alexl102

I'm hoping Rapido don't go in hard on GWR stuff... already got the 15xx, all 3 types of small prairie, auto coach, TOAD etc. The rest of their range is beautifully varied. Did I hear a rumour of some more projects being announced at Warley?

I understand this, but it's also about choice. Part of the appeal of an industrial loco is the livery - they're not just BR Black or green with a choice 4 different running numbers. They add some variety to the largely uniform mainline liveries. Some of them have wasp stripes; to me these look awful on a steam loco, but they are clearly very popular (except for Hattons' Barclay as it was the last to sell out) and I've noticed that even people who aren't modelling industrial locations will often make an exception for an interesting industrial. Liveries like the Huntley and Palmers peckett don't appeal to me but they generate sales because people do like things that carry a recognised brand - just look at how well the awful Coca Cola and Beatles -liveried products sell for Hornby. I think it's a necessary evil. I'm currently hoping Rapido do a model of 1601 Matthew Murray but I'll be easily swayed if there's a smart or more attractive livery that I think would enhance interest on my layout. Please note - the above is not a dig or intended to 'tear a strip off' - just expressing an alternative viewpoint for balance. On another note - do we have any rough timescale on the MWs? Given they've gone to tooling, is it possible to estimate a release date? I absolutely need one but also need to navigate an upcoming Mortgage Renewal and arrival of an additional small human into the family next year so need a plan to persuade my wife it's a sensible purchase!

That carriage looks fabulous. I'll check out the video, thank you.

Hi, I’m looking for help in a few areas which I’m pretty sure has been covered many times on here so I apologise… I’m really happy for people to just point me towards the relevant posts if necessary. 1) I’ve got a set of Hornby Teaks which are way too pale. I’ve heard of people using layers of varnish to make them look more realistic. Can anyone tell me how to do this? I’ve got a railroad 4 wheel coach in teak to practise on! 2) I’m a massive fan of the ‘oily rag’ look where locos look like they’ve been used but polished up. I’ve absolutely no idea how this is done! Anyone able to teach me or point me to where I can learn? 3) Lastly… I need a rattle can gloss varnish that’s suitable for applying transfers on to, for a respect project. Does it need to be a particular one or would even a Halfords clear gloss rattle can be ok? Thanks in advance!

Absolutely, ridiculously excited about these. Considering ordering a second if I can find a way to justify it... Whilst I'm here @rapidoandy, is there any particular reason you decided not to do Primrose and Beatrice in their preservation-era liveries? Just curious!

Went to Wakefield, it was great! Only downside was the number of traders not taking card... and one of the few that did managed to max out their card limit so were at cash only by about 2pm saturday. Coupled with the card machine on the door only accepting certain types of card, I'd rinsed my cash by the time I found things I wanted to buy, but the layouts were interesting, especially the operation overlord one!

Thanks for taking the time to explain Barry. I can see how this would work out. Might either club consider moving one to Spring though? Bradford MRC & Middleton Railway are in July but otherwise there aren't really any in the early part of the year, so it would spread it out. But nonetheless, I do understand why the dates are as they are.

Hey. Is there any reason why Wakefield and Leeds are so close together this year? Unfortunately it looks unlikely that I’d be able to get to both of my closest exhibitions because they’re so close together.

Just noticed that the Leeds and Wakefield MR exhibitions take place just two weeks apart in October. Given that they're in neighbouring cities, I find it a bit odd that both choose to host their exhibitions so close (and in theory could be competing for people's time, money or for exhibitiors) rather than spreading them out a bit. For example, I will most likely have to choose one or the other as childcare etc means I can't give up two weekends in a month for exhibitions. But I have no knowledge of how these things work. Just wondering if there's a particular reason why they're so close together in the calendar?

Thanks. I can see there are some photo links on the thread but I’m browsing on mobile and it doesn’t actually let me load the photos. Good to know though.

Have Dapol released any livery illustrations for these models? I’ve look on Rails and Hattons but they’re all just showing a CAD drawing.

Hi. I've got a Hornby R.2248 BR 9F which I bought 'sold as seen' and has turned out to have Mazak Rot in the loco chassis. I've contacted Hornby who say they no longer make/produce a spare chassis for this, and also contacted AC Models of Eastleigh who Hornby directed me to as a sort of 'breakers yard' for model railways. They're unable to help too. Finally I ordered a chassis from ebay but this turned out to be for the wrong model. Is there any option for repairing it, or is it forever destined to be a static exhibit? Thanks!

