Wright writes.....

[t-b-g]

4 minutes ago, Red Devil said:

This 'might' work for you.....reading the info as they're listed as new, you may well be right.

Sorry thought it may not.....link won't embed easily but they're on the Clark railworks site rather than the Ellis Clark site.

 

Thanks for trying but I have been having another look and found them. As I said, it gives no clue as to whether they are going to produce any kits or if they are just selling off the remaining stock.

[Andy Hayter]

The prices suggest to me that this is a sell off - unless DJH kits have become very cheap recently.

[jamesinkl]

To see DJH kits on Clark Railworks… I found that if you go to a specific loco full details page, you then can see the tags on the page which would let you have a link like https://clarkrailworks.com/collections/oo-gauge/djh.

See the image below as an example. Those category boxes are clickable so you can see specific category pages for the DJH kits if needed.

 

James

Edited January 29 by jamesinkl
Explainer for the image attached.

[t-b-g]

52 minutes ago, jamesinkl said:

To see DJH kits on Clark Railworks… I found that if you go to a specific loco full details page, you then can see the tags on the page which would let you have a link like https://clarkrailworks.com/collections/oo-gauge/djh.

See the image below as an example. Those category boxes are clickable so you can see specific category pages for the DJH kits if needed.

 

James

 

Or you can put DJH in the search box and they all appear.

[The Johnster]

I thought I'd put my two-penn'orth in on the subject of brick, stone, &c papers vs plastic moulded surfaces with relief.  I've used my share of Metcalfe &c structures on Cwmdimbath with varying degrees of satisfaction, and in this case satisfaction depends on disbelief suspension.  DS is a tricksy customer, which can upset your perception of a model in different, unpredictable, and inconsistent ways, and you will be able to point out inconsistencies in my argument on the subject... 

 

I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer accept printed card two-dimensional surfaces on my buildings except for placeholders and background features.  Plenty of highly respected modellers are fine with them, and I've enjoyed making up the kits, plus they have the advantage of being cheap, no small consideration in my case.  But the truth is I can't be doing with them.  Especially stone, where I feel the play of light across the surface of a wall is vital to DS.  Brick is not so bad.  As has been rightly pointed (sorry) out, even old and distressed brickwork does not stand proud of it's mortar or cement more than a couple of mm, and that scaled down to 1/76th is an almost irrelevant dimension. 

 

Almost but not quite, for the purposes of my DS anyway.  The illusion is still spoiled when side or angled lighting is shone on the wall; the little shadows need to be there. I don't like overhead lighting on my layout, South Wales isn't the tropics (no sh*t, Sherlock) and the sun is never even close to directly overhead even on midsummer day at astronomical noon.  For most of the year at 51 degrees N shadow is a prominent factor in any daylit scene.  I have gone to some trouble to devise lighting that plays on the layout from a roughly 45degree angle, and is directional, so that detail on the sides of the models is shown more clearly than it would be in the semi-shade that would result from direct overhead lighting, which makes the roofs too brightly lit anyway.

 

I will mention Scale Model Scenery printed card low relief buildings, unashamedly devoid of much in the way of relief but, despite printed windows, superbly presented as run-down semi-derelict industrial bleakness perfect for a post-war to 1980 period and fine for backdrop use.  And cheap as well, especially as my order for Wood Bros came with a freebie end gable factory building which has been handy as the colliery winding house with a bit of modification.

 

Resin RTP brick is pretty good, but a little expensive from the Skaledale and Scalescenes ranges.  The bricks have a reasonable amount of relief and the standard method of mortaring, running white or cream paint into the gaps and wiping the surface, brings the relief out in a way that may or may not be dead-on scale but 'looks right' to me and my DS mechanisms.  I made the mistake of buying a Scenix loco shed for the colliery, though, reasonably priced and looked the part until I realised there were no windows, and they were solid painted in black.  It is now doing duty as the pithead boiler house with the Rule 1 excuse of blackout hangover from the interesting period of German foreign policy betwen 1939 and 1945.  I've got a Harburn Hobbies pigeon loft which is not bad in the background but a bit lumpen and liken to a plaster tourist knick-knack for my taste.  So, clearly, quality and realism varies.

