Jol Wilkinson

Mark, I think that the 4mm BTP was originally by Steve Barnfield, now available through London Road Models. Jol

Ironic that there is such concern over car date being shared with the manufacturer/dealer.,when your mobile phone is doing it all the time. When you sign up for Google, you have to agree to data sharing AFAIK. Our latest car has overly complicated software but there is a "Privacy" setting although I have yet to fully understand what that does. At least six years ago I took a photo of a box of garden furniture that my better half was interested in in a local garden centre. When I got home there was a message from Google, showing the photo I took (I can't remember what the rest of the unsolicited message said as I deleted it immediately).

Which is incorrect, the loco or the track?

The difficulty with requiring people to attend courses is whether they will actually take any notice of the course material. On the only occasion I have had a speeding ticket in more than sixty years of driving I opted to attend the speed awareness course. Two fellow attendees clearly saw it only as a way to avoid getting points on their licence and weren't interested in taking anything from the course that could improve their driving skills and safety..

One of the disadvantages of buying through Shapeways is that you are very much on your own when finishing the build. You haven't given any other details as to scale, gauge or width between the frames. You will need to look at various suppliers such as High Level Models for motor and gears, Alan Gibson or Markits for wheels, crankpins, bearings and coupling rods. Unless you can find someone who has already built a 3D version (there is a 4mm etched kit available for this loco but information on that won't help you), you will have to work out what will fit.

Yet it is common to hear an announcement on BBC4Extra before an older radio show (e.g. The Goons, Hancock's Half Hour, Steptoe and Son, etc.) to the effect that it includes "language and attitudes of the time", as these are socially unacceptable today. You don't hear the same warning ahead of todays TV comedy shows such as Live at the Apollo, where using the "F" word continually seems obligatory for some "comedians".

Some Brassmasters "small" items have gone to London Road Models, although he is still trying to sort out what is what, etc. An email via the LRM website contact button should provide an answer.

That may be true of some manufacturers but not all. For example Peugeot offer hatchbacks and estates in various sizes (possibly a by product of the French market's demand). It is much the same with the so called premium brands with saloons and estates although Audi get the prize (in my view) for bloated SUVs for the "look at what I drive" sector of the population. Nissan were an early mass production brand that produced a 2WD SUV which quickly became (and remains) a strong seller. So they presumably had identified a product that appealed to the UK market. Looking at their range, your argument is valid, but then they never had much in the mid size sector or estate cars anyway. Likewise with Kia and the other eastern car brands.

People chose to buy SUVs, they aren't forced to. Having had a "medium" SUV, then a "small" one we now have a 5 door hatchback. We will go back to a small SUV, as at 78 years of age, I find them easier to get into and out of.

It is not just the road surfaces that make the UK road system unfit for purpose. Traffic density is a major factor and shows that the road capacity either needs increasing and'or motorists need to be deterred from using them. Last Friday we travelled form Felixstowe to Bath (we had a family event during Saturday and it was the only day to travel to fit around the event). We took 25 minutes to travel the last three miles to get off the A12 onto the M25 (the roundabout was completely clogged There had also been a delay in the perpetual roadworks near Colchester). Further delays occurred approaching the M11 junction of the M25, between Chorleywood and the M4 Junction (both common in my experience). The M25 has too many junctions and therefore a lot of "local" traffic. The M4 delay was largely restricted to a contraflow system, apparently for work on overbridges but the workers were presumably taking the day off and had tidied up as there were no signs of equipment, etc. Road repairs seem to take an excessively long time, often with long sections closed/coned off while work is taking place in a small length. So a notional four hour journey took over 5 1/2 hours (excluding comfort breaks).

Just spotted this sold item. Still available as a kit from London Road Models (and identified as formerly D&S on their website) for £27.00 plus £2.50 p&p. There is one (or in this case two) born every minute.

I find it is best to fix only one body retainer tightly, leaving the other very slightly "loose". That way the invariably torsionally rigid body assembly doesn't twist the frames.

When I did the York MRS regularly over the whole weekend (as a trader's assistant) it seemed that the attendance by families was largely weather driven. Nice weather, go to the seaside or around York. During poor/wet weather then there were more families at the show. Our trade stand was on the 2nd mezzanine facing the stairs and we were often asked "where are the loos/lifts/restaurant" by families who were unfamiliar with the facility and presumably not regular visitors. Despite discussing putting up a notice stating "This is not the exhibition information desk", we never got around to it.

I agree with you Tony, but I do know of one group/society where the demonstrators can be so engaged in model making that it deters anyone from interrupting their activity. I even saw a post where one of their demonstrators said they were looking forward to manning the stand at a particular show as they hoped to build a particular loco kit over the weekend. For demonstrators, Society representatives, layout owners/operators and traders there is a careful balance to be struck between being welcoming /helpful or off putting/disinterested. The former can put people off (as well as attracting those who want to tell you their modelling life story), as much as the latter.