Hornby have recently been pushing their SECR-livered ex-Thomas E2... Anyone else absolutely horrified by the [current] £66.99 price tag for a railroad 0-6-0 which is in effect a 40-year old model? I know it's not aimed at the serious modeller but I don't know any child who can afford to spend almost £70 on a single loco.

Please can someone remind me what the current estimated delivery date for the Hunslets is? Thanks, Excited of Yorkshire!

Hope this is appropriate for this section, but I'm looking for recommendations of retailers who have a really good selection of second hand N gauge, particularly modern image? I'm aware of the two big box-shifters, and have checked my local model shops (around Leeds) but just wondering if there are any others I should contact. Thanks!

It was me, and this is so helpful, thank you!

I had the pleasure of seeing this layout at Leeds on Saturday. What a stunning piece of work! I did ask this at the time, but I've forgotten what you said, I'm really sorry: I'm really interested in the rake of Holden 47' coaches and I think there were some 4 wheelers with them too, as above. I understand these were kits - who are they by?

Ah ok. So I've checked and the ones I've got are specifically Parkside mounting blocks for Bachmann Couplings. Would I be looking for Bachmann mounting blocks instead?

Hi! Me again. Thanks to everyone for your help regarding my other parkside kit where I've messed up on the solebars! This post is about finishing off my first Parkside build, which is another PMV converted to a coach: I've finished the coach except for actually glueing the roof on.. and the couplings. I read somewhere that Bachmann coupling mount + NEMs are the best thing to use, so I've trial-fitted one at one end using a bit of white tack squished as flat as possible, but the coupling sits too low (here's my J52 for comparison, but it's even low against my Terrier which has very low couplings). And as you can see, the coupling I've used is bent up slightly anyway. Is there a better solution? And if not, how am I meant to attach the Bachmann coupling mounts to the chassis, given that the chassis has two support lines down the middle, which don't quite fit between the gap in the Bachmann Coupling block? Thanks in advance!

I did use that stuff... So just add extra glue?!

This looks perfect. I'd be happy to switch to 12mm wheels if it means the van will run. It's an ex-SR PMV anyway. Presumably the compensation units are brass... how do I securely attach brass to plastic?

Hmmm, sounds like an interesting alternative. How would I do that?

Thank you. My first thought was to detatch the solebars but I don't think they'll come away as I used Revell Contacta and the bond seems to be pretty strong. Sorry to be annoying... can you expand on the idea of internal bearings? What are they? I'd consider the 2mm bore idea, just don't know how I'd reset the back-to-back? Cool, thank you... What do you mean by padding the cuops? Little pieces of plasticard with the bearings inserted stuck inside the solebars? I considered this but wasn't sure how I'd ensure that I could fit everything accurately. Or have I misunderstood? This was my first thought, but I used Revell Contacta which bonds the plastic so I'm 95% sure they can't be separated. Ooh, thank you, I'm not aware of these. Anything particular I can search for to find them?

Hello! Need some advice. I've messed up whilst assembling a Parkside PMV that I had modified to represent an industrial workers coach. For some reason I attached the solebars to the outer edge of the base, not tucked in a little as they should be, and as a result they're too far apart for ordinary wheelsets to fit, as you'll be able to see in the photo below. I need to find, or create, some wheelsets which have an axle that's 28mm long. Does anyone know if you can buy such a thing or how I'd go about making them (the latter scares me a bit, I won't lie; I'm poor with accuracy! Thanks!

Hi, I'm in need of a new leading bogie wheelset for a Hornby tender drive 8F. Can you still buy them as spares? Peter's Spares' website is down by the looks of things and there aren't any on ebay. I'm also looking at buying a newer, loco drive 8F. I've seen one in my local model shop at a good price, but the previous owner has messed with the leading bogie on it and glued something to it so I'd want to replace it. Is the leading bogie the same design as the old tender drive model? Can you get a version of it that has a removable coupling? I asked a few years back and understand there isn't a version with an NEM coupling but I'm sure someone said there was one with a removable coupling. Cheers!