iL Dottore

I look forward to seeing the progress on this. The etches are utterly exquisite. Did you use a CAD (or similar) programme for the artwork? F

Wow, that's amazing.....

I know that this is TOTALLY insane of me, but would you need any buildings for the layout? I'd be happy to build something and (proving that I am utterly and completely mental) I'll even have a go at a factory or summat large (as they say oop north), As long as I have some drawings/measurements (and the occasional top up of impossible-to-get-in-Switzerland materials/supplies), I'm game. Do let me know (pm or on here) if I can help. F p.s. providing that it is not too architectually demanding (e.g. loads of gargoyles, pediments, balusters, flying butresses or unusually shaped/dimensioned windows and doors) a big factory may well be a lot simpler to build than some of my recent projects

I wonder if anyone can help me. I recently bought some of these Dapol kits in BR Maroon - with the idea of backdating them to LMS days. Then, as s*d's law would have it, Dapol brought out the kits in LMS livery shortly after my order had arrived in CH and I had opened the kits to see that all was present and correct. Oh bu99er! I now have a number of open (but untouched) kits which I can't return and I really don't want to try my hand at LMS livery when Dapol has done such a good job. Anyone with some spare LMS livery shells for a swop? F

Aren't we forgetting something critical in this (and similar) thread? That we are railway modellers. To me, that means if a manufacturer produces a product that is (in my eyes) about 95% there, I will use my modelling skills to get the product as close as I can to the 100% I'd wish for. I'd also share my experiences with my fellow modellers on RMWeb. I for one am looking forward to Dapol's 4mm GWR signals (I need quite a few). The fact that the signal - out of the box - will be pristine and require weathering "comes with the territory". I may decide to replace the plastic signal arm with a thinner brass etch or maybe not and if Dapol's switching works for me - great! If not, I'll find a work around that does satisfy me. Whatever I'll do, it'll all be part of my modelling. F

Having contributed to this thread earlier, I have been enjoying this thread and people's inventiveness. However, comments made elsewhere about the commercialisation of the 2012 Olympics (especially about how athletes and visitors have to give up their "non-sponsor" items whilst at the games) made me think about the extremes of modern sponsorship... You set up your layout at the exhibition, with the sign stating it's a LMS/GWR/SR/LNER/BR/etc layout and do a few test runs with regular stock for the exhibition organisers. When the punters arrive, then put up an additional sign "brought to you by Burger-O, Fizzy Stuff and Trabant" (whatever your choice of sponsor...) and start running your LMS/GWR/SR/LNER/BR rolling stock all emblazoned with LARGE logos of Burger-O, Fizzy Stuff and Trabant. Of course, if you really want to go to town, refuse to run the layout if anyone either (a) wants to take photos without a sponsor sold licence or ( b] is seen eating or drinking a non sponsor provided foodstuff. And when, probably inevitably, the exhibition organisers tell you to either get rid of the sponsorship stuff or get out, turn around and sue the organisers.... I doubt you'd be getting any further exhibition invites... F p.s. You'd also need a sign changing the layout name from, say, "Little Cruxley Village", to something like "CheapoAirburg - Proudly Sponsored by CheapoAir"

Tell the exhibition organisers that your layout has been badly damaged but you have found a suitable replacement: a large layout of Australia's famous train "The Ghan" (Darwin-Alice Springs-Adelaide), built to P4 standards and representing 5 miles of that iconic stretch of railway just outside of Kalgoorlie. Turn up with 344ft of dead straight track with nothing but sand to either side of the track and heat lamps for both lighting and atmosphere.... ...run it to a prototypical timetable*... ... and put up notices asking the kiddies to find Skippy the Kangaroo.... F * Fridays and Mondays

I'm looking forward to the 4mm versions (I'm going have to dig out my layout plans to see how many of each I will need to purchase). The base footprint for the 2mm version is 30mm x 20mm so I wonder what the base footprint will be for the 4mm versions? I'm thinking of deviating from the mounting instructions and instead of cutting a 14mm hole for the threaded base, cut a N mm x N mm hole so that I can mount the signal flush with the baseboard, to give a more prototypical aspect. Jenny Emily wrote about both complex and gantry signals, which I do need, so I'm wondering how easy it would be to cannibalise/modify these signals to create a more complex signal and whether or not the internal "gubbins" are sealed? Well done Dapol. F

