Kings Cross Model Shop

[Enterprisingwestern]

That would be where I was thinking of, I suspect it was a bit earlier though, from where I was working at the time I visited, pre-1988 I'd guess. They published a couple of "catalogues", actually A4 duplicated sheets listing various items. One covered locomotives and rolling stock IIRC, another was road vehicle kits which contained, as well as the usual Langley/ Westward/ ABS etc, other kits I'd never previously come across including Mi-Kits. I'd say that the Goxhill and Firsby businesses were one and the same, quite how the Chris Crawley name came into it, I'm not sure but possibly it had passed with the stock when the Tottenham business closed?

 

He was the actual Chris Crawley, I visited him in a business connection and the name and the stuff in the house instantly made the connection.

Once we got onto trains the visit took longer than anticipated!

 

Mike.

[Brit70053]

Its taken me some days because of numerous interruptions to read through this thread, but the theme of my contribution mirrors that of previous posters.

From the mid 1970s up to 1984 I was  called on  to visit London about three times a year. I recall frustration on my first sortie to KX Model Shop, I only had the time to glimpse through the window of this emporium which was seemingly legendary, before I had to proceed via Tube to my destination in SE 24.

That brief glimpse however , was sufficient to make me determined to visit the York Way shop on subsequent visits and I always made sure I was armed with a 'wants' list and the cash to pay for it.

Buying wasn't the only pleasure to be enjoyed there, the displays of exotic unpainted Brass locos (with price tags beyond my wildest dreams), the knowledge of the friendly staff and even just overheard 'In the Know' conversations were all part of the experience.

One of my favourite memories concerned the purchase of a Hornby Tender Driven A4 (inevitably 'MALLARD), when the assistant asked if I wanted "This Year's or last Year's model". What's the difference ? I enquired. "£1.50 and this year's model has no crew" came the answer. The term 'No Brainer' hadn't been coined yet, but would have been appropriate. The price difference contributed to the price of a pair of nameplates for 60024 'KINGFISHER', which naturally required re painting once they'd been cut out. 

After my thrice annual visits ceased in 1984, it was 1990 before I was to visit the capital again and discover, to my dismay, that the shop had closed.

The happy memories linger on however.

 

Regards,

 

                John

[CUTLER2579]

A really great read, it brings back so many memories of my time in the "Smoke" and the large numbers of Model Shops available. 

Earlier in this thread mention was made of Bert Collins. Is this the same Bert Collins who modelled "Hitchin" I wonder.

Regards,Derek.

[Herr Dienstleiter]

Hobbytime of West Wickham ... another sad loss ...

[roythebus]

A really great read, it brings back so many memories of my time in the "Smoke" and the large numbers of Model Shops available. 

Earlier in this thread mention was made of Bert Collins. Is this the same Bert Collins who modelled "Hitchin" I wonder.

Regards,Derek.

Quite possibly. There can't be that many Bert Collins around!

 

I don't know what happened to the rest of the original management crew of the "original shop, AMS Pickering, who moved to Wemyss Bay, Viscount Garnock, also owner of a steam loco at the time, and a chap called Peter Beeston who was the "finance

director when I worked there. I know AG Thomas is no longer with us; in the workshops we had Mike Sheppard, Geoff Packham and Simon Kelly who made the coach kits. Mike's locos had the tag MJS stamped on them, Simon's coaches had a cast SMK label, but Geoff's work went unrecorded afaik.

[Brian Kirby]

Crikey, i thought this thread died out after Christmas, but it's still going! I've just been catching up on the successive posts, and i see Andy Emmerson has been on, we were both saturday boys back in the mid-70s (Hi Andy, didn't you go on to footplate work at Stratford? You mentioned Jeff Costa, didn't he go into the RAF?). Dare i say this, but at the time Ken Jones was not very popular with customers or fellow staff, i thought he was an ex-bus driver and suffered from back problems, which may have affected his nature? He was always very fussy about his cups of coffee (very milky) and nobody could do anything right for him. In the end, the management realized his attitude was affecting trade and they canvassed the staff, who voiced their opinions and Ken went away on extended sick leave, i only ever saw him once again, when he returned one day as a customer.

