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As a child of the 1980s on occasional visits to the WCML I always loved riding up front on a 310, kneeling up on the bench seat to watch the road ahead. Lovely units and would also make a nice model, but maybe one for another time!

Morning, We were hoping to have the first tooling shots of the 17 in time for Glasgow show, but during our recent visit to China we were informed that the first samples will arrive in early May (so not that far away now). As soon as we have them, we’ll circulate some photos. Thanks Ben

Dear All, Been following this discussion and just wanted to clarify a couple of points. Regarding the AL6 original colour, this debate has been going on for years but numerous photos show that it is emphatically not 'electric blue' as used on AL1-AL5. The AC Loco Group confirmed this during our research and Heljan acknowledged this on the original run of Class 86/2s when 86233/E3172 (item no. 8603) was decorated in a darker shade of blue. The paint for the full size repaint of 86233 was supplied by Howes/Railmatch to Alstom at Willesden using original paint specs and is certainly closer to Rail Blue than 'electric blue' (I have first hand knowledge of the event as I covered it for RAIL magazine many years ago!). However, it lacks the slightly green tinge that characterises BR Rail blue shades (which of course varied from works to works and depot to depot, and changed according to age, dirt, light and various other factors). Using period photography to gauge exact colour shades is a very dodgy enterprise and the only way to really do it is to source original paint specs. With all due respect to the owner and operator of 86259, which is a lovely machine, the shade of blue is far too bright for an AL6! Hopefully this will reassure potential customers that we aim to decorate our AL6s in something as close to the 'right' shade of blue as possible and head off the pre-emptive disappointment that seems to have been building up. I'm also aware that people are concerned about the new Faiveley pantograph seen on one of the early pre-production samples. We immediately noticed that there were a couple of problems with it and they are being addressed. As soon as we have improved models we will report back. We currently have two models out for testing, one fitted with DCC sound and another on loan to a layout with OHLE to ensure that the pan works as it should without causing damage to either the loco or the knitting! Enjoy your weekend. Happy Easter from everyone at Heljan. Ben

Morning, Just to follow up on this message from Chris, as someone who has been reviewing Heljan models since the OO Class 47, the inconsistency in headcode character typefaces is something that has always irritated me too and I am on the case. It's all the more frustrating when some are perfectly acceptable and others, like the new Class 25s, are not so good. I've already had a conversation with the Danish office about improving them for all future models and as I'm now checking the artwork before it goes to production, we *should* be able to sort this issue fairly quickly and easily. Have a good day. Ben

Absolutely Chard. It's always been one of my favourites, long before I was ever involved with Heljan. Model Rail's Hymek review sample was the only loco that performed faultlessly (for nine days!) in the dust and flith of the concrete works during the NRM's Railfest in 2004. When everything else gave up, the Hymek just kept going on our little test layout!

The OO Hymeks are a re-run, using the same tooling as before.

I'm still working on the specific loco IDs, but the plan is that 8654 with have an 'E31XX' number and 8655 will be TOPS 860XX. 8656 will be a weathered TOPS loco. None of them are late enough to have an orange cantrail stripe.

It's new tooling. After the criticism of the previous 86/2s and 86/6s we wouldn't want to release those again, so any other variants we decide to produce will be developments of this improved tooling. If we decide to produce the later Flexicoil locos they will require further new tooling based on this improved bodyshell, but hopefully with any reusable bits of the old CAD transferred over. No decision has yet been taken about later locos.

