Woodcock29

1470 for me

The Jidenco/Falcon Brass LYR steam railmotor was the same. I had to scratchbuild half the valve gear because it was too flimsy and half the holes had broken out. Andrew

H class for me.

Hi Frank When I got my unmade kit out a couple of days ago I studied the valve gear etch and concluded its all a bit too heavy and there is scope for thinning down most of the components. On Tony's model for instance the the coupling rods are thicker below the flute than above. Looking at Tony's model above I think when the valve rod is thinned down a bit it could probably be set marginally higher at the front end which would change the angle of the union link. Mind you in central position it does need to drop slightly towards the front. An alternative of course would be to purchase an etch for the valve gear from John at LRM. Something I should remember next time I order from LRM! Andrew

If I'd looked closely I'd have realised that! Must have been distracted by watching the footy (Aussie rules) at the same time! Lesson to self - look more closely at photos before commenting! Andrew

Great paintwork from Geoff as usual. However, I must say I've never been convinced by the front end of the Wills/SE Finecast A4 kits. To me the best 4mm option for an A4 is the current Hornby body on a kit built chassis if heavy loads are to be hauled. Otherwise the Hornby chassis is ok, particularly if new valve gear is added. One thing I'm hoping is that as Hornby are retooling the Gresley A1/A3 models they'll re-do the valve gear and end up with valve gear of the same quality as that on the A2/2s and A2/3s. Which then should allow the upgrading of the Hornby A4 chassis to that standard. The Model Loco Black 5 is interesting as I note it has a rivetted tender whereas the unbuilt one I have has a flush-sided tender. So presumably they made two versions unless this one has had the normal DJH tender substituted. The V2 has come up really well - Jessie might be wishing he hadn't parted with it! Andrew

Tony these appear to be photos of models more or less straight from the box in terms of paintwork so am I right in thinking the colour is somewhat deeper on the A2/3? I have actually seen models of both the A2/3s but not with the A2/2 for direct comparison. Or is that a result of marginally different photographic conditions or is the A2/3 shown here after the coat of varnish? Andrew

Difficult choice but I'll go with the D11 in this poll.

Tony I have had a Nucast K2, purchased about 1992 by my Dad from one of his visits to Dave Cleal, stashed away for a rainy day (which hasn't come yet!). I've just had a look through the kit out of curiosity. I knew it had the etched chassis. The castings appear to be fairly crisp, eg the edges to the running plates and rivets on covers for access to superheater header. I've also got the latest Markits wheels, Maygib sprung GN buffers and a turned brass chimney as extra bits I've accumulated for it along the way. I note from comments you have made previously with the original version of the kit that the cylinders didn't fit, the piston rods were too short and motion bracket too high. I look forward to hearing your comments on the 'updated kit'. Judging by what I see the cylinders must now fit ok? Regards Andrew

Super D due to their long lives and the fun I had riding behind the preserved one on NYMR in 2008. Andrew

And another for the 3F 0-6-0

Difficult choice indeed but I think I'll go for the N7. They also got away from GE territory a bit.

A bending tool?

I generally use a thin mix of Humbrol 85 satin black and 186 brown and sometimes finish off with a bit of gloss varnish to make it gleam.

I'll go for the Q6 this time. More so for importance of the work they did and longevity. Andrew

Jesse You are right, it looks to have the higher pitched 4'9" superheated boiler but with its original boiler fittings. The main thing you would need to do is replace the chimney (two options flowerpot or later short Robinson style), dome and safety valves to make it more correct. If I recall correctly (?) in order to build the original version the builder should have removed material from the base of the smokebox and firebox to get the correct pitch for the boiler, as that's how Millholme designed the kit. I've still got an unbuilt version but can't check as I'm in Qld for 10 days at the moment. I built my first one in 1987 as 5187 with superheated boiler. Andrew

I like to describe the U1 as more of a white elephant. My U1 simply goes from its refuge siding across to the loco depot for coaling during my operating sequence. Then sits in the refuge siding waiting for a non-existent banking turn, which must be after the sequence has finished and before we run the next one! Andrew

My heart also says P1, I really do like my model P1, it's just gone back on the layout after a spell in storage. But I think it has to be the O2. My O2/2 never having been put into storage, (except during house moves and the need to get a new layout up and running) and its now about 39 years old and still going strong , even with its w/m chassis. Andrew

I can see reasons why both V4 and K4 could have been included in this pole. Howvever, without doubt the winner ought to be V2. So V2 for me. Andrew

B17 for me. I know they weren't the most successful design but their looks are so pleasing. Nearly went for D49 because I had a footplate ride on Morayshire in 2008 but I've always thought they looked a bit unbalanced. Andrew

A4 for me. Only because I've ridden behind more A4s (60029, 60009 and 60019), otherwise how could I split them, so was close to a tie for me. Must be something about the 9 with A4s and me even if 60019 was numbered 4464 when I actually rode behind her. I even recall reading Norman Mackillop's Top Link Locomotives as a teenager and that was all about 9. Andrew

A1 for me. Andrew

Tony what's the ride height like on the County? The second-hand one I've got at present sits a bit high. Andrew

O1 for me. With its B1 cylinders and outside Walschaerts it looked modern. Andrew

B1 - no contest really Andrew