  

After his departure, it was as if a great cloud had been lifted and everybody, from top to bottom, got on like a house on fire. I enjoyed it so much, that i went full time, although the wages weren't great. The Model Engineering and Easter exhibitions were always exciting, with plenty of preparation beforehand, back then they lasted for nearly a week. Bert Collins was there long before i joined, and was still there after i left 10 years later, although the business only carried on for another two years to 1988. Yes, Bert did have his lovely Hitchin layout, it was built into the roof of his house, it was a bit of a tight squeeze, when there were a few of us up there! Sadly, Bert passed away about ten years ago. 

 

                                                                Cheers, Brian.

[EddieB]

Some great memories here.

 

I think the last time I visited 14 York Way was in 1980 (by which time I had all but packed up railway modelling), when they were selling off some Liliput stuff and I came away with a Br.38/P8 which I intended (still do) to convert into a Polish Ok1.  Otherwise it was a great source of kits, bits and pieces and to look at the display cabinet (well beyond my affordability).  It was there also (1974) that I first discovered Continental Railway Journal, which became something of a life-changer as holidays were to become devoted to tracking down surviving steam.

 

My local model shop was Lea Models in Leyton.  Long gone, it was run by a friendly couple who had time and patience for a youngster and his pocket money.

 

Chuffs has been mentioned, but not that they also had a branch at Bucklersbury in the City.  Ok, their adverts were amusing, but I found them a bit pretentious and, being more used to dealing with affluent city folk, had little time for the less well off.

[CUTLER2579]

Brian,

mixed feelings over Bert Collins, sad that he has passed away, but glad he was the Hitchin Layout man.

Kind Regards, Derek.

[Obadiah]

Kings Cross Models, paid many visits through the 1970's to closure, though to get to the shop from the Circle Line platforms meant you had to pass all those nice ladies who all had an entrepreneurial interest in one’s, umm, wellbeing.

 

 

The trouble with the shop was that I never left the place empty handed, there always seemed to be something new to tempt one.

 

 

Now on the subject of those etched name plates, who remembers trying to cut out sets for the SR West Country pacific, OK the plates and shields were so-so, the front SOUTHERN disc was a challenge, but the tiny West Country scrolls drove one to the point of complete distraction, but I did manage to complete a couple of sets . . . eventually.

 

[BernardTPM]

on the subject of those etched name plates, who remembers trying to cut out sets for the SR West Country pacific, OK the plates and shields were so-so, the front SOUTHERN disc was a challenge, but the tiny West Country scrolls drove one to the point of complete distraction, but I did manage to complete a couple of sets . . . eventually.

I faced a similar problem with the 'cast' BR lion for AC electrics (it was actually going onto a 'Western' but the description properly identifies it). In the end I stripped the colouring off, painted all the shape I wanted (full and half-etch) with Humbrol enamel, stuck it on some sticky tape and put it in PCB etch solution. Worked a treat, even for the lion's tongue!

[adrianbs]

   Hi  All,  If only I had the time, I could fill a  couple of pages to tie some of the previous posts together and add more stories.   I first visited KX the first month or

   so when I arrived at Imperial College ( Might as well namedrop ! ) and used the Underground from South Ken to KX station which I had never seen before.

   This was  1961 and    A.4s; A.3s etc etc plus the new Deltics were there. I had never reached the LNER area before having been in the sunny south of Dorset

   since 1952 apart from a short visit to  West Wickham where my mothers schoolfriend lived.   I went there many more times in later years but to a very different

   address.  My mother's friend's husband took us as far north as the IWC  and  Nat. His. Mus     When we lived in London  ( til 1952)  Hamleys was the Xmas

   treat, It had an O gauge layout running round the famous stair well   I don't think we ever bought anything nor do I recall ever going further north than Oxford

   Street to see the lights. 

 

         Naturally already being a mad model railway man I walked across the road to the model shop and bought a few very cheap bits from Ted M. My grant did

   not really  cover anything apart from Digs, food, (minimal ) and travel, in fact it did not really cover that.   Whilst my sojourn at college continued I visited most

   of the model shops around South, West and North  London and even ventured as far as Victors and Beatties of Southgate. They only had one shop in those

   days. I had deliberately chosen London because I wanted to become a FAMOUS MODEL RAILWAY MANUFACTURER.  and many of the well known names

   were based in London.   K's and Ian Allan at Shepherds Bush,  W & H in Baker St,  Bonds in Euston Road , Ian Allan at London Bridge,  Bec at Tooting

   Wills at Coulsdon ( Rather too far out at that time )  Cherry's at Richmond,  Bassett Lowke at Holborn  etc etc.   The O gauge bug had already infected me but

   as there was so little available I persevered in OO.  

