cctransuk

Well, I have to say - (and I saw the prototype brand new at Swindon) - Heljan have got it spot-on. This colour is not to be confused with Sherwood Green, as used on the bottom half of Brush Type 4s, amongst other things. It was much more of a grey / green, as is the Heljan rendition. As to the darker BR green on D9500, I'd say it's a bit on the blue side - but not much. I'll see how it responds to a little gloss varnish as I want my model ex-works. Regards, John Isherwood.

Having had a bit of time this afternoon to tinker with my D9500, I've come to the conclusion that any mechanical deficiencies with this model can be summed up in one word - slop !! (AKA excessive clearances). The amount of sideplay on the wheels has been discussed already, but it doesn't stop there. Don't get me wrong; my model is almost silent and runs very smoothly - except ... it has just the hint of hesitation or surge on each wheel revolution. I'm sure that many of us who built our first steam loco chassis found that it had a bit of a tight spot. So we opened up the coupling rod holes - just a bit too much! The more we sought to remedy the problem with increased clearances, the worse it got. That's the problem with the Heljan D9500, I'm sure. The chassis / axle clearances are so large that you can twist the axle in the horizontal plane quite significantly. The crankpin holes in the coupling rods are *much* larger than the pin itself. Try holding one wheel and then rotating the adjacent wheel - there's no end of backlash! Too much slop is worse than not enough - you can always ease a tight spot but, short of bushing the axles and crankpins, there's nothing to be done with D9500. Fortunately, it's only the merest suggestion of hesitation with my model - it amazes me that it can be so smooth with all that excess clearance. Anyway, I can live with it. Oh - and droopy couplings are going to be a problem with this model, too. The NEM pockets on mine flapped about - the pivot hole is way too large for the screw. I bushed the pivot hole with 2.5 mm. OD brass tube, but I still needed to shim between the underside of the pocket and the chassis baseplate to keep the pocket horizontal. Regards, John Isherwood.

Thanks for drawing that to my attention - mine has one missing, too !! I can't see anything on the parts list that resembles the door catch - I think that I shall admit defeat on that one and bend up a bit of fine wire. It has to be said - the quality control on this one is abysmal !! Regards, John Isherwood.

Full marks to Hattons - I've just received an e-mail to say that the Part 49 will be sent out this evening with the three Parts 50 that my model was also missing. Regards, John Isherwood.

Mine's got it on one side - but not the other, (though the fixing hole for it is there)! Another e-mail to Hatton's !! Regards, John Isherwood.

Just had a call from Hattons - the missing brake hangers will be in the post tonight. Common sense has prevailed - thank you Hattons! Regards, John Isherwood.

A useful photo - thanks. I had a quick try at dismantling this morning. The cab came off quite readily and I took care to put the loose horn cowls on one side. Out came the two screws from under the cowls. The short bonnet was now loose at the end but wouldn't slide up at the cab end - is there a trick to this? Do you have to splay the bonnet sides at all? The long bonnet was still firmly attached - are there any other fixings or some technique required to release the long bonnet? Regards, John Isherwood.

Chris, Thanks for that - it seems that I am just missing 3 x Part 50 - RH brake hanger. Hattons are 'looking into it' and will telephone me later today. It seems pretty simple to me - just remove a complete accessory pack from a stock model and send it to me in exchange for my (still sealed) deficient pack! Regards, John Isherwood.

Could someone who believes that their model has the full complementof detail fittings please list what they have? Many thanks, John Isherwood.

Parts 49? Are they on your detail parts sprue? My still sealed bag contains :- 0 x Part 50 - RH brake hanger (acknowledged as missing by Hattons) 3 x Part 51 - LH brake hanger 1 x Part 89 - brake rodding 1 x Part 98 - LH sandbox 1 x Part 99 - RH sandbox There is also a separate back containing 2 x auto-couplers I have no other fittings - am I missing something else? Regards, John Isherwood.

I wonder if the headcode glazing can be 'pinged out' from the exterior by prizing it carefully with the point of a scalpel blade? Regards, John Isherwood.

Mine has now had an hour on the Bachrus rollers and running is much improved. Still just a suggestion of 'knock' or 'surge' as the heels rotate - I'd guess excessive clearance in the bearing holes in the rods - there's an amazing amount of backlash rotation in the flycrank and the drivers under the short bonnet. Is it just me, or are the coupling rodds a bit 'undernourished'? They certainly look rather 'spindlier' than in photos of the prototype. Perhaps a coat of 'greasy steel' paint will help to remedy this? Niggles apart, though - basically a nice model. I'll just defer replacing the insignia until after Hattons supply the missing and replacement parts, in case I ultimately need to send the whole thing back for replacment. Regards, John Isherwood.

Mine too - underfilled mould. I can attend to that, though. Unfortunately, my accessory pack didn't include any RH brake shoes - just three loose LH ones. Hattons say they are seeking to get spares from Heljan but, if they're not forthcoming quickly, mine's going back for replacement. Regards, John Isherwood.

Perfick !! I had already printed a complete set of new insignia for D9500 - (and I've not yet received my model!) - and then got to thinking that perhaps that particular prototype went nowhere near Bristol and its surroundings. I can now proceed with confidence !! Regards, John Isherwood.

