Coppercap

Ah, OK, thought you meant you tried ordering from Hornby, and it failed.

Don't forget too, the Big Boy is to H0 scale!

I've just pre-ordered two, and it work for me. Did you have another go?

Good attention to detail here, in that the Bubblecar has the correct AEC engine (top), while the 3-car set has a Leyland (bottom).

So I take it this uncaptioned location is Staines West?

Think of a certain well-known LNER locomotive when it's in 'original' livery. The updates it has received over the years don't get removed...

Is the driver standing? Otherwise, he must be a good 7' tall!

Some London buses. London Transport buses were predominantly AEC-powered.

The UK never was part of the Schengen zone (nor was/is Ireland).

I don't suppose they've been seen this week, what with so many model shops 'closing for the duration'...

Perhaps you could contact the railway, and then tell us...

The southern end of the Cotswolds start at Bath, and that's certainly west of Swindon.

It won't physically stop the scumbags who do it from driving - if they are criminal enough to attempt 'crash for cash' then they couldn't care less about a trivial thing like a driving ban.

About time most of them got a proper job.

The trouble with Sam's Trains reviews is that he usually knows virtually nothing about the actual prototypes of the models he is reviewing. All he does is make initial comments on appearance, and how well it's put together (or not), and then a performance test. He criticised the fact he couldn't access the motor of the Heljan 1361, but if he's so good at repairs (as has been said), he should have found his way in to access it (easy when you start looking). He doesn't know what many of the details are (especially on steam engines), so obviously doesn't know if they are correct or in the right place, nor does he compare models with known measurements. In many cases he doesn't even know if the liveries are correct. If he were to review the Kernow 1361, would he comment on the splashers or cab footstep positions? (Yes, Heljan got those bits right, but not all the handrail variations - but he didn't comment on that because he doesn't know). When there are two models of an identical prototype on the market, like the 1361 class, he ought to at least review and compare them at the same time. Watching his last review, he was enthusing about picking up loads of identical 1970s-quality Hornby wagons for £4 each! Woopeedoo!

It wasn't cellophane in the box, it was a much softer material more flexible than cellophane. Incidentally, Rocket didn't have a whistle at the opening of the L&M, nor for a while after - they came into use in 1833.

The only difference will be the printing on the box and the names on the coaches. Why would the couplings be different? If you really want to know what the minimum track radius track it will run on, just try it and see! Hornby Magazine would just be quoting the radius from the instruction leaflet, and the catalogue often contains little errors.

Both those things were mentioned in last week's programme, so they're probably not the last errors we'll hear. They must have had problems with the fitting of the 9F's smoke reflectors - I don't think they could make their mind up whether to have them off or on, or off again or back on...

Had a call just now, friendly-sounding (English) guy said he was returning my call regarding the insulation they recently installed under the government scheme. He only said his name (really his?), not the name of the organisation he was calling from. I said I didn't have a clue what he was talking about, Pal. Long pause, then he cut off the call. He was probably going to tell me I'd been overcharged, and he needed my bank account details so he could arrange a refund...

Of course, the new Hornby Rocket is a bit of a mix of the Rainhill 150 replica's condition, and it's current condition (it was rebuilt in about 2010). Noticeably, the Rocket replica's trailing wheels are now not those as originally fitted, and while the tender barrel was originally yellow, it is now in bare wood. I recall they had issues with the driving wheels after the replica was originally built, but before Rainhill 150 - they are bare wood at Rainhill 150, but I think they were painted yellow when first completed (I think new wheels had to be made fairly quickly, so it's probably those at Rainhill 150).

Apparently, as yet, Hornby haven't got any spares or spare parts for these yet.

Sam's review of Heljan's 1361 now has over 1.2k comments. I looked through many of them when there were just a few hundred comments, and all I could see (apart from the vast number of the usual silly comments irrelevant to the subject being reviewed and other comments that were clearly from very junior followers) were people agreeing with him in his slating of the model based simply on his review. I couldn't find any comments from people who had actually bought one and were agreeing with him, but at the same time I couldn't find any who were disagreeing with him by praising, or at least defending Heljan's 1361. Based on his review there must now be hundreds of people who will say Heljan's 1361 is overpriced rubbish, without having first hand experience themselves. Yes, it has it's faults, but it's not nearly as bad as the review makes out.

The 9F is now loco drive, and has been for a few years. I think the Compound and Schools and D49 are too (certainly the County 4-4-0 is loco drive).

He did say he paid £99.50, from Rails.

Shirtbuttons are easier to change than splashers...but didn't Heljan also have handrailgate? Whatever, both my Heljan 0-6-0s (saddle and pannier) run fine, and have been well assembled. Bought them directly from Heljan at the Warley show as they'd discounted to £99. Maybe if I'd have waited, I'd have got one even cheaper, but didn't want to miss the boat...but I'm happy.