S.A.C Martin

The tender is an interesting one as that fitted to the current Black Five model is not the same as that on the Railroad Black Five (the previous tender drive model). The current tender looks like its R&D was derived from the earlier tender as the major dimensions and errors seem to match. It's a better tender than that which went before but not by much, and once you see the issue with the tender frames, it can't be unseen. Easier to see which is the new and which is the old with the locomotives I feel. I apologise for the lack of clarity of these photographs, they were taken in 2008 (can't believe how long ago that was. Neither of these locomotives is in my possession anymore).

Don't think it's really in the spirit of the thread as I originally set up to describe Man Utd as Man Ure - perhaps you could retract that Mickey, as it seems clear that's where the offence has been caused. I'm no fan of Man Utd and I've put my views in this thread time and again but I don't think it's fair to resort to petty name calling. By all means constructively debate but let's not turn this thread into one of the general football forums where insults are traded rather than thoughtful and insightful posts on the game.

Is there any hint of the D11 yet? I note the Deltic is forthcoming. Looks surprisingly good. Worth a punt for anyone who wants to build done half decent deltics on the cheap? Honestly, seeing a GBL D11 would make my year. So much that can be done with that GCR tender.

It was a team of "clapped out turkeys", personally speaking - but Sir Alex Ferguson is very good with his racehorses and effectively bought the horse to win that particular race. Buying Robin Van Persie from Arsenal assured him of a title winning season because RVP was still in good form from several years mostly on the sidelines at Arsenal. Now this season has proven two things to me: Rooney is by far and away the most overpaid player on the player against raw talent and fitness (the latter he has little of, and the former in spades but finding difficult for form), and the second thing is that Manchester United as a club really do lack a hell of a lot of class. Whether it was a minority of fans with the banner over Old Trafford by plane, the constant undermining of their own manager on twitter, Facebook and in the press by players with egos and axes to grind, or the simply outrageous manner Moyes has been dispensed with - initially by telling the media first and then announcing it by twitter. I've always said that Ferguson was a great manager. That does not preclude him from being a mostly unpleasant human being and to be frank, he has left a legacy at Manchester United which is more than just trophies. A severe lack of class and humility, and patience. I know this is just one football fan's opinion, but I can't be the only person in the country who genuinely feels sorry for David Moyes and thinks there was little he or anyone else was going to do to keep Manchester United at the fore of the game. It ties in with a lot of the myths in Manchester, such as that one people kept trotting out that Phil Jones or Smalling are somehow premier league footballers...

Tom's weathering of Herring Gull recently is possibly the best illustration for the hobby of what skills you can acquire after patient learning and repeated practice. Certainly I am yet to see finer weathering than that appear elsewhere: dare I say Tom's weathering of the A1s and A4s recently have the potential to be the best in the business one day soon? If I may throw an image of my own in, I noted you stated previously a few models you had scratch built or bodged over the years, and one I recall (perhaps incorrectly) was the B3/3. I am working on one myself, and have used all manner of things to bodge the locomotive into the right basic dimensions and shapes. The body shell is a Bachmann B1, cheap to obtain in numbers and a cut and shut of one body shell currently. The chassis is a Hornby B1 chassis, fitted with 6ft 9in Royal Scot drivers from the same firm, modified using plasticard for the balance weights. The cab sides were off a spare Peppercorn A2 cab (no longer required from an A2 to A2/1 build) which were spliced onto a Bachmann B1 cab. The tender is the wrong GCR (ROD) type, but I am hoping the Great British Locomotives magazine may yet provide me with the correct D11 tender body shell required to give the model the full look of a Thompson conversion (!) The dome is one of Graeme King's excellent pieces. The point I am trying to make is that it's no scratch build but it is fun to try and make something from lots of different parts and then see if it all goes together to make something a bit more than representative but also accepting the limitations of the medium we work in. However (and I am sure Tom feels the same way) it is seeing the modelling of our elders and betters that makes us strive to reduce the compromises and practice further to attain higher standards in future. The next time I build a B3/3 I'll start with a 3D printed body shell and etched frames attached to proper GCR pattern driving wheels and no doubt a better motor and gearbox combination too. It's a learning curve!

So somehow at 2-0 down at Sheffield Wednesday, Marvin Sordell gets a hat trick and suddenly we're starting to pull away…desperately need to win that game in hand! #comeonyouaddicks

Getting there. Need to add the lamp irons, coupling hook and cab spectacles. Then it's off for weathering and Johnson's Klear finishing...

You know Bernard, up until my latest round of bodging with the GBL A4 locomotive body shells, I'd have disagreed with you there. However the more I delve into modelling A4s, the more unsatisfied I am with the Hornby and Bachmann offerings. However, the latest Bachmann chassis, though inferior in terms of the subtlety of the moulding of the Hornby's cartazzi, does have a weightier presence in the valve gear department. When weathered up I think the Bachmann valve gear may look better, though I wish both manufacturers would find a way of not using the screws and hexagonal head screws that just don't look the part on their respective Pacifics. Heljan's Beyer Garratt has a stonking representation of the four bolts on its valve gear, so it can be done. It is interesting that Hornby added a die cast, and very nice, cartazzi for their new Railroad 4472 chassis (the one with the 3-pole motor and flywheel) that is much nicer than the plastic moulding, but did not then use this chassis on the latest Railroad A4s. It looks to me like they tooled up the valve gear to be simpler too, moulding the bracket for the eccentric onto the body shell and leave the stamped metal component off the valve gear. You can see the missing component of the valve gear quite clearly when you put an A4 body shell on the model. Strange that Hornby moulded it onto the A1 body shell - they last did this with their tender drive A4 model of years ago. I digress…the purple edition A4 was a beaut though.