Replacement Cobalt motors fitted and servo twitch apparently eliminated, mainly by rerouting the servo leads and switch feeds to the servo controllers. So the LRM Coal Tank and the M&L 5' 6" 2-4-2T have completed several laps of the inner and outer lines. Unfortunately I didn't video it but my friend Dave Carr was here to witness the event. So I have got on with the new platform ends and retaining walls. I trimmed down the back wall of the baseboard to get the reducing wall heights and the opening where the LNWR wood goods shed and gate will be located (those will have to be scratchbuilt). The platform faces are stuck onto plasticard strip, itself stuck to the plywood, with butanone. The black plasticard backing for the retaining walls is sloped with a slight batter but the other, as yet unfaced, walls will be perpendicular. Platform 3 starter was popped into place to check the hole for it was big enough. This signal was originally at the other end of P3 but is no longer required there. I need a Home/Fixed distant for the outer approach to P4 ( for which I have got the parts) and a three doll bracket at the other end of the layout for the approaches to P1, 2 and 3. I commissioned the bracket signal from a professional builder which has proved to be a major mistake. It arrived in early February, damaged in transit through poor packing, not working fully, poorly made and painted. I returned it immediately and was offered the option of either a refund or he would rebuild it, send photos and a video and let me decide whether I still wanted a refund. I asked for a refund immediately as I felt the general build quality was poor for a professionally built item and had no confidence that it would be reliable. However, he proceeded to repair it and sent the video and photos but I still consider it to be poorly made and finished. Despite reiterating my request for a refund as offered, nothing has been forthcoming and I am £200 out of pocket. I'll get the bits to build it myself as, despite my damaged eyesight, I am sure I can still do a better job.

A bit further research turned up Allan Sibley's article in MRJ 21, pages 55 -57. He used a Portescap 1219 motor with an extra drive gear to get the drive to the rear axle. The loco in question was a M&L kit for a Dean Single, not a MR Spinner as I thought (probably something to do with my aversion to the GWR). The single driving axle was allowed some vertical movement by slotting the bearing holes in the frames.The loco would haul even heavy kit built coaches but top speed was rather low. A HL box with suitable chosen gear ratio should take care of that.

IIRC, some years ago Allan Sibley built a Spinner, driving the rear axle. The tender was weighted onto the loco drawbar. I can't recall what motor/gearbox combination he used but with a High Level gearbox the motor could possibly be located in the boiler over the large driving wheel axle and the firebox filled with lead.

On that basis I should imagine you wouldn't buy any RTR model locos either.

Agree completely. S/H stalls at shows are usually run by the exhibiting club and often have a load of tat, the better stuff changing hands amongst club members, get put on eBay or are sold to those buyers that advertise in the magazines (and then usually end up in eBay). The only exhibitions I have been to that have good S/H stalls/traders tend to be the Society shows, where it is often the only opportunity for members members to find a sales opportunity other than going online. I have only ever been able to find anything of interest at those shows. The loss of many high street model shops took away one S/H sales outlet. Shops also need to be competitive, make a reasonable margin and also have to pay VAT on their sales, so what they could offer would often be well below what a private seller could get on eBay.

Isn't that the same LMS 2P 0-4-4T as the London Road Models kit is for? It has been available for at least twenty years. http://www.londonroadmodels.com/locomotives_pages/lms_locomotives.php

I do Mike, but he doesn't deal in second hand stuff, only new kits in blue or white boxes. Jol

Thanks. There is only one kit I might be interested in but I wouldn't want the other fifteen in the lot.

Perhaps the "value" of the enjoyment obtained in building a kit is something that is no longer considered of much worth. If/when I have to dispose of my models I know that they won't have much market value (and being pre-group P4 won't help) but does it really matter? I have enjoyed building, running and owning them. That a few people have admired them at exhibitions and they have one won or two awards adds to a sense of achievement. Would I feel the same about amassing a collection of RTR stock and then possibly feeling dissatisfied if I couldn't sell it for most of what I had paid for it?

I think that kit builders have been very much in a minority for a long time. Increasingly "Fear of Failure" has played a part when it comes to having a go at kit building, while the improved standard of RTR model finish (if not reliability, etc.) has set a standard which few model makers can match. I think there are also other factors in play, such as a desire to belong to the same tribe by acquiring the latest RTR model, almost irrespective of what railway, era, etc. it represents. A look at the topics about the latest RTR product announcements and releases illustrate that. However, for those that enjoy making models, the challenge and satisfaction of creating something that is unique to them, provides lasting pleasure. It can be more about the journey than the destination.

Unfortunately the Vectis information and photos don't help to identify what identify the contents of some of the lots. However, at the estimated prices I suspect some eBay traders will see an opportunity.