dibber25

LNER is unlined. In fact none of the first batch has any lining. CHRIS LEIGH

Very nice photo going in the next (but one) Model Rail (issue 152) CHRIS LEIGH

The first batch of four liveries (plus one for Murphy's Models) are the top four from the original livery survey that we did. The ones which got most votes are the ones we're doing first, as promised. Subsequent batches with different liveries will be done after the first batch has sold through. CHRIS LEIGH

We can't confirm a price yet, so the ordering details will have to wait. The price shown in Britain's Model Trains has already been overtaken by events. CHRIS LEIGH

Was there any evidence of the progress on this model at Warley last weekend and does anyone know if delivery is still planned for early 2011? (quote) There was a sample in 'works silver', complete except for the buffer heads. We borrowed it for photography. I don't think I'm giving away any state secrets if I say it weighs heavy, runs well, has drive to both axles and a full interior in the passenger saloons. The chassis is cast and largely hidden by the WMD's skirting. The other railbuses will require a VERY different chassis, presumably that's why they aren't progressing so quickly. CHRIS LEIGH

We change its direction every once in a while and we even stop and have a play with it now and then! Attempts to double-head with a Hornby L1 proved unsuccessful, however! CHRIS LEIGH

It's a reasonable test of a new motor. It will be 100 hours cumulative as we can't leave it running overnight. It is reasonable to assume that level of running - ie 6-8 hours per day for 12-15 days - is more strenuous than it will get under any 'reasonable use' conditions by a customer. We're not trying to test it to destruction, merely to ensure that it will stand up to reasonable use. It will likely be doing some of that running at the Warley show this coming weekend. CHRIS LEIGH

BTW are we to assume that this year's NRM model is the GC 8K and not some new, more exotic, tooling I wonder?) (quote) You might like to assume that. I couldn't possibly comment. CHRIS LEIGH

I wasn't aware a price had been shown in Britain's Model Trains. I haven't really been closely involved in this project but we were hoping to get in around the £75 mark. Bear in mind that the VAT change in January is likely to affect the final price. The model will be available through the MR shop - that is by mail order, telephone or online and I'll post the details on here once we're ready to do so. We still have a way to go. The test model has run for 4 days so far but will need to run for 12-15 days before we can sign off the mechanism. The decoration has to be sorted out and we are providing hand-finished samples for Dapol to copy. We plan to have these samples on show at Warley unless they have to be sent off urgently before then. CHRIS LEIGH

It was running bunker first in the video. It has been running 'forwards' today but the front looks like the back anyway...... CHRIS LEIGH

The 1962 livery is a THIRD variant which the NRM has not yet done on the model. The frames and sandboxes were 'Indian red' but the story goes that no genuine Indian red was on hand at the time, so the painter mixed buffer beam red and freight bauxite to an approximation of how he thought Indian Red looked. Contemporary colour slides show it as much lighter and more vivid than the proper Indian Red applied in 1985 and used on the NRM model. Sorry, but I think it looks boring in the present black frame livery and I'd love to see the real thing and the Bachmann model in the 1962 red. After all, its a legitimate service livery for the loco - it was in daily service working trains in that colour scheme - AND its a period which a lot of people model. CHRIS LEIGH

The model on the video isn't a finished sample, its just plain matt black. We are getting some other, non-powered, samples painted and lettered. The powered sample has just completed its third day of test running with the short train of wagons and is so far faultless. It does stall at slow speed on the long plastic frog of Hornby's curved points but I can't see a way round that, as the plastic frog is actually longer than the wheelbase of the loco. The £80-£100 price bracket quoted above is, as far as I know, a guess by one of the posters above. It is not a price bracket issued by Model Rail, as far as I am aware. We currently have no price worked out because the model is still under development and we don't yet know the final cost to us. We plan to price the model as keenly as we can but all matters related to pricing models from the Far East are very fluid at present. CHRIS LEIGH

I have no idea if this will work, but I've uploaded a small piece of video shot on Ben's phone. CHRIS LEIGH IMG_0057.MOV

