PatB

Wasn't me .

I know that I have been known to express some affection for, shall we say, less than perfect models which, nonetheless, represent commendable initiative and effort on the part of those responsible but even I have my limits. I mean...what?

I assume it's part of a model of British Railways' little known experimental gravel burning loco, an idea mooted by someone who noticed that carbon and silicon are quite close together in the periodic table. The whole thing was abandoned after several years of effort on the grounds, as stated by engineers involved in the project, of being 'bloody stupid' and 'utterly barking'.

Should be fine as far as current is concerned as a mains 90W motor should only be drawing ~0.4A. As others have mentioned, a double pole switch would be better for full isolation but, as long as you ensure the switched side is on the live wire I wouldn't see the installation as actually dangerous. I don't know what the law says though. Something else you might consider is a sewing machine foot switch. Dead-man protection and hands free operation in one unit.

Given the staggering (to someone who remembers anything but the original Z1 as being cheap but powerful old hacks) sums now being asked for anything air-cooled with a Z in its model designation I'd imagine you could see a decent proportion of it back if you really wanted to .

They were. The ones on my 250 Sport twin were anyway. The wiring insulation was made out of what appeared to be congealed chewing gum (no, I don't know if the pink was synthetic fruit flavour or the green was peppermint ), the bakelite type resin that made up much of the switchgear internals was soluble in WD40 and very little of any of it was effectively sealed from the elements. However, all the terminals were nice big screw-down jobs rather than fragile spade connectors, the handlebar switches could be stripped, cleaned and reassembled in about 5 minutes for both sides and the dynamo itself and the huge 6V battery never gave me trouble. The two main annoyances were the points plate which, if assembled and adjusted as per the manual, caused the engine to run backwards and the rear brake light switch which would, on rainy nights, switch on the brake light and run the battery flat just in time for me to discover it as I was leaving for work in the morning . The former was dealt with by developing a points adjustment procedure from first principles and the latter ceased to be a problem when the switch succumbed to applications of WD40, leaving the rather more reliable front brake switch to handle the task alone. All that said, I was never totally stranded by electrical faults and, on the bright side, the world with no headlamp is barely darker than the world as illuminated by 35 Czechoslovakian Watts and I still feel considerable affection for the Bouncing Czech.

Theoretically no worse than the BMC A-Series which didn't seem too disadvantaged by its lack of mains and non-crossflow architecture. However, the one time I had to work on a Chevette I was disappointed to find that, although everything looked roomy, it actually seemed very difficult to get spanners/sockets to the necessary fasteners. Mind you, I'll allow that some of that may have been lack of familiarity with the beast. I did always fancy a Chevette with improved suspension and all the Blydenstein tuning goodies as a bit of an alternative to the once two-a-penny hot Escorts though.

But they can't be extinct! They're practically new .

IIRC (apart from the aforementioned FC Victor, Vauxhals aren't really my area of expertise) the Brabham Viva was rather less fierce than the Lotus Cortina, being basically a mildly warmed over HB. It was, perhaps, more akin to the Escort 1300GT as a small and mechanically simple sporting saloon rather than a homologation special for production car racing. The really hot one was the Viva GT with the OHC 2-litre Victor lump, easily replaced with the later 2.3 for even more go. Which, I suppose, Vauxhall did themselves with the later droop-snoot Firenza; a car much more in the spirit of the Lotus Cortina. To be honest, I'm staggered that there were any PB Crestas still extant in 1986 . Did it have the classic overhead clock, perfectly positioned to trepan the unbelted 1960s driver in the event of a crash? I can also identify with the remoulds throwing treads. That was another endearing characteristic of the Oxford, probably not helped by my driving it like a 19 year old who's been watching Starsky and Hutch repeats a bit too much for his own good . I daresay it would have been worse if the tyres had had enough grip to generate any heat by friction . Mind you, I never got it to scrape its front suspension crossmember over humpbacked bridges; something which the supposedly boring old farts at Which? magazine achieved whenever they tested a Farina.

