1s were very good value. Cheaper than my buying all the necessary bits brand new, so they were worth it to me. And, because I had to do a fair bit on both, I accept them as 'mine', though not quite to the same extent as if I'd built them completely. Perhaps if I tried to learn how to paint to a professional standard (or the standard I insist upon) my models would be completely 'mine'. However, that's a skill possessed by only the few......................

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Tony,

 

I have no doubt that professional painting is a rare skill but I’m increasingly finding that it’s the part of the model build which I enjoy the most. I’ve recently plucked up the courage to try teak and with some guidance from some of the usual suspects on here I’m getting to a stage where I’m pleased with the end result. Here is my latest effort - an Isinglass Milk Brake (apologies to those who’ve already seen it on Coulsdon works).

 

 

I can feel a few more teak coaches coming on!

 

Andy

 

[drmditch]

 

There was a discussion about curves and Gateshead a few posts ago.

Thanks to the marvelous NLS  facility (please observe all copyrights etc.) one can see the full extent of these after the King Edward Bridge was built

I have often thought what a splendid 'big' model this would make, with a natural operating well in the middle!

 

Actually, it might provide more operational interest before then, with all the ECML trains 'reversing' in the station.

 

There are accounts from the 'Races to the North' in 1895 of the very competetive Gateshead crews coming up the Team Valley and then taking the curves around the SE corner of the shed very fast indeed so as to impress their colleagues who would turn out to watch.

 

I don't think we'll see No.1621 do that again!

 

Edited October 18, 2020 by drmditch

[richard i]

A rescued kit and from eBay. A B2 to anyone post 1923. 

in lner livery badly painted with a gouge out of the boiler. Missing some bits, lacking in detail and some parts wrongly sighted.

dropped in paint stripper and re motored, and rebuilt. Then repainted by me into GCR livery. 
worth rescuing? It was to me. 

However, where could I pick up a k’s kit if access to shows is difficult other than eBay. For pregrouping things it has certainly been useful. 
richard 

[APOLLO]

20 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

'The psychology of e-Bay is quite complex'

 

Too complex for me, and I'm happy for that to remain the case.................

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

ebay is dead easy. Just fix in your mind the max you will pay and don't exceed it. Everything I buy for my O gauge North American layout these days is via ebay, mostly auctions but sometimes "Buy it now" if the price is right. If someone's desperate (and loaded) I let it go - like a bus another will (usually) be along shortly. I don't bother with last few seconds bidding either.

 

Earlier today I won four weaver freight cars, two of which are professional repaints by a well respected US Model Shop - £46 for the four plus postage - a bargain. One O gauge Dapol 4 wheel wagon is more expensive these days than these four bogie freight cars.

 

I don't buy off US ebay anymore due to the extortionate postage/import duties ebay charge these days.

 

This was a nice buy for just under £200 a few months ago. It's a Weaver 2-8-0, the only one I've ever seen (in the UK) on ebay. Weighs a ton, runs quietly & smoothly (after a service) and will pull anything. (and she doesn't get stuck in the tunnels !!)

 

 

Brit15

[grob1234]

The key to eBay is knowing the market you're buying in.

 

People make the mistake that everything there is a 'bargain'. It isn't. Plenty of sellers out there wanting your cash. 

 

As always shop around and do your research. I have to say I personally wouldn't buy an unmade kit without being able to see it first.

 

A few years back I was able to purchase a few DJH kits (unmade) for very reasonable prices. Sadly it seems these are no longer available/for sale.

[Theakerr]

Basically E-Bay is finished for me.  I stopped bidding several years ago after being 'out-bid' right at the last minute and recently i have stopped looking because, as mentioned by others, the postage and 'associated costs' have become horrendous.  I have had to make one or two exceptions because they are the only suppliers of certain parts but it sticks in my craw every time I get to the bottom line when the cost of postage + customs + whatever is sometimes the same and on a couple of occasions more than the item.  For my occasional forays into buying,  I have a list of dealers who handle 2nd hand items as well as new stuff and levy reasonable charges.  The E-Bay situation is a bit of a shame because it was really useful to the small Guy who wanted to get rid of stuff but that is the world of big business and monopolies.