 

Plastic brick, in kits or Wills/Plasticard sheets, varies as well.  Wills (bit pricey if you've a large area to cover) are pretty good.  The old Airfix (now Kitmaster from Dapol) kits have raised mortaring, a bit like the gaps in Triang rolling stock planks, while Plasticard suffers a bit from the mortar-too-deep syndrome, and so do some of the Gaugemaster kits; I think these used to be made by Heljan.  Tiled and slate roofs on these need replacing just to shield my beautiful eyes from the horror, in fact I make my own slate roofs from thick cartridge paper on almost all of my buildings that need them.  Roof tiles were rare in South Wales except for decorative ridge tiles and bargeboards before WW1 and the spread of the arts'n'crafts middle class suburbia dross of a century ago; slate was cheaper!  Cartridge paper slate roofs in overlaid strips validate my argument about relief fairly conclusively, I contend.

 

Overdeep brick relief can, I suggest, be sorted by means of a dilute plaster mix run into the gaps between bricks and then wiped off in the same way as a weathering wash; bit of practice should get you the finish you want.  Theoretical, because I haven't actually done this to a Gaugemaster building kit, watch this space (or the layout topic), though.

 

Let us now consider lasercut scratch-aid building shells.  These vary enormously from twee tat to pretty good, but attempts to replicate brickwork are usually not worth the bother, which does not bode well for attempts at stonework.  That said, I have a row of five terraced workers' cottages that look to be from the 1840s or so, based on a West Yorkshire prototype I believe, from Ancorton, which are superb.  They've got my own roof slates, but the stonework is excellently presenteed and the relief is good.  Painted to represent the local Valleys Pennant Sandstone, they pass muster very well indeed.  I'm reminded of the Rhydycar Terrace at the St.Fagan's Folk Museum, which I remember in situ in Merthyr Tydfil.  I can recommend Fair Price Models as well, for quality and, um, to be fair, fair pricing...  I have a corner shop from them as well, and I cheated on this one, rendered walls being perfectly acceptable for early 20th century buildings in South Wales.

 

But there are some appalling overpriced badly proportioned frankly rubbish except as xmas cake decoration lasercuts out there.  A mistake was a small luckily not too expensive goods shed from lcut on the Bay, which had printed card doors which have warped, and rather derisory brickwork, so I'm thinking of replacing it (along with a Metcalfe signal box which I managed to drop a hammer on, never 100% happy with it anyway for the reasons discussed although the printing was first-class).  Favourite at the moment is a Gaugemaster ex-Heljan that I like the form of, but it'll need a lot of work to bring it up to scratch.  I'm intending to try out my plaster mortaring method on it.  The favourite signalbox at the moment is also Gaugemaster, marketed as 'Fordhampton' but a GW standard type to be painted in WR livery, but this is a lapped plank structure, and no staircase outside to trip me up, so there is no stone or brick trouble.  The roof though, my eyes, my beautiful eyes...

 

Then we come to 3D printing.  Again, a lot of appalling overpriced tat to wade through on the Shapeways site to find anything worth bothering with, and not cheap.  Simon Dawson of this very parish, Rue d'Etropal, trading as Recreation 21, does a row of terrace cottages that I intend to purchase, though; forced perspective low relief fronts or backs running along a street from 4mm to 2mm scale, just the optical illusion I am looking for for the end of the village.  3D can offer very detailed and realistic models, but the entry level is too low to provide enough of them to emerge from the morass of a trawl through SW.  Some work is going to be needed to clean flash on what will be some very delicate parts such as window frames.  A more 1890s looking stone-faced terrace, five dwellings again, can't recall where from offhand now, was a success, but, again, needed a proper roof and drain detail adding.  Don't mind this with 3D or lasercut which are more scratch-aids anyway; it's called modelling, kids, ask your grandparents about it!

