Wright writes.....

[StephenB]

Using the Enter Full Screen facility on my iMac and clicking on the photo in post 17079, you have created a most realistic scene with two railwaymen chatting alongside the stationary 01. Long may it continue.

 

Stephen

[coachmann]

Doug,

 

Having attended hundreds of shows down the years as an exhibitor/demonstrator, it has been a bit galling at times to be asked if something I've scratch-built is a kit or if something I've kit-built is modified RTR. It seemed that days after I'd scratch-built a loco, a kit for the same would come out. These include the A1/1, A2/2, A2/3, B2, D49, K1, K4, etc............ Then, when I'd built a kit, out would come the (modern) RTR equivalent including A1, A2, A3, A4, plus many, many more. Ironically, all those scratch-built locos have now gone, to be replaced by (better) kit-built equivalents. However, the kit-built items have not been replaced by RTR (for reasons I've cited many times). 

It's all part of life I'm afraid. I kept my painting & lining business quiet for my own sanity really.  I let my neighbors think I made jewelry because they often saw me head down looking through an illuminated magnifier. The minute my wife mentioned what I did for a living, I could place bets on how the response would roll out...."Oh really" as the cogs in their head wondered how the hell one made a livelihood out of toy rains, followed by "My dad had a Hornby trainset".  If a tradesman doing work in the house saw a line of coaches waiting to go out, they would take an interest, but it was difficult to convey to them the idea that they were brass and not 'Hornby'.

 

'Painting & linining trains' wasn't a real job of course.....A real job entails lining someone else's pockets!.....So apart from a few years, I suppose in the minds of the little people, some of us have never had a real job...  

Edited June 7, 2017 by coachmann

[Headstock]

The O1 problem.

 

There are seven of us in the South Pelaw group and there were only five O1s shedded at Tyne dock. So we had to draw lots for who bought the Hornby model when it came out.

 

I think that they were something of a stop-gap between the Q7s (of which a similar number were air pump fitted) which started the new service with the 56ton hoppers, and the 9Fs of which there were ten at Tyne Dock. These were they only 9Fs in the NE region, testament to the capabilities of the local workhorses - Q6s and J27s.

 

Martin.m

 

Rather than a stop-gap, I would think that a case can be made for allocating the best available engines for the job. It wasn't without good reason that the O1's were split between Annesley and Tyne dock sheds, working some of the most demanding duties in the country.

[jwealleans]

Having attended hundreds of shows down the years as an exhibitor/demonstrator, it has been a bit galling at times to be asked if something I've scratch-built is a kit or if something I've kit-built is modified RTR

In the early days of exhibiting Thurston, one of our members who is a professional builder made a lovely Comet Ivatt 2 for the layout. If we fancied winding him up, when someone asked about it we'd tell them loudly that it was a Triang-Hornby one from the 1970s with a bit of detailing.

 

I suppose you could get depressed about how many people believed us, but we were too busy having a laugh.

Edited June 7, 2017 by jwealleans

[Tony Wright]

Rather than a stop-gap, I would think that a case can be made for allocating the best available engines for the job. It wasn't without good reason that the O1's were split between Annesley and Tyne dock sheds, working some of the most demanding duties in the country.

And Staveley GC..............

 

 

[St Enodoc]

In the early days of exhibiting Thurston, one of our members who is a professional builder made a lovely Ivatt 2 for the layout. If we fancied winding him up, when someone asked about it we'd tell them loudly that it was a Triang-Hornby one from the 1970s with a bit of detailing.

 

I suppose you could get depressed about how many people believed us, but we were too busy having a laugh.

I think I've mentioned it here before, but I have long since given up worrying about people who think my scratchbuilt Dunster signal box is a Hornby (now Fordhampton) kit.

[Headstock]

And Staveley GC..............

 

63670 small.jpg

 

63768 small.jpg

 

Very much late period. After the Eastern region concentrated its single chimney 9F's at Annesley, about half the class were reallocated to other sheds.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Headstock

[The Johnster]

Using the Enter Full Screen facility on my iMac and clicking on the photo in post 17079, you have created a most realistic scene with two railwaymen chatting alongside the stationary 01. Long may it continue.

 

Stephen

 

Some of those chats did continue for a long time...

[Jol Wilkinson]

Perhaps one of the benefits of modelling a pre-grouping Edwardian railway - with previously no RTR models - is that we mainly get asked "which kit is that from?"  or "how do you paint and line those?". With the introduction of the Bachmann Coal Tank, exclamations of "Oh look, that's the Bachmann one" will be met with a swift and pointed response. 

[great central]

Very much late period. After the Eastern region concentrated its single chimney 9F's at Annesley, about half the class were reallocated to other sheds.

Many of those left at Annesley when the Midland took over were condemned at a stroke, including one, if I have read the relevant Yeadon correctly, about two weeks after a heavy general repair!

