GarrettTheThief

This is exciting news, even though I don't expect the 180 in OO to be within my price range. I've always wanted one, and I'm tempted to paint it in the later Midland Mainline livery. Would unpainted models be offered?

Are these still available, and how many magazines is that in total?

Finding a local roller derby club and starting a new hobby (yay, something ELSE to push model railroading to the back!). Having bought a pair of expensive derby skates, I'm more or less committed. I hope to pass my minimum skills by next Spring's squad selection.

Here are a couple of DVT HSTs in the Midland region I took back in 2019. EMT was taken at Loughborough, and EMR at St. Pancras.

At what point should paint be flat out binned? I have some RailMatch and Phoenix paints purchased many years ago which were never opened and I'm thinking of selling (they were for a shelved project), but I'd rather not if it's defective.

This is amazing work! I plan on doing one of these myself. Just wondering, how did you do the roof handrails?

After doing a bit of recent research, Humbrol 104 Oxford Blue seems to be a close match.

Wow. WOW. This is amazing! Also, your mention of a 150/0 makes me think this thread is full of projects I decided to shelve, so it's a real privilege following someone else's efforts to make these modern units a reality.

This is stellar! I was going to build a 4-car and 9-car Meridian in the later Midland Mainline livery, but I abandoned those projects due to time/space constraints. I eagerly await the outcome of that one and the Class 180 (I'm tempted to do this one in either of the MML liveries, just because!). It's looking amazing so far!

Thanks again and for the feedback! It's reassuring to know I'm on the right track (no pun intended). I'm confident enough to take the next steps: sell the Hornby tender, buy a Fowler tender kit, and then buy a chassis with the motor and gearbox. Oh, and as per @cypherman's very helpful post, fix the chipped corners. I also need to buy a proper lining pen as I'm using a stupidly thick gold marker and exercising my steady hand Speaking of the tender: This is something that crossed the back of my mind a few times and would consider adding. Where did you get your step-plate from? Thank you, thank you! Though that is actually a Hornby body with bits chopped off the Amercom model, which has become a host of sorts for various parts now. I pitched the idea of making an Amercom body a running model but I took note of the very cons you mentioned and I would agree that replacing the moulded components is more work and I feel it's been easier converting the Hornby body. I'm glad I don't have to create the custom side rails, props to @ianLMS for doing that so neatly! I'll take SOME credit for the lining though - the reason it looks better is because with careful painting of crimson, I made them look thinner, corrected overspill, and then added some more lining myself. Though some parts of the Hornby body have incorrect proportions, fixing the lining and subtly weathering the edges makes a significant difference. Your plans for the Amercom tender sound good and in line with one of my earlier ideas too, before I ended up butchering mine (thankfully to no loss for me). I got a light laugh out of that, but you're correct! I thought it looked a tad strange, and it was worse before as I cut off the stand, so his toes were even higher up! A judo match with him would end VERY quickly, I'll say that.

I have a few Lima models that will, at some indefinite point, get similar treatment, so I'm keeping a close eye on this. I look forward to seeing how this pans out.

That sounds amazing! Definitely will keep my eyes peeled for that! Also, I've just subscribed to your channel.

On trains and games, I always thought about modelling parts of the Mojave Wasteland. I look forward to seeing how this unfolds further!

Now I'm starting to settle into the new place, I think I'll bravely post what I've done so far. Bear in mind this is the first major serious endeavour I've taken, and is a pilot for testing and developing my basic crafting and scratch-building skills. It's also my first proper weathering job done from a narrow selection of three powders (black, slate grey, burnt umber) and some white paint and I've tried to closely follow some tutorials. The rails on the end of the tender broke off and you can see where I've superglued custom rails. It's an imperfect job, but I doubt I could do much to spoil the Hornby tender anyway. It's amazing what a bit of subtle weathering can do for the blemishes and imperfections. I've also got a side-by-side comparison photo with the Amercom tender I butchered. I'm thinking of selling the whole Hornby tender as a spare in favour of a Fowler kit, as we've established it's correct for what I'm modelling. The front portion (what's the correct terminology for that?) is what I'm more concerned about. With the above in mind, feel free to pick apart and let me know what parts I'd need to swap out/buy and what I should redo. I can forgo the incorrect proportions if I get a decent chassis, the weathering is more on point and all the other components are correct. Sadly, I don't know what to do about the chipped front corner. Thanks for taking the time to read/look, and thanks to ianLMS for letting me post my work in his thread.

That's coming along very nicely, it looks fantastic! I'm still busy with the move but I'll be brave enough to post photos of my work by next week.