 

I've made what I'm certain is the right policy decision, no more printed card, for me; I write this screed as a means of mentally ratifying my though process and as general comment if anyone's interested, and there's no law says you have to be.  This is my opinion FWIW, probably as much as I'm charging you for it, and not to be taken as instruction, advice, or in any way as my attempting to foist it on others who are quite happy with printed detail on buildings.  There is no right or wrong way to get the result you want, as long as you are content with it, but my rationale as applied to the forum discussion may be of use to someone, hopefully.

[Chamby]

6 hours ago, The Johnster said:

I thought I'd put my two-penn'orth in on the subject of brick, stone, &c papers vs plastic moulded surfaces with relief.  I've used my share of Metcalfe &c structures on Cwmdimbath with varying degrees of satisfaction, and in this case satisfaction depends on disbelief suspension.  DS is a tricksy customer, which can upset your perception of a model in different, unpredictable, and inconsistent ways, and you will be able to point out inconsistencies in my argument on the subject... 

 

I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer accept printed card two-dimensional surfaces on my buildings except for placeholders and background features.  Plenty of highly respected modellers are fine with them, and I've enjoyed making up the kits, plus they have the advantage of being cheap, no small consideration in my case.  But the truth is I can't be doing with them.  Especially stone, where I feel the play of light across the surface of a wall is vital to DS.  Brick is not so bad.  As has been rightly pointed (sorry) out, even old and distressed brickwork does not stand proud of it's mortar or cement more than a couple of mm, and that scaled down to 1/76th is an almost irrelevant dimension. 

 

Almost but not quite, for the purposes of my DS anyway.  The illusion is still spoiled when side or angled lighting is shone on the wall; the little shadows need to be there. I don't like overhead lighting on my layout, South Wales isn't the tropics (no sh*t, Sherlock) and the sun is never even close to directly overhead even on midsummer day at astronomical noon.  For most of the year at 51 degrees N shadow is a prominent factor in any daylit scene.  I have gone to some trouble to devise lighting that plays on the layout from a roughly 45degree angle, and is directional, so that detail on the sides of the models is shown more clearly than it would be in the semi-shade that would result from direct overhead lighting, which makes the roofs too brightly lit anyway.

 

I will mention Scale Model Scenery printed card low relief buildings, unashamedly devoid of much in the way of relief but, despite printed windows, superbly presented as run-down semi-derelict industrial bleakness perfect for a post-war to 1980 period and fine for backdrop use.  And cheap as well, especially as my order for Wood Bros came with a freebie end gable factory building which has been handy as the colliery winding house with a bit of modification.

 

Resin RTP brick is pretty good, but a little expensive from the Skaledale and Scalescenes ranges.  The bricks have a reasonable amount of relief and the standard method of mortaring, running white or cream paint into the gaps and wiping the surface, brings the relief out in a way that may or may not be dead-on scale but 'looks right' to me and my DS mechanisms.  I made the mistake of buying a Scenix loco shed for the colliery, though, reasonably priced and looked the part until I realised there were no windows, and they were solid painted in black.  It is now doing duty as the pithead boiler house with the Rule 1 excuse of blackout hangover from the interesting period of German foreign policy betwen 1939 and 1945.  I've got a Harburn Hobbies pigeon loft which is not bad in the background but a bit lumpen and liken to a plaster tourist knick-knack for my taste.  So, clearly, quality and realism varies.

 

Plastic brick, in kits or Wills/Plasticard sheets, varies as well.  Wills (bit pricey if you've a large area to cover) are pretty good.  The old Airfix (now Kitmaster from Dapol) kits have raised mortaring, a bit like the gaps in Triang rolling stock planks, while Plasticard suffers a bit from the mortar-too-deep syndrome, and so do some of the Gaugemaster kits; I think these used to be made by Heljan.  Tiled and slate roofs on these need replacing just to shield my beautiful eyes from the horror, in fact I make my own slate roofs from thick cartridge paper on almost all of my buildings that need them.  Roof tiles were rare in South Wales except for decorative ridge tiles and bargeboards before WW1 and the spread of the arts'n'crafts middle class suburbia dross of a century ago; slate was cheaper!  Cartridge paper slate roofs in overlaid strips validate my argument about relief fairly conclusively, I contend.