     After College I based myself in New Haw whilst I worked for Vickers- BAC  at Weybridge on airy plains which I don't have a  great passion for but it seemed I 

  might get to know about modern technology and find some way of making  MODEL RAILWAYS especially as I had a degree in aeronautical engineering and no

  other useful qualifications. 

        Many years later ----

   Eventually the day dawned when I drove up to the KX shop,and parked outside  You could do that in those days although yellow lines appeared about that time

   and you had to keep and eye out and catch the meter maid to explain you were delivering which got you about another 15mins. I went in and asked to see Ted

   and proudly showed him my first three wagons kits in their packets and the made up samples.  I was somewhat taken aback when his immediate reaction was that

   as they were whitemetal he did not expect they would sell and that unless I started making plastic kits my path to fame would have a very large cliff a few steps

   further on or words to that effect.  I had already been involved with Mopok and George and Allan for a couple of years and done whitemetal  castings for them

   and some other items so this was rather shattering.      He agreed to take about 6 of each however, probably feeling I might not be able to afford the petrol home

   if he didn't.   A few days later he contacted me and said would I be able to supply about 24 of each to divide between KX and Reading ASAP.  I was FAMOUS

   already !!  It was just as well as I had left BAC to make models full time and my two biggest customers had just shut down  G & A with finance problems and Mopok

   to follow more lucrative paths in the case of John Senior

                   Hope to read more posts as this has really brought back memories         adrianbs  

       Just hope some of you have guessed who this might be otherwise my claim to FAME may look a bit hollow!.

[hayfield]

gee-us a clue....

 

 

Please tell us more, not only Coachman that is interested

[bbishop]

and proudly showed him my first three wagons kits in their packets and the made up samples.  I was somewhat taken aback when his immediate reaction was that

   as they were whitemetal

Including the LSWR 5 plank wagon in a cardboard tube. I built three of them, my first whitemetal kits, originally using epoxy. When they fell apart, rebuilt with low melt solder.

 

Bill

[The Stationmaster]

I reckon he did become a famous model railway manufacturer - definitely some superb wagon kits (I bought mine from Eames all those years ago and they went together beautifully - low melt soldered using a 12v Oryx iron running off an H&M Powermaster).  In recent years I've acquired a few more in auction lots and they sit in one of my 'to do' boxes and I reckon - as clearly did manufacturers who used his casting exoertise - that ABS offered some of the best whitemetal castings you could get.

 

Mind you I never got round to putting together the BR lined maroon suburban kit which sit in its packing tube about 12 feet away from me.

Edited January 16, 2014 by The Stationmaster

[Nimbus]

Please tell us more, not only Coachman that is interested

 

Yes, the 'human story' behind all those little boxes and packets which first opened our eyes to the possibilities beyond Tri-ang is fascinating, and is as worth recording as the technical histories of model ranges that already have their archivists. Akin in many ways to the unsung heroes who channelled youthful enthusiasm onto classic discs of black vinyl around the same era.

 

The Nim.

[adrianbs]

     Hi All  Having  read most of the earlier posts I must add some corrections, amendments  and addition  mainly due to age having misled me on some of my

     post.  It was not Ian Allan at Shepherds bush or London bridge but of course ABC  Allan Brett Cannon  although I think the Allan bit may well have been

     Ian Allan. Perhaps someone else can confirm.  My digs for the three years were all in West London,  first on the edge of Richmond Park in a beautiful house

     south of East Sheen. The elderly lady looked after me like I was her favourite grandson.  Just to the west near the road over Mortlake Bridge there was a tiny

     second hand model railway shop and I offloaded some of my 3 rail  H/D  when I realised it was soon going to be worthless. Wish I had kept it now of course.!