Btw did you ever find out where that trestle bridge was located in the Railway Children movie? (quote) No. One or two good suggestions but no one seems really certain. Think I'm going to play with the Sentinel for five minutes. CHRIS LEIGH

....and now the official version: First powered Sentinel model received Dear All, We’re delighted to report that further pre-production samples of our ‘OO’ gauge Sentinel 4wVBT have arrived from China, including the first motorised model. Unpainted samples of the GWR, LNER and BR have arrived for approval, and will be displayed on Model Rail’s stand at the Warley National Model Railway exhibition at the NEC, Birmingham on November 20/21. We’re also hoping to have a couple of hand-painted samples for you to examine. The body and chassis tooling (slightly revised from engineering prototype 1) has now been completed and ‘locked down’ for production. Powered sample No. 1 is currently undergoing extensive running trials on our office test track, including endurance tests to ensure the motor and mechanism are robust enough to withstand 100 hours of running. So far, the model has passed all tests with flying colours, and surpassed our expectations in terms of haulage capacity and slow-speed running. On its first run, the model took 40 minutes to complete one 40ft circuit of a layout and hauled a train of 20 short-wheelbase coal wagons. Yesterday it also hauled a train of eight Hornby Mk 1 coaches – far more than the real thing would ever have been asked to do. As soon as we have photographs and video footage of the model in action, we’ll send out another update.

I've been on leave but I popped into the office today to find 5 Sentinels, one of which is the second engineering prototype, complete and operational. I think you're going to be impressed. I am! CHRIS LEIGH

Tools that are 50 years old - and a kit that Airfix always supplied in a box for better protection, no doubt.

I've been assisting Howes/Heljan as much as I can with railbus information. I think it's unlikely that the WMDs which went to Buxton would have got M prefixes. As far as I can tell none of the cars that went late to Scotland (ACs and Park Royals)had their prefixes changed. There are pictures of PRs in Scotland still with M on the side and certainly AC Cars W79976 still has its W prefixes visible without any sign that they were ever altered. I believe the Heljan model announced with an M prefix will, in fact, have the 'E'. However, I did suggest that a bit of modellers licence might allow them to put Buxton etc in the blind boxes even though its unlikely that the blinds got changed. If you look at pictures of the ACs running in Cornwall, they still show the Kemble destinations or nothing at all. Lots of pictures of railbuses in Scotland show them running with plain white - no blind at all - but I think it would be disappointing if Heljan chose not to put anything in the destination box. CHRIS LEIGH

I had my 1964 Sunbeam Rapier on my Black Dog Halt layout. It was actually painted with the Rootes 'Moonstone' touch-up paint which was all that I had left of the original car. Can't remember if I took the car off the layout before I passed it to Bentley MRG, or not. CHRIS LEIGH

They'll be blood and custard.

We want to carry out extensive testing of the mechanism before we press the green button for delivery. CHRIS LEIGH View Postdibber25, on 21 September 2010 - 21:52 , said: We have a very nice little Sentinel in the office, complete apart from the motor and gears. CHRIS LEIGH Err... For three days apart, aren't these two comments slightly contradictory - are you testing the motor/mechanism outside the body? (quote) Err - No. When I posted on 18/10 we hadn't received the sample and I was expecting it to contain a mechanism. When it arrived it didn't contain the motor, weight, gears, hence the post on 21 September. CHRIS LEIGH

Who says BR didn't run three Hawksworths in a row on expresses? (quote) Not so common by the time they had gone maroon but there are certainly pictures of the complete CRE as blood & custard Hawksworths, apart from the refreshment vehicle(s) which, of course, were earlier stock. Look for Maurice Earley shots around Reading with blue 'Kings' (18000, too) and you'll find rakes with more than three Hawksworths. CHRIS LEIGH

Part of the reason that the 'custard' is to dark may be because it is actually applied OVER the red and therefore needs to be pretty dense in order to cover the red. Try sanding the end of a Hawksworth and you'll find red under the black, too. Check out the TINY metal grab handles on the ends - the smallest I've seen on a OO model. Pity they've had to come off my slip coach conversion! CHRIS LEIGH