 

Overdeep brick relief can, I suggest, be sorted by means of a dilute plaster mix run into the gaps between bricks and then wiped off in the same way as a weathering wash; bit of practice should get you the finish you want.  Theoretical, because I haven't actually done this to a Gaugemaster building kit, watch this space (or the layout topic), though.

 

Let us now consider lasercut scratch-aid building shells.  These vary enormously from twee tat to pretty good, but attempts to replicate brickwork are usually not worth the bother, which does not bode well for attempts at stonework.  That said, I have a row of five terraced workers' cottages that look to be from the 1840s or so, based on a West Yorkshire prototype I believe, from Ancorton, which are superb.  They've got my own roof slates, but the stonework is excellently presenteed and the relief is good.  Painted to represent the local Valleys Pennant Sandstone, they pass muster very well indeed.  I'm reminded of the Rhydycar Terrace at the St.Fagan's Folk Museum, which I remember in situ in Merthyr Tydfil.  I can recommend Fair Price Models as well, for quality and, um, to be fair, fair pricing...  I have a corner shop from them as well, and I cheated on this one, rendered walls being perfectly acceptable for early 20th century buildings in South Wales.

 

But there are some appalling overpriced badly proportioned frankly rubbish except as xmas cake decoration lasercuts out there.  A mistake was a small luckily not too expensive goods shed from lcut on the Bay, which had printed card doors which have warped, and rather derisory brickwork, so I'm thinking of replacing it (along with a Metcalfe signal box which I managed to drop a hammer on, never 100% happy with it anyway for the reasons discussed although the printing was first-class).  Favourite at the moment is a Gaugemaster ex-Heljan that I like the form of, but it'll need a lot of work to bring it up to scratch.  I'm intending to try out my plaster mortaring method on it.  The favourite signalbox at the moment is also Gaugemaster, marketed as 'Fordhampton' but a GW standard type to be painted in WR livery, but this is a lapped plank structure, and no staircase outside to trip me up, so there is no stone or brick trouble.  The roof though, my eyes, my beautiful eyes...

 

Then we come to 3D printing.  Again, a lot of appalling overpriced tat to wade through on the Shapeways site to find anything worth bothering with, and not cheap.  Simon Dawson of this very parish, Rue d'Etropal, trading as Recreation 21, does a row of terrace cottages that I intend to purchase, though; forced perspective low relief fronts or backs running along a street from 4mm to 2mm scale, just the optical illusion I am looking for for the end of the village.  3D can offer very detailed and realistic models, but the entry level is too low to provide enough of them to emerge from the morass of a trawl through SW.  Some work is going to be needed to clean flash on what will be some very delicate parts such as window frames.  A more 1890s looking stone-faced terrace, five dwellings again, can't recall where from offhand now, was a success, but, again, needed a proper roof and drain detail adding.  Don't mind this with 3D or lasercut which are more scratch-aids anyway; it's called modelling, kids, ask your grandparents about it!

 

I've made what I'm certain is the right policy decision, no more printed card, for me; I write this screed as a means of mentally ratifying my though process and as general comment if anyone's interested, and there's no law says you have to be.  This is my opinion FWIW, probably as much as I'm charging you for it, and not to be taken as instruction, advice, or in any way as my attempting to foist it on others who are quite happy with printed detail on buildings.  There is no right or wrong way to get the result you want, as long as you are content with it, but my rationale as applied to the forum discussion may be of use to someone, hopefully.

I have also followed a similar train of thought re: surface texture on building structures, but have settled on different products to achieve the desired effect.

 

For brickwork, I now prefer to use Redutex sheets, this is a flexible, 3D printed self-adhesive product that has a subtle relief that looks right from a viewing distance.   Not cheap (unless you buy it from a closing down retailer in Liverpool) but very effective: used here on my station building:

 

 

I am currently building a street of terraced houses by modifying the laser-cut building ‘shells’ and the excellent sash windows supplied by Scale Model Scenery, but will be replacing their printed paper brick sheets with Redutex.  The proprietor at SMS has been very accommodating about supplying part kits in bulk.

