wainwright1

Certainly looks nice in that livery.

These issues come up periodically. I use mostly Precision Paints or Railmatch for painting rolling stock or specific company building colours where regular handling is required, but still tend to use Humbrol enamels for most scenic jobs, buildings, figure painting etc. and have a large stock of it. Acrylics I like to use for weathering, where they can be thinned and applied in almost transparent coats until the right amount is in the right place. All my work is brush painted as I have nowhere that I can use an airbrush. Tamiya is also good, as it mixes very easy and thins down well. Certain Humbrol enamels have always been a bit wishy washy, matt yellow and red stick out, and matt white has always been strange, perhaps a different smell to the others, and once opened it does not seem to keep as well. There have always been problems with some colours or batches of matt paints not drying matt, or at all. Two of the worst are matt black and matt varnish. The black can dry with streaks in it and the varnish can be patchy or cloudy. I have a procedure for preparing and checking paint before I use it: Open the tin and stir well for at least ten minutes using a flat wooden coffee stirrer. Larger tins such as Precision 50ml will require at least 15 - 20 minutes. Test the paint on a piece of non-porous card or plasticard. Wait to see if it dries properly, especially important with matt colours. If it does not, repeat the stirring and test again. I once had a tin of Precision Track Colour which required to be stirred for nearly half an hour each time I used it before it would dry matt. But Humbrol tins should be a lot less. I also have some cards with colour patches which I specifically use for checking varnish, as I also use tainted varnish with some paint mixed into it for overall weathering finish and this needs to dry both matt and with an even cover. Important note. These days Humbrol put a label on the bottom of the tins which quotes the paint number and a batch number. If you get a dodgy tin, take it back to where you bought it, tell them what is wrong and ask for a replacement with a different batch number if they have one. They can then send the dodgy ones back to Hornby for replacement. If you get a good tin you get a good un. But please test properly before using it on a valued model. All the best Ray

That's very informative. In the second drawing there are wagons with two different wheelbases, the second row apparently being longer than that of the coaches. However the bodies are perhaps slightly shorter than the coaches. For any manufacturer the viability of making models of these vehicles must be by making some economies in terms of the number of standard chassis. So the direction that Hornby have gone is sensible, but they could perhaps provide for a longer wheelbase version to add some variety to the range.

Looking at these most recent post showing all the types and the slightly earlier Rapido Corbs ones, the two single veranda SE&CR vans definitely appear to be the wrong colour. They should be lead grey as per the preserved example (left hand end third picture) not the darker grey from the Maunsell period.

Very informative. Now, would these have been similar in appearance to a contempary coal wagon ?

I think that the train crashed through the end on two occasions and on one of them it killed the seafood seller who had their stall just the other side of the wall. I recall that Ashford MRC had a model of this station in 00. Saw it several times, including in the building adjacent to the former station site on one bank holiday weekend.

No not touched their links or paid anything. Would also note that I do not receive many parcels and this email was received within the projected one hour delivery period. So this seems more than just a conincidence.

Hi Jamieb. Thanks for that. Having looked closely I think that you are right, it does appear to have come form a scam source. Now that leaves one problem. It means that there is a breech somewhere in either Rails or DPDs systems for someone to be aware that I have been sent a parcel. All the best Ray

I might be wrong, but I think that I can recall Mike Sharman producing period coal wagons by converting Airfix Rocket tenders, basically the same as what Hornby has done. So if they were good enough for Mike Sharman, they are good enough for me. All the best Ray

Any chance of 4mm kits for these ? All the best Ray

This end served the Dumpton Park Greyhound Race Track. Never saw this end, although when I was a lad I did see the bottom end down at what had been Ramsgate Harbour Station, with the little train sitting there waiting for passengers. Regrettably, never had a ride on it.

It gets better. First I get this from DPD: Gabriel-Marius will deliver your RAILS OF SHEFFIELD LTD parcel TODAY 17th June 2023   between   10:58-11:58 Then I get this at 11.24: DPD Courier - Package Rescheduling Dear Customer, We regret to inform you that your package delivery was unsuccessful as there was nobody available at the specified address. To reschedule the delivery, a small fee is required. Please note that the first delivery attempt was free of charge. Please click the button below to proceed with the rescheduling process: Reschedule Package Thank you for choosing DPD Courier. Best regards, The DPD Courier Team I replied within ten minutes against the email address it came from complaining that they had not tried to deliver it. (This would probably not reach them). Then low and behold, five minutes later my door bell rang and there was the DPD driver with my parcel. He booked it on his tablet and said he did not know where the message had come from, although there was another DPD driver in the area and perhaps his machine had misread the reference. I have opened the package (SE&CR Grey). The model is all present and correct with no damage apparent. It looks very nice, although I cannot test it at the moment. All the best Ray

Not from the same moulds according to Andy York.

I hope that the finish on the red version is a lot better than it is on this pre-production sample. The lettering is definitely sloping down towards the sea. Interesting that no one has complained about Bachmann duplicating something that Heljan is doing. I am sure that if it had been Hornby they would have.

Had the notice. Mine is on its way.

And my Battleship Grey one.

I have the preserved one from Train Times as well and very nice it is. I bought two of the single veranda ones from Rails. One is in the SER red livery and looks good. Now all we need is some SER wagons to go with it. I also have one of the SE&CR ones which is lettered in the early SE&CR Wainwright style. Now this should a lead grey colour similar to the preserved one, but it is darker, more like the later Maunsell grey. Does anyone else have this and what do they think ? Rails have produced two of the grey ones and I am not sure if they are both the same shade. This is not a complaint and I can live with it and weather it down to a lighter leadier shade. Was it painted darker for a specific reason based on research ? All the best Ray

The loco shed doors appear to be hung the wrong way round. The framing should support the outer end of the doors. A common mistake, I did that on my Hawkhurst loco shed.

I have a vague memory of seeing some of these. Were they 'K's HO kits ? All the best Ray

Hi All. Does anyone know if Dexters Cove Models are still in business. They made some very nice 3D printed items, including signal boxes and fittings some of which I acquired. The last post and can seem to find for them was around a year ago and the telephone number I had now appears to be unobtainable. Many thanks Ray

Hope that it is not the Corgi one. ABS did a nice kit for the one preserved by the LT Museum and kept at Acton. I think that the kit may now be available from KW Trams. All the best Ray P.S. Hope that you are keeping well Colin. Might bump into you somewhere this year. P.P.S. See you tonight Tony ?

Was there one called Grommet ?

Hi Matt. Definitely taking shape. If you need any additional nautical bits and pieces, have a look at Anyscale Models. He does quite a few resin cast items at reasonable prices. All the best Ray

Hi Matt, Recovered from the Easter eggs ? Don't worry about the pots, you always loose a few. Even drilling the holes for them is a pain as the drills are very thin and break very easily. Sounds like you are making progress. Show us some pictures when you get a bit further on. All the best Ray

Looks good to me, Ray