Jack P

This should be the new advertising photo. I'm not ashamed to admit that I let out an audible squeak when I saw this.

There's info in another book (the name of which evades me at present), that states that the bunker was lifted directly from the LN drawing. Of course this means I'll need to re-do the work i've done, as my Raves are too short by about 6mm. it's good practice!

Thanks Richard! You're certainly preaching to the choir there. 1947 (my usual modelling period), gives a real mixed bag, as things started to get better. You have filthy locos that hadn't been repainted since before the war, and others turned out in post war malachite. A real dichotomy. Working from pictures really is the only way - though finding pictures is sometimes the biggest challenge! Here's my rather grubby N15x Thanks John! Unless someone more knowledgeable than I comes along, I'll check the book on MN's tonight and see what I can find. It's certainly not correct for this livery, as far as I can tell from photos. The paintwork is Hornbys, but i've given it a very glossy topcoat. My new standard practice is to use Mr Color Gloss Lacquer, and then weather over the top of that. It provides an excellent base. Plus I weather with enamels which don't activate the gloss and I can take off all of the weathering and start again if I mess up! Another benefit is that it really lifts the paintwork, and in certain light gives that 'metallic' sheen.

I was lucky enough to have another of Hornby's new Merchant's across my bench recently. In my haste, i'd forgotten to attach the other buffer step. It's on there now though. I don't think the tender is correct, but I didn't look into it too hard. This was the request from the owner. I'm seriously considering adding one of these blue MN's to the fleet, I am obsessed with it!

Thanks for the update Chris, appreciate that it's been a difficult time. I'm sure i'm not the only one chomping at the bit for some HL goodies, you will probably see a surge of orders come through when you re-open!

Looks more like a command station. Which button launches the missiles?

Mike, how big is your sandblasting cabinet? It's certainly something i'd like to add to the repertoire one day soon.

My vote is for Number 1.

I've made that mistake before, there are actually quite a few differences. It is an easy trap to fall into though Looking at the few photos I do have, it certainly looks to be the case in other areas! Based on some hard/fast measurements I think the extended raves are a little shorter on the Schools tender (I think!)

Hey guys, I'm on the hunt for some photos of self trimming tender 732 (Paired with 932 first and then 905 later). Specifically it would be great to find some photos of the interior of the bunker and/or photos of the rear tender plates. I've done a deep trawl online, but haven't been able to find anything. Does anyone have anything, or can recommend a book to me? Thanks in advance!

There's a washer in the rear bogie assembly, which (for me at least) was part of the issue. Since removing, they both run very sweetly.

I'd agree with your thoughts on the chimney - it looks top heavy. The phoenix replacement looks much better.

That massive flywheel and motor are certainly a wicked combination! Here's one i've been working on for a friend. I really hope Hornby end up producing some from the 2nd/3rd batch in post war - pre BR malachite, because this thing is lovely!

Quick update: I've been confusing the masses on facebook, who for some reason don't believe an express passenger loco could ever look anything other than spotless. A good friend of mine asked if i'd weather his merchant, I said yep, and he turned over creative control to me. I had a look at some reference photos and found a few instances of locos with their lining coming off. Wanting to try this out, I set to work with a scalpel and thinners. The loco is still a wee way away from being complete, this was just the initial weathering, powders/detail work still to come. We are now discussing the possibility of replicating the damage caused by an oil bath fire. I'll need to practice the technique first though.

Thanks chaps, I really appreciate the expert advice, and always love seeing other models I'm going to order some replacement wheels from Gibson, and then strip the chassis right down and look to modify it as has been suggested. Methinks a new HL gearbox at the same time won't go amiss. I'll also add the remaining detail parts that I seem to have completely overlooked - sandboxes et al.