 

The are some excellent 3D laser-cut products out there, but I agree that you need to choose carefully: you mention lcut, but I have found their arched retaining walls are amongst the most realistic available - and robust enough.  JSModels use a much heavier grade material than lcut with an effective rendering of cut stone or brickwork: these buildings assemble really well and are an absolute pleasure to build:

 

 

Although in this image clearly one of the ModelU figures has found his sack too heavy!

 

I find it does pay to shop around, do your research and take your time to find the right quality products.  Increasingly though, I now find myself using commercial product as a base and then often heavily modifying them - or more recently as my skills have developed, scratch building to get the right outcome.  But there is some very good stuff out there now for the discerning modeller.

 

 

[Captain Kernow]

8 hours ago, The Johnster said:

I thought I'd put my two-penn'orth in on the subject of brick, stone, &c papers vs plastic moulded surfaces with relief.  I've used my share of Metcalfe &c structures on Cwmdimbath with varying degrees of satisfaction, and in this case satisfaction depends on disbelief suspension.  DS is a tricksy customer, which can upset your perception of a model in different, unpredictable, and inconsistent ways, and you will be able to point out inconsistencies in my argument on the subject... 

 

I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer accept printed card two-dimensional surfaces on my buildings except for placeholders and background features.  Plenty of highly respected modellers are fine with them, and I've enjoyed making up the kits, plus they have the advantage of being cheap, no small consideration in my case.  But the truth is I can't be doing with them.  Especially stone, where I feel the play of light across the surface of a wall is vital to DS. 

It's interesting, isn't it, what the eye can be tricked into seeing...

 

This is a view of a scratchbuilt card cottage I built, based closely on a prototype, for John Farmer's (Re6/6) P4 model of Parkend Marsh Sidings:

 

It's a card model, using Scalescenes stone paper.

 

Here is on the layout, about to be passed by one of my outrageously clean panniers:

 

The building to the left of it (scenic work around it hadn't been completed at the time of the photo), is also a model of the adjacent Police house in Parkend, but that is built from Slaters Plasticard...

 

Edited January 30 by Captain Kernow

[John Besley]

Just to join in, I think it's all a question of scale I couldn't use printed paper in 7/8ths scale -  this is a close up of my workshop building - shell built from 18mm plywood covered in 5mm of polyfilla and hand carved plaster, the paving slabs are DAS modeling clay 6mm thick, the weeds / Dock leaves are made from aluminium food trays and hand cut out on a wire armature. The rat is a 3d print 

 

 

[Barry Ten]

There's a bit of everything here (with apologies for reposting an image I put on another thread last night):

 

 

Printed card (the corner bar and adjacent building to the right), resin (the ornate building in the background), plastic kit (the building to the left of the bar), scratchbuilt, and use of Redutex embossed sheets, as well as Faller and Wills plastic sheets. I've used a similar mix and match on all my layouts. There's no brick paper in shot in the view below but I have used Scalescenes downloads elsewhere on the layout, especially their concrete texture. The main buildings are a mix of resin, plastic kit and scratchbuilt card and Slaters sheets, while the walling in the foreground is plaster-cast in reusable rubber moulds.

 

[31A]

To join in about textures (or not) on model buildings, I get what is said about using printed papers, and embossed mortar courses being too deep, but on the whole I find it easiest to work with Slater's embossed products.

 

I'm happy working with Plasticard anyway, and find it easy to add details such as plinth courses, sills, quoins and arched courses above doors and windows using Plasticard.  Sometimes the bricks can have a rounded surface (but this seems to vary from sheet to sheet) so I tend to rub lightly over them with fine sandpaper before starting, which also gives a key for painting.

 

It also suits the way I paint and weather buildings (and rolling stock etc) as I am happiest using enamels which may or may not be thinned as necessary with white spirit to produce washes.

 

Also, I have seen examples of buildings covered with printed sheets of various sorts which have faded or discoloured quite badly over time with exposure to light, which won't happen (as far as I know) with my Plasticard buildings!