     Cherry's the model engineers had a shop  further towards  Richmond.  After the first year at ICL I had to find new digs as  Mrs  Baker was getting very bad

     with arthritis and the third year I was with a minute little  90 year old lady, who used to tell me she had been "visiting the elderly" some days, goodness knows

     how old they were.  She had a flat off Chiswick High St so I passed  Jones Bros  from the tube station most  days.  A very useful source of Triang Bits 

 

      There was also another secondhand shop opposite Chiswick suburban station which sometimes had interesting  items.  I bought a Acro (Nucro ?)  NER "Quad"

     bogie bolster there and had no idea who produced it till I researched it. They were probably the first firm  to make "accurate"  whitemetal 4mm wagons and

     accessories but the costs were such that they were also the first to go out of business.  Their RTR "Quad"  was 21 shillings at a time when Triang wagons were 

    2s 6d and I think the kit was 17s 6d  but they had sprung axles and scale OO wheels.   I later made a kit of the same model as it was such an easy design to

    produce but unfortunately I used the same inaccurate Roche drawing as they had and had to revise the kit later.

 

      On  my first visits to KX   It  may  not have  Ted Morris as from what others have posted he may have come later.   I well remember hearing of his death and

    when the shops at KX and Reading were both closing due to the redevelopment I had a phone call from his son David who was doing an HGV course in his

    spare time.  He asked me if I would like to buy the remaining stocks of bus kits.  I completely misunderstood this at first, assuming he meant would I like to

    buy all the stock I had sold them from my own range which I was not that keen to do. David then made it clear that he was offering me all the stock and rights

    to the Eames and Brackenborough kits, reminding me that I had once said that if they ever came up for sale or needed castings done I would be interested.

    Having then been told the price I did not even haggle but got up to Reading where they had been stored as fast as possible.    He later said would I please

    take the casting machine and mould making press as well as they were cluttering up his garage.   I duly arrived and between us we dismantled the press

    which we could not lift in one piece and got it into my estate car with the casting machine.  I had not really considered quite how heavy this all was nor that

    the heavy bits were all near the tailgate.  Merrily driving away home I reached the first sharp bend and realised that the steering had gone extremely light,

    so much so that the car was hardly tuirning at all even with full lock.    Rapid adjustments  were then made to the loading and I managed the trip home

    safely although I think the spring stops came in handy a few times.

                      To bed now.    adrianbs

[devonseasider]

Good Lord.  Someone else ex- Imperial!  In my case, physics rather than aero-engineering.

Mind you, you're much older than me - it wasn't until October '67 that I rolled up there fresh-faced & quite naive in the ways of the big city.  Another inmate at that time - although on a different course - was a certain Brian May, who also went on to make a name for himself.  I didn't!

 

Like you, that was my introduction to KX models - and W&H, and Hamblings and, a little later, Chuffs. a real Aladdin's cave somewhere up near Marylebone.  LIttle was affordable on a grant, even supplemented with many hours of holiday work, but they were nice places to go & dream for a while and to escape the realities of atomic structure, thin film deposition, interminably-long thermodynamics equations and all the other delights (?) of a degree course.  I think I remember more about the model shops than I do about the lectures (although there was a rather nice young lady from Leeds who used to sit near us, but that's another story  .  .  .  .)

 

Digs for 2 years were in White Hart Lane - that's Barnes, not Tottenham - and the (very) occasional purchase from said emporia was funded by walking between there & South Ken., rather than taking the bus/tube.  I was a lot younger & fitter then than now!

 

Happy days (in some ways) but I'm not sure I'd want to do it again  .  .  .  .

[Talltim]

I'm much younger than most of you but I do remember once visiting KX Models, must have been towards the end of its life.

Reading through the thread has been interesting, so many 'names'. I hadn't realised that Paul Bartlett had lived in Harpenden, where I grew up. On a related note I was reading the instructions for a Cambrian OCA and noticed the wagon study group credited, including Huw Millington, who I know through an interest in Lego. A small world!

 

Good to see Paul Marshall Potter's name, I knew he was a good modeller from the stuff he brought to the WGC club, but hadn't realised he had a background in the trade, as it were. Do you still do Air Traffic Control related things?