Hello, A good question, and one that lots of people are asking. We thought it was better to fill a gap that hadn't been covered by previous releases first, and then (if there's enough demand), to work our way forwards through the variants so that we can do Flexicoil-fitted Class 86/4s and 86/6s and then take another look at the 86/2s later, rather than repeating what had already been produced a few years ago. Pantograph is based on official drawings of the correct Stone-Faiveley type, but for practical reasons it has had to be 'beefed up' a little to withstand use on 4mm scale catenary. We're waiting to see the first samples 'in the flesh' and will then consider any changes that might be required. Hope this helps Ben

Good evening everyone. Just a quick note to say thanks for all the feedback so far on this project. We’re delighted to be working with Rails to deliver something quite different and celebrate a genuine pioneer of ‘modern’ (!) traction. For the avoidance of doubt, it will have original NER pattern bogies, not the types it has now. Have a good evening! Ben

Dear All, Just to add a little more information on this - Paul and I have already spoken about the missing screw and we will sort a replacement as soon as we can, even if that means borrowing one from a returned/faulty model when one turns up. However, the best course of action is always to go via Howes for Heljan spares. In this case, the 61XXs are so new that the spares haven't made it over from Denmark to Oxford yet. I'm told it usually takes a couple of weeks for the boxes of spares to be sent as the priority is to get the models out to all those who've ordered them. On the 'up' side, all the 61XXs I've looked at so far have been complete, so I hope this is an isolated incident. Hope this helps Ben

Good afternoon all, Just a quick note to say that I believe the criticism of the O gauge Class 25 flat front end relates only to the early body version (version 1) released a couple of years ago. That has been addressed very effectively on the later body style O gauge version (Version 2, yet to be released), and the feedback for that has been extremely positive so far. In fact, the positive nature of the feedback on Version 2 encouraged us to believe that it would also work well in OO gauge. As I mentioned previously, the CAD images posted at the top of this thread are the actual ones for the OO gauge late body Class 25. There have been a few comments along the lines of 'I hope they get the shape right' - well, the shape is there for you to view and pass comment on! Personally, I'm taking the lack of criticism so far as a positive sign! All the Best, and thanks for your comments. Ben

Hi Clive, No plans to do any other Class 25 variants at the moment. Others are said to be looking at the earlier 25 body styles, and we wouldn't want to risk any accusations of duplication. Ben

Thanks, yes. It's a remarkable piece of work and a great resource.

Dear All, Hope you're well. Just a quick note to say many thanks for the feedback so far. I wasn't able to respond on Friday as I was on a 12in:1ft scale job all day - coincidentally, and appropriately, on the site of the old Derby Works. Anyway, having now had time to read through everything, I wanted to say that we really appreciate the feedback and if anyone has any comments about the shape and detail of the new loco (let's call it a late body Class 25, rather than my not-quite-correct, but shorter '25/3'), we'd be delighted to hear from you. I've seen quite a few comments along the lines of 'I hope they get the shape right' - well, now's your chance to have your say. The CADs attached by Andy Y to the top of this thread show how it will look and what level of detail we're planning to include. At the moment, some details are still being finalised, so are subject to change... 1) ETHELs - we are planning for them to be unpowered, arranged in a similar way to dummy HST power cars so that DCC controlled lights and sound can still be installed easily. However, the cost of the motor and gears (and installation thereof) is only a small percentage of the cost so it's unlikely to make a huge difference to the end price. 2) Original/revised exhausts, tablet catcher recesses and boiler water tanks: We do plan to offer both original (round) and revised (rectangular) exhaust ports, as appropriate. No plans at this stage to include the short-lived tablet catcher recess on that small batch of locos or the small batch of boiler fitted locos with the extra underslung tank. However, if there's huge demand for them, we will look at it for later batches. 3) Liveries and numbers: The initial selection is provisional and we're still looking for photos of both sides of some locos to confirm details and positions of the various bits of deco. If anyone has any photos of the locos in question (in the liveries chosen) that might help us to confirm details or, even more importantly, show up any anomalies, feel free to share them with us! If any of the chosen locos prove not to be suitable, we will replace them with something that we can confidently say is more accurate. That's it for the moment, we are working to finalise the details of the chassis, DCC, lighting and sound arrangements and will share them with everyone as soon as they are confirmed. Kindest Regards Ben