My uncle, on the other hand, had the desperately uncool FC Victor 101 automatic. It would appear that someone at GM had the bright idea of attaching the US designed, 2-speed Powerglide slushbox, which was probably fine when bolted to a honking great V8 with torque out the wazoo, to Vauxhall's rather feeble 1.5 litre four. The result was to stifle what little 'power' there was and to ensure, as the thing clonked from low to high, that any semblance of 'glide' disappeared too. There was also the small point that autos are supposed to provide a relaxed drive; something decidedly lacking when you attempted to overtake a truck (a fraught enough exercise in any bread and butter 60s saloon) and found that, in spite of keeping the kickdown firmly in operation, at about 45 mph and with oncoming traffic looming, the bl@@dy thing would stop screaming its head off and start chugging instead as the 'box attempted to deal with the situation. With it's comparatively precise handling, relative lack of body-roll and its wonderfully sophisticated 3-speed Borg-Warner transmission my mum's Morris Oxford Series VI was a veritable sports saloon in comparison .

Seeing all those Vivas reminds me of so many models of car of which there were always zillions around and then you'd turn around and, suddenly, there weren't. A while ago I was informed that there were fewer than ~200 roadworthy Morris Marinas remaining in the wild. My reaction was one of stunned disbelief. I mean, they're all over the place aren't they? Apparently not..........

And bonus evidence of a Castle in early Grouping GWR livery hauling a rake of Mk1s in mixed blue/grey and maroon .

Looks like another interesting relic of a less affluent, less well commercially supplied era. If I had the disposable income and storage space to collect anything other than useable models, I think I could be tempted to start hunting down and buying such pieces because I think they are worth preserving in their own right as a tribute to all those who put in such commendable efforts. What models like this represent is too important to condemn them to the bin.

I recently re-read Guy Williams' book on 4mm loco construction and was interested to note that he was, in the late 70s, enthusiastic about the Triang XO4. If it's good enough for Pendon ... .

Some interesting model-bashing/scratchbuilding from the 60s or 70s by the look of it. I wouldn't give them houseroom as models but as curious period pieces I find them strangely appealing. The seller is realistic about a starting price too.

Yeah, but the veggies in lineside allotments grow beautifully .

If it's tender drive, why on earth does it have that huge and prominent weight(?) screwed to the boiler? Fair play to whoever built it for taking up the challenge of modelling the pioneering days but, really?

Perhaps not but, in my experience, wooden bits of older industrial structures positively bristle with redundant bent bolts, rusty bits of ironwork with no clear purpose and assorted curly bits and pieces perfectly positioned to catch or smack the unwary in their soft bits. A bit of bent wire on a stop block, whilst not necessarily prototypical, is certainly plausible. IMHO of course.

Probably best. Whilst the Vespa and Lambretta did exist in the Dock Green era (late 50s?), they looked significantly different from the 'modern' variety portrayed in those models until ~1960, most of the differences centring on headlamp placement, handlebar styling and provision (or otherwise) of bodywork. No point introducing needless anachronisms .

Agreed. Many moons ago I did my A-levels at Bridgwater College and so, for two years, I was regularly regaled with the glorious turbine howl of Valentas running full chat as the HSTs accelerated away from Bridgwater station.

And it wasn't that crash hot when it was new .

Link doesn't appear to work.

And a good representation of cars of the era too . I make that two Minis, a brace of BMC 11/1300s (one a Morris), An oldish Hillman Minx/Singer Gazelle, a Super Minx/Vogue of similar era, a 105E Ford Anglia, a Mk1 Cortina late enough to have the 'Aeroflow' vents in the C pillars, a Mk2 Consul which is, I think, pre low-line making it an early example, a Vauxhall Victor FC101 and some flash git has got themselves what must be a near new HB Viva. Not a Morris Minor in sight, although that might be one lurking at the far left, beyond the Anglia and what might be another 1100.

Great film. It's remarkable seeing how much Tyneside had changed in the 17 years between that footage and my arrival there. Particularly worrying given that that seemingly impossibly long time is as nothing compared to how long ago my arrival in 1985 now is .

I'm thinking in terms of other scales and gauges too. I seem to remember reading somewhere quite recently (although possibly in a very old magazine) that the minimum radius on Buckingham (EM of course) was in the region of 2'.