JDW

Or keep your eye on Ebay for another vehicle coming up. They appear from time to time. Or even buy the bits, there are usually spare chassis, bodies, bogies etc available, occasionally at good prices! Its a shame its not a 150/2 so you could use it as a centre car for a three-car one. How about a conversion to a 150/0 centre car? The easy route is to cut and shut two bodyshells but you might be able to fill cab door and window and fit a new saloon window in their place.

I hope not, I'm not in! I wouldn't use a 156 chassis as there's little left in the middle once you remove the underframe box. A 153 chassis would be better.

I agree, previous communications were good and responses quick. Keep us updated @Wild Boar Fell, my first was marked posted 4 weeks ago.

We had a brief conversation about when the other parts (window frames and underframe parts) would be ready when I ordered the first one, and all seemed well. We had another brief conversation when I ordered the second one, and around the same time (I think a few days later, would need to check) I sent a message asking for tracking info for the first one as it was overdue by a couple of weeks, and had no answer. I wasn't too concerned at first, as he did warn me before I ordered the first it might take a while to dispach, as he was moving, which is fine, it's hardly life-or-death stuff. But that it was marked as sent and hasn't been received has me worried, because now I don't know if it has been sent and has gone missing, or if it wasn't posted in the first place, which is what prompted me to contact him to check. But as I say, no response to that message.

Oh dear, that's not good. I hope he's OK too. Apart from a couple of negatives, his feedback does suggest that he has supplied what has been ordered to buyers in the past, but the lack of communication and disappearance of all his listings is worrying and as you say @amwells makes you wonder if he is OK or if something has happened - which makes me more reluctant to push to find out where my models are, if he's dealing with something much more pressing than a model of a train. I've marked both of them as not delivered today, puerly to try and cover myself with Ebay if the worst happens, but included a message to him saying that I didn't mind a delay and hoped everything was well, so long as I know what is going on. Hopefully I won't have to request a refund, but we'll see what happens.

How long did they take to arrive? Is it that they are warped? I would have expected that with 3D printing, things like the side/roof profile would be pretty constant since they are (presumably!) made using the same dimensions and basic CAD shape.

I'm glad you posted this, I was considering saying the same but holding back. I ordered one, and to be fair he did say it could be a little slow as he was in the process of moving house. It was marked as posted towards the end of June, with an estimated delivery during the first week of July. I sent him a message some time around the end of the second week in July but haven't had a response. I did state clearly in my message that I wasn't worried about delivery time, but was worried that Ebay had marked it as posted, and wsan't sure if that was correct and it hasn't arrived, or if that was a mistake and it hasn't yet been posted. Unfortunately I also spotted that he had some test prints for sale at a much cheaper rate, and decided to buy a second set. I did hear from him when I ordered those, which was also around the time the first set should have been delivered. He said they should be in the post in a few days, and they have not yet been marked as posted, a good couple of weeks later. I notice he has a lot of good feedback for items delivered (including a 323), and one or two negatives. From memory at least one of those said something about item not received and no communication. I don't want to have to open a dispute for one or both items, as I want the models to arrive, and need to buy the rest of the parts (window frames, underframe equipment) so want to remain on good terms. It's not the end of the world, but lack of communication or offer of explanation is worrying, especially as I've now spent around £250.

Thoughtfully supplied un-numbered too, to avoid duplication if you already have one.

Interesting video and techinique. One thing I'm curious about though, he talks about the gon-doh-la, is that the American pronunciation? I'd have said it the same as the boats in Venice.

I'm not looking forward to snow... That said, it's amazing the difference a good set of winter tyres makes in snow. OK, they'll feel awful when it's not -10 and thick with the white stuff, they make all the difference

I think that's what got me the most, I have a very relaxed driving style, and although I knock on when I need to, it's always been well below what the car could handle. I mean, the 607 is i big heavy executive saloon, not designed for throwing around, so when I switched to the BMW - which people tell me are "drivers' cars" - I was pretty surprised at how little confidence it gives me in the wet.

Nae worries, I've been called a lot worse!

Yep, I agree with the theory, but having driven front wheel drive cars most of my life, I'm very not enjoying rear wheel drive having recently switched. Even accounting for needing a different driving style, it doesn't feel like it's going to go where I point it at all, I don't trust it anywhere near as much as my last one (BMW 5-series -v- Peugeot 607, though to be fair the latter was the size and weight of a small barge, which helped keep it planted!) And yes, braking is always biased towards the front, as others have outlined above. My wheels are the same, always filthy at the front, and I wouldn't say I'm particularly heavy on either pedal.