[DougN]

Well, I can say thanks for the comments  . 

 

I know what I have built which is why I do it. they might have to look twice as they are all to P4 for the challenge and look. My issue is the comments from Australian Modelers "Oh look it only Hornby" . They don't realize that all prototypes have a certain degree of modelling and can always be appreciated by other "proper" modelers. Locally there is a modeler of US logging narrow gauge layouts (yes plural!) they are brilliant. I can appreciate his effort time etc building these lovely layouts. does it get my modelling Mojo going.... no. The same could be said for the breeding number of Large US HO layouts... all impressive but tend to leave me quite cold. Interesting I think the people who say these comments are not the majority. I say this as a layout  "Midsomer" won so many " best layout" awards and so many "most popular layout" awards it was amazing. Yes it was a S&D/ GWR layout which during its first outing a question was asked where is the murder! Then onwards every exhibition the murder moved.

 

Long weekend ahead for me (4 days as I have taken an extra day off ) I may do some modelling. 

 

Oh best little tool I have created recently was a Ikea product which was for mixing drinks it is battery powered stick mixer. I cut the wire mixer shorter after bending the shaft through 90 degrees so it fitted in a Humbrol tin. It is a matter of seconds and the paint is well and truly stirred.... I would say the little beasty does about 3000RPM... It rejuvenated my tin of matt white! 

[Porcy Mane]

 any way I do hope Hornby et al don't decide to do all the NER locos I want as people will say oh look he only uses RTR... not the LRM, Finney and Dave Bradwell kits that they came from! 

 

I fully agree with your sentiment but conversely I have a mate that builds superb stock in P4. With the quality of most of the latest RTR offerings being so high, he takes it as a compliment when some one asks if his latest scratch-built masterpiece is Ready to Run.

 

P

[Clive Mortimore]

I fully agree with your sentiment but conversely I have a mate that builds superb stock in P4. With the quality of most of the latest RTR offerings being so high, he takes it as a compliment when some one asks if his latest scratch-built masterpiece is Ready to Run.

 

P

While on a demo stand for DEMU I had a collection of scratchbuilt diesels  in front of me. A child of about 5 or 6 pointed at my scratchbuilt English Electric type 3 and said " I have one of them it is the Hornby class 37". What a wonderful compliment. :sungum:

[The Johnster]

If I built from scratch or a kit any model that was mistaken for pretty much any rtr product from the last 20 years, I would be very complimented indeed.  It is the opposite of the effect I used to sometimes experience in my old exhibiting days with a very cut and shut Class 116 dmu in original  plain green livery with whiskers that I'd cobbled up out of about 5 coaches of Lima 117.  People who were in the know, but not as much as they thought they were, would look at it, realise it was Lima from the udnerframes, then clock that it wasn't, quite.  It had a DMS, only one brake van, and no first class or toilet (it's one of the second batch with marker lights instead of 2-character headcode display below the cab front windows), no corridor connections, no cab roof headcode boxes, detailed ends, painted interior, and proper buffers (I should say has; I still have it and it gets an outing occasionally as an excursion).  'Where did you get your 116', they'd ask, and I would smugly say I'd made it, before explaining how I'd done it, which was hardly fine scale modelling!

 

Perhaps they thought there was a kit that would fit over the Lima chassis, but the combination of what was obviously Lima bodywork, with the unprototyepically deep set windows. in a non-Lima combination, and the lack of headcode boxes, threw them.  I took it as a compliment, because it meant they hadn't clocked the joins; of course, I knew where they were and they were hideously obvious to me.

 

At one time it had flush glazing, can't remember who made it but it was a straight retrofit, and the cab fronts still do.  Sadly it looked a bit like the plastic sticky out windows you see on caravans or motorhomes, and had a very pronounced 'prism' effect, so I reverted to the original Lima, taking the opportunity to leave some of the door droplights open.  With silver paint representing the aluminium strip at the top of the glass, they look ok.

[Headstock]

I was recently asked if a B16/3 that I had cobbled together was a brass kit, 'no', I said, 'it's actually a total rebuild from the wreck of an old Nucast kit'. A bit of attention to removing cast boiler bands, the thinning of such items as cab side sheets and ensuring a good fit of components like chimneys and domes can do wonders for older white metal kits.

[Headstock]

Many of those left at Annesley when the Midland took over were condemned at a stroke, including one, if I have read the relevant Yeadon correctly, about two weeks after a heavy general repair!

 

Thier replacements seemed like a straight swap at first, but soon became reggarded as slippery footed fuel gobblers.

[grob1234]

Good afternoon Tony and friends,

 

I have been working on the Stirling Class D tender for my J3, and actually got the flare looking OK I think? Just finishing off and detailing to do before I get the chassis painted and hopefully up and running soon.

