Godfrey Glyn

Many thanks Graham for this report and also thanks for your contribution to what looks like some stunning new RTR Bulleid coaches. The long wait looks like it will, after all, be worth it. Hopefully Bachmann will take up your prompting that Diagram 2406 is an essential addition and I would certainly agree with abd968008 that a Tavern car set would sell well and not just to Southern fans. all the best and a Happy Christmas to all! Godfrey

Thank you so much Robin for taking the trouble to explain how to build it. I presume you were sent the exploded diagram when you bought them. I just received the etchings so was completely lost before I started! I shall dig them out and follow your guide, once again many thanks. all the best Godfrey

199 is looking a bit tired, as seen passing through Eastleigh on the 10th August 2020. I took a few more of it if anyone is interested. all the best Godfrey

Such sad news and such a shock for all his family and close friends. When I lived in Bishopstoke and wanted any of the wonderful Minerva products he always happy for me to come over and collect from his house. He was a lovely man and we always had a most enjoyable and interesting conversation. Whenever I run a Minerva model I shall think fondly of him. My very best wishes to all his family and close friends. Godfrey

As I am sure Graham is aware, honeymoon periods can be quite short in this business!!! You mean its not arriving next week, I am devastated, my world has crashed around me!!! all the best Godfrey

Had the same email and tried to pay for the Club special. It wouldn't take any card so send a message to customer care. A very quick reply from them saying that they were having a problem with card payments for the special and to ring customer care in the morning to pay. Hope that is helpful Godfrey

Robin, many thanks for this, if you have the time it would be great if you could outline which bits and in which order!! I have a couple of these kits but with no instructions I put them into the 'maybe I'll get round to it someday box'. all the best Godfrey

Managed to drop in yesterday and Dave was on good form; as others above have said its a great shop and hopefully someone may take it over. I have always enjoyed chatting to him and making purchases. Certainly Exeter needs a model shop and although it's away from the main shopping centre it is easy to get to. He said he is closing at the end of the month and has 20% off on all his stock, and he is well stocked! Dave is retiring and I wish him a long and very happy one. Hopefully he will be dropping into the Taunton event next April and we can all buy him a pasty or two. all the best Godfrey

The most attractive BR EMU ever built and which has received a number of different liveries still hasn't been produced as a RTR model. It's a difficult model to stratch build, getting the front right is almost impossible for lesser mortals like me but that should be no problem for the team at Accurascale. I am of course suggesting the Class 442 Wessex Electric. all the best Godfrey

On the topic of the very first tranche of British locomotives did anyone else notice that in the recent video released by Hornby on Simon Kohler's memories of his time at there, there is a display cabinet in the background containing a number of models. The most obvious one is that of Locomotion (non working) that Bachmann produced a few years ago. Is this 'a wink with a gatepost', as the Germans would say?! All the best Godfrey

Yes I gather from Paul at Alton Model Centre that he will be opening this Monday and full details can be found on his website - https://www.altonmodelcentre.co.uk. When I spoke to him this morning he was busy unpacking all the stock he has ordered recently so that the shop will be offering its usual extensive range of items next week. He will have a bell on the door so that he can control the number of people in the shop and there will be hand sanitiser and a one way system for customers. Its great news, I'm only sorry that now that I'm living in East Devon I will not be able to drop in, good job he does telephone orders. There appear to be some very nice new models arriving from the manufacturers in the near future so hopefully the modelling community will respond positively to the reopening of real model shops. all the best Godfrey Sorry Martync you pipped me to the post!

That’s brilliant Mick, I particularly like the way you have represented the galvanised wire fence! The weathered electricity pole is impressive too. Not sure about the ivy, a bit too bright. all the very best Godfrey

Well I just ordered one of the NHS specials - for the same reason as Andy -and it took about 4 minutes from start to finish. Really good of Hornby to do this, and to do so many, I am sure their balance sheet would have been much healthier if they had just kept to the original number, and used the manufacturing slots to commission models that would have made them more money. Well done Hornby! All the very best Godfrey

Happy for it to be called whatever grabs the attention of the public and certainly whatever you think, the good captain has grabbed the attention of the general public; more concerned that when (if) this pandemic recedes the general public will vote for the additional money our NHS and Care Services need to provide the service we want rather than being starved of funding as they have been over the last years. If that is too political I apologise but the funding of any national service, be it health, education or transport etc is a political decision and too often we, the general public get the politicians we deserve. Another nice painting job done by the team at Eastleigh, well done guys! all the best Godfrey

Sadly I've been rather busy today, rubbing down and painting the front door so I have only dipped into this so-called virtual exhibition. I began to get suspicious that I was missing out so, this evening, I have made the essential journey across the Blackdown Hills to check if it really was virtual and now that I am here I can see that Andy York (and some others) have been telling pastie pies - it really have been going on after all! The Staplegrove Hall is full of wonderful layouts and will stay open until further notice. I think I paid my first visit in 2012 or 2013 and it was the wonderful modular group who inspired me to have a go and produce one myself. My first attempt was somewhat ambitious and based on the Southampton Freightliner site, my second was smaller but no less fun to do - a model which allowed me to build a model of Chard Central. As everyone here has said, it really is a unique event and I am grateful to all of you who have over the years made this event such a wonderful experience and to Andy and co who have delivered this fantastic virtual event today and indeed raised all that dosh for such a very good cause. Stay safe and keep on moduling! All the very best Godfrey

