EBay madness

[Hroth]

31 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

We have plenty going on with my friends spotty dog.

 

Especially when he runs off with bits of the van you're trying to fix...

 

 

The cleverest Spotty Dog in the whole wide world!!!

 

Looks like he's having lots of fun too!

 

 

[Paul H Vigor]

11 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

The cleverest Spotty Dog in the whole wide world!!!

 

Looks like he's having lots of fun too!

 

 

Another one who read 'Engineering For Dogs'! 😎 🐶 🔧

[The Johnster]

3 hours ago, Paul H Vigor said:

"But Emily loved him."

 

6 hours ago, Hroth said:

What if he's not allergic to cats, but dogs?

 

Roobarb and Custard ought to cover both bases.

 

Diddly dee, diddly dee, da darat dara…

 

’Furious, Roobarb demanded to know who’d double-glazed the (frozen) pond during the night’

[ikks]

On 27/11/2023 at 03:33, John M Upton said:

I did the PAT testing course twenty or more years ago. The instructor had his Chamber of Horrors, an eye opening collection of dodgy and downright dangerous electrical appliances he had collected over the years. 

 

I found a few examples of my own over the subsequent years, best one being a standard lamp the Head of Music had smuggled in to illuminate her piano during the forthcoming Christmas concert.

 

This death trap had a plug which was missing two screws and held together with sellotape (yellowed with age, naturally, the cord had several chewed marks with live exposed inner copper wire and to cap it all, not only was the metal frame live, due to the base being lost, she had stuck it in a metal bucket of wet sand!!!

 

The light bulb was the only part of it that was safe, and I broke it...

Over the last few months , I have been doing a complete inventory of my model railway stuff and I found three controllers over 40 odd years old...........all going the the recycle bin inclluding a H & M Duette whch got quite hot after a couple minutes after being plugged in........not a sparkie so don't know the cause and not game to find out!!

Mike

[Paul H Vigor]

46 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

 

 

Diddly dee, diddly dee, da darat dara…

 

’Furious, Roobarb demanded to know who’d double-glazed the (frozen) pond during the night’

"It was those darned rubberband-eating birdies!" Custard chortled.

[Paul H Vigor]

26 minutes ago, ikks said:

Over the last few months , I have been doing a complete inventory of my model railway stuff and I found three controllers over 40 odd years old...........all going the the recycle bin inclluding a H & M Duette whch got quite hot after a couple minutes after being plugged in........not a sparkie so don't know the cause and not game to find out!!

Mike

'Finding out' may involve a close encounter with 'the wrong kind of sparks'!?

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

Recently I've been debating getting back into collecting the Hornby Thomas range, namely nostalgia reasons (but I also want to replace my now deceased James and Gordon models, alongside having more T&F characters to go with my Hornby Thomas, Percy and Toby), so I've been looking around to see if I can find any good deals, prices on eBay and Hattons are some of the most ridiculous I've seen for toolings that date back as far as the 1980s, some even having originated in the 50s and 60s (if we're talking about things such as James' body which is a retooled Triang Deeley, and Diesel being the Triang 08 body which Hornby for some reason still produce today). Thought I might share some of my experiences with Hornby T&F items for sale:

I've seen some ludicrous things being sold in terms of Hornby T&F merch, namely the big names such as Spencer, Oliver, Stepney, Scotsman, etc, selling for hundreds, sometimes even thousands (seriously, an 80s tooled Scotsman with a Gordon face for £1K!? The brand new Trix/Marklin HO one is around half that price, and of much higher quality!), but also things like Henry, Edward, Emily, etc, all going for well over the £200 mark! Edward being a retooled D49 "Hunt" I believe, Emily being from the 2007 retool of the Triang Dean Single, Henry being a bog standard tender drive black 5.

