bluex5

It's not a beautiful looking machine but I think that adds to it's utilatarian charm. While often described as a 2-8-0 version of the B1, it's actually much uglier than that!

Do want. Looks stunning. Just ordered another 04 (end of line cheapy from Rails) which will look excellent alongside one of these Thompson beasties.

As much use to me as a chocolate fireguard, but still brilliant news.

I've said it before, Dave is a brave man for choosing the 52 as his next diesel project. It's such an iconic class and one that's been attempted so many times before that any descrepencies whatsoever will be swooped upon mercilessly. However I think he might just of nailed it! The "design by comittee" approach has been fascinating and surely paves the way for how models should be developed in future. While not meaning to criticise other manufacturers, it's been proved several times that when faults are seen on a physical prototype, it's often too late to correct them. I hate to think what version of the CAD we are looking at with this project, but Dave has held off cutting metal several times to allow revised CADS to be produced and commented on.

Shame, no plain green example other than the glossy effort. I went for SYP weathered.

It's the conductive film for the demister setup. It's prominent on 47's and Deltics too but I'm not sure how it would look in 4mm.

Sorry but the shallow bodyside of the 40's is a far bigger issue than any perceived sin with the Sulzer 2's. The 40 is so unlike the prototype I'm prepared to do something about it (Detailed Lima shell on Bachmann chassis) whereas the Sulzers at leas capture the basic look of the class.

Citation please. I've certainly not read anywhere else that Barwell have gone to the trouble of scanning a 40.

Credit to Dapol for bothering at all. I can't think of another class with so many variations, even within batches.

That is correct, all the hydraulic classes were wired with one red and one white light on each end in addition the the headcode illumination.

Are we sure the 21/29 wheels are the same though, considering the rest of the bogie is nothing like the 22 one?

I think it's been called out as wrong earlier in the thread to the point where people have been on the phone to their preffered purveyor of whitemetal bits in an attempt to sort it.

£85 or therabouts, which is what you'll pay for the Bachmann one including post from a box-shifter.

I saw these for sale at Doncaster Toy Fair at a price which somewhat changes my view on the "Vs Bachmann" debate. If I see them again at that price I will be buying one.

Apples and oranges, although the best 4mm D1000's I have seen were based on the Lima bodyshell.

Exactly right, and the design concept would of allowed for this but for detail changes made quite late on in the design process. I think it was even intended that the engine types could be mixed and matched within the same loco if needed. I think the fact that this standardisation was a "none event" weighed heavily against the hydraulics when the rationalisation plan was drawn up.

Had "he" not built a range of godawful Pacifics he would of been fondly remembered for the B1, a great mixed traffic design. But he did, and he isn't.

I'm pretty sure EE offered the final batch of type 4's to BR with 2500bhp but BR said no.

The Hornby one is nice but for some reason it just doesn't quite do it for me. It just somehow looks too nice and "ornate" for such an anonymous class of locomotive. Might just be the weathering but the Bachmann one looks a lot more rugged and workmanlike.

First person to reproduce that level of weathering on either "new" B1 model wins a fish on a stick!

Apologies, I thought it was a production model.

Hornby's attempt is certainly an ornate piece of moulding. However I notice the following - The wheelsets are of the same unsubstantial style which spoil Tornado and the 75XXX. The rear bufferbeam should be red, not black. The chimney is poor, and not for the first time from the big H. The valve gear is slightly superior to Bachmann's in that it has more detail (the funny rod thing behind the cylinders?). Cab interior detail is present and inclusion of cab doors, as is usual for a modern Hornby kettle. Flaman speedo bracket included, although I don't believe all the locos had them. The paint finish looks about on a par with Bachmann's 61180. In summary, very nice but I think I'll be sticking with the Bachmann version for my MPD layout, good enough for me and once you've bought 4 or 5 a fair saving over the big H.

The Hornby one almost certainly has tender pick ups.

No pics, I sold them on Ebay a couple of years back (in lieu of the Bachmann effort coming out, more's the pity). I did one of each nose type. It's a great project to do, have a hunt around on this site to see what the Penguin of doom (Shaun) gets up to with the Lima Class 40 bodyshell and I think you'll be quite impressed.