If I was rude at ExpoEM, Mr ChrisF, please forgive me, I was all "a flutter" (ahem...) Returning to the subject of peer recognition, perhaps I am atypical but I see getting peer recognition as akin to getting a Michelin star or a top selling record. Yes, it takes a lot of hard work and skill (and probably talent as well???) to get the recognition, but then the really hard work starts - keeping it. Every time Michel Roux plates a dish or David Gilmour releases a new album they'll be judged on whether or not they meet or exceed their past sucesses. I see the same in modelling. Yes , this approach is demanding, but it does inch me towards my goal - of building models which in photos cause people to say "that can't be a model, surely? It looks so real"

I can't really say that I've "made it" (I'm far too self critical), but one experience did leave me wondering if I am perhaps too "hair shirt and self flagellation" with myself.. I had delivered the "Earl of Devon" pub and the Chagford Road Signal Box to ChrisF and Tim last year at ExpoEM, ChrisF (bless his little cotton socks) brought over the Chairman of Pendon museum (who was at the Pendon Museum stand) to look at the buildings. The chairman examined the buildings minutely and, holding up the EoD said that it was "beautifully observed" and would I consider submitting a test piece to Pendon? I was UTTERLY gobsmacked (as ChrisF and Tim can recount) I am very well aware of the limitations of the EoD (and of my modelling) and I know that I can (and should) do better, but to be told that I could potentially model for Pendon... Well, it did make me re-evaluate my skills more positively. Needless to say, I left ExpoEM on a bit of a "high"... F

Modeling cliches, how to decline: I model innovatively, YOU model the tried and true HE models cliches F p.s. The overly shiny motor vehicle without a driver is also a well practiced cliche

Lovely model; hideous, cheap and nasty prototype. Give me traditional brick, stone and wood any day! F

I had started off with the old Heljan English Signal Box, which although marketed as a GWR box, is actually a GNR box (see my posts here: http://www.rmweb.co....__fromsearch__1 and here http://www.rmweb.co....__fromsearch__1). As I had thought I'd never use the kit except as a donor model, I'd "recycled" the stairs, so when I embarked on this mini-project of upgrading the Heljan kit with a minimum of effort, I had to scratch build a new set of stairs. Anyway, here's progress to date on the Sow's Ear Signal Box (as in "silk purse out of a Sow's ear") with a scratch built set of stairs, glazing and a "close-enough-for-government-work" LNER paint job. It's by no means anywhere in the region of the quality of the models pictured above, but shows what can be done with an old kit, some brick paper and a pot or two of paint. The final steps are to cut a new roof and thin down the ornate bargeboards, add correctly scaled waterworks and finish painting (the roof will be removable for the next owner to add their own interior). After which it goes in the "get rid of it" pile I'll post pictures of progress. F

Some things "I did earlier" (to quote Blue Peter) Halwill Signalbox Interior Detail (before exterior finishing) Chagford Road Signal Box Interior Detail (before adding roof) Both are scratchbuilt F

Thanks for the tips, lads. Much appreciated. They seem almost too nice to "grot up", but I hope to have some photos of a weathered example to show soon. F

Having indulged and bought four of the things (in GWR colours) last year, I finally sat down and took them out the box today and I am quite impressed with the underframe, miles better than what I could achieve. Bearing in mind the various comments made here (re black ends, lamp irons, grey roof. etc.), the 4 wagons are going into my "easy upgrade" pile. hHowever I am a bit stuck. I know that Mickiner found the body to be a simple push fit onto the chassis (I've yet to muster the courage to open one of mine), but no one has mentioned how much space there is behind the buffer beam for working screww link couplings. I'm wondering - given the exquiste and presumably somewhat fragile underframe - whether I'd be better off trying to upgrade the existing hook to take a screw link as opposed to drilling out and adding a new hook. Any thoughts? F

Ooh, thanks for that! I just bought a few of the Dapol kits and I was wondering how to backdate them to LMS days. This will be of great help. F

Unlike some other manufacturers, Hornby PLC has a huge portfolio of model and toy products and I wonder just how high is the percentage of Hornby PLC's income is generated by "serious modellers". Probably not as high as we'd like to think. RMWeb's dense grouping of "serious" modellers I don't think is representative of the market as a whole. Given that Hornby has been quite successful as a company, we must assume that for the most part the majority of customers are satisfied with the majority of the products. I see a few areas where Hornby can upgrade itself: quality control (I've had a duff loco from Hornby and received excellent after sales service, but wouldn't it be better to avoid this upfront?), clear branding (many models in their "standard" range would be better placed in a range between the railroad models and top of the line models) and possibly general overall communication (although Simon Kohler is absolutely superb in addressing problems on a one-to-one basis) F