 

With every hundred or so overpriced listings though, there's always one or two bargains, for example: Christmas last year I picked up a job lot of Hornby TTTE locos, just the 90s versions of Thomas and Percy, £55 for the two of them! Checked recently and around £35-£40 for a Percy on his own, a bit pricey as he's an 80s tooled 0-4-0 but far more reasonable than the £50 that Hornby want for the new "retool" of his model (can we even call it a retool at this point?). Saw a James, 80s/90s version, loco only, £30, still got the tender body from my old one, and since he used the Jinty chassis (motor removed so he could be tender driven) I could've quite easily converted him to an X.04 if I wanted to, but that listing's ended. More recently I've found two interesting lots, the 0-4-0 variant of Thomas + Annie & Clarabel for just £25! If I recall correctly that's one of the rarer Thomas models, and £35 for one of the 1985(?) Thomas models (the first versions with the weird faces) + A&C for £35! Debating swiping one of those up... Also checked Hattons and saw a Gordon for £94, dropped from £117, overpriced? Maybe, but far more reasonable than the £150-£200 some sellers ask for him.

 

I should really check the local model train shows at some point, see if I can find any on cheap, been meaning to get my hands on some more of the Hornby T&F items for a while now, but with sellers of the stuff seemingly blinded by "Oh, this isn't in production any more and there's a bunch of people out there who'd pay ludicrous prices for collectable merchandise!" I doubt I'll get my hands on any of those items for a good while.

[Sjcm]

5 hours ago, ikks said:

Over the last few months , I have been doing a complete inventory of my model railway stuff and I found three controllers over 40 odd years old...........all going the the recycle bin inclluding a H & M Duette whch got quite hot after a couple minutes after being plugged in........not a sparkie so don't know the cause and not game to find out!!

Mike

Oh that's normal at least with mine. It's when they start glowing red and the knobs starts melting you need to be careful😉

 

[MrWolf]

7 minutes ago, Sjcm said:

Oh that's normal at least with mine. It's when they start glowing red and the knobs starts melting you need to be careful😉

 

 

The Duette I had when I was about ten used to get quite warm and make strange humming noises like grandad's radio...

[Paul H Vigor]

13 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

The Duette I had when I was about ten used to get quite warm and make strange humming noises like grandad's radio...

I know some railway modellers like that. I might be one of them! 😎

[Paul H Vigor]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/386323810255?hash=item59f2b187cf:g:crMAAOSwiVRlZi2j&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8DA1mNKudzbbL2Rcg1etTFC8%2FXTB8bxLfolaxhp%2Bls5SqEUsjCq86cLmWfvqCZT2GFktprvp3nqaZTJQ93zBdlfFQwvmaj0wSRIrpKRmIbWKCIxefBQ%2BVjpKmhPmKeWfLG1kNjy18GU4%2BMGpotkx37EMUzwK4RYFrVTkt56%2FpBRClHCo0%2FeelZVF2wx6xDHAOIMXKawAnLt4kayZursF8UpTmfypKdqZ%2FTGst2vyAmqoKUdd4G28xZ40H4ruLlgAl71zdWuuNCf9f%2BkAVc2Ng0QA%2FRXzQnq8aqVhtu4SfHgczS5P0pIEIeypuoR7FjN%2BIg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5DUu4WDYw

 

Now, here's a GWR oddity!

[MrWolf]

Stranger still:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305244184492?

[Paul H Vigor]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275422798906?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-169684-531343-4&mkcid=2&itemid=275422798906&targetid=293946777986&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9045392&poi=9073069&campaignid=20649934318&mkgroupid=153764631759&rlsatarget=pla-293946777986&abcId=&merchantid=113619853&gclid=CjwKCAiAvJarBhA1EiwAGgZl0MGfxwaSREgJOOUSg3Xny2RdnxB22wK6dBU8OqCPsN-2UUkhF42AlBoCQr8QAvD_BwE

 

Ebay, but not model railway. What can I say - what can anyone say!?

[Paul H Vigor]

1 minute ago, MrWolf said:

Stranger still:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305244184492?

Oh my!

[MrWolf]

11 minutes ago, Paul H Vigor said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275422798906?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-169684-531343-4&mkcid=2&itemid=275422798906&targetid=293946777986&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9045392&poi=9073069&campaignid=20649934318&mkgroupid=153764631759&rlsatarget=pla-293946777986&abcId=&merchantid=113619853&gclid=CjwKCAiAvJarBhA1EiwAGgZl0MGfxwaSREgJOOUSg3Xny2RdnxB22wK6dBU8OqCPsN-2UUkhF42AlBoCQr8QAvD_BwE

 

Ebay, but not model railway. What can I say - what can anyone say!?