Edited January 17, 2014 by Talltim

[sagaguy]

Does anyone remember W & H`s shop in Paddington St off the Marylebone Rd.It must have been 1961-2 when i purchased a K`s 63xx kit only to find that it wouldn`t go round 2ft radius curves without filing off the centre wheel flanges!!!.

 

  Do i miss those days?,

 

  you bet!.

 

Ray.

Edited January 17, 2014 by sagaguy

[adrianbs]

    Hi all     Others have mentioned  Dudley Dimmock   and whilst I was still living near Weybridge I would occasionally drive up to Tottenham, the shop was quite large

     and seemed to be 2 or 3 frontages knocked into one.  When they closed I still visited as Chris Crawley Models opened a very small shop further up the road and

     would often order from me. Eventually he moved up north when he found the area around his shop became a problem.   His name was transferred to  Brian

     Emberton who, after acquiring Nu Cast and K's  and various other ranges over a very short  period then passed away.   Dudley Dimmock moved down to my

    home town, Poole, and opened a double fronted shop near the station.  He had Geoff Barlow as a partner who lives in Swanage now.  I think they both worked

    for Graham Farish until they bought the shop and Dudley would forever tell people he had designed all the later GF  OO track.   Eventually there was  a falling

    out and Dudley moved to a small shop in Charminster as mentioned. This did not last long as most people found him not to their liking and preferred to shop with

    Geoff.   For a few years in the 70s I rented a back room  of the Poole shop as a casting workshop but then they developed Poole.  Geoff moved to a small shop

    in the lower High Street till he retired.  He ran his business very well and was very helpful even though I think it was only marginally profitable as he was right

    opposite a large toy shop which stocked Hornby and other RTR ranges. They sold the models, he repaired them when they failed !!!

           The Poole/Bournemouth conurbation has been quite a centre for smaller cottage industry manufacturers.  Originally  ERG  and later myself,  Dave Parkins

     of  Post War Prototypes then RJH who took over PWP and Cavalier and others in Gauge O  and some of my friends are also running small manufacturing

     businesses. to this day.

            I mentioned collecting the Eames stock from  Reading, I rarely went there before they closed as my stuff was always delivered to KX.   The Reading shop

     really was like something out of Dickens, especially out the back. I think Fagin would have been at home there  Although KX was not much better at least it was  

     reasonably clean and the narrow stairs were easily negotiable.  At  Reading when I collected all the stock it was stacked up the stairs and covered in dust. 

     It was badly lit and I have no idea how they found the items especially further up the stairs. Fortunately,  as I moved the stock each step was cleared ready to

    go up to the next one.  When I got home I had to clean out the car and all the boxes.

         

             Can anyone remember when the KX shop opened, I was sure I went there whilst still a student which was up to 1964.   I have never been much good at

     dates  but I was sure I went there before '64.    W & H was not in Baker St as I said but off it, in their earlier shop before they moved to New Cavendish St.

     Once I had got established they condescended to invite me to become one of their wholesale suppliers saying they would offer to buy my products with only

     a 60% discount off the retail price.  Since I was already hard pressed to keep up with demand and supplied about 40 retailers, including most of the

     important ones, at a maximum 40% discount  I politely declined.   They rarely bought from me, presumably only when a good customer asked them to supply.

     Just as well as I might have lost quite a lot when they crashed and burned and, had they been exclusive wholesalers as they had implied, it might have shut me

     down.  They tried hard to get exclusive rights to new ranges but as so many new names were appearing they must have found it difficult to keep up and many

     were wary of dealing with them as it left so little profit to live on.

                Great to read some of the posts, regards to Roy the bus, glad you are still going strong even though I have not seen you for many years.

                            Regards to all the rest as well    adrianbs

[stewartingram]

I think it was Dudley Dimmock that originally had a shop in Biggleswade? I remember going there around /60-/62-ish. He then moved to KGX, before I left school in 1964. We sometimes did trainspotting trips to London, calling at the shop. I would guess it would be around /62-/63?

