cctransuk

I'm sure that it has been posted here that Samantha is listed in company information as the sole owner of Falcon Brassworks, and that the management of Dart / MJT have no business interest in FB, regardless of family connections. I certainly haven't posted my warning lightly; initially I seemed to have a good rapport with Samantha as I was defending her here against what I felt was unreasonable criticism. Unfortunately, my own experience in ordering a couple of kits - purely to support FB - has caused me to reconsider my position, and I would strongly advise against placing orders with payment, despite my continuing sympathy for Samantha's family challenges. Regards, John Isherwood. Agreed. John Isherwood.

Unfortunately, I have to sound a note of extreme caution concerning ordering on-line from Falcon Brassworks. Having been a staunch supporter of Samantha, who owns the company, it is with considerable regret that I have to advise members NOT to order on-line from the Falcon Brassworks website. Well before Christmas, I placed an order with Samantha which was partially fulfilled within a reasonable period, accompanied by an apology and a promise of delivery of the other half of the order within a month. However, when something was eventually despatched, it proved to be a duplicate of the first item received; this I returned at my own expense with a request for the correct item to be despatched. Despite repeated reminders, and finally a request for a refund, nothing was forthcoming by way of a reply. I have been forced, therefore, to register a dispute via Paypal, and they have found in my favour and made a full refund. Whilst I do sympathise with Samantha's trying family circumstances, if she is genuinely too busy to respond to e-mail correspondence then she needs to close down Falcon Brassworks. It is with genuine regret that I must advise members to regard Falcon Brassworks with the same degree of scepticism as Coopercraft, and certainly NOT to pay them money via the internet. Regards, John Isherwood.

It would seem to be likely - below is what appears to be a later photo. (Copyright Alex Betteney) Regards, John Isherwood.

Oops; as I said, the Bachmann 4F had passed me by - literally - I hadn't realised that they'd done one !! I've already got three Airfix 4Fs, all of which are about to be equipped with Comet / High Level / Mashima / Markits chassis, so I haven't been in the market for more, and had missed the release of the Bachmann model. Regards, John Isherwood.

Bachmann Midland 4F? That one passed me by, both prototype and model ! Bachmann DO produce a Midland 3F, but it is stretching the facts a little to describe it as "... a slightly earlier built version of what is basically the same loco ...". If you had, as I did years ago, converted an Airfix 4F into a 3F, you would realise that there is slightly more to it. Regards, John Isherwood.

..... and that may be the root cause of your problem - all becomes clear! In my professional experience, there is a massive industry, operating in all walks of life, which exists solely to 'support, advise and guide' others as to how they should be conducting their lives / careers / you name it. Whether these 'supporters, advisers and guides' have any practical experience of undertaking those tasks is open to question, and in my experience, doubtful in the extreme. My advice to you would be to fully retire from ''supporting, advising and guiding" - including here - and let those who are actually making model railway items available to get on with doing it in a way that suits them and their (existing) customers. Regards, John Isherwood.

How do those of a "... complaisant mind-set ... " know about the hypothetical kits, and you don't? Because they get out there, read magazines, attend exhibitions, join clubs, etc.; if you rely solely on the internet for your research, you deserve to have your modelling confined to the mainstream. The world doesn't exist to pander to your personal communications preferences - get over it and move on! Regards, John Isherwood.

Very nice indeed - and an object lesson to those who talk-down the Jidenco / Falcon Brass kits. Regards, John Isherwood.

Being rude and tendentious - surely not? That's calling a spade a shovel amongst us Lancastrians. There is a hard core of members here who believe that they know how everyone else should conduct themselves; (mainly to suit their own personal prejudices). At present, there are still a useful number of small traders who provide, for not much recompense, a good range of kits, bits, etc. That number is diminishing year-on-year, and the danger for those who choose not to seek out these products is that their eventual discovery of them will come too late. That will be the time when Ebay traders will have a field day! Regards, John Isherwood.