 

 

 

Also, if I may, just a little plug for my YouTube channel Tom's Trains and my latest video, which, if you are bored of election coverage on the TV may provide a handy distraction! It goes 'live' tonight at 8pm. Just click on the link above and the video 'What's on the workbench - episode 1' should be visible. Many thanks for looking - it does contain some of Tony's pictures that he took for me when I visited LB in May.

[Class O]

I fully agree with your sentiment but conversely I have a mate that builds superb stock in P4. With the quality of most of the latest RTR offerings being so high, he takes it as a compliment when some one asks if his latest scratch-built masterpiece is Ready to Run.

 

P

You turn out some good stuff yourself Porcy :0)

[Porcy Mane]

You turn out some good stuff yourself Porcy :0)

 Ta Owen, but I just follow, where others lead.

 

P

Edited June 8, 2017 by Porcy Mane

[Captain Kernow]

Then, when I'd built a kit, out would come the (modern) RTR equivalent 

I'm another one who can empathise with this. When I was modelling the S&D in 'finescale OO', I just managed to keep ahead of the RTR releases, albeit unintentionally. I managed to get a few years of exhibiting with my 76XXX 2-6-0 (Airfix on Kemilway) and 82XXX (Kemilway) before the Bachmann equivalents came out, although I did deliberately finish the 82XXX in W.R. lined green, to avoid it being confused with the recently-released Bachmann Ivatt 2-6-2T.

 

I also did a 75XXX 4-6-0, which was admittedly based on the old Mainline product, albeit with an improved body and a Comet chassis, and also a DJH 73XXX and an 80XXX from the same stable, before the Bachmann equivalents came out. A London Road Models 3F followed, which in turn was followed by another Bachmann example, which echoed the situation with my Gibson 7F.

 

Oh well, I thought, at least no one is going to mistake my industrials for RTR, and then Hornby go and bring out what I think is the most exquisite RTR loco yet produced, their Peckett W4 class.

 

But it doesn't really matter to me at the end of the day. I had great fun (mostly!) building the kits and still get enjoyment from that activity, but if/when I need/want another particular example of a main line loco, I will look at the RTR version first, and see if it suits. This saves time as much as anything else, if I can't improve on the RTR version (extremely unlikely), then the RTR one is chosen, although there is still a high chance that the RTR chassis will get changed for something that runs better/more smoothly.

 

Incidentally, whilst there are/have been decent kits for a lot of the current RTR offerings, I don't recall any decent kit for the GWR 57XX/8750 pannier (I know K's used to do one), presumably because Mainline/Bachmann got this one right first time?

[Focalplane]

When you feel that you are running out of time then RTR does start to make sense.  This is slightly different for me in 7mm scale as some RTR products are truly exquisite with a price to match.  But I have realized that it is going to be impossible to build all my locos and rolling stock AND a layout to run them on, so some short cuts are necessary.  My plans for Penmaenpool include both kit built locos and coaches as well as RTR.  Most of my goods wagons and vans will be RTR but weathered by me.

 

The layout itself was to have had self-built track but it is now going to be Peco 124 BH which, to be honest is probably better than my own initial efforts with C&L kits (though they do work!)  All the scenery for Penmaenpool really has to be scratchbuilt which is why I am investing in RTR rolling stock.  Amazingly, 7mm scale is well catered for by new entries Heljan and Dapol, particularly for mid-Wales light axle loading locos and stock.

 

But, and this is important, when I see my MOK 14XX alongside a Tower Brass 57XX, I tend to favour the one I built.  That really should be no surprise to anyone who enjoys building kits.  It is also unique whereas RTR 57XXs are going to be everywhere very soon.  The same will prove to be true for my Connoisseur Jinty now that Dapol are introducing their take on the good old Dobbin.

 

Edit track 134 to 124

Edited June 8, 2017 by Focalplane

[The Johnster]

Time is a factor in my thinking as well; I am the fat side of 65 and, realistically, entering the home straight.  It will not be that long before I am withdrawn from service and scrapped, as I do not have either the historical importance or the enthusiast following to be a candidate for preservation; I don't even have any spares worth saving to be stripped for like the Barry 10!  My current blt will probably be my last unless I win the lottery and can afford to have a dream layout professionally constructed in a reasonable time, including the stock.  I do not consider that I have the time to build kits until I have obtained all the items I need to run my timetable from rtr sources first; this philosophy applies to buildings and signals as well.  When I've finished the railway and stocked it adequately, a project that it taking less time than I thought it might but will not be completed for a few years yet, I will start kit building and possibly scratchbuilding, first to obtain such items as I want that cannot be sourced from rtr, such as a 31xx (Collett type) large prairie, some pre-1930s auto trailers, and more Collett and Hawksworth non corridor stock, including 1955 rebuilt compartment auto trailers.  I think I can probably tackle a matchboard sided auto trailer, an A7 or A9, when I have time to think about it.  My eyesight and hand steadiness have already deteriorated to the point where I have had to revert to using tension lock couplers, and it is reasonable to assume that the deterioration will continue as time progresses.