 

And another one:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305290003556?

 

Note to self: Must make much cr@ppier artwork, it's quicker, easier, makes much more money and those schmucks in London get all exalted, handing out the Turner Prize For Bullsh!tting.....

[The Johnster]

2 hours ago, Paul H Vigor said:

I know some railway modellers like that. I might be one of them! 😎

 

I make chuff-chuff noises, and anything else I think will enhance the experience, ts ts ts vacuum pumps,  sshhhhhhh cylinder drain cocks, whistles, signals being pulled off and put back, anything.  The chuffs, four to a driving wheel revolution (I have no three-cylinder engines), and ts ts, two to a dwr, are useful for estimating speed...  The other noises are probably my incipient insanity.

 

2 hours ago, Paul H Vigor said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/386323810255?hash=item59f2b187cf:g:crMAAOSwiVRlZi2j&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8DA1mNKudzbbL2Rcg1etTFC8%2FXTB8bxLfolaxhp%2Bls5SqEUsjCq86cLmWfvqCZT2GFktprvp3nqaZTJQ93zBdlfFQwvmaj0wSRIrpKRmIbWKCIxefBQ%2BVjpKmhPmKeWfLG1kNjy18GU4%2BMGpotkx37EMUzwK4RYFrVTkt56%2FpBRClHCo0%2FeelZVF2wx6xDHAOIMXKawAnLt4kayZursF8UpTmfypKdqZ%2FTGst2vyAmqoKUdd4G28xZ40H4ruLlgAl71zdWuuNCf9f%2BkAVc2Ng0QA%2FRXzQnq8aqVhtu4SfHgczS5P0pIEIeypuoR7FjN%2BIg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5DUu4WDYw

 

Now, here's a GWR oddity!

 

Seems a bit mad (says the man who makes chuff chuff noises).  A Black Princesss mech fits nicely under an Airfix kit prairie bodyshell without messing around with wheel arrangements, you can even get the cylinders to line up with the steam pipes, one of m first-ever kitbashes, about 1965.

[Hroth]

13 hours ago, ikks said:

Over the last few months , I have been doing a complete inventory of my model railway stuff and I found three controllers over 40 odd years old...........all going the the recycle bin inclluding a H & M Duette whch got quite hot after a couple minutes after being plugged in........not a sparkie so don't know the cause and not game to find out!!

Mike

 

Wasn't that the "Exhibitions" version, produced for keeping pasties warm?

 

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

8 hours ago, Paul H Vigor said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/386323810255?hash=item59f2b187cf:g:crMAAOSwiVRlZi2j&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8DA1mNKudzbbL2Rcg1etTFC8%2FXTB8bxLfolaxhp%2Bls5SqEUsjCq86cLmWfvqCZT2GFktprvp3nqaZTJQ93zBdlfFQwvmaj0wSRIrpKRmIbWKCIxefBQ%2BVjpKmhPmKeWfLG1kNjy18GU4%2BMGpotkx37EMUzwK4RYFrVTkt56%2FpBRClHCo0%2FeelZVF2wx6xDHAOIMXKawAnLt4kayZursF8UpTmfypKdqZ%2FTGst2vyAmqoKUdd4G28xZ40H4ruLlgAl71zdWuuNCf9f%2BkAVc2Ng0QA%2FRXzQnq8aqVhtu4SfHgczS5P0pIEIeypuoR7FjN%2BIg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5DUu4WDYw

 

Now, here's a GWR oddity!

“White metal body”

 

Is that not a GraFar?

 

[Sjcm]

Yep, the chassis probably fell apart with mazak rot. Now me, I glued it back together and touch wood in 15 years it's got no worse, but then they knew how to make mazak rot back in the 50's. none of this modern cheap rubbish😉

 

 

[MrWolf]

Mazak rot was a major problem for Meccano / Hornby / Dinky in the thirties until they realised that creating the zinc alloy has to be a precise and absolutely clean process.

Others didn't or were less fastidious and nothing has changed.

[PhilJ W]

11 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Stranger still:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305244184492?