 

Stewart

[adrianbs]

Hi All     I think Tony Dyer must have gone to work at the KX shop about '73-4 as that was about the time Mopok closed down when John Senior

 decided that the grass was greener elsewhere.     In his case case this proved more than true with the transport publishing company that he

 started.   I had just gone full time to keep up with orders from various other ranges although having very little in my own.  I had been doing the

 castings for Mopok etc and the patternmaking when required which was why so many accessories appeared in my first catalogue since the

 patterns still belonged to me.  I had also designed and made the Vac form tooling for the various coaches which were moulded by a firm

 somewhere near Heathrow I think.  John worked for Fuji as a photographic film rep. and he knew how to get the artwork and screen printing

 done for the coaches as well as high quality book printing.

 

    I had the "Brilliant" idea of Tubes for my boxes, they were very cheap and very strong but did have a few disadvantages !! The Mopok boxes

 had been conventional but rather flimsy but none of us in those days had enough money to invest in these businesses to use more than the

 cheapest of items.  In addition none of us were in a position to get bank loans even if we had been brave enough to risk doing so.

   

    John lived near Bracknell in those days which was not far from me in Weybridge so I used to go home to Poole alternate weekends and

 cast furiously for 2 or 3 days ( If I could get the Monday off from BAC ) and the next weekend I would deliver bits to various customers.  

 On one occasion I was driving over to John in the evening in my ' 64 "Woody" Cortina Mk 1 estate when, as approaching a roundabout near

 Bracknell and changing down into second, I suddenly discovered the gear lever was attached to my hand but nothing else.  Fortunately I was

 stuck in 2nd gear which meant I could still keep going with a lot of clutch slipping until I got to Johns.  I had to stay there overnight  and the

 AA man came out and attached a mole grip to what was left next morning and a new lever was fitted at the garage.

 

       Tony D was a really great guy and full of funny stories but I have only seen him once or twice since KX closed.  As mentioned, after

 Mopok he joined up with George Pring I think and started Kemilway which at the time produced some of the best etched parts going.

 Someone please remind me if it was George Pring and if he was the George in George and Allan of etched footbridge fame. I am sure he

 must have  been.  I know G.P  later produced some 7mm LNER coach kits with the most intricate etched bogies ever seen but sadly passed

 away a few years ago.  The KX shop stocked the Kemilway range for obvious reasons and I still have a Kitmaster BR 2-6-0 with kemilway

 valvegear

        

        Sorry i'm a bit "Off topic" as they say,  better stop rambling now before I get the chop from the Moderator.   Regards  all adrianbs

[hmrspaul]

 

 

       Tony D was a really great guy and full of funny stories but I have only seen him once or twice since KX closed.  As mentioned, after

 Mopok he joined up with George Pring I think and started Kemilway which at the time produced some of the best etched parts going.

 Someone please remind me if it was George Pring and if he was the George in George and Allan of etched footbridge fame. I am sure he

 must have  been.  I know G.P  later produced some 7mm LNER coach kits with the most intricate etched bogies ever seen but sadly passed

 away a few years ago.  The KX shop stocked the Kemilway range for obvious reasons and I still have a Kitmaster BR 2-6-0 with kemilway

 valvegear

        

        Sorry i'm a bit "Off topic" as they say,  better stop rambling now before I get the chop from the Moderator.   Regards  all adrianbs

Dear Adrian

 

Thank goodness  you added that remark as I was planning on sending Tony a link to this thread having just got back in touch with him via Xmas cards. He was the reason I opened up a new area on my photographic website - for ships, as he does a considerable amount on a huge photographic database of ships. http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/shipsferries

 

Paul Bartlett

PS - I've got four tubes of suburban coaches, basically unopened!

PPS Totally OT, in this picture are Tony (white trousers for gricing!) and his brother http://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/stalbansrailway/e1d09eab0

Edited January 18, 2014 by hmrspaul

[adrianbs]

  Hi  Paul,  Hope Tony gets on the forum,  when he moved north I lost track and I knew his interest in model railways had reduced although both times

   we met were at model railway shows.   I don't know if John Senior is still with us although I fear not as he had very severe heart problems last time

   I spoke to his "boys"  who were running the business by then.         Regards  adrianbs

[coachmann]

Tony Dyer called in here a few years ago with a friend while on a golfing holiday. This was the first time we had met after corresponding since the KX days. John Senior was one of my early customers before going full-time. His interest was buses and trams. I recall his neat little London Transport Guy GS, one of the best detailed bus kits up to that time.

Edited January 18, 2014 by coachmann