ROSSPOP

I make that game set and match to Andy.................

I always start loco kits with the chassis first, so need more chassis parts yet especially the wheels. Also waiting for motor /gearbox

Hi Blue Peter, Will contacting Hatchette make them change tack. ????? Any chance of a picture of offending parts ??? I,m hoping they can be salvaged by fettling polishing etc and then painted with Citadel metallic paint which can be buffed and polished. !!!??? Here's Hoping .........

Hi Pete, You won`t be disappointed. As I`m using sprung hornblocks I had to research a narrower gearbox and am waiting the arrival of an ABC 27:1 G/B with Maxon motor which is about 15squids mnore than the Hatchette offering. Do I need to worry about the quality of wheels with this project Pete ?? John

Look what arrived this morning.......... No white metal for this beauty....A very nice quality Mazak casting... I do hope we don`t get too many whitye metal parts particularly if they are as poor as the lamp irons. a good thickness to the overlays so should be a very strong chassis. I ,of course, particularly liked this fact,..............

Hi I gave up on Cillet Pop! Try Bar Keepers Friend... far superior on brass models. Regards John

Yes t-t Pete....but I had to do all the ground work......25years of them seeing my loco's as screen wallpaper .......!

1974 meant training for an occupation, getting married and starting a layout....I think that`s in the right order of priority!!! Was`nt possible to go to exhibitions so books and magazines was the norm for me. Lack of space meant N guage on the back of an old door!! Get something running quickly........ Real inspiration began with dragging my family to the venerable Didcot Centre, equipped with my Zenith SLS camera...remenber those cheap Russian imports??. First shot of a real loco.... 1982 29 years later, my initial inspiration is back to kit form..... I guess for an avid GWR modeller it had to be a trip to Pendon Museum.... This was from a time when the Vale seen was not on public display This all led to me selling the N guage stuff, which ran very poorly (early Grafar and LIma) and having read about Protofour as it was then, purchased my very first etched kit.. a Mallard Models 517 class. Took ages to build and then was severly damaged having had a Black and Decker drill dropped on it! Here it is after it`s second build...... lack of small quality motors in the early eighties, hence the motor showing in the cab.... Life can be hard, and from here on in, I became unfaithfull to the GWR....I know! I know!! I should have sought treatment, But bringing up children and then teenagers as well as a career and home move to the south, wrought havoc with time constraints etc and I was banished to the dining room table. Father in law`s xmas prezzy was a book on the LSWR which inspired a period of that company`s modelling, particularly as Jidenco did quite a large range of kits . A LSWR layout was built but never quite completed as I baulked at the thought of making and lining all those coach kits.... Completing this pre group project was too daunting for a solo modeller and I ended up completing a much smaller project over a five year period. This time in Southern livery. Having now retired and persuading my employers that my long service award should be an MOK 7mm GWR autotank loco kit, it is time to return to my GWR modelling roots. Loco`s are built and inspiration for a finished layout project is needed. I no longer buy any of the regular railway modelling magazines as I find them much a clone of each other and rather boring in content. Even the dear old MRJ has , in my view, become tired and the photography aint as good as it used to be. I never keep piles of old mags ,preferring to remove and file any articles that interest and inspire So its off to the shed for me and start making

Thankyou for your appreciative comments Mikkel. I think I`ve settled on a satisfying GWR station track plan, which will be purely fictitious based on Melchett on the Wibble somewhere slightly left of the Midlands. Well known for the famous Baldrick Furnishing Company and Melchett Glass factory. Unlike the GWR halt which is of Sarsden Halt near Cheltenham. John