Perhaps its from this railroad.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Western_Railway_of_Colorado

[paulmblythe]

16 hours ago, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

Recently I've been debating getting back into collecting the Hornby Thomas range, namely nostalgia reasons (but I also want to replace my now deceased James and Gordon models, alongside having more T&F characters to go with my Hornby Thomas, Percy and Toby), so I've been looking around to see if I can find any good deals, prices on eBay and Hattons are some of the most ridiculous I've seen for toolings that date back as far as the 1980s, some even having originated in the 50s and 60s (if we're talking about things such as James' body which is a retooled Triang Deeley, and Diesel being the Triang 08 body which Hornby for some reason still produce today). Thought I might share some of my experiences with Hornby T&F items for sale:

I've seen some ludicrous things being sold in terms of Hornby T&F merch, namely the big names such as Spencer, Oliver, Stepney, Scotsman, etc, selling for hundreds, sometimes even thousands (seriously, an 80s tooled Scotsman with a Gordon face for £1K!? The brand new Trix/Marklin HO one is around half that price, and of much higher quality!), but also things like Henry, Edward, Emily, etc, all going for well over the £200 mark! Edward being a retooled D49 "Hunt" I believe, Emily being from the 2007 retool of the Triang Dean Single, Henry being a bog standard tender drive black 5.

 

With every hundred or so overpriced listings though, there's always one or two bargains, for example: Christmas last year I picked up a job lot of Hornby TTTE locos, just the 90s versions of Thomas and Percy, £55 for the two of them! Checked recently and around £35-£40 for a Percy on his own, a bit pricey as he's an 80s tooled 0-4-0 but far more reasonable than the £50 that Hornby want for the new "retool" of his model (can we even call it a retool at this point?). Saw a James, 80s/90s version, loco only, £30, still got the tender body from my old one, and since he used the Jinty chassis (motor removed so he could be tender driven) I could've quite easily converted him to an X.04 if I wanted to, but that listing's ended. More recently I've found two interesting lots, the 0-4-0 variant of Thomas + Annie & Clarabel for just £25! If I recall correctly that's one of the rarer Thomas models, and £35 for one of the 1985(?) Thomas models (the first versions with the weird faces) + A&C for £35! Debating swiping one of those up... Also checked Hattons and saw a Gordon for £94, dropped from £117, overpriced? Maybe, but far more reasonable than the £150-£200 some sellers ask for him.

 

I should really check the local model train shows at some point, see if I can find any on cheap, been meaning to get my hands on some more of the Hornby T&F items for a while now, but with sellers of the stuff seemingly blinded by "Oh, this isn't in production any more and there's a bunch of people out there who'd pay ludicrous prices for collectable merchandise!" I doubt I'll get my hands on any of those items for a good while.

By original Thomas with the wierd face do you mean the very first one with the slight rounder cab and x04 motor? i had one of those but it was faulty. my parents returned him and i recieved the newer one in exchange with the squarer cab that resembles the tv version of Thomas rather than the lbsc E2 he was in the books. They also changed the motor. id love to get my hands on the original one again

 

Edited November 29, 2023 by paulmblythe

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

1 hour ago, paulmblythe said:

By original Thomas with the wierd face do you mean the very first one with the slight rounder cab and x04 motor? i had one of those but it was faulty. my parents returned him and i recieved the newer one in exchange with the squarer cab that resembles the tv version of Thomas rather than the lbsc E2 he was in the books. They also changed the motor. id love to get my hands on the original one again

 

Unsure if it uses the X.04, but this is what I found https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186181105975

 

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

On an unrelated note:

 

Not an eBay find, rather something from a local antique store, me and grandma went to the store to pick up a Triang B12, £24 (dropped from £25 due to a damaged wheel), and after purchasing one of the shopkeepers took us out to look at this:

 

 

1930s Flying Scotsman biscuit tin, fitted with wheels on the front and rear to be pulled around by a string, apparently in this condition it’ll sell for around half a grand! Never thought I’d hear the day that biscuit tin collectors exist.

 

Apparently he has another train biscuit tin at home (same sort of thing, shaped like a train, to be played with like a toy once the biscuits are eaten), near mint condition, could sell for £800!

[big jim]

Just googled that and it’s a Crawfords biscuit tin, and yes the last few at auction have made £400-£600! 

 

I wonder if they are quite rare as with them being tin a lot were given up for the war effort?