We're having a virtual planning meeting here today but nobody seems to have any concrete ideas at the moment. Just as well really. Godfrey

Well I'm going to rebel, I'm going to make a lemon drizzle cake - just for myself of course, I wouldn't want to spoil your fun! I have the lemons but can anyone suggest where I can find some flour near Seaton? All the best and thanks to all of you who are providing something useful for this non-event Godfrey

In my opinion Hornby’s mistake with ‘design clever’ was to mention it at all. If you look at Bachmann’s Thumper that they produced for Kernow’s it has the same features that Hornby used to save money with their 2Bil around the same time. I bought several of both and am very happy with them. Personally I am very happy not to have glowing fireboxes in modeI steam locos as I was under the impression that in the real world of steam engines the firebox door remains closed for most of the time. I could be tempted into sound in O gauge but then I want realistic smoke and steam and nobody has achieved that, and if they ever do will I want the smell around the house! I suspect the rest of the family wouldn’t. We all have our own compromises which is what makes the hobby so interested for such a lot of people. stay safe! all the best Godfrey

Stu, a sad but wise decision and just very sorry that the event had to be pulled after all your hard work. Hopefully next year will see some of your work carried forward and it will give us the chance to thank you personally for organising what I think is one of the best modelling events in the year. all the very best Godfrey

Well the obvious thing now for the good residents of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset is to start voting for any party other than the Conservatives in order to install a sense of panic in the Government. On present form Mr A B Johnson might well start to throw money at the old LSW route round Dartmoor and other Roll back Beeching projects!! On the other hand they probably ought to spend the money on getting rid of the so-called 'smart motorways'. Other schemes are available. all the best Godfrey

Some very valid points being made regarding the Autoballasters, I remember speaking to one of the senior Bachmann reps when I happened to be in the same shop at the same time as him. He was quite rightly very proud of these wagons and I congratulated him on them, he then told me that one of their team who had worked on them was working on a new product and when it came out it fully lived up to expectations, sorry now I cannot remember which model it was. Some enthusiasts seem to think we can demand a particular product, we can't. What we can do is politely put a case to the reps at a show. I would expect them to put up any reason they can think of to put the counter argument to you, they would be very poor company representatives if they agreed with every idea proposed to them at an exhibition. If they are professional representatives they will take back a rational view put forward and you can then help to influence their decisions. Many years ago at Warley I remember waiting patiently for quite a long time to Mr Hubbard to suggest that given they were producing some excellent Mark 1 coaches they might like to think about producing some SR Mk 1 EMUs. He told me that it was a ridiculous idea and sent me off with a flea in my ear. Maybe he was right from a commercial view! all the best Godfrey

I am delighted with this announcement from Hornby, its an obvious one for them to produce and surely will be the sort of thing that will sell well at Shildon and York NRM to a wider audience. I been bending Hornby reps about this for some time but claim absolutely no credit! I had a long chat with Simon at the Great Dorset Steam Fair last August and he spent a long time checking on his phone and pointing out that there wasn't an anniversary for it coming up in the near future when he will have known all about the new tooling and its release this year. At times at these public events he must have many internal chuckles to balance the rubbish he gets from customers! Certainly Hornby have pulled out the stops this year and like many others on here I hope it works for them. all the best and a Happy New Year to all Godfrey

Well I did see a DCC HO version of a German crane in 2018 in the window of a wonderful model shop in Aachen. I can't remember who manufacturers it or if it had sound but you could buy one for 1000 euros, a bargain. Yes the Bachmann one is not cheap but it is quite outstanding and if you want one you need to buy it now, I can't see Bachmann doing it again for some time and I doubt if it will be available at that price next time (if and when) round. all the best Godfrey

Yes they were very impressive when leaving Darlington. I started a new job in Essex in April '84 and on a Sunday night my wife would take me to catch an HST south. She had to cover the ears of our newly born daughter as the train set off. Soon after they were introduced on the ECML I organised a trip to London for 150 sixth formers with accompanying staff. We went down on the HST and everyone was gobsmacked by the experience. We came back behind a Deltic which was only working on one engine so had to organise the connecting DMU at York to wait for us. The regular passengers were not amused. I agree with others, the design was outstanding and they still look great. I know Mike Stationmaster disliked the hassle of attaching a failed one to a loco but in my mind as a mere passenger, a small price for someone else to pay for a revolution in train travel that the HST introduced to the travelling public. all the best and a Happy Christmas to all, especially anyone involved in preparing the set and to those of you who took the superb photographs. Godfrey