As promised, here's a final round-up of new items announced at the Nuremberg Toyfair that might be of interest to British modellers. It's by no means an exhaustive list of everything announced, but I hope it gives a flavour of the scale and variety of new items coming from the European trade. If there are any items that appeal to you, the following UK suppliers/importers can help: Contact Gaugemaster for: Noch, Roco, Fleischmann, Maerklin/Trix/Minitrix/LGB, Kato, Herpa, Piko, Wiking and many others Contact Golden Valley Hobbies for: Busch, Kibri, Vollmer, Viessmann, Auhagen, ACME Contact South West Digital for: ESU Contact Mount Tabor Models for: Brawa Contact Bachmann stockists for : Liliput, Woodland Scenics, Pocketbond Auhagen, best known for its modular plastic kits, has another large selection of new items and accessories many of which can be adapted for British use. Among the smaller items are a set of small mine cars, industrial workbenches and road trailers in 1:87 scale. The company’s range of static narrow gauge industrial railway items is expanded to 4.7mm gauge TT scale. For N scale, there are kits of platforms, canopies and a useful set of steel railings. All Auhagen items can be ordered in the UK via Golden Valley Hobbies. W www.auhagen.de Busch, imported into the UK by Golden Valley Hobbies, is expanding its HOf 6mm gauge field railway range with a small 0-4-0T steam locomotive and a couple of new Deutz 0-4-0 diesels with cabs. There are also several new wagons suitable for forestry, mining and peat railways. A collection of field railway models and track is also being introduced in N scale, albeit unpowered! As ever, there are dozens of new scenic and accessory kits planned for N and HO/OO, including an ostrich farm, a beer garden set, several football-related kits to coincide with the 2016 European Championships, a falconry display, a kindergarten and playground set, cider press, ski-jump and smaller items including a barbecue and garden furniture sets, gazebos, various bird boxes and animal houses, amongst many others. There are also numerous new grass and plant products, including spring, summer, autumn and dry grass strips or mats, ‘crazy paving’ with grass between the slabs and marshy ground cover for moorland. An interesting development are several ‘facelift’ sets for older layouts containing, trees, grass and other details to give a fresh look to tired scenery. W www.busch-model.com Amongst the British contingent at the fair was Deluxe Materials, displaying its revised and improved ‘Plastic Magic’ liquid adhesive, which now comes in a more stable bottle with two fine application brushes. One short and one long brush ensure that all the liquid can be reached and allows application in awkward spaces on plastic kits. W www.deluxematerials.com Digital specialist ESU is adding a few new items to its range of DCC accessories, including ‘ECoSlink Terminal’ to connect walkabout throttles to the central control station, ‘SignalPilot’ multi-protocol accessory decoder designed specifically to control up to 16 two, three or four-aspect signals, plus a number of other realistic lighting effects. On the decoder front, ESU is adding the ‘LokPilot Nano’ aimed at N and smaller HO/OO locomotives. Measuring just 8mm by 7mm by 2.4mm it will be available in six-pin direct form or with a six-pin or eight-pin harness. For unpowered vehicles, the six-function ‘LokPilot Fx Nano’ is being introduced to control lighting effects and other functions. Also new for 2016 are two new ‘Stay Alive’ devices to maintain a reliable power supply. ‘PowerPack Mini’ measures 15mm by 9.7mm by 13mm (1 Farad capacity) and ‘PowerPack Maxi’ for larger locomotives will be 27.5mm by 15.7mm by 13mm with a 5 Farad capacity. Finally, there will be a new ‘Professional’ decoder station designed to test six, eight and 21-pin NEM, PluX22, Next18 and wired decoders with or without sound and an extension unit for larger scale decoders. W www.esu.eu/en W www.southwestdigital.co.uk As always, the Faller range includes dozens of new items, the most impressive of which is a limited edition 1:87 scale kit of a Cistercian monastery containing around 1,400 parts. On a more humble level, there’s an excellent modern wash plant for HO/OO scale trains (pictured), a segment turntable for branch line termini, kits for modern dairy and fire station buildings, a stationary steam engine and a scrapyard shredding plant (pictured) and several new fairground kits – including working dodgems - in 1:87 scale. For N scale, there’s a second-hand car dealer set and several new rural houses plus a set of rail vehicle lifting jacks suitable for depots. As well as several new 1:87 scale vehicles, there are new sets of working traffic lights for the Faller Car System in N and HO (compatible with both