 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

Having just phoned DJH, I can confirm that all the firm's loco kits, in all scales, have been sold/passed on to Ellis Clark. 

 

Since I have no contact with the latter firm, I have no idea whether there'll be any new kits or not. 

[Tony Wright]

An interesting comparison...........

 

 

Geoff Haynes has repainted this Hornby A2/3 (originally EDWARD THOMPSON in LNER green). 

 

Front steps and brake rigging are yet to be fitted.

 

And the comparison?

 

 

A Crownline A2/3 of the same identity. I built this a quarter of a century ago and Ian Rathbone painted it.

 

Much to choose between? 

 

The backing plate between the sandbox fillers, lower front bulkhead on the tender and the spoked tender wheels.

 

Mine's dirtier, of course, though still clean for a New England Pacific.

 

 

[MikeParkin65]

8 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

An interesting comparison...........

 

 

Geoff Haynes has repainted this Hornby A2/3 (originally EDWARD THOMPSON in LNER green). 

 

Front steps and brake rigging are yet to be fitted.

 

And the comparison?

 

 

A Crownline A2/3 of the same identity. I built this a quarter of a century ago and Ian Rathbone painted it.

 

Much to choose between? 

 

The backing plate between the sandbox fillers, lower front bulkhead on the tender and the spoked tender wheels.

 

Mine's dirtier, of course, though still clean for a New England Pacific.

 

 

Very little in it for me. Geoff's paint job really gets the best out of the Hornby tooling. The chassis of the Crownline version is more convincing for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, perhaps its the tighter relationship between the front bogie wheels and the frame and also the rear pony looks like its properly carrying weight (not least because it has a proper flanged wheel.) Coincidentally I'm just sound fitting a Hornby Sun Castle (bought cheaply when  the models were being 'bargain binned' ) and I'm surprised how fragile the body feels given the weight of the loco chassis. 

Edited January 30 by MikeParkin65
Tender chassis isn’t metal - it just felt very cold in the attic 😂

[t-b-g]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

Having just phoned DJH, I can confirm that all the firm's loco kits, in all scales, have been sold/passed on to Ellis Clark. 

 

Since I have no contact with the latter firm, I have no idea whether there'll be any new kits or not. 

 

There are still a handful of kits showing as being in stock and available on the DJH website, so perhaps they haven't updated it.

 

From a marketing point of view, it would make sense for Ellis Clark to let the world know that they have them. At the moment the kits are well buried on their website and if you hadn't been tipped off to look for them, you would have to get lucky to find them.

 

I do wonder what sort of market there would be for many of the kits nowadays, especially those now available RTR but there were quite a few from DJH that have not yet been duplicated and those may well be missed by a bigger number of modellers.

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, t-b-g said:

 

There are still a handful of kits showing as being in stock and available on the DJH website, so perhaps they haven't updated it.

 

From a marketing point of view, it would make sense for Ellis Clark to let the world know that they have them. At the moment the kits are well buried on their website and if you hadn't been tipped off to look for them, you would have to get lucky to find them.

 

I do wonder what sort of market there would be for many of the kits nowadays, especially those now available RTR but there were quite a few from DJH that have not yet been duplicated and those may well be missed by a bigger number of modellers.

Good evening Tony,

 

I wonder when Ellis Clark will announce that they've taken over the DJH kits - not just OO, but the HO and O ones as well, or so I was told earlier. 

 

Yes, DJH does (did) make a few OO kits which have not been duplicated RTR, but, in the main, these are the earlier ones (several from the Banbury days). These include the types with 'old-fashioned' plate brass frames - no brake detail - and those with fewer etched components; the NER types, for instance, and the Scottish ones. These were among those I'd been asked to look at for potential upgrades. Since I have no contact at Ellis Clark, then my 'services' will probably not now be required, even assuming the new owners will consider revisiting those older kits. Take the Jones Goods as an example; what chance of the DJH kit being revamped when there's an RTR one on the horizon? There are others.

