GMKAT7

Good morning folks, Having been a long-time lurker on this part of the forum, but having posted on TNMers about my 1/72 aircraft stash I thought I would post some of my WW2 fighter builds. First up, my Battle of Britain Memorial Squadron (not Flight, there are too many of them). This is my tribute to 'The Few' and as such they are in pristine finish, as they would be in the BBMF (only expanded). All Airfix Mk1a kits, built OOB, but with Xtradecals/other markings to give a variety. The PR version is too pink, should be more of a grey shade, but I copied a model so it went wrong there. Secondly, my Spitfire MkVb collection, predominantly Revell but includes a SMER/Heller version or 2. All OOB again, but the decals are mostly from an Xtradecals sheet including a large number of aces and presentation Spitfires. Thirdly, my current Desert Air Force collection, including Spitfire and Tomahawk 1b types. I have others form 'the dark side' but I will post those later. Cheers, Nigel.

Good evening folks, True confessions time. Lurking within the bottom shelf stash are (whisper it if Sqdn Ldr Hunt is about) Panniers! Four of them are 8750s (2 Bachmann and 2 Hornby). They are kept company by a 64xx and 94xxx (Bachmann) . Other than the 64xx they are in black. I also have a 15xx in NCB livery living with the LMS and industrial locos. This is in Coventry Colliery maroon, so may appeal more to Red Leader (or possibly not). As an act of contrition I have a number of models of the products of Horwich, Derby and Crewe, including Crab, Compound, Jubilee, 7F, G2A and Princess classes. Having worked in Derby and Crewe for the big railway it would be rude not to. Plus a 3F in both tank and tender engine form, again in lovely LMS black. Cheers, Nigel.

Hello Happy Hippo, I confess to having tidied up pre-photo but there is a creeping untidiness in the right hand corner. Plus, there are paint splodges on the cutting board and table cloth, I am getting there 😆 Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning folks (again), As an update to my earlier post about storage/L space and the ability to fill it, I have attached some photos of my version. First is the rolling stock storage. Starting at the bottom, we have BR WR & LMR, next up is BR SR, ER & SECR (Sheppey Light related), third up is BR WR & LMR coaching stock/NPCCS, next BR SR, ER & SECR coaching stock/NPCCS, followed by BR wagons (all regions), then private owner/LMS/Industrial locos and wagons. Top shelf is the kit built stock, mostly Cambrian/Parkside/Ratio wagons/NPCCS with three whitemetal loco kits in the 'tuit' pile. A lot of these have been acquired from shops/shows/eBay as secondhand and I believe there are still bargains out there (most of my LMR and a lot of the WR stock was acquired that way). However, some recent announcements will achieve the 'stash-full' state, so some pruning may be required (not really :)) Second is the 1/72 aircraft stash (again mostly eBay or shop bargains) and the box of built models - mostly WW2 RAF single seat fighters, with some FW190/Ta152s and Bf109s. Third is the Desk of Doing. Currently home to a Mk1 Spitfire and Mk1b Typhoon in the next build phase, along with a Cambrian LMS D1663 unfitted van. This needs weight adding inside and then painting/brake levers adding. Entertainment provided by CDs, currently The Smiths. This will be given up at Xmas and Easter when my son comes home from Durham, so it will be back to the kitchen table then! Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning folks, I found moving house is a great driver for 'having a clear out ' (no sniggering at the back). Moving from a 3 bed house to a 3 bed bungalow meant no loft automatically. So, most of my railway and modelling magazines went to the 47401 preservation project at Butterley, with the exception of some Backtracks, Steam World etc. Even the MRJ and GWRJ collection went. Along with a whole load of 'stuff ' in the loft and garage that might have been 'useful ' one day. Now 8 years in from the move, the garage has been converted into a fourth bedroom with additional wardrobe space built in. However, these are now filled with my son's and wife's clothing, with a set of shelves allocated for my model railway stock. At least it contains the Desk of Doing (name courtesy of Mr Sheepbloke NHY581). My 1/72 aircraft kits have to share one top shelf (built and stash). So, I guess L space has caught up with me! Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning folks, Big thank you to Rails for good customer service. I had a defective Rapido W&U tramcar which I had to return. As well as the return label being emailed to me I also had a phone call from Shane, who had responded to my original request to return the model. He rang to confirm he had sorted out a replacement and checked it over to make sure none of the same three manufacturing faults were present. Looking forward to the replacement arriving this coming week. They also honoured the original pre-order price for the Dapol B4 coming this week as well 😁 Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, At the beginning of 2020 I was part of an engineering team parachuted into Bombardier to support the assurance, and thus client acceptance, of an Aventra fleet then being produced at Derby. As 'blood-sucking ' consultancy staff we were brought in to provide the engineering expertise that Bombardier couldn't resource in-house. Some eight months later our contract expired and we moved on again. With this work and support on ETCS our company dragged in c£1m in fees. As I understand it from other threads on here, that fleet is still not in full revenue service, so presumably there are contract penalties in place that will impact now on Alstom. One of the permanent Derby staff confided that each Aventra vehicle cost more to produce than the contract sale price. And this figure was not tens of pounds but something with more noughts after it. So, something was off three years ago and seems to be coming home now. Doesn't help the poor souls there facing unemployment. Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, When I was involved with the 158/159 PRM and refurbishment modifications in 2015 onwards the lead ROSCO (starts with P, ends with k) advised us as the design consultancy that they were looking for another 10 years service out of the modified units. So that would take them to 2025 plus, and make the vehicles 35 plus years old given their 1988-1990 build dates. Something needs to replace all the 15x units. Given the recent East Coast 10-car order, expect a contract for 'Cheap As F***). Not good for the Derby employees or our local economy. Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, The 'great unwashed ' attendees at model railway exhibitions also have twins/doppelganger types who attend real ale festivals too! In fact, there may be a crossover between the two, since some of the beer festival types also attack all passers by with their backpacks. They also resemble the once numerous 'bashers', who seemed to travel the NE/SW route every weekend in search of Peak haulage and smelt as though soap was a deadly chemical 😂 Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, A recent good buy from eBay made just this weekend. Five 1/72 scale model aircraft kits, all complete and unstarted. All products of the Hawker aircraft company, namely Hurricane, Typhoon, Tempest (2-off) and Sea Fury. A mix of new tools and older mouldings, from Revell/Airfix/Matchbox/PM. With postage costs included they work out at £4.70 each. I know not everyone here travels on the 'dark side' of plastic kits, but there are still bargains for those that do :) Cheers, Nigel.