[Tony Wright]

4 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

Tony,

 

I have no doubt that professional painting is a rare skill but I’m increasingly finding that it’s the part of the model build which I enjoy the most. I’ve recently plucked up the courage to try teak and with some guidance from some of the usual suspects on here I’m getting to a stage where I’m pleased with the end result. Here is my latest effort - an Isinglass Milk Brake (apologies to those who’ve already seen it on Coulsdon works).

 

 

I can feel a few more teak coaches coming on!

 

Andy

 

A nice job, Andy,

 

It's not that I don't enjoy painting. However, other than plain black (and the occasional lined BR black) I cannot reach the standard I insist upon. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Northmoor]

9 minutes ago, grob1234 said:

People make the mistake that everything there is a 'bargain'. It isn't. Plenty of sellers out there wanting your cash. 

As always shop around and do your research.

A very true set of statements.  I have bought (too much) and sold (not enough) on eBay for over 15 years.  Buying job lots, where I want a minimum of 25% of the lot, selling on what I don't (using detailed descriptions) has been a cheap and effective way of building my "fleet"; I have some sets of wagons which have effectively cost me nothing.

EBay isn't the same source of bargains it once was but I'm not going to complain about it; it's the buyers who have learned to exploit it more than poor practice by sellers.  One big positive change was the addition of fees to postage, which drove out the chancers who (for example) sold a £100 loco for £20 and charged £80 postage.  I do think one of the biggest changes occurred after starting price-based charges were removed; there is no benefit to starting auctions at low prices (to attract interest) any more, so sellers now start listings at about the price they want to achieve.  There are far more listings now which run their course with no bids, than ten years ago.

[Clive Mortimore]

3 hours ago, drmditch said:

 

There was a discussion about curves and Gateshead a few posts ago.

Thanks to the marvelous NLS  facility (please observe all copyrights etc.) one can see the full extent of these after the King Edward Bridge was built

I have often thought what a splendid 'big' model this would make, with a natural operating well in the middle!

 

Actually, it might provide more operational interest before then, with all the ECML trains 'reversing' in the station.

 

There are accounts from the 'Races to the North' in 1895 of the very competetive Gateshead crews coming up the Team Valley and then taking the curves around the SE corner of the shed very fast indeed so as to impress their colleagues who would turn out to watch.

 

I don't think we'll see No.1621 do that again!

 

The perfect roundy roundy layout, big station one side and a loco depot the other.

 

Not too keen on wearing waders when standing in the operating well.

[Tony Wright]

Just a point on postage, if I may.

 

 

 

When I built this C2 for Jesse Sim, the postage (by Parcel Force) to Australia was over £75.00. That ensured it was insured for £1,200 (Jesse paid half that at mates' rates). 

 

I considered that money well spent, especially with a paint job by Geoff Haynes (even though it took over two and a half months to get there). 

[Tony Wright]

A point or two on painting................ My painting.

 

I'm quite happy to paint plain black locos I've made, and to weather them. Like the following.............

 

 

 

 

I didn't make all of this scratch-built Ivatt 4MT; just the chassis, much detail work and completed it (breaking the 'curse' as it were, since two guys who'd worked on it had died and a third had been seriously injured in a road accident!). The painting is all mine, after Mike Edge kindly removed (chemically?) the crud of generations.

 

I made/painted the M&GNR catering car as well - I'm happy doing lined maroon. 

 

 

I'll even tackle lined black, though it's almost invisible on this old Nu-Cast K2. 

 

 

Just Halfords Ford Burgundy red, straight rom the rattle can, and transfer lining on this Comet adaptation. 

 

 

And plain Halfords satin black car acrylic (with wonderful transfers supplied by John Isherwood). This Mousa Models' resin carriage has now been weathered. 

 

All of these are, of course, merely layout locos and stock - certainly not destined for the glass case.

 

 

And my attempt at teak, behind Jesse's C2. 'I'm' even looking at it! 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by Tony Wright
typo error

[westerner]

Thought I'd drop another couple of photos of Blakeney in, showing how the layout has progressed from when i took the photos for the article in this months BRM. Figures have been added all four are Modelu my reward for winning a couple of the Photo of the month competition on the GOG forum.