 

We'll have to see, but it would be a sad day if some of the kits from the range were to disappear. But, maybe I'm being too lugubrious. It's also not a good idea to speculate, but since I've assisted DJH by conducting research, building prototypes, test-building kits, writing instructions and taking photographs for the firm for near-30 years, it'll be good to get a clear picture of what's currently happening. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[The Johnster]

8 hours ago, Chamby said:

 

For brickwork, I now prefer to use Redutex sheets, this is a flexible, 3D printed self-adhesive product that has a subtle relief that looks right from a viewing distance.

 

I will check these out; tx for the headsup!

 

7 hours ago, Captain Kernow said:

This is a view of a scratchbuilt card cottage I built, based closely on a prototype, for John Farmer's (Re6/6) P4 model of Parkend Marsh Sidings:

 

It's a card model, using Scalescenes stone paper.

 

 

I have to concede that it looks superb, mon capitaine, and the light is falling at the exactly correct angle to match the shading on the printed stonepaper.  But, is not the illusion destroyed or at least compromised as the viewing perspective, here fixed by the camera position, changes in reality as you move about?

 

The conclusion, if there is to be one, is probably going to be that different methods will be more suited or less so to different applications, and that viewing buildings the same direction as the lighting is falling on them or in silhouette is pretty 'flat' anyway; it is likely that my preference for side-lighting and an 'against the light' element to my viewpoints favours relief-centric solutions anyway.  The key to success is choosing the best model or material that works for you for the particular job in hand.

[Tony Wright]

More A2/3 comparisons............

 

 

The Crownline one, seen earlier.

 

 

A Bachmann/King conversion by Graeme King himself, repainted/weathered by me. 

 

A DJH example, built by me and painted by Ian Rathbone.

 

 

Another DJH A2/3 with detail differences, also built by me, with painting by Geoff Haynes. 

 

There's a further A2/3 on Bytham, 60513, but in detail terms it's the same as 60523.

 

 

And the repainted Hornby one again, this time with the steps, cylinder drain cocks and brake rigging added.

 

On this 13-car rake, it struggled a bit in comparison with the others, but it got it going in the end. 

 

 

A pro-paint job really lifts any model! 

 

 

[Michael Edge]

3 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

An interesting comparison...........

 

 

Geoff Haynes has repainted this Hornby A2/3 (originally EDWARD THOMPSON in LNER green). 

 

Front steps and brake rigging are yet to be fitted.

 

And the comparison?

 

 

A Crownline A2/3 of the same identity. I built this a quarter of a century ago and Ian Rathbone painted it.

 

Much to choose between? 

 

The backing plate between the sandbox fillers, lower front bulkhead on the tender and the spoked tender wheels.

 

Mine's dirtier, of course, though still clean for a New England Pacific.

 

 

I think the kit built one looks much better, more like a loco and less like a shiny toy - even with the repaint it still looks like moulded plastic.

[davidw]

4 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

An interesting comparison...........

 

 

Geoff Haynes has repainted this Hornby A2/3 (originally EDWARD THOMPSON in LNER green). 

 

Front steps and brake rigging are yet to be fitted.

 

And the comparison?

 

 

A Crownline A2/3 of the same identity. I built this a quarter of a century ago and Ian Rathbone painted it.

 

Much to choose between? 

 

The backing plate between the sandbox fillers, lower front bulkhead on the tender and the spoked tender wheels.

 

Mine's dirtier, of course, though still clean for a New England Pacific.

 

 

 

That is stunning.

 

It's such a shame Hornby so thoroughly much up the green on the first run. 

It'll be interesting to see how 60502 looks. It's been listed since 2021 now due winter this year

[davidw]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

More A2/3 comparisons............

 

 

The Crownline one, seen earlier.

 

 

A Bachmann/King conversion by Graeme King himself, repainted/weathered by me. 

 

A DJH example, built by me and painted by Ian Rathbone.

 

 

Another DJH A2/3 with detail differences, also built by me, with painting by Geoff Haynes. 

 

There's a further A2/3 on Bytham, 60513, but in detail terms it's the same as 60523.