analogue and digital systems) and a digital conversion kit for analogue Car System vehicles. W www.faller.de Perhaps unknown to many British modellers, the German company Joswood produces a large range of superbly-designed laser-cut kits for various scales. New HO/OO scale items for 2016 include an impressive 1920s brick-built office block which could double as a mid-century main station building. Also on an industrial theme is a 440mm high gas pre-cooler for a coking works to complement existing kits and two designs of concrete loading hopper, typical of those found at gravel or ballast quarries. Also new for this year is a set of loading conveyor belts for rail or road use and a set of kits to assemble a very impressive gantry crane. W www.joswood.de Kibri is introducing a 22.3cm high, 1:87 scale lighthouse kit with flashing LED beacon, an excellent modern gantry crane kit (pictured), ideal for rail/road freight terminals and a couple of interesting small items for depots and engineering companies – a ready-made milling machine and a lathe. W www.kibri.de Narrow gauge specialist Minitrains is adding four 1:87 scale, 9mm gauge models of the famous Baldwin 2-6-2T First World War field railway locomotive to its collection. Offered with either short or full cab, it will be available in plain black, plain grey or grey with U.S.A. tankside lettering. Also in preparation is a new track system with 140mm radius curves, allowing very small narrow gauge layouts to be built. W www.minitrains.eu Celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2016, Peco made a major announcement in the form of Code 75 OO flexitrack with bullhead rail and more accurate OO sleeper spacing – a product that has been requested for many years. There are no plans to produce matching pointwork at the moment but that could change if there’s sufficient demand. There will also be a new Setrack starter track pack with third radius curves. The OO/HO 25kV AC catenary starter system pack, produced by Sommerfeldt, should be released soon and will contains 12 masts, push-on and push-off hangers, set-up jigs and an installation guide. Contact wires will be sold in packs of five with five lengths ranging from 200mm to 500mm. Also due from Peco in 2016 is a new Lynton & Barnstaple bogie coach, either an Open Third or centre open observation coach (identity TBC), Welsh narrow gauge style slate wagon and a simple 4w tipper wagon. The recently-released Glyn Valley Tramway 4w coaches will be released in GVT green, in Talyllyn Railway livery with buffers and as a freelance brake coach with or without buffers. Peco also plans to introduce its own static grass applicator device, capable of a wide selection of grass fibres from 1mm to 12mm in length and an indexing mechanism compatible with all Peco turntables. Also from the Peco family, there will be a new OO/HO modern palisade fencing set from Wills and a ‘Nissen Hut’ kit in 4mm scale from Ratio. W www.peco-uk.com Proses continues to expand its range of problem-solving tools and accessories and is introducing a flexible rolling road stand for OO/HO locomotives up to 500mm long (see our review next month). Also in preparation is a ballast glue applicator (N, TT and HO/OO versions available) designed along the same principles as the company’s ballast spreader, two new versions of which are also being added, one with a shut-off valve and another with adjustable height and shut-off valve. The company is also introducing its own limestone ballast in three grades and three colours W www.proses.com W www.goldenvalleyhobbies.com Four years on from the launch of its Z21 DCC system, Roco is adding three different boosters for different voltages, a new track occupancy detector and sensor and a Wi-Fi version of its well-known ‘MultiMaus’ handheld controller, designed to work with the Z21 base unit. W www.roco.co.at Viessmann has added a few new working accessories for 2016, including an animated lumberjack with chainsaw, a woman taking a ‘selfie’ with micro-LED flash and an organ grinder, complete with monkey and optional sound unit in 1:87 scale, tiny 3-D printed working streetlamps for N and Z and an illuminated petrol pump suitable for HO/OO filling stations. W www.viessmann-modell.de And finally for this year's visit to Germany, after finishing at the show on Friday there was time for a bit of real railway action, during which this ex-DB V100, now operated by Lokomotion and carrying that company's distinctive livery, was a nice surprise. Also here is a pair of Siemens ES64 F4 (Class 189) electrics on an intermodal train and a pair of DB Regio Class 218 diesels, all passing Heimeranplatz S-Bahn station in Munich. Busy location, easy to reach and lots of freight and passenger action. Highly recommended if you're interested in German railways.

