No Decorum

I still have my Bachmann 37 and I haven’t succumbed to either Bachmann or Accurascale’s 37. It’s a handsome loco and I am well content with it. Some shots of the Bachmann WCRC coaches seem to show brake blocks badly out of line with the wheels and I’ve been holding fire until I see what finally emerges. Those Accurascale coaches above look rather good.

Please lighten my darkness. ’Tis said that the only stupid question is the one not asked. Are you being very polite in repeating the “s” in front of sCC2? Is it a mistype? I can’t find sCC2 anywhere?

You are well ahead of (most of) the rest of us with the one on the right!

I’ve been looking for one without success. Wheeltappers produce sound projects for such exotica as the Turbomotive and 18100 and are working on the Class 80. The sounds are generic but said to be enhanced with archive recordings, which is likely to be as good as can be expected. I’m keeping an eye on the website.

I was a little disappointed not to get headboards. I think they only came with the BR models. It seems BR HQ allowed Western Region to repaint coaches into chocolate and cream but only on named trains. The r;esult was an explosion in the number of named trains on WR!

Indeed you’re not alone. In my case, the chimney was loose in the box. A simple job to fix but there was other damage no so easily fixed. Praise to Accurascale for the metal copper top, though. Nothing looks like metal as much as metal itself does!

Sadly, DJ had it on his drawing board but it was cancelled due to lack of interest. Perhaps that has made manufacturers reluctant to undertake it. A pity. I ordered one.

I would argue that we have Heljan to thank for all the rarities we have (and are about to have) now, including the Boosters. Falcon started it all, coming out as a smallish limited edition. The demand turned out to be so great that “limited” edition after “limited” edition appeared with small changes to each one to pretend that each edition was unique. If I remember correctly, the second run differed from the first only by the inclusion of an etched nameplate. Having got the first, I confess that I was a little annoyed at the proliferation of models but decided that annoyance wasn’t healthy and settled down to amusement as Heljan twisted and turned to find something different for each production run. If the excitement on this thread is any guide, I should think more production runs of the Boosters will follow. I’m delighted by these but it makes the gap between Classes 80 and 85 even odder. I’d suggest that the 70 don’t need a motorised pantograph but for the early AC electrics … now who has produced aomething with a motorised panto before? Someone not unconnected with EFE Rail perhaps?

Only one kidney left! I’m saving it for CC3. 🤣

Tricky, isn’t it? For me, it’s the grey because I like to have a locomotive in as close to its earliest state as I can. Then the malachite with the red and white stripes because it’s handsome, is a different locomotive and is in a different state from the grey. The Southern green and BR black are also tempting. Sorry, that’s not much help, is it? 😀

Hm. I ordered a Turbomotive as soon as it was announced, in the full knowledge that it might be discounted further. I just didn’t want to risk missing it. I ordered my one and only P2 from the current batch rather later. I’ll perhaps have another P2 when the price drops unless something else, such as the Class 70s, soak up the available budget. The plastic motion of Prince of Wales makes me hesitate as does the lack of a prominent bulge over the cylinders of the streamlined versions, coupled with the high price. On the other hand, I’ll have two of the 70s. I’d like to say that it’s because of the reasonable price but it isn’t. Possibly, just possibly, the price might lead to a third. It’s a curious thing, the Turbomotive. It is a superb model but the lighting is a mess. The solution is to leave it switched off and to remove the rear lamp, which is a bit of a waste of what must have been an expensive add on but at least I end up with a decent model. Hornby, and not only Hornby, seems to be going for broke. Introduce ever more features at ever higher cost. I’m all for that but at the high price, the product has to be right and free of niggles.

All right, I’ve calmed down. I know CC3 was noticably different but I would still like love one. I know the price of models is a hot topic and a lot of people are sick hearing about it but I do notice that the price of these compares very favourably to the Class 80 being done by Heljan for Rails. What’s more, these have retailer discounts whereas the Rails locomotives haven’t. Very well done, EFE and Graham Muz!

Oh boy! That would be excellent!

A Class 70 electric! Wonderful!

Does this help? The tender versions.

Now we know why the roofs are removable.

I for one.

To me, that makes excellent sense, given the production of the EFE coaches. Will it make sense to Bachmann?

Ah, the Jubilee! IMHO one of the most beautiful of steamers, especially in red. Original domeless boiler, modified original boiler, long firebox boiler, double chimneyed and the rebuilt pair. Standardisation was supposed to be a thing on the LMS. Bachmann needs to look to its laurels or someone else will invade its territory. We have been promised a model of the much delayed new build Patriot, so a new chassis is presumably under development.

Lucky old you!

The first intimation I got of these showed only BR and Army examples, which seemed curious. LNWR examples (not to mention LMS) have now appeared in front of my eyes. Wonderful!

You don’t mention whether your Erlestoke is DC or DCC. On these pages, your problem has been mentioned a lot on DC locos. My Anthony came DCC fitted and works smoothly. It had bits damaged and detached and I am waiting for spares to replace the broken drain cocks. Apart from that, it looks superb. As for the Dapol, which also came DCC fitted, its performance is superb and the sound extremely good – much superior in features, sound quality and integration. Not that Anthony is bad, on the contrary, it is good but it is not as good as the Dapol. For detail and livery colour, Anthony is better but the performance of the Dapol is enchanting. Both locos came in the middle of a rash of new steam arrivals but for me, subjectively, only the Bachmann WD has impressed me as much as the Dapol Manor.

I suppose. Hornby seems to like lots of shiny pipework these days. 😊

Weren’t the all-steel mineral wagons quick and easy to reduce to scrap, whereas a steam locomotive consists of a lot of different metals and alloys?

I try to. I’d have posted a photograph but I never happened to be in my roof space with a camera and sick bag at the same time. 🤣