Thane of Fife

I find myself agreeing with Bodmin Bob. After the insulting messages I wouldn't be in the mood to compromise. Thane of fife

Good luck Downendian with your case. I hope the vendor is banned from Ebay Thane of fife

I recently bought a so called "Professionally built" loco for just over £30. It looked rubbish with a paint job that had been applied with a shovel, but close examination showed that it had a Comet chassis and valve gear (wrongly assembled, value £35), a Markits wheel set (value £50), and an Alexander tender (value £25), together with a small Mashima motor (value £20). The paint fell off using stripper and the loco fell to pieces as it had been assembled with glue (crookedly). The valve gear rivets were removed and replaced, the body was reassembled using low-melt solder, and I now have a reasonable model, which is waiting for me to get around to painting. In this case, I'm very pleased that I bought a "Professionally built" loco as I got £130 of bits to complete the model, but I'm only an amateur and do not have any "Professional" skills. Thane of fife

The first loco kit that I built (Wills J39)in the early 1970's, used a Triang chassis, but even then I fitted it with Romford Wheels (using the Triang coupling roads), and I was the "Complete Amateur". It was pretty soon fitted with a five pole motor to improve slow running. Other kits that I built and fitted a Triang chassis were: GEM D21 (L1 4-4-0), BEC J52 & J11(0-6-0), Wills A3 (4-6-2). These were all fitted with Romford Wheels and five pole motors. When I returned to modelling after a twenty five year gap, I replaced the Triang chassis (also Kays brass frame chassis)with Comet or Gibson versions, scratchbuilding from brass strip if not available, and fitting Mashima motors. I still consider myself an amateur, but produce better models than many advertised on Ebay. Thane of Fife.

Here's an example from one of the usual suspects: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WILLS-KIT-BUILT-FINE-SCALE-00-LMS-ex-MR-0-6-4T-FLAT-IRON-TANK-MIB-/301365377464?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item462ac6b9b YOU ARE BUYING A "RARE" & HARD TO FIND KIT-BUILT WILLS KITS MODEL OF A LMS (ex-M.R.) CLASS "FLAT IRON" 0-6-4T TANK LOCO. FINISHED TO THE HIGHEST PROFFESSIONAL STANDARDS IN LMS LINE -OUT BLACK LIVERY WITH GOLD/RED DECALS AS No.2039 What a load of twaddle as the lining is hand drawn with presumably a fine brush, not even using a ruler, and doesn't include all the boiler bands. It also has an old Triang/Hornby chassis with wide wheels which wouldn't be compatible with finescale track. It is a mere £295, and I wouldn't give 10% of that for such a heap of ****. I'm glad I don't have; "The Higest proffessional (sic) standards", as all my locos are built to a much higher amateur standard. Thane of Fife

I had a case earlier in the year, where I won a kit at a good price. It arrived quickly but didn't include wheels as described and pictured. On contacting the seller, he promised to source a set of wheels, but then he ignored all my messages. On opening a dispute, a set of wheels miraculously appeared and he posted them to me, but accused me of telling lies. I found myself wondering how he obtained a set of Romfords so quickly, as they were replaced by Markits several years ago. I kept a copy of all his messages and they contained contradictory statements. So who was telling lies? It was the only dispute that I've had with Ebay sellers, and was happy with the outcome. Thane of Fife

She was sent an e-mail by JL giving the actual delivery day but didn't read the e-mail so wasn't in when the carrier brought it. The carrier came back the next day - she still wasn't in, so the carrier asked a neighbour to take it in. A courier recently got quite angry with me, when I refused to take in and sign for a damaged parcel. Thane of fife

The eternal optimist: This item has been offered at this starting price at least FOUR times, a starting price of £18.50 with £4.00 postage. (191) Ian Kirk 8848 LNER Sleeper First kit http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191-Ian-Kirk-8848-LNER-Sleeper-First-kit-/351217869125?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item51c6376145 The product is on sale by the producer for £15.00, so why pay £22.50 for one? I would think it would make business sense to sell the item at a lower price and buy something else with a better profitability. However, perhaps he bought the item from the producers, and is merely trying to sell it on at an inflated price. Thane of fife

Its amazing how people think the term "Kit Built" makes a model more saleable. I see many kit built items on Ebay which are of inferior quality, and the equivalent RTR item is far better. It does take an amount of skill and technique to produce a superior model from a kit. Another misnomer is "Professionally Built", used to describe an inferior built kit. I am not the world's greatest kit builder, but these items usually do not reach the quality of my self-builds. I often wonder who these professionals are as they surely wouldn't get more than one commission. Thane of fife