Hello whart57, The Brian Hart/Wild Swan book on the Sheppey Light refers to the Don Bradley information and of Q class tank 73 working on the Light until 1922. There is a photo of 73 on page 67 on a service to Leysdown in 1921. It was then replaced on Light services by O class 99. On page 35 there is a photo of an O class working to Leysdown per WW1. So, no confirmation of any O1 working on the Light but we can dream can't we. Cheers, Nigel.

Hello J Spencer, Thanks very much for the link to the photo of the 01 at Sittingbourne on a Sheerness service. If it happened in BR days I sure it could have happened in SECR times as well ;) I also agree with the logic that if a C class made the Light then a 01 could have as well! Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, I was convinced that I had seen a photo of a 01 in my books on the Sheppey Light Railway, but it turns out that they were of the earlier 0 class. Still, Rule 1 is to be applied and the SECR green livery one has been ordered. It will run on my version of the Sheppey Light to keep Terrier 751 and P class 27 company. Along with a D class that 'may' have run on the island :) Given that both my parents came from Sheerness and the Light ran at the end of an aunt's garden anything related is a 'must have '. Brilliant stuff Rapido, just a R/R1 (0-4-4T) and the articulated trailers please Andy/Linny ;) Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning folks, During my BR apprenticeship I had 3 months at Cardiff Canton for depot experience. A consistent put-down was that any loco arriving on the main shed or servicing shed/fuel point from the LMR, typically Toton, would need 'blocking' i.e. new brake blocks. The LMR depots were always (apparently) short of stock and sent their locos to South Wales on the minimum thickness. My first works training was in 1979 at Crewe, and they always had nothing good to say about Derby - after all those years! Cheers, Nigel.

Hello Wickham Green too, Perhaps I should have clarified that I was referring to the ride rather than the seats specifically. I agree that the seats may have been specified by the unit owner or Anglia. They look like a Grammer product to me but I may be wrong in that assumption. Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, On Friday, during Storm Babet, my wife and I decided to travel to Norwich from Sheringham whilst on a week's holiday in Norfolk. We travelled using a Stadler Flirt unit (there is no other choice on Anglia services). Although sat at a table/bay location above the bogie, at the articulation point, the ride was pretty good and the seat comfortable. The only lively part of the journey was at Salhouse, where a couple of bumps were felt/heard. This I put down to track condition, given how wet the day was. Otherwise the high back seats were fine and comfortable for the hour journey. So, somebody at Stadler seems to have got that bit right, unlike Hitachi and CAF. Cheers, Nigel.

Hello David, The Wild Swan (Hawkins and Reeve) book has mostly LNER or BR era photos but there are some GER photos included. There is no tonnage of freight traffic for individual years included but there are figures for overall traffic and passenger numbers/freight tonnage for 1910 and 1925 (passengers only). The section on locomotives and stock doesn't cover the freight stock. Hope this helps. Cheers, Nigel.

Hello Mike, Thanks very much for the information update, one to add to my reading list! Cheers, Nigel.

Hello McC, Thanks for the message regarding the Class 37 box size, much appreciated. To paraphrase Chief Brody in Jaws, I am going to need a bigger wardrobe/storage space 😂 Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon Team Accurascale, Just a quick and simple question please. Are the Class 37 boxes the same size or bigger than the Manor boxes? I have a WR Type 3 on order for next year and need to know how much room to leave for it in my loco storage area (otherwise known as a wardrobe 😄). Cheers, Nigel.

Hello folks, Okay, now officially busted 😐 I will leave the vacuum hoses off my 1509 but will also leave the footsteps straight. Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, Photo ref misc_cc012 on the Warwickshire Railways website shows 1501 at Keresley with what appears to a vacuum hose, although it's slightly obscured by smoke/steam. On that basis I will be fitting the vacuum bags to mine. Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, More wagons roll, this time some 16T steel mineral wagons in various forms. Mostly Parkside or Cambrian kits, in both welded and rivetted types (BR diagrams 1/108 and 1/109). Plus, a pair of 21T minerals, still to be weathered. Finally, a Bachmann open, ex-Izal PO now in BR use and lightly weathered again. Cheers, Nigel.

Good evening folks, Final batch of weathered wagons for now, with some NPCCS thrown in too. All built from Parkside or Ratio kits over the last 10 years or so. Anyway, back to the workbench, as there are two more vans and a Loco coal wagon to paint, plus a couple of pre-grouping opens (LSWR and LBSCR) awaiting their turn for my SECR sub-theme. Two more LMS unfitted vans (Cambrian) and a Chivers Finelines BZ are next for building. Cheers, Nigel.

Hello Unravelled, Brilliant, many thanks for the photos you have supplied, much appreciated. Cheers, Nigel.