.... in reply to which, I would simply point you to https://www.cctrans.org.uk/ . You will see that I do have a web presence; that I do accept orders by e-mail; and that I do accept electronic payment. Yet it seems that, despite these much-vaunted 21st Century facilities, you are still ignorant of my existence. I have been providing transfers, on my own terms, since 1999 and have not gone fast down the plughole, and I am certainly not far into debt - indeed, I don't owe a penny to anyone. Thus, I speak from nearly two decades of experience; when you can match that I will take more seriously your advice on how to run a niche railway modelling operation. If someone chooses to offer a service they have an absolute right to do so on their own terms. If, in doing so, they exclude from their customer base those who wish to dictate their own trading methods, I'm sure that they will consider it a benefit. Regards, John Isherwood.

I don't recall reading here many (any?) complaints from 'small players' about poor sales - but I do read many, many posts moaning about having to use non-IT methods of communication in order to purchase their products. Get over it - it's the way that it is, and it ain't going to change ! .... or you could go into business yourself and produce state-of-the-art products that the mythical thousands of IT-obsessed modellers will buy by the wagon-load from your all-singing, all-dancing web-site. No? With a nom-de-plume such as yours, how can it fail? Regards, John Isherwood.

I would have paid £200 each for E1000 / E2001, if it didn't need OHLE - but it does; and GT3, if I hadn't already built one. Regards, John Isherwood.

I'd pay £200 each for 18000 and 18100. I hope that 10100 doesn't appear RTR though - Mike Edge is relying on me to buy (and stop nagging) as soon as his kit appears !! Regards, John Isherwood.

As pedantry seems to be in vogue at present, one dines in a dining car. Regards, John Isherwood.

..... well, it ain't green !!! Regards, John Isherwood.

If mine comes with a Dayglo yellow roof, it'll have a close encounter with some grot-coloured paint as soon as it's out of the packing !! Regards, John Isherwood.

Which tends to suggest that purchasers are best advised to collect their models from a retailer; the packaging is clearly incapable of protecting the models when posted / couriered. Regards, John Isherwood.

I've pointed this out so many times, so I'm not going to spell it all out in full again. Suffice to say that, for many small business owners, the volume and character of the business that they currently receive, without IT facilities, is more than adequate. Potential customers who would rather have a supplier who responds at the speed of light will continue to have to find alternative sources. With the steady decline in these 'cottage industries', that may well be harder to do than to accept existing suppliers 'trading peculiarities'. Regards, John Isherwood.

Is it just me that detects a certain resemblance to the late Rev. Teddy Boston? Regards, John Isherwood.

Could it be a gauge issue? Could your track gauge have tightened up due to ballast adhesive shrinkage? If the wheels are a tad wide to gauge it, could be that it runs fine on loose track and rollers, but is 'pinched' by tight-gauged track. Regards, John Isherwood.

https://www.rcworld.co.uk/acatalog/Testors-Dullcote-Lacquer-Aerosol-90ml-S_TEST1260.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2NHLp5zd2gIVqrvtCh2pkwYZEAQYBCABEgK3IPD_BwE Regards, John Isherwood.

Nope. Regards, John Isherwood.

Get hold of a tapered broach and slightly enlarge the hole. The shaft should then fit easily, so you can rotate it to the desired angle and lock it in place with tiny drop of cyano applied with a thin piece of wire. Regards, John Isherwood.

rob D2, I'm not in any zone - I just try to assist other modellers who haven't got my printing facilities. I don't have surplus production, nor any stock whatsoever, for that matter. Every sheet is printed to order from a digital design file; I simply recover the the cost of materials, packing and postage, plus a small allowance to compensate for the loss of some of my modelling time. What I do is a genuine attempt to assist fellow modellers; it's a shame that most people nowadays can't believe that some of us actually don't want to continually increase sales. Equally, they can't respect our wish to limit how and when we communicate; all part of the 'I want it now!' attitude that is so prevalent today. Regards, John Isherwood.

Garry, I can do dead scale 3mm. scale coach lining, if it's any help. Regards, John Isherwood.