I totally agree, but who is this James fella? James Makin's thread is over there ---> (It's easy to spot, it's the one with the good workmanship and excellent painting and weathering skills...)

Yet more disaster in my attempts to re-brand the 60. Having had good results in the oast despite what others have found, I used a Railmatch aerosol to respray the lower grey. After a week of damp wet cool weather, the can was warm, the shell was warm, the weather outside was good, a light breeze. So I was a bit surprised, to say the least, when this happened: I have no idea how or why, I did nothing I haven't done before, with various brands of paint. I ran over it while the paint was still soft with a very fine sponge sanding block to smooth it off, and after some trial, the can seemed to start spraying better, so with lots of light passes and some more smoothing off, I did eventually manage to achieve what looks like a smooth enough finish, but I guess the proof will be when it comes to applying the gloss varnish and transfers...

Having wired together a few other units (mainly 142s) I'd definitely suggest going for the separate pick ups option on something like a 117, which has plenty of wheels to pick up from. I tried installing mini plugs and sockets on another unit, and it was a huge faff, even more so when it comes to coupling/uncoupling. I'm sure there is at least one manufacturer out there who sells aftermarket pick-up kits for just that situation, I have DCC Concepts in mind but may be wrong.

Ahhhh, so that's how you get the body off to fit a decoder and speaker!

I agree, I'm not altogether sure it's the cause of that particular incident either, that looks more like impatience and general bad driving. It looks like he was expecting the HGV to go left, and to use the chevorns to nip past so he wouldn't get held up behind him after the roundabout. My answer was to the more general point about slow auto gearboxes making it difficult for large vehicles, which does coause frustration for car drivers and lead to conflict.

I think he's meaning that some of them can be a bit slow to react when you want to set off. I know that lots of modern buses are like that, and will drop into neutral when you stop, then take a second or two to react when you try and set off. If HGVs are like some of our buses, and governed to prevent fast acceleration, then trying to get out onto a fast roundbout can be positively (in my opinion as a professional driver - the engineers, managers and finance directors have differing viewpoints) dangerous. By the time the gearbox has kicked into gear, the situation has changed, a car has appeared quickly, or you end up pootling out across a couple of lanes of traffic.

I filled in the blanks for you

Interesting, I'm wondering if there's any particular reason for it? I'm not seeing the bus/Lodekka connection to Hornby's anniversary? Or am I overthinking, is it just a nice model for the sake of it (and thankfully not yet another Routemaster!)?

I know it's not very relevant to your own situation, but in case it is helpful to others travelling between Glasgow and Belfast, the service operated by Hannon Coach is a better and less well-known option than that Citylink one, the price is similar but the coach goes right through, so no having to get off and carry your luggage through the terminals as a foot passenger. Still not as quick as flying of course but a good option for those without a car.

I agree with the above, most Lima locos are fine for their age, and many still stand up reasonably well alongside more modern models, things like the 156 as has been said benefit from updating the chassis (see my thread!) and others such as the 31 still look good and benefit from a little detaling. I think they only really show their age alongside a modern model of the same type, so tend to try and avoid mix-and-matching them, but they can still hold their own well enough to satisfy most people's needs.

Ahhh, yes, one of the benefits of lockdown has been that I've spent it holed up at my parents place in England rather than alone at my place in Scotland, so have been able to get on with a lot more as the layout is in their loft. I'd considered re-motoring the 142s but decided it's not worth it at the minute. The two older ones work quite well. They are both through-wired so 4-wheel pick up o both sides, and have had the inner wheel sets replaced by nre Hornby ones which has improved the running no end. The two newer (Northern Spirit) ones run as a pair. One is as-bought, one powered and one unpowered car, with pickups connected through the coupling and traction tyres, the other is an upowered set with new Hornby wheels. The powered set can just manage to haul it, but struggles on a slight gradient. Of the older twin-motored ones, the RR one usually runs with a DC Kits 3-car (resin) 144, and again can haul it but struggles slightly on a very slight uphil gradient. Although they're not the best models ever, 'playing' with them, improving and detailing them did improve my confidence when it came to doing work on more complicated/expensive models. Especially as lots of the mods (barring re-motoring!) are pretty simple.

Will you be sharing your progress on here?