spsmiler

I've bought from these people in Germany - mostly items that are not easy to but here in the UK - and have never been asked for any import duties. But this might also be because I've never gone above £135 value. https://www.modellbahnshop-lippe.com/

When I receive the goods and invoice for the fee charged by UPS I will share more information. When I mentioned the VAT limit I meant the £135 value above which the seller does not charge VAT - instead it is collected at time of import, in this case UPS. I am very interested to learn more about toys being zero-rated for import duty. It could be argued that buying solely model train body shells which need much work plus more components to be made into completed products should fall in to this category. edit to add: model trains seem to be UK commodity codes 95 and 03 https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/search?q=model+train&input-autocomplete=model+train I also found this: I need to research more to find out what the exact tariffs are (in money terms)

Some months later, I decided try the concept of a second purchase sent with the previous purchase Both purchases were well below the VAT limit and had VAT paid at the time of purchase. But their combined value is over £200.00 My package is on its way to me as I type this and as I have a tracking number I contacted UPS to ask about the tax situation The reply is that I am being charged £44, I assume for import duty and UPS fee. OK, I saved a carriage fee but still I say 'ouch'! What hurts the most is the import duty, as otherwise I'd order enough in one go to benefit from only paying one carriage fee and one UPS fee.

Just a thought ... before dipping my own toes in the decal printing water ... would pigment ink jet printers achieve better results than inkjet printers that use dye based colours? At present I am yet to buy anything, so am considering my options. Dye based ink jets are cheaper to run but as I understand it pigment inks achieve better and longer lasting (fade resistant) results. Simon

Thank you, that is exactly the type of effect I have in mind.

Thank you everyone for your replies I have access to photoshop and can create layers etc. Whilst its better if the pdf's are not locked I can also take screen shots and import & edit them. Its just more work...

Do any of the traders who sell 'print at home' brick papers include an option to edit the brick paper? What I would like to do is add designs in the brick papers eg: a plain red brick wall that allows me to edit individual bricks so as to create a diamond pattern in yellow bricks Even better .., the brick paper includes a range of editable preset patterns so as to add circles, squares, BR double arrow symbol, even a train(!) in bricks of another colour! Thanks Simon

Someone who has a shop selling model trains (and more) at Shapeways has suggested that it is possible to place several orders with Shapeways which are below the £135 limit above which the delivery company that imports the goods collects the VAT and have them sent as one consignment. This way Shapeways are able to collect the VAT but there is only one delivery charge and the purchaser avoids the handling fees imposed by the delivery company for collecting the tax. I plan to try this out ... will say more after the event

Quite a few station buildings were built by the GWR for London Transport - West Acton and Perivale come to mind, I feel sure there were more. re: station names, I asked for my chosen station name when I bought the card kit. I bought Mile End, its not been built yet as I'm doing the platform first. I too would like light to shine through the windows. For this I am contemplating cutting out the windows and using clear plastic, perhaps frosted with cereal packet plastic so that light shines through but its not possible to see what is inside. But I might decide to try to thin the card where the widows are and add plasticard strips inside as this will prevent light getting through the metal window frames between each pane of glass - how I will then cope with the LT Bullseye symbol metal frame is an unresolved issue. btw, if you need any extra LT style flooring or walling you may find what you need in the freebie section. This contains 'print at home' resources and more. Good luck with the escalators! Simon

Thank you very much, everyone. I now have the information I need. Simon

Thank you very much. Although not 319/1 (as already discussed) these plans are still very valuable. From what Wikipedia says only one coach had the first class seats and working on the basis that the seating layout changes would have been minimal (ie: as cheap to implement as possible!) so this implies that the seating layout shown in those plans for the other three coaches is exactly correct for the Class 319/1 fleet. I cannot be sure but also working on the basis that the end with the longitudinal seats was retained in this format (for luggage / postal / whatever) so then the train end which was converted to 1st class would have been the other end, with the 3 + 2 being converted to 2 + 2 and the rest remaining the same. Perhaps with the entire 1st class section having differently coloured seat fabric than the rest of the train. Simon

Earlier today I asked one of the retailers at the Great Electric Tran Show in Milton Keynes if he had seats for Class 319/1 trains. His reply was to ask how many 2+2 and how many 2+3 seats I require, plus whether the seats are for 'airline style' or 'back to back'. To find this out I need access to a seating plan for Class 319/1 trains. Is such available. somewhere? Thanks

Thanks I was going to do that anyway, albeit not immediately

Has anyone had any experiences with 'basecoat' paint? I bought rattle-can car paints* and when I got them I was told that these are 'basecoat' paints and I need something else on top. I think ordinary varnish is what was meant, and that would be great if it is so, but before varnishing I was going to add some transfers (train operator logo, rolling stock numbers, etc) ... maybe I should add one coat of varnish (it will be Halfords clear lacquer) before adding the transfers. Another issue is that the train sides will be two colours, so I must mask the upper colour after painting so that I can paint the lower half of the carriage sides. I'll be using Tamiya masking tape and am hoping that it does not take the paint off when I remove the masking tape after painting! *not from Halfords, alas I needed colours that they do not stock and they no longer mix colours on a bespoke basis Any advice gratefully received Simon