 

Poor old me, but never mind, I'm enjoying the modelling, and the operating.

Edited June 8, 2017 by The Johnster

[Clive Mortimore]

I'm another one who can empathise with this. When I was modelling the S&D in 'finescale OO', I just managed to keep ahead of the RTR releases, albeit unintentionally. I managed to get a few years of exhibiting with my 76XXX 2-6-0 (Airfix on Kemilway) and 82XXX (Kemilway) before the Bachmann equivalents came out, although I did deliberately finish the 82XXX in W.R. lined green, to avoid it being confused with the recently-released Bachmann Ivatt 2-6-2T.

 

I also did a 75XXX 4-6-0, which was admittedly based on the old Mainline product, albeit with an improved body and a Comet chassis, and also a DJH 73XXX and an 80XXX from the same stable, before the Bachmann equivalents came out. A London Road Models 3F followed, which in turn was followed by another Bachmann example, which echoed the situation with my Gibson 7F.

 

Oh well, I thought, at least no one is going to mistake my industrials for RTR, and then Hornby go and bring out what I think is the most exquisite RTR loco yet produced, their Peckett W4 class.

 

But it doesn't really matter to me at the end of the day. I had great fun (mostly!) building the kits and still get enjoyment from that activity, but if/when I need/want another particular example of a main line loco, I will look at the RTR version first, and see if it suits. This saves time as much as anything else, if I can't improve on the RTR version (extremely unlikely), then the RTR one is chosen, although there is still a high chance that the RTR chassis will get changed for something that runs better/more smoothly.

 

Incidentally, whilst there are/have been decent kits for a lot of the current RTR offerings, I don't recall any decent kit for the GWR 57XX/8750 pannier (I know K's used to do one), presumably because Mainline/Bachmann got this one right first time?

Hi Tim

 

I know that feeling of having fun building something well before the RTR boys dump their stuff in the shops. I have scratchbuilt the following diesels only to have a RTR version appear years later, Class 05, 06,15,16,17,23, Falcon, Lion, Kestrel, 10001, and 10203. The last one started as an MTK kit, only the buffer beams and the little things dangling between the bogies survive off the kit. Conversions, Class 04, 21, 22, 24, 24/1, 25/3, 26, 27, 30 (toffee apple), split headcode 37, split and center headcode 40s, 41, 44, and split headcode 45. I even have some that the RTR boys have not made, or announced and some that have been made but I wanted to build, like my own 37.

 

The great thing is I had my models for years, some many years before the RTR ones came out, so not only did I have fun making them but also running them. I most cases the RTR versions are better than mine, but I still remain proud (or is it shocked) that I built them. And I run them alongside the RTR ones.

[glo41f]

Interesting as ever here.

 

The time factor is one we all face to a greater or lesser extent. My original dream was the ECML followed after reflection by the GE main line. Neither happened and I am acutely aware of the fact that the cup is emptying rapidly so much so that I am disposing of models where I feel they would be better appreciated by others. What has bought this on? The passing of two friends recently and being tasked with sorting out their stuff. I do not want to put anyone through that if I can help it. At my club last night there was talk about a new layout project which was outlined as possibly taking 5/7 years ti get to the required standard. I looked around at those attending and felt we would be lucky to see it through! However I was greatly cheered after when a young lad produced his Adams 4-4-2 t and and the Lyme Regis branch set which looked lovely. If only that sort of thing had been available 30 years ago!  Frankly I cannot blame anyone for buying time by using RTR products where they are suitable though I much prefer to make my own from adapting kits and the like as advocated here.

 

I think that LB is the apogee of what I would have liked to achieve all those years ago. I can revel in Tony's creation. Thanks.

 

Martin

[DougN]

Martin, I feel your concern, I know I have been requested to dispose of 3 modellers collections, let's just say there is 10 years apart to each of them and I am 20years younger than the youngest. My concern is not so much the future owners but the shear volume.... not just models but books and attendant tools kits and spares.. then there is the layouts one is seriously large.

 

I can see hours disappearing let alone storage space etc. it is something we need to be aware of when we buy more one day projects or models we use then put away. We all end up having slowly increasing collections and depending on where you are on the time scale the volume could be small or massive.

 

Saying all this I have managed to purchase another D&S NER horse box which I really enjoyed the last time I built one!

 

Update just had a call saying someone else will get the pleasure of the kit...they only just beat me to it... a case of one that got away!

Edited June 9, 2017 by DougN