In 2007 my attention was drawn to a RTR Tower GWR Pannier tank as a quick introduction into O guage. However, i was`nt comfortable with the chinese compromises with construction or what seemed to be `Bakerlight` bearings. After giving her a coat of etch primer and a wartime livery, i let her go to a good home....... I started venturing from to 7mm modelling more fully in 2008 starting, as i did in 4mm, with a white metal small prairy tank Springside kit and at the same time joining the O guage guild . This enabled me to research 7mm traders and other modellers experiences . I chose GWR 1935 - 1945 as I guessed there would be plenty of kits and accessories available, thus speeding up progress . Having started my railway modelling journey as an adult in 1974, also with GWR, following a holiday trip to Buckfastleigh, I sold all my accumulated 4mm GW stuff and slowly replaced them with 7mm equivalents Actually, it turned out to be a journey in 4mm taking me through periods in LSWR, Southern ex LBSC ( see MRJ 111 Devil`s Dyke) and finally SDJR 1950`s project which I still have. Why 7mm ? Is`nt that what your supposed to do at retirement?????? Then I snapped up a complete Scorpion kit on ebay, which I built with sprung suspension. Painted with a tin of Precision GWR Green purchased way back in 1979. Confidence grew and this time I found a complete Gladiator kit on The Sales and Wants section O guage guild site. Then it was time to try my hand at 7mm buildings. Back to loco construction with a John Maidment kit to which I added extra detailing. Then a last fling at a white metal kit, purchased from a guild member at Telford 2011. Ebay again.... found a very dificult to build Gataneal GWR `Flying Banana` kit. Thats all for now................. However, having migrated from P4 discipline it is wise to keep all things in perspective................ one of my favourites from Model Railway Constructor, February 1960 I have been scribbling track plans since January 2013 looking at various typical GWR station layouts. I have an idea of four baseboards, each 4` x 2`6`` plus a fiddle yard. So far, this plan has settled in my imagination. Or perhaps this:- Or oerhaps this:-

Absolutely Pete, question is do I solder the overlays on before shaping the side frames ? Decided to purchase an ABC 27.1 gearbox and Maxon motor as the one on offer is far too expensive for what it is...... John

Thought that on issue 2 it looked like the chassis is to be double thickness sides as according to what I have seen on flea-bay, issues 8 and 9 are fully detailed full length chassis overlays.......very nice. glad I hav'nt started construction yet..........

That's very helpfull Pete thanks. At the moment I'm researching what motor/gearbox to get . Is that 'Green Stuff' you've used as filler?

Won't be starting mine just yet as I prefer to build the chassis first, using the connecting rods as the jig for squareness. I'm also wondering how the chassis will be attached to the body as there were issues with the A3. I also wish mine to be a working model and use my preferred sprung chassis system using Hobby Holiday Hornguides and roller bearings. I have purchased motion set from Premier Components, the coupling rods have been jointed .

Thanks for that info Jonathan.....planning to refashion my second Hatchette body valances, in case there are enough detailing parts to make a wartime version..... Then Mallard can deliver a goods train on my 1940's Gwr layout (ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz!)

Oh dear Jeffrey.... And then it's a two year build! But you can watch other peoples efforts in the meantime. Did you complete the Flying Scotsman? Also, a question to you LNER fans.... Did Mallard run in a war time livery, and was she fully skirted? Regards John

I was further south down the Midland line at Bedford. Spent hours sitting on the platform in the mid to late 60's watching the end of steam as we know it. Lost all my pics I took with a very old Brownie. Should really be an LMS modeller, but took my son on holiday to Devon and discovered Buckfastleigh and the GWR.... And that was that.......

She looks good Phil I might be at Kettering as I hav'nt been their for a couple of years. I am of course Phil a follower of the only true modelling faith and only model The Great Western (zzzzzzZZZZZZZZ) But I fancied building something different in the background at a slow plod........ John

Ooooh! now there`s a challenge Old Man Phil...... Wait two years and you`ll see this Hatchette Mallard completed and running on the test track at Telford............ Regards..... John

An advantage with this project is you will get a good set of illustrated instructions....not always supplied with some O guage loco kits. You will also get an abundance of advice on this web site. Decide how you want her to look and perform and stick to your chosen plan....

Hi Western Master. Not sure what your new to.... But if you are new to modelling locomotives I would keep things easy and simple if it's your first. No need to strip off the paint, just be cautious about chipping it off as you progress. I,m only stripping it off because I prefer to apply my own finish.....

WHSmith in Cannock has reverted back to two dozen issue 1's, but managed to get issue three at local newsagents......

I quite agree Phil, I don't model LNER but spending 32 quid a month on my hobby is fine by me, and at the end Iwill have a working model. Much better value than £ 7.98 for 20 cigs, or £5 to £7 for a bottle of wine , or £3 to £4 for a pint of beer in my view. The enjoyment of construction and problem solving of course is priceless. And I,m already over budget as I've just sent for a set of Laurie Griffin lamp irons.........! John

I'm old school too Alf. That's why I'm removing it all. I shall then be able to use a uniform coating of etch primer. I had already noticed the grey paint chipping off the nose end of body during handling......

Very fortunate that I like to wear nail varnish............ We'll it seems that softening with nail varnish remover and cleaning with wire wool is the method for me...