I appreciate your point. However, I primarily produce 4mm. scale transfer sheets and the smallest practical sheet for printing is A6 - ie. one quarter of an A4 sheet. I can get numbers for all 56 locos on an A6 sheet and, at ??6.00, most 4mm. scale modellers find my transfers to be affordable. I have, over the years, been asked to rescale my transfers to other scales; (most recently to Gauge 3)! Clearly, increasing the scale of a transfer sheet increases its size. Larger sheets cost more money - they use more material. In the case of 7mm. scale the rescaled A6 sheet is actually printed on an A4 sheet of paper - ie. four times the area. However, as the printed area is only approximately three times that of the 4mm. scale sheet I only charge three times the price. You get a quarter of an A4 sheet of blank waterslide paper free! At the end of the day I don't produce transfers sheets to make money - I have a full-time career for that. I produce transfers that I need and make them available to the widest possible group of modellers - though doing so takes up most of my own modelling time. I'm sorry if the price asked is too high - at least my transfers are available to those who feel differently. Final thought - if you only need one set of D95xx transfers, that leaves 55 sets to sell on to other 7mm. scale modellers. Regards, John Isherwood.

I was looking for allocations from new in the Bath / Bristol region. This might not be unconnected with my 'parallel universe' theory that at least one D95xx was tried out on the S&D Highbridge Branch. (In that universe, the S&D was NOT closed as it was in our unfortunate reality)! Regards, John Isherwood.

Can anyone point me at a list of the allocations of the D95xx class from new, please? Many thanks in anticipation. Regards, John Isherwood.

My model hasn't arrived yet so my comments will necessarily rely on the photos posted here. Looking at the photos in Brian Haresnape's "British Rail Fleet Survey - 2 - Western Region Diesel-Hydraulics", the silver cab window frame does look slightly heavy on the model, resulting in a slightly reduced gap between it and the rainstrip. I can live with this, though. Also from the above photos, there seems to be some variation in the prototype of the acuteness of the transition between the cabside and the roof. Most seem to be somewhat rounded, but the photo of D9524 just prior to completion shows a distinct angle, which could be mistaken for a second rainstrip in some lights / angles. Having seen the prototypes ex-works at Swindon the shade of grey-green used by Heljan for the cabs looks spot-on in the photos posted here. In some of the photos of the model the yellow looks a little too rich. I remember being struck on seeing the prototypes, (and the bufferbeams of the maroon Westerns and Warships), how acid / lemon was the shade of yellow used. Again from the photos in "British Rail Fleet Survey - 2 - Western Region Diesel-Hydraulics", the footplate overhang over the bufferbeams is clearly substantial. Three tapered supporting brackets of channel section steel were provided to support the overhang. Whatever, I await my model with anticipation. Apart from the coupling holes in the bufferbeams, the shiny pick-ups and the insignia, I can't see that I'll need to alter too much. Regards, John Isherwood.

In response to a request from a member of this group :- Now available from Cambridge Custom Transfers, waterslide transfer Sheet BL90 - Numbering for BR Type 1 Diesel Hydraulic D95xx locomotives. Numbers for all fifty-six members of the class; six transfers of each number are provided to allow for application errors. See http://www.cctrans.freeserve.co.uk/products.htm for ordering details. Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers.

According to Brian Haresnape in "British Rail Fleet Survey - 2 - Western Region Diesel-Hydraulics", the numbering style was "a painted version of the D1000 style numerals". I have a font - BritishRailDarkNormal - which seems to be an exact match. I'm not sure where I got it from - it may have been http://homepages.enterprise.net/iainlogan/commercial/index.html . Regards, John Isherwood.

Many thanks indeed. Regards, John Isherwood.

That's very useful, thanks. Does anyone know of a UK supplier of Floquil acrylics? Regards, John Isherwood.

Right - now to start planning !! That gaping hole in the bufferbeam http://www.ehattons.com/StockDetail.aspx?SID=24327 will have to go. Does anyone know of a source of the distinctive lemon yellow paint that was used on the bufferbeams the D95xx, maroon Warships and Westerns? Having seen brand new examples of all of these at the time, I know that it was NOT the same as standard BR warning panel yellow. Regards, John Isherwood.

Face it - we live in a capitalist society! Hattons and Heljan are in business to sell models and presumably know their market. They have taken a business decision that there are enough customers around who want a Class 14 and are prepared to pay the asking price. If they are wrong, then they'll have to lower the price to get rid of the surplus stock - Hattons are not unknown for doing this. If they are right, however, those who choose not to purchase or who wait for the price to go down will have to do without the model - it's as simple as that. This isn't a new phenomenon - way back in the 1960s highly desirable Far East handbuilt brass models were being imported which most of us had to do without as we couldn't afford them. The fact that the high-end models of today use the same production methods as mainstream models doesn't alter the facts. The Class 14, pilot scheme Warship, City of Truro, Beattie 2-4-0T, etc. are all limited production models commissioned by others than the manufacturer, and as such are a financial gamble. As in all other areas of life, just because we can't afford things doesn't entitle us to suggest that they shouldn't be marketed. Regards, John Isherwood.

Compare http://www.ehattons.com/StockDetail.aspx?SID=24327 (second painted body image enlarged) with http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.railblue.com/Pictures/In%2520Depth/D9500_1_BH_100704.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.railblue.com/pages/In%2520Depth/Class%252014%27s.htm&usg=__UkxCqBphbTIzedM9QV-nj_Qozs8=&h=240&w=320&sz=32&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=HWGZMdhWkF_NWM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3DD9500%2Blocomotive%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1 Similar viewing angle and it is very obvious that the number is too large and too 'bold' on the model. Still - we may get a better rendition on the production models. Failing that, I'll have to consider reducing the scale of my 5" gauge D95xx transfers to 4mm. scale!! Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. http://www.cctrans.freeserve.co.uk/