Maybe for post 70s, but when my father was learning to drive in the late 60s (we came late to automobilia) he was taught to park with his front wheels angled so that if the hand brake failed the car would "roll into the curb" (I also dimly recall he had to put the car into first when turning off the ignition - but I'm probably wrong). I vaguely recall reading that driving practices in the 60s had not changed much since the 30s and are (were?) very different to today's practices. Someone once said that a stereotype (and by extension the cliche [the overused stereotype]) is a convenient communications shorthand for quickly and effectively describing something the reader/viewer/audience is familiar with (whether or not that familiarity is with a real, imagined or ideal something). So, sometimes just describing (or modeling) what IS actually there can seem a cliche - simply because people are so familiar with it. Cliches can work very well in the right hands (think of Ridley Scott's "Bladerunner" a private eye cliche coupled with sci-fi dystopian cliches created a masterpiece). I think that what we often see is a copying of cliches

I do like those steps (and the other signal boxes you've built). I wish more boxes had that sort of brick based stairs, cos scratchbuilding open frame wooden steps is a right pain.... Am I right in assuming that the ornate bargeboards (picture 3, "Cliff2.jpg" in post 6) are etched? Will you be illuminating the interior? If so, you may want to consider using the chnmey breast to hide the wiring from the signalbox base to the roof space. I look forward to future developments F

A spoof, but not too far from reality methinks F

Nice work there, I really like the scratch built windows (I'm a lazy so-and-so and I don't have the patience to fit glazing bars onto clear plastic ). Will you be polishing them up? (I use Tamiya acrylic paint thinner, which is mostly alcohol, to clean off fingerprints) I assume, from the grooved floor, you'll be installing a suitable interior? However, a small criticism, not of the modelling (which is excellent), but of the sequence. I would have tried to have left the window assembly until the very last minute. In my experience, clear plastic has an evil, perverse, mind of its own and will attract flecks of paint, pinheads of glue and scratches given half the chance... And once on, almost impossible to remove without leaving traces (although I have read that some people use toothpaste for polishing out scratches in clear plastic, but haven't tried it meself). I look forward to seeing progress. F

When I recently spoke with Simon Kohler about the traction tyre issue (in general, not specifically regarding the 4-VEP), he informed me (if I understood him correctly) that adding traction tyres isn't something Hornby likes doing as it is a cost (and presumably time and resource expense), but it's the compromise alternative to providing a heavy metal chassis that would add significantly to the RRP, (especially for something like the 4-VEP) And my impression is (looking from the outside in) there is an awful lot of emphasis in British railway modelling on cost of models.(that, and an innate conservatism, may explain why the hobby in the UK is late to adopt technology well established in Europe, US and Japan). I've said this many times before, and I still maintain, you get what you are willing to pay for. And in comparison with many other hobbies, railway modelling as a hobby is still relatively inexpensive and models for the UK market are frequently much cheaper than the European equivalents (try costing the expense of building a Rhatische Bahn layout with Bemo or other European RTR stock...). Perfection (or as near as one can ever achieve it) can be had - but at a price. When I visited the Tenshodo model railway shop when I was in Tokyo I saw an exquisite HO model of a Japanese steam locomotive. Made in brass, it came with lights, DCC chip and sound already fitted and I was assured by one of the shop staff it was a faithful replica. The price? a few pennies short of £3000... I for one would like to see the back of traction tyres, but there again I am also happy to pay more for the better chassis. F

If it is so faulty, why not send it back to the shop you bought it from for a replacement? I had a Hornby 28XX with quite a few problems (possibly damage in transit, although the outside of the model was undamaged), I sent it back and got a replacement that has run beautifully. Simples

I'm tempted to stray from all things GWR for these beauties, I manged to examine one "close up and personal" at Warley and I am most impressed I suspect it's mostly down to the budget. In other words if a manufacturer wants to place a model within a certain retail price range (because the manufacturer believes this is the price bracket which will both provide an acceptable return on investment and sales numbers), then when you take ALL manufacturing and business costs into account, the manufacturer will have but so much to spend on the materials going into the production of each model. The manufacturer has to decide which on compromise(s) to adopt. So, for example not using traction tyres to improving pulling power and putting in a metal chassis for weight instead (or whatever the choice turns out to be), could mean the manufacturer is faced with putting up the the RRP or saving production costs elsewhere. Which may explain how some exquisite models are let down by choice of powertrain