M.G.Sharp are selling the Fell Diesel kit for £50. http://www.ebay.co.u...=item20eecc0ad8 It wouldn't take much effort to produce a better model. It's the wrong timespan for me, but even if modelled the 1950's, I wouldn't run such Sh** on my railway. Thane of fife

I think Cartmel must just collect kits for decoration. He doesn't seem to sell many. There are many kits that have been advertised on Ebay for two years plus. Thane of fife

I did think about sending a message to the seller pointing out his mistake, but why bother. He never sends me any messages. I already have a D20 and Big Bertha never ran on the LNER. I would, however, be interested in a Robinson B3 or B7. Thane of Fife

Discontinued??? Both DJH and Tower models are advertisiing the both the D20 and Big Bertha, and supplies are not even marked as limitied. Perhaps the vendor went to the midland school of misrepresentation and met a certain seller often mentioned on here. 4mm 00/EM/P4 DJH NER/LNER/BR D20 4-4-0 Whitemetal Loco & Tender Kit Discontinued 00/EM/P4 DJH MR/LMS/BR Big Bertha 0-10-0 Whitemetal Loco Kit-discontinued Rare

The GEM J83 is a rare and elusive kit. It even escapes from its box. Rare Vintage GEM LOCOMOTIVE KIT J83 Class LNER OO Gauge EMPTY BOX George Mellor http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Vintage-GEM-LOCOMOTIVE-KIT-J83-Class-LNER-OO-Gauge-EMPTY-BOX-George-Mellor-/311124013605?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item48706fb225 Thane of fife

Have people noticed how many items are offered for sale because the vendor is changing gauges etc. I have just noticed another item which is up for sale because the owner is building a different gauge railway. He sold another example of the model a few weeks ago. How many kits of what was a unique loco do you build?? Thane of fife

The craze for over weathering items surprises me. I have always slightly weathered locos, after getting the best paint finish possible. I spotted one "professionally weathered" loco with the loco lamps in the same condition as the loco. The professional painter obviously didn't know that lamps were usually removed from their lampirons at the end of a shift. Perhaps he was a professional house painter, and did it all with a six-inch brush. thane of fife

Despite all the free publicity that they get on this forum, neither of the usual suspects have sold any of their MIB, Painted to a high standard kit built locos, in the last month. Some of their items have been waiting for a buyer for over a year, many even longer. May they continue their success Thane of fife

It's certainly lost it appeal to me.

I find it crazy how nearly every kit built locomotive is described as built to a high standard (by a professional). I recently bought such a locomotive for a good price, that really was badly badly constructed. The paint had been slapped on a loco glued together with an excess of glue. It had a Comet chassis/valve gear that was assembled incorrectly. The castings hadn't been prepared and still had mould lines etc. I am not unhappy with the model as it was cheap and after it was stripped to it's components, it is becoming a nice model. Thane of fife

When I am interested in an E-Bay item. I decide what the maximum is that I would pay for the item. If I am not familiar with the prices that similar items go for, I do a bit of research. I usually place my bid a few hours before the end of the auction, if the bidding is below what I am prepared to pay. If somebody outbids me, then it's my bad luck. I DO NOT chase prices up by making further bids, because I have already bid my maximum. I also bid for items in outside auctions, and there make a commission bid and leave it at that. Sometimes I win and sometimes i lose. At a recent auction, I left seven commission bids, and didn't win any, losing by a few pounds in six and by a long way in the seventh, but I wasn't prepared to go higher for any of the items. I sometimes get real bargains. I left a bid of £250 (plus commission) for a job lot and got it for £140. When I received the lot. It had a set of wheels and a spare chassis kit included which added nearly £100 to the value. Thane of fife

In 1944 D3 class no 4075 was fitted with a side window cab for hauling Officer's saloons and renumbered 2000. Thane of fife

Where do we obtain wheels etc from now?? I ordered a set of wheels from Markits a few years ago, and they took forever to arrive. If I ordered them fro Mainly trains, the arrived within a couple of days. Thane of fife

Is it possible to used Cambrian or Parkside-Dundas wagons for Robbies Transfers?? Thane of Fife

Going back a few posts, I spotted the mention of the Langley LBSCR Baltic Tank. I also have one of these, and it is a monster. I have fitted a Gibson chassis and it still weighs well over 500g. With a Hornby A3 chassis, it would weigh even more. With that adhesion weight it should out-pull anything. Thane of fife

I thought it was a great idea. On a six (or more) coupled chassis (Loco or tender), if the end brake pivot rods are ok, it will keep the brake structure in place with minimal support from the middle wire. However, I haven't tried it with a 4-4-0, where it would be relying on one through wire support. Thane of fife