I'm looking at it through the, erm, 'pragmatic lense': SEF D Kit: £100 Wheels: £30+ Motor + gearbox: £40.00+ Extra detail bits: £35+ = £200+ (and then there's the time and effort to build the thing) I'm not overly happy with the livery on the southern version, the letters and numbers look huge! But to refinish it, and possibly (change the number) is far less effort than any other option. The actual model looks to be stunning though, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it in the flesh.

Gordon, I can only echo what's been said above. We are all wishing for a speedy recovery - myself from wet, wild, windy Wellington (NZ) included! In your absence I am lucky that there are nearly 230 pages of excellent modelling to read through.

Are there going to be spares available for the D? Might be jumping the gun a little, but I wouldn't mind a spare tender.

Oooooh, is that bullion van behind it? I must get on and finish mine. Humble suggestion - you should start a thread, I would love to see more of your work!

The hole has been enlarged and there is a springy bit of wire that presses down on a sort of bearing tube thing that's holding the axle.. if that makes sense. It sort of gives a 'faux' radial movement. Honestly, that's more by mistake than any sort of actual design. Thanks Dave. Not really sure why I even pondered the question. The exceedingly obvious answer is as you so rightly put it, add another pick up. Appreciate the clarification regardless though. I copied the pickups you fitted to the U class.

Update: Replaced my halogen lamp with a much larger, brighter LED lamp. Makes a huge difference, and actually helps significantly with photographs. Terrier: I ordered an AG westinghouse pump, not perfect, but very close. I then made up the remainder of the pipework, and glued the whole assembly in place. It's finally physically complete - weathering et al to complete it fully. DMR Z: I had a few goes at getting the brakes right, eventually though, I got them sorted. I also had a go at some very rudimentary pickups. They worked, but further tweaking is needed. I also have to figure out the best way to do the pickups for the middle non driven axle. I'd like to get some thinner gauge wire, but maybe I should just try and do a better job of hiding it. Took the pickups off and painted the chassis and cylinder block. I've also trimmed the front two crankpins, I might still need to mount the nuts backwards, inside the coupling rod. I think I'll need to work on the drop link for the valve spindle, as it looks a bit too long. I'm also still debating the working valve gear, it's not impossible, but my concern is the added complexity getting in the way of good running. Having said that, further work will probably need to go on hold until the crossheads arrive. I3: I finally got my hands on the 3D printed smokebox door. Dart, lamp iron and handrail in place. It's a little bit on the small side, but significantly better than either of the other options. Perhaps I should've mounted it onto a brass disc first, that would've given it a lip underneath. Here's the I3 chassis. It's a bastard. This was my second go at getting this chassis to work properly, and something still isn't right. I won't go through every individual issue, but to add another thing to the list of things to do; I want to strip the chassis right down and rebuild it using a highlevel box and AG drivers/rear wheel. I'd also like to do something meaningful with the rear truck, it needs a better pickup arrangement than it's currently got. I did consider just buying a new chassis from SEF/Squires, and starting fresh, but we shall see. I'm looking forward to highlevel coming back to the market. That's all for now

Thanks for the update Edwardian. I'm really looking forward to this thing arriving.

I'm confusing the Maunsell coach width restriction moniker for set-track 4th radius. I've not has the same experiences with #18 kadees. Next time i'm at the club i'll spend some time testing them. I'm building all my stock to 5' radius minimum, so hopefully that mitigates the issue. Having said that, I wouldn't be opposed to swapping to roco couplings. I only use them inside coach sets, with screw-links on the outside of the set.

Thanks Nick, I knew it was one of the I series! Tony, I thought that too, but the I2 boilers didn't have the step that most smokeboxes have, it's effectively a long tube, which is why I thought some brass tube to the correct diameter would be an easy solution. Obviously if the effort to 3D print the associate bits is being exhausted - the boiler isn't that much more work.

I use #18 Kadees on my Maunsell stock, and the corridor connectors touch on straight track, but i've not had any issues with buffer locking. The club's test track is probably slightly wider than R4 on the curves though. Will use #17's on the GBL's as #18's make them sit too far away.