Personally speaking, given it's the 25th anniversary of Hillsborough, I'm more than happy as a neutral to see Liverpool win. They've played exciting, high scoring football all season and it looks like they are going to be the most consistent of the teams in the top four this year. More to the point, I do think Liverpool's revival under Brendan Rogers has thrown some impetus into the English game - for a start, it makes the other teams who looked too comfortable in some ways over the last three or four years sit up and take notice. Bring on the end of the season, and the start of the next because I think the English game has got exciting again this year. Not predictable which is the best thing in my books. …now returning to the Championship, I've been a weary Charlton fan the last six months. Jose Riga does seem to be doing an okay job but the squad needs a clear out in the summer, irrespective of if we stay up or not. All to play for and with one game in hand still. It looks like Millwall and Charlton might just avoid the drop too which would be welcome as I enjoy our away days to the Millwall faithful, always fun (despite not winning there for some time!) Good luck to them and us one hopes.

Yes, the tender should be the other type - as per the blog I will change tender type when I have the other tender type in stock. I've deliberately used a Hornby tender coupling (the Tornado type coupling) so that any Hornby tender can be put behind it. Standardisation at work there as a prototype it proves the theory anyway. Interesting you mention the colour, on the LNER forum the general consensus is that my interpretation is totally wrong. Happy to put it out there for discussion though, after Johnsons klear and some weathering I think the full effect will be seen.

Just realised I didn't put one of the front end up. Needs coupling, lamp irons and that's about it...

Home straight, just cab side and tender numerals and lettering, cab window spectacles, glazing and front coupling to sort. Then she's done!

Perhaps I should start a thread for my A4s instead of cluttering up this thread. Given it's about the GBL models I assumed it would be okay to post updates here but I am wary of clogging the thread up unnecessarily. That being the case, I managed to get a few more bits done last night including painting the cab roof and fitting the buffers. They are Maygib buffers and I am really rather taken with them, they are of excellent quality.

Sounds like a good conversion to me. I'm one of a few people who've slimmed down Hornby's old tender drive GNR tender. I'll try and dig it out when I'm round my parents next week and put some pics up for you. Most of my methods directly based on Graeme King's work and practice. My first prototype, now entirely in blue. Bit of a dilemma - pre-war, it's clear the upper end of the tender above the beading is painted black, post war it becomes less clear. The roofline however is entirely correct, down to the edging for 1945-49 for the A4s. Looking forward to adding the stainless steel lettering/numerals, transfers, nameplates and buffers along with the obligatory black paint.

This sounds a rather good conversion. Any pictures? Would love to see how you carved out the footplate in particular.

Surprised there's not more modelling going on with these cheap body shells. Has anyone tried anything with the 4472 model as yet? I have used the 4472 tender for my A4 conversion prototype and was very pleased with that body shell, very nice when tidied up and separate handrails added.

I think we're all agreed a London club is better than yet another nod to the United side of the Mancs…! Lovely work Mick. Sorry for hijacking the football theme!

Cross breeding then, bottom one is a Thompson B1...

Last update on the A4s for a bit. Tender now in blue. No more pictures until I've finished it I think. Getting there.

I tend to use Loctite super glue and poly cement, dependent on the quality of the plastic. Also use green putty from Gameworkshops and Humbrol filler in combination to make the best bond and finish possible. Looking forward to posting an update of my first of the GBL A4s in blue this weekend.

Has anyone actually had a go at modding one of the 28xx yet? I'm curious to see what, if anything, it could be used for. Saw one this afternoon in Canary Wharf and it didn't float my boat to be honest. Not a GWR man anyway but the taper of that boiler and the length of the firebox was a definite put off.

More on my build here. Suffice to say, coming along with a lot still to do.

Still working on my A4s. For quite a while my second prototype, using a Hornby chassis, was drawing ahead in the rebuild stakes, but now I've managed to do a lot of work to my first prototype, which uses a Bachmann A4 chassis, and the GBL A4 body shell and 4472 tender. Handrails fitted all round, single chimney fitted. Nearly ready for the priming stage - a few things to sort out like adding Archer's rivets, missing access hatches and a few other bits and bobs here and there. Otherwise, getting close to a first coat of blue, like prototype 2 with its tender. This morning I was feeling quite down about the A4s having found out about the washout plugs, but the more I work with these cheap body shells, the better I feel. It's fun, which is the main thing. Eventually when I've finished these prototypes I'll evaluate which I liked better and make that the standard for my layout. …washout plug etches…seriously thinking about this now!

Happy to help. One thing I will say is that Graeme Kings V2 body shell has to be seen to be believed. Captures the look of a V2 extremely well. I think my previous V2 conversion will probably be sold off to fund a few GK conversions using the latest Bachmann chassis. Interestingly I notice the V2 is on the list of GBL models to come - unlikely if it's copied the Bachmann V2 to be of great help to the modeller. The D11 on the other hand...

It depends whether or not you can see the difference between the real thing's boiler shape and the overall flatness and fatness of Bachmann's. It can be made into a reasonable, nice representation of a Gresley V2 by changing the smokebox door, the dome, buffers, chimney and other components, but only major surgery - or (as I intend to) replacing the body altogether with one of Graeme King's excellent and forthcoming resin V2 body shells is key. Here's my modified Bachmann one - Tim Easter has also done one on RMweb in a similar vein. The modifications hide the majority of the body shell errors but when lined up next to a Hornby A3 (the V2 boiler type is dimensionally similar to the A3 in terms of the shape and size of the barrel) it looks very off. The latest V2 - as mine is - has a terrific chassis underneath it. Very smooth running and surprisingly sure footed. Cartazzi is fixed and uses the same floating axle the Bachmann Pacifics A1, A2 and now A4 have.