The show a Slaters Vanwide (built  and weathered by me), a Radley's kit of a Dodge Kew built, painted and weathered by me and the said Modelu figures, painted by me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

Some of Retford's locos now carry lamps!

 

 

This is a modified Hornby A4, though its plastic lamp brackets had long since gone the way of all flesh. All I've done is to drill holes in the base of the lamps to take a piece of brass wire, drilled holes in the plastic footplate to take them and fixed them in place (permanently) with superglue (a sort of reverse lamp bracket). This A4 (SILVER LINK) is rostered for 'The Flying Scotsman', so won't need to change lamps.

 

 

In the same way that this 'Brit' will always work the boat train (only one bracket had gone from this modified Hornby BR Standard 7MT). This time, the lamps are held in place with Blak Tak (far superior to the blue equivalent, though I've probably got the spelling wrong). 

 

The lamps are Dave Franks' wonderful Lanarkshire Models' LNER ones (thanks again Dave), and they're not even painted! Even so, what a difference with regard to realism. 

 

I fitted several more today (with Blak Tak), especially suitable for locos with no lamp brackets (of which there are many). 

 

I think this magnificent layout's locos deserve to carry lamps. 

 

 

 

 

[TrevorP1]

24 minutes ago, westerner said:

Thought I'd drop another couple of photos of Blakeney in, showing how the layout has progressed from when i took the photos for the article in this months BRM. Figures have been added all four are Modelu my reward for winning a couple of the Photo of the month competition on the GOG forum.

The show a Slaters Vanwide (built  and weathered by me), a Radley's kit of a Dodge Kew built, painted and weathered by me and the said Modelu figures, painted by me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really like those figures, very natural and well placed.

[Arun Sharma]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

A point or two on painting................ My painting.

 

I'm quite happy to paint plain black locos I've made, and to weather them. Like the following.............

 

 

 

 

I didn't make all of this scratch-built Ivatt 4MT; just the chassis, much detail work and completed it (breaking the 'curse' as it were, since two guys who'd worked on had died and a third had been seriously injured in a road accident!). The painting is all mine, after Mike Edge kindly removed (chemically?) the crud of generations.

 

I made/painted the M&GNR catering car as well - I'm happy doing lined maroon. 

 

 

I'll even tackle lined black, though it's almost invisible on this old Nu-Cast K2. 

 

 

Just Halfords Ford Burgundy red, straight rom the rattle can, and transfer lining on this Comet adaptation. 

 

 

And plain Halfords satin black car acrylic (with wonderful transfers supplied by John Isherwood). This Mousa Models' resin carriage has now been weathered. 

 

All of these are, of course, merely layout locos and stock - certainly not destined for the glass case.

 

 

And my attempt at teak, behind Jesse's C2. 'I'm' even looking at it! 

 

 

Tony I like the 'Flying Pig'. I do have a question though - If that is an M&GN one wouldn't its tender have had the cut-out for the tablet apparatus?

[drmditch]

2 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

The perfect roundy roundy layout, big station one side and a loco depot the other.

 

Not too keen on wearing waders when standing in the operating well.

 

Well, I don't think the Tyne upstream of the swing bridge is being dredged much these days, so you might get away with it.

[Headstock]

Last year I built and painted one of the Masterclass models dia 210 twins.

 

Having acquired a another kit, I'm currently building a second twin, that will form a four carriage set with the first. They will represent the 12.03 pm Leicester Rugby ordinary passenger train working. Below is the BT (6) showing it's underbelly, still to is the vac pipe that runs down the solebar on the far side under the underframe and the steam heat pipe.

 

 

 

Critical to any twin, is that the two carriages align horizontally. The steel ruler is taped to the sides for the purposes of the photograph. The articulated bogie is the 8'6'' HD type and the vac pie run is now fitted to both carriages.

 

 

The new build also matches up with last years build.

 

Most of the detail work such as the brake end fittings are now complete.

 

 

 

 

Silly me ran out of suitable roofs. Completion awaits a delivery of a recent order.