Apologies for the lack of updates from the Toyfair before the weekend. Unfortunately, the regular mini-blog I'd hoped to send was compromised by appalling wi-fi service in the convention centre and at my hotel, which limited what could be done (at least without spending the whole of each day trying to upload photos!). This is a holding message, just to explain why things didn't go to plan and to say that I'll be uploading lots of material over the next couple of days, which you'll hopefully find useful and informative. There were plenty of news stories at the fair this year, but also a sense that the big manufacturers are favouring more direct routes to interact with their customers (both trade and public) and so are finding it increasingly difficult to justify the expense of attending the fair. It was noticeable that some companies had downsized and/or redesigned their stands while others had combined there efforts and some were missing altogether. That said, the biggest company in the market, Maerklin/Trix/LGB, continues to have an enormous presence and appears to have stabilised after many turbulent years. More soon, but if you can't wait, there are lots of photos on the BRM facebook page. I've also attached a snap of a truly outstanding Gauge 1 diorama featuring a DB BR260 shunter made by KM1. Ben

I know how good ESU locos are because I've been after one for my HO layout for a long time! But, difficult to justify featuring one in a magazine called 'British Railway Modelling'. I've had several conversations with manufacturers about whether they'd be willing to do something similar for the UK OO market, but the answer is always negative. Sadly, the perception is that British modellers just won't pay

As you might have seen if you've been watching the BRM Facebook page today, it's been a busy day at the fair. However, the model railway presence at the show seems to have declined noticeably since last year. Where Hall 4A used to be full of model railway-related stands, even spilling over into adjacent halls and walkways, there are now large gaps in the hall and more non-railway stands creeping in. Stand sizes are significantly reduced in some cases, although the big German manufacturers such as Maerklin/Trix can always be relied on for an impressive presence. Here are a few things we learned today... PECO: Celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2016, Peco has announced OO gauge Code 75 track with 4mm scale sleeping spacing and bullhead rail. Flexitrack only, but there will inevitably be some clamour for matching points before long. There will also be a new Setrack starter set with 3rd radius curves. British outline 4mm AC catenary has been delivered by Sommerfeldt to Beer but needs packing etc before it can be delivered to shops. Shouldn't been too far away though, and it does look good. Designed to take Sommerfeldt's standard or fine wire units. Next L&B coach looks unlikely to be the observation saloon as advertised in the new items brochure - Peco sources say it is more like to be an Open third or centre open observation saloon. Also on narrow gauge lines, the Glyn Valley 4w coaches are now being delivered and will also appear in freelance and Talyllyn Railway colours. An indexed motorisation system is being developed to suit all Peco turntables - suitable for use with DC or DCC. And, Peco is introducing its own 'Peco Scene' static grass applicator system, capable of applying grass fibres from 1mm to 12mm. Modern steel palisade fencing/gates in 4mm scale are being added to the Wills Modern range Bachmann/Graham Farish: Not giving much away about its 2016 releases (to be announced on March 1st), but images of some new N and OO train sets were on display around the stand. Some nice new ideas including a OO MoD set with a Class 03 and army green wagons, 'The Midlander' with a BR 'Jubilee', the 'Thanet Express' with an SR green N Class and two Bulleid coaches (OO), 'Permanent Way' with a Railfreight three-tone grey Class 20 and two BTU Mk 1 coaches and a late-1980s TPO set with apple green 47522 Doncaster Enterprise plus a couple of Royal Mail red Mk 1s. Also planned are some interesting new Scenecraft buildings and the return of some older favourites. Results for 2015 look good with sales up by 13% and good progress on numerous new models for 2016. OO Stanier Mogul and Farish Castle are both expected this year, possibly (subject to any unforeseen difficulties) joined by the Coal Tank, V1/V3 and Ivatt 2-6-2Ts with new DCC-ready chassis and possibly the SECR 'Birdcage' coaches and new Thompson stock. Already announced is the acquisition of Pocketbond, which brings die cast cars, resin buildings and a diverse range of plastic kits into the group. ESU: Aside from its wonderful 'Engineering Edition' HO locomotives loaded with DCC features (to which a German BR232 'Ludmilla' Voith BR265 and DB BR290 heavy shunter are added this year), ESU is introducing 'SignalPilot' - a multi protocol, 16 output accessory decoder designed to control signals. There's also a new 'LokPilot Nano' small decoder measuring just 8mm x 7mm x 2.4mm and designed for N/TT or HO/OO locos with limited space, Powerpack Mini and Powerpack Maxi 'stay alive' units and an updated, upgraded and expanded 'Profi' decoder tester with an optional extension unit for larger scale decoders. www.esu.eu Loads more to come tomorrow. Apologies for the lack of photos, RMweb limit is 1MB and I don't have any way to reduce file sizes here. However, I can post them to the BRM Facebook page, so look out for them there. Ben

