Quarryscapes

Wonderful news! I'm now looking at Quarry Hunslets in a 4th scale! On the whole looking good however I must point out that the handrail knobs look a bit naff, hopefully to be replaced by proper ones in production. I note the bracket securing the cab sheets to the tank is not shown on the cabless, hopefully an oversight too. The crossheads as well look a little bit clunky, again hopefully better on production models and lastly to question what the cabbed variety with rounded front beam is meant to be? The square corner one is clearly Btitomart. I do hope we don't just get a rehash of the 009 identities when they are made public. I will be ordering as soon as they're out in any event!

Thankyou Giles, looks like Mr Greenly was quite a prolific writer on modelling in all manner of scales, I have a few of his books on order.

I'm after book suggestions on 5/7.25" loco design and construction. I see lots on general workshop practice etc but what I'm after is practical stuff about the design of locomotives, generally accepted standards, that sort of thing. Is there such a book?

If you haven't already found them, Amayama is an excellent place to get Japanese parts from, they've kept many of my cars going - including sourcing the new rear quarter panel to repair my FTO aftert he accident. This is what yours should have looked like from the factory Jim with the standard wheels and pre facelift spoiler. Many people in FTO circles incorrectly called the facelift spoiler the Version R spoiler and thought it was somehow sought after. The version Rs had nothing special, the spoiler design just changed in the 1997 facelift along with the front bumper, and version Rs weren't available pre facelift. (A version R was a GPX but with all the extras removed that you paid extra for, making it a GP with a GPX engine and the unique trimmed front seats. A Version R Aero Series got you to pay extra again to put back some of the bits Version R took off - foglamps and sideskirts)

Wera do some nice ones, including 3/32" https://products.wera.de/en/screwdrivers_series_kraftform_micro_2069_micro.html

Cats are required for imports if there's a matching entry in the big MOT books that says what needs a CAT between august 1992 and august1995, after that eveyrthing MUST have a CAT, so depneding what the V5 says you may not need a CAT. The FTO was never sold on the UK market, however there were some sold through UK dealers after being put through an SVA (IVA now) by Ralliart. These are easy to spot because they have a horrible great red foglamp embedded in the rear bumper rather than the usual add ons people use. Mine had a red bulb in the right hand reverse lamp and the wiring suitably modded. Just noticed as well you have a facelift 'aero' spoiler fitted rather than the original one.

Beauty, love the Car of The Year models. Is it manual? If you want an exhaust I have a lovely almost original looking Stainless one sat in the shed, still in the packaging it came to me in as I never got round to fitting after the demise of my beloved GPvR.

I've spent ages hunting for a camera battery that I could use in the bunker as I don't really want Lithium batteries inaccessible and semi permanently in the loco, but the only sizes that fit are too puny so I'm now considering a 3400mAH 18650 in the boiler, a combined charge and step up module in the bunker and the RC gear wherever it will fit. I will get there one day!

That's a really beautfiul Hunslet there sir, the paint and finish is stunning! How is the R/C arranged in this one? I still haven't finalised what I'm doing with mine!

Can anyone provide pipework photos for westinghouse pump? I need to do the same on my S&M terriers at some point, and SM&M photos sowing the top of the tanks are non existent -all I can say is the Dapol pipework is wrong, but can't see what I shoudl actually have.

Sorry but that's utter nonsense. Those engines are in use across loads of different Ford, Mazda and Volvo models, and there are further 2.3 and 2.5 versions as well. The only real clanger in their design is that the crank pulley sits only on a taper, there is no key. For racing it is common to have a key machined in, but we are talking on engines that are seriously abused, and highly tuned. We don't key our 2.5s, and apart from fitting ITBs they are in standard tune.

Sorry but that's utter nonsense. Those engines are in use across loads of different Ford, Mazda and Volvo models, and there are further 2.3 and 2.5 versions as well. The only real clanger in their design is that the crank pulley sits only on a taper, there is no key. For racing it is common to have a key machined in, but we are talking on engiens that are seriously abused, and highly tuned.

The Manor booklet says the gearsets are interchanegable between Manor, Mogul and Prairie: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0644/3971/4015/files/OO_Manor_Manual.pdf?v=1696942654

Get the highest CRI rating you can find - lots of LED lighting is very poor and makes colours look way off what they should be. Colour temp wise aim for 4000-6000k as a good daylight range.

Yes. If you search Barmouth in the HMRS photo acrchive, then there's a series of lots and lots of foreign wagons all shot on what appears to be the same day there. At least one Caledonian van amongst them. https://hmrs.org.uk/photographs.html?location=16680

5399, the mystery identity loco, was it green or black in 56/57? All I can say from photos I have is it was unlined and carried an early crest.

The front screw goes into the metal weight doesn't it? In which case it'll need drilling and tapping, although you may get lucky and have a suitable self tapper that will work in the existing hole well enough.

Can't say as I'd be offended with that Mogul personally but each to their own. As soon as you weather black it goes grey anyway. It's a bit like these really:

Guitar strings are defined by their string gauge - which is simply their outside diameter in thousandths of an inch. If you can measure your pipe you can find a replacement guitar string to suit. You want Roundwound strings. They all have a piano wire core with normally a Nickel wire wrapped around the outside*, but you can also get stainless steel or various different coatings. https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/collections/electric-guitar-single-strings?filter.p.m.specification.brand=Ernie Ball&sort_by=manual& *The very fine gauge stuff does not have a wire wrap, it's just a singe strand of piano wire with a coating.

Beta 1257 series or Wera Kraftform Micro series - well worth paying for good quality in small sizes, especially when the difference between 1.27mm and 1.3mm hax can be the difference between a rounded off screw or a successfully assembled wheelset (Slaters Wheels, crankpins etc).

Yep, not even so much as a renumbered oldie. Surely Bachmann can't have that much stock of steamers on their hands they can't throw out a few new running numbers?

Indeed, and some things just don't look right to me on theirs either. OK there are things that don't quite look right on the Dapol ones too, but on balance they bother me less/are within my skill set to fix.

Well I caved. DC Supplies had graded Manors at £80 a pop, so I've just been running in Lydham and Hook Norton Manors around my set track loop. This loop has never been cleaned since purchase some 7 years ago, yet Lydham ran faulessly and after initially presenting a strange stumble so did Hook Norton. The stumble was odd, It ran perfectly in reverse, but forward it would pick a section of track to cut out as if it had been suddenly grabbed. I'm not sure what the cause was, but after picking it up and turning it to face the other way it started behaving as flawlessly as Lydham. I look forward to adding Hinton and Foxcote to the stud as funds and releases allow.

There used to be a Jordan on my street in Oswestry, back when I had a relatively boring MB4 (5 door hatch). Anything old and Nissan will just have rusted into the ground. I used to have an N15 Almera GTi, a rare non bodykit facelift one in Tropical Green. Sadly It was pretty rotten and I got rid before having to put it through an MOT! Lovely car, would love to find a good one again but may as well go hunting unicorns!

It's virtually endless if you allow for innacuracies or go 'generic'. The 4 Penrhyn Hunslets are available from existing tooling. 3 Pen yr Orsedd locos (quarry condition) need only a little mixing of existing bits (and ideally a retooled cab with no coaling doors). Irish Mail as delivered could be achieved from a similar mixing of bits. The Dinorwic locos are all a bit unique so would need much more work for accurate models, there is as yet no early frame style for example. All require Sandpots as an option.