[DougN]

On 18/10/2020 at 09:58, manna said:

 

" but today we have Peters Spares, and again we have a But, there postage prices have got up to an eye watering 40 pounds, per order, I was making up an order, when the new postage came into force, it went to my son and not straight to Australia, it may take another month before I get."

 

Terry (aka manna)

 

I am now very reluctant to purchase from Peters spares as this is over the top postage. I will however support retailers such as Wizard models as they  have the following which I find very fair on the purchaser and the retailer. 

 

Wizard models:-

 "Orders outside the UK are sent using Royal Mail’s Tracked & Signed Air Mail service which generally takes between 3 and 10 calendar days (but note that your order may then be delayed in your country’s Customs). It is charged at £0.75 plus the cost of postage, subject to a minimum charge of £3.90 and a maximum of £21.00. Because of the way online credit card orders are processed, £21.00 is added to all overseas orders when you check out. Your payment is then adjusted for the difference between this notional amount and the actual cost when we pack and weigh your order."

 

Postage was cheaper along time ago but we all accept the costs are dependent on location.  The Ebay issue is up to the seller and Ebay (yes there are issues with the behavior of ebay and the Australian goverment regarding charging GST, Amazon and some book sellers also have the same issue)  as we know but we also have retailers such as Hatton's and Rails of Sheffield who have cost effective postage to countries outside of the UK and Europe. 

 

Manna it is a issue that we have to work through as Australians and support retailers that are happy to deal with us! 

 

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, DougN said:

 

I am now very reluctant to purchase from Peters spares as this is over the top postage. I will however support retailers such as Wizard models as they  have the following which I find very fair on the purchaser and the retailer. 

 

Wizard models:-

 "Orders outside the UK are sent using Royal Mail’s Tracked & Signed Air Mail service which generally takes between 3 and 10 calendar days (but note that your order may then be delayed in your country’s Customs). It is charged at £0.75 plus the cost of postage, subject to a minimum charge of £3.90 and a maximum of £21.00. Because of the way online credit card orders are processed, £21.00 is added to all overseas orders when you check out. Your payment is then adjusted for the difference between this notional amount and the actual cost when we pack and weigh your order."

 

Postage was cheaper along time ago but we all accept the costs are dependent on location.  The Ebay issue is up to the seller and Ebay (yes there are issues with the behavior of ebay and the Australian goverment regarding charging GST, Amazon and some book sellers also have the same issue)  as we know but we also have retailers such as Hatton's and Rails of Sheffield who have cost effective postage to countries outside of the UK and Europe. 

 

Manna it is a issue that we have to work through as Australians and support retailers that are happy to deal with us! 

 

Spot on Doug. I have always had excellent service from Andrew at Wizard Models. I'd also like to mention Kernow, who also provide excellent service with very reasonable postage costs.

 

Usual disclaimer in both cases.

[Barry O]

Of course you can always do what a friend in Mureay Bridhe does. He gets items posted to me. I make up a bigger parcel and then post them on. But Ozpost 8s in a world of its own at the minute....

 

Baz

[DougN]

I agree St Enodoc, I only really started purchasing from Andrew at Wizard for a few years, I have come to appreciate, his stock of parts, kits and bits. So he has become my go too for the smaller hard to get bits. Then again I have spread around Dart Castings, Hattons, Eileens Emporium, for all the bits I have been looking for.  

 

That's great Barry, but not every one has the access to some one willing to do that. My sister who should bring things over when she heads back to see family is quite unreliable. 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

8 hours ago, Arun Sharma said:

Tony I like the 'Flying Pig'. I do have a question though - If that is an M&GN one wouldn't its tender have had the cut-out for the tablet apparatus?

Good morning Arun,

 

Most-probably, though not every Ivatt 4 which ran on the M&GNR from time to time had tablet-catching apparatus, particularly in the summer months. 43127 was at New England for a time, so could have worked on the system. 

 

The tender body was already built (I built the sub-frame), and I considered it too difficult to cut out the aperture for the Whitaker device.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[St Enodoc]

26 minutes ago, DougN said:

That's great Barry, but not every one has the access to some one willing to do that.

Barry needs something to fill his time outside the cricket season...

[nerron]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Of course you can always do what a friend in Mureay Bridhe does.

Is this the Yorkshire spelling of Murray Bridge?