For several years I have been buying 3D printed items from Shapeways whose production plant is somewhere in Europe (Holland I think). At first they charged VAT, but then I made several higher value purchases which to my surprise and bafflement did not attract VAT. At least one of these arrived as usual but then there was the time when the delivery driver asked for £79 VAT / import duty / handling fees. Not expecting to have to pay (and therefore suspecting fraud) I rejected the parcel and chased the carrier and Shapeways to find out what was going on. I think the carrier was UPS. It was only then that I was told the nature of the fee and I paid it immediately, with the delivery company promising to deliver it a few days later. But that did not happen - because the box could not be found. Although no-one told me any more I suspect that either the box was destroyed or it was stolen. Shapeways had to make new 3D items for me and eventually my goods arrived. I think that this purchase was made after VAT import rules had changed / the end of a transition grace period. I am planning more orders with Shapeways and am wondering whether it would be cheaper to make several low value orders or one higher value order where I pay just one carriage charge but also import duty and handling fees. Their delivery charges are quite steep, especially for lowish value orders. The range of model trains that can be bought there is phenomenal, although the shop owner who has the very large range of trains typically only sells the bodyshells - the chassis, motors, interiors etc must be bought elsewhere. So if buying his trains its hard work to get everything one needs. Another issue is that the default 3D substance is very grainy and this is inappropriate for models depicting metal sided trains. I have to use a filler primer paint and sand like crazy to get a finish which is even 'Ok-ish'. Simon

Hello, On the topic of poses, maybe these could be commercially viable; *people buying from vending machines (I have train tickets in mind but also part of life would be food / drink vending machines and interacting with 'pay to park' machines *people with tickets in hand about to pass through electronic station ticket gates Regards, Simon

Thanks everyone, I do have some Lego, but need to find it - it might be in the loft. I don't have either an engineers square or a v-block but I have some magnetic clamps from Smart Models designed to help keep walls straight when scratch building, and this together with Bluetac might be just what I need. If I find my Lego then it too will be useful to help as a scaffold. I shall try - I have everything to gain and nothing to lose! Simon

I am trying to add platform canopy supports to an OO platform, my first attempts failed because the uprights leaned (a little) to one side. Since there are six supports and they all leaned in different directions it was a visual disaster! My station platform is 1930 Art Deco London Underground and they comprise I-Beams similar to the one on the left in the image below . All advice would be welcome! Thanks, Simon

I've mostly built Superquick - cannot use Scalescenes as I do not have a colour printer. I'm making a Superquick Elizabethan cottage (as a pub!) and would like to kit bash it, but have found myself on the verge of being stuck because I need more roofing and their range does not include a 'brick paper' that matches the roof tiling of their kits. I would rather not do this but out of sheer desperation might have to pinch part of the roof from another unbuilt model! The extension I'm adding is out the side of the of the building. Its only going to be single floor, with the structure being a sun lounge. As an aside, rather than use the Superquick ridge tiles (which I dislike) I've bought some 3D printed ridge tiles from smart-models.co.uk I intend to paint these a terracotta type colour. I've aready painted the sides and (where visible) undersides of the roof and added interior lighting plus a few people by the front door, which is ajar. Simon

Hello, Is that the Bratchells kit? I have one of those, not touched it yet, partly because I have too many other things 'in the queue' to be built. Not just trains but also buildings. Also, I've not found anywhere that has the correct type pantograph. Bratchells also do not supply seats, DC kits used to have these but the last time I looked they had been discontinued. Isinglass have seats for Class 465 Networkers and I might use these. https://www.isinglass-models.co.uk/3D-Model-Shop/3d-model-shop.html#!/~/product/id=39943&prid=0&ctid=16&scid=4&tp=pl Simon

ah, Balaclava junction, I was there in 1991... some of the trams I saw then are still running! Somewhere on youtube I have a film from here.

To an extent I've been doing this, primarily of the London Underground, although not exclusively. It does seem that sometimes Underground stations (eg:) Barkingside could be said to be better preserved than many mainline / BR / NR stations. Over the past few months I have come to realise that where platform canopy valences still exist the same former GER design exists at stations on both networks (Underground and former GE mainline out of Liverpool St). As yet only a small number of my images are online, I hope to publish many more later this year. What I've done over the past days is publish a few images via twitter, at the links below. Usually as replies to other people's tweets and these also 'show up' below - I have no control over this. Some of these come from when I was a teenager 'many decades ago', others were taken just weeks ago. Simon

I have some Shapeways 3D bodies (in OO) and some of them have flat bars joing the two sides across the bottom which prevent the sides from bowing, maybe if you did this (for instance where the sliding passenger doors are, as that way they won't be in the way of seating units) then you could screw the chassis in to that. You could possibly also add a 5mm ridge at the same height just inside the body at each end, these too could be used for screwing the chassis / underframe to the body. Just need to ensure that does not foul the bogies, wheels, etc as they swivel when negotiating curved track. I think that OO Electrostars will very much interest modern image modellers, as would the more recent Aventra trains.

Hello, Is this available to buy at Shapeways in 4mm? For 2022 I would be looking to build (as a diorama) a pastiche of Ilford Road Tyne & Wear Metro station, so it would be great if the distinctive Metro style station name signs and buildings (with corrugated concrete walls and corrugated metal roofs) and were also available. Simon

I'm currently building some standard stock cars, one issue I'm facing is where I can buy the wheels ... I was told that they need to be 9mm but so far I've not found a places that has such small wheels. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Next I'll be doing a 1967ts train. I'm yet to decide whether to make it in unpainted aluminium or corporate livery. Simon