Two problems with that - most of it has already been announced prior to the fair and there's so much here that I could spend a couple of days typing it all up. Any countries/manufacturers you're looking for in particular?

Good Morning from Germany. Just a quick note to let you know that I'll be posting regular updates from the Nuremberg Toyfair over the next three days, picking out any items that are of interest to British modellers in particular, but also any new products that could have useful applications at home. I'll also be Meeting various manufacturers and retailers so will Report back anything of interest. Among today's visits is Oxford Rail, where I'm hoping to find out more about the new announcements and hopefully see some pre-production samples. Pics to follow later. I'll also be posting photos on the BRM Facebook page as and when I can, so look out there for any interesting developments.

Hi Mark, I've just spoken to Dapol about this as our review sample does the same on DCC (but not on straight DC), and I've just had the following answer back from Andy Forty. "We have become aware of this and are working through a solution at the moment. Changing CV 29 (add 1 if existing value is even, subtract 1 if odd) is the quick fix. Once we know the extent of the problem (we are working through stock doing a 100% test) we will be fixing the issue at source and will also offer this to customers who may not wish to change the CV’s." So, they are aware and will be able to fix any others that crop up as the first batch goes out. Hope this helps Ben

Afternoon Everyone, I'm just putting together a brief review of the Hornby D16/3 for BRM's December issue (I know it's still September, but that's how the schedules fall!). I'd like to share a few of the relevant comments posted on here about the models and how you rate them. If anyone would prefer not to be included, please let me know asap. All the best Ben

Morning, Just a quick note to let everyone know that BRM's review sample of the London Underground S Stock base pack has arrived. Look out in our September issue (on sale August 13th) for a full review and lots of photos. That issue will also contain reviews of Heljan's Park Royal Railbus, Class 05 shunter and Graham Farish GWR Hawksworth coaches. The package contains a bit more information that might be useful to anyone who wants one or has already ordered one. 35-990: S Stock 4-Car train pack containing cars DM 21088+M1 22088+MS 24087+DM 21087 (outer cars are motorised) Models will be available to the public as follows: * LT Museum Acton depot open day, Sunday Sept 27 ONLY * From LT Museum Shop in Covent Garden anytime from Friday October 2nd (while stocks last) * Online from www.ltmuseumshop.co.uk (orders being taken now for late September despatch) * Mail order by telephone on 020 7565 7265 Ben

A significant proportion of every model produced goes into storage boxes, lofts and in display cases, never to be run. Even many of those bought with good intentions never turn a wheel in my experience. The motor is such a tiny part of the cost (literally a few pence in the case of mass produced basic motors) that it's not worth the additional work and cost of producing a separate, unpowered version. There's also the question of what collectors want. Is it the proper version, or would they settle for the second class solution of one without a motor?