 

 

And the repainted Hornby one again, this time with the steps, cylinder drain cocks and brake rigging added.

 

On this 13-car rake, it struggled a bit in comparison with the others, but it got it going in the end. 

 

 

A pro-paint job really lifts any model! 

 

 

It provokes tempting thoughts 

[westerner]

Excuse me interupting againb but I have spent the last month or so slightly changing my 0 gauge layout Blackney. I wanted to some of my sort of modelling ie scenery, but the layout is all but finished and I have no room to expand or extend. What to do????

I've got it Make the fiddleyard scenic. It will keep me out of the pub, fill a modelling need and give me somewhere else to pose locos and stock for taking photos. Now whilst the layout is set in the Forest of Dean, it is not all trees. many of the lines pass through open areas. So that's what I would do. Problem!! the fiddleyard has a sector plate, answer have a removeable scenic section that can be taken out whilst the layout is operated. 

I must admit I'm more than happy with the result considering it was done when my right eye was suffering from PCO which meant sight through that eye was rather hazy to say the least. That problem was dealt with last week (laser treatment) and i can see properly again or at least as proper as a man of 77 should be able to see. and I am still happy with my efforts.

 

Any way some photos

Fiddleyard as originally built.

 

 

 

Nearly finished with moveable section taken out

 

 

 

With moveable section in

 

 

and finished

 

[Tony Wright]

52 minutes ago, davidw said:

 

That is stunning.

 

It's such a shame Hornby so thoroughly much up the green on the first run. 

It'll be interesting to see how 60502 looks. It's been listed since 2021 now due winter this year

Good evening David,

 

The first Hornby A2/2s in BR green looked really weird. It will be interesting to see what 60502 looks like when it becomes available; eventually.

 

You might recall, when 60501 first appeared, I spent a little time turning it into 60502.........

 

 

Extending the smokebox handrails, detailing, renumbering/renaming and so on.

 

Geoff Haynes' weathering disguised the bilious green to some extent. 

 

And, on a layout............

 

 

 

 

I didn't think it looked too bad. 

 

However, how many A2/2s might a layout need, especially as I've built half the class for LB?

 

Thus............

 

 

I sold it to Giles Baxter, where it fits in perfectly on his magnificent rendition of York (though it needs lamps - I didn't sell those with it!). 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[MikeParkin65]

Hornby definitely getting better at an acceptable rendition of BR green, latest 2MT and the A2/3

[Ellis Clark]

3 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good evening Tony,

 

I wonder when Ellis Clark will announce that they've taken over the DJH kits - not just OO, but the HO and O ones as well, or so I was told earlier. 

 

Yes, DJH does (did) make a few OO kits which have not been duplicated RTR, but, in the main, these are the earlier ones (several from the Banbury days). These include the types with 'old-fashioned' plate brass frames - no brake detail - and those with fewer etched components; the NER types, for instance, and the Scottish ones. These were among those I'd been asked to look at for potential upgrades. Since I have no contact at Ellis Clark, then my 'services' will probably not now be required, even assuming the new owners will consider revisiting those older kits. Take the Jones Goods as an example; what chance of the DJH kit being revamped when there's an RTR one on the horizon? There are others.

 

We'll have to see, but it would be a sad day if some of the kits from the range were to disappear. But, maybe I'm being too lugubrious. It's also not a good idea to speculate, but since I've assisted DJH by conducting research, building prototypes, test-building kits, writing instructions and taking photographs for the firm for near-30 years, it'll be good to get a clear picture of what's currently happening. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Evening Tony & everyone,

 

To confirm, we have bought all the DJH OO kits and these are going live on our website clarkrailworks.com.

 

Unfortunately, we don't have any of their O gauge range and we don't have any plans to manufacture them.

 

All the best,

Ellis.

[gr.king]

Does that mean that the manufacturing rights (for all scales) are still with DJH, who would therefore be at liberty at some future date to sell the rights to another, or to make more kits if so inclined? Have they merely rid themselves of the task of (slowly?) selling just the existing OO stock?

Edited January 30 by gr.king