84B Oxley

On the whole, 7mm. scale modellers are a tolerant lot and are prepared to roll up their sleeves and do any necessary work to remedy such 'faults'. It has to be acknowledged, I feel, that Heljan have done a massive amount for 7 mm. scale for what are probably fairly small returns. To tool up for different variants is almost certainly asking too much. How many variants of a 37 are there? A rhetorical question ! Sales volumes are probably a small fraction of what they are in 4mm. scale. Anyone who isn't happy with the Heljan offerings has the option of building their own bespoke model from a JLRT kit. For not far off double the Heljan price! Photo below was taken with sleeves rolled up!

Strangely, no large logo ones showing....

Hattons showing them as in stock...... Jeff

Ken Fox Transfers do them. http://fox-transfers.co.uk/transfers/early-diesel-electric-livery-d-e-numbering-65752 Jeff

Depot now well on the way to completion so a few rough shots. I haven't fastened the roof handrails on yet as I'm waiting until the shed is more or less fixed in place. At the moment it needs bedding into the layout. I'm quite pleased with it, mine is the four bay kit with two bay extension. I wouldn't like to try and handle anything any longer-it's a big beast! I'm annoyed with myself that I managed to smear glue on some of the glazing. At this size it would easily hold four Bo-Bos and two 08s or maybe four 37/40 size locos. Now needs some detailing inside etc. In the fullness of time.... Jeff

Jeff P As Brian says, there isn't any internal wall detailing but it is simple to cut some brick embossed plastikard to fit the interior walls, this is what I have done and is well worth the small amount of effort it takes. My 6-bay depot is just awaiting the arrival of some canopy glue to fix the glazing in place-the solvent I use (Plastic Magic) doesn't seem to do the job, though it fixes all the other parts easily enough. The finished product will repay a bit of forward planning and pre-painting of parts. Be warned, it is big and somewhat unwieldy to work on once you have joined a few sections together. Some filer may be needed on the roof joints. All in all, I am very pleased with mine and will post a shot once I feel it is worthy of being photographed. Jeff

E The handrails are metal and remove very easily indeed. Just wrap a bit of masking tape around the end of a suitably sized flat bladed screwdriver and wiggle it about. I did it on D3038 pictured here. I inserted plastic rod into the resulting holes and cemented it in from the inside, having removed the roof to access the back of the holes. The plastic rodding was cut as close to the bodywork as possible using a small craft knife. Some repainting is of course necessary! It helped that my model was to be weathered so a perfect match wasn't crucial. Hope this helps Jeff

David You won't (shouldn't !) have any problems with your Mogul, it builds up beautifully into an excellent model. Geoff told me about the problem when I bought the kit but it didn't cause any real hassle. Here's one I made earlier, photographed on Sykes Bridge MPD which I used to be an operator on at shows. Jeff

It came with a black surround so I painted it with Warning Panel Yellow. No big deal when I was going to weather it anyway. Jeff

Amazing what you don't notice.....it is a bit prominent and will be cut down as soon as I have had my tea! And in case anyone is curious...the photo I have worked from was taken at Banbury in 1969 but has no 'Overhead Live Wire' plates on the loco so mine hasn't! Jeff

Here's mine again, finished now and looking more like a real 08 (those bufferbeams were VERY red...) . Ladders removed, vacuum pipes replaced, bonnet door handles removed, numbered D3038, totems moved to cupboard sides, yellow Route Availability circles applied, worksplates 'Derby 1953' from Guilplates and copiously weathered. Waiting for a driver to arrive in the post. I'm more than happy with it! Jeff

Steve Gentle scraping with a fairly blunt screwdriver tip. Thanks for the compliment: you haven't seen the other side! Suffice it to say that you won't until I've redone it. Jeff

Ed It's painted.. Jeff

Kevin The ladders came off very easily indeed, a small amount of leverage with a jewellers' screwdriver was sufficient as they are only lightly glued in place. The brackets are moulded onto the body so they are unaffected. I have now decided to remove the bonnet side door handles, easily levered off the same way. I have inserted plastic rodding into the holes left behind and will smooth them off and repaint the bonnet sides. I was hoping to finish off this job today but my wife has suddenly found a lot of jobs for me to do. Something to do with visitors and Boxing Day... Jeff

Christmas present to myself-collected from Hattons new premises last thing on Thursday. Very pleasant and efficient service, honouring the pre-order price of £169.96, and a far cry from the original shop on Smithdown Road with Norman Hatton in his brown 'housecoat' offering 'Service with a Scowl' ! Unnumbered green with chevrons, now numbered as D3038, an Oxley engine for many years. Nose ladders have been removed-unlike other people I found that mine did not disintegrate. BR totems moved to toolboxes and yellow Route Availability circles on cabside. a la Western Region. I think I still may need to replace some of the handrails on the bonnet sides and still can' make up my mind on the black cab roof/ bonnet top, they don't look right in black but am unsure whether or not they should be green. Weathered and with vacuum pipes removed and replaced with better looking home-made ones. Runs beautifully slowly straight out of the box. I have made windscreen wipers from bits of scrap etch for the rear windows, the front windows didn't have any on this loco (based on a photo I found on Flickr) so I have removed the wiper motor covers from the cabsides, I think that area needs a little more neatening with wet-and-dry. In the background D3752 is an MMP kitbuilt model, the only major difference I can discern is that the Dapol cab is slightly wider and shorter. Congratulations to Dapol on a lovely model. Jeff

Hi Rod The 08 looks very good, I'm hoping my green one will arrive soon. Those houses certainly lift the layout into another league and are superb. I presume you will be installing a fence between them and the railway? I know how keen you are on Health and Safety!!!! Jeff

That headboard would look much better on one of Stafford Road's Kings....seriously though, did the Warships ever work the Inter City? I know the Westerns did-I remember D1000 on the train arriving at Wolverhampton Low Level behind a Pannier tank having disgraced itself! Jeff

And here's one I made earlier, lovely kit to build. Mine has the working inside Stephenson valve gear as produced by Martin Finney. Seen on a visit to Leamington Spa, strolling away with 50+ coal wagons, an unlikely load but then............ Jeff

Editors always like the pictures separately so that they can place them wherever they feel appropriate in the article. As for length, as long as it needs to be, just keep to the point ! Hope this helps Jeff

Saw the pre-production model on Heljan's stand at Telford yesterday: the body looks superb but the driving wheels have very strange looking balance weights which allow the spokes to show through. Completely spoils the look of the chassis and would certainly stop me from buying one. Jeff

Best kit I've ever built. Bar none. Even with my Fox lining(not brilliant and since weathered anyway). Jeff

Looks like the answer is 'yes it will!'

Totally off topic but to sustain you in Delhi.....just finished a Gladiator 8F, this is what you are taking on! Nice kit and pleased with the result. Apologies for hijacking your thread. And no, the flying Pannier isn't one of yours, it's an old Vulcan kit. Jeff

Will it look this good? A Martin Finney example, still one of my favourite models. Jeff

Hurn Models and Haywood Models already do, and, I believe JLRT are going to produce them. I've built Hurn Models Hawksworth Full Brake and it was quite superb, though not cheap. Sometimes, you get what you pay for, as someone once said! Hope this helps. Jeff