45568

Cheers from Oz, Peter C.

Interesting commentary on classic modern Aussie cars compared to their newer rivals when in the bush. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-26/commodore-falcon-remote-communities-popularity-bush-mechanic/103233808 The last paragraph is particularly telling! Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

NSW and Victoria were and are a Mecca for steam and heritage traction fans. It also helps that there is a vast amount of freight on the rails. My (adult) son and I were in NSW in September for a Rail Heritage special that was cancelled. Nevertheless, a few hours at Metford with often four trains in view was a sight for sore eyes, I recommend it even now! Thanks, Johann, for showing me what I missed, the Eastern States are a long way away from West Oz! Cheers, Peter C.

Hi Barry, Not too much modification with the Peckett. I picked up a relatively cheap black one from Oz Ebay and it started me thinking. From memory the chimney was shortened by cutting it in half and filing judiciously measuring by eye! The cab rear was moved on to the buffer beam top to increase the cab size and the rear cab panel cut to shape from 20 thou plastic card. the cab roof was extended again using plastic card, although in hindsight the Dapol 'Pug' kit may have provided a better solution to the roof and sides. The large cab shutter was made using 10 thou plastic card with brass wire handrails. Lampirons were added front and rear. The most difficult part was moving the boiler top furniture to the correct places and styles, the safety valve and tank filler leaving holes in the body which required filling. Vent pipes and other 'bits' made from plastic rod. The bell came from Bachmann parts USA, fortunately I purchased three which has allowed me to do other models. Where did you get your bell from? Smokebox door handrail replaced with a straight one. Sprayed with Tamiya semi-gloss black from a rattle can, Narrow Planet provided the etched plates, Fox the transfers. I used a late crest as I had a good colour picture of the clean loco in this livery. In hindsight I should have gone for early crest to give a more elastic timeframe. The picture below shows the cab rear/roof. Hope this helps, as I say, the third bell is earmarked for 1144! Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

Pye Hill colliery in Nottinghamshire had a very low bridge under the M.R. main line, one of the locos is shown here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/profsb/37335011224/ Not too great a leap to use one of these in a similar situation?!? Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

Excellent work! I have the same conversion in mind when the Dapol H/L arrives using 'Henry' as the basis. Plates already in stock from Narrow Planet! Companion for these two... Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

This is the first I, (and I suspect many others), have heard of this. Were these NBR coaches for use with the J36, some of which lasted into the 1950s? Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

Excellent critique MAF! One can imagine little townships springing up around the livery stables charging points in the desert, a saloon, hardware, barbers and hotels where all the Akubra stetson-wearing Evboys relax whilst their steeds are refreshed and groomed. But is there a threat to this idyllic existence? A mighty iron EV that generates its own electricity and runs on rails, capable of pulling several covered wagons of people and freight, that needs only to pause to set down and pick up goods and passengers for a few minutes and halves the time it takes to get back o' Bourke. What shall we call this thing? Is the age of the Evboy over before it really starts? Only time will tell. Incidentally, my own personal opinion after watching the driving habits of EV pilots is that I am seeing Darwinian evolution in action, as the owners/drivers of the slow white Toyota Corolla/Camry pass through the partial adaptive phase of the slower silver hybrid Prius to the full EV ultra slow white Corolla/Camry, maintaining the rage of those other road users who just want to get on with it! Scary times!!! From WestOz, the land of the slow white Toyota, Peter C.

Further ruminations on this line of thought. Without looking too hard at actual figures, I did wonder if the price rises we have seen in the model railway sector over the last four or five years have had some effect of pushing Hattons sales value over the magic $75,000 limit? I have no doubt sales volumes have increased for Hattons through the Covid period, certainly they were actively sending orders to me throughout that period, but, given that prices for model railway items have increased, even the same volume of sales will have a higher $ value. I wonder if Hattons have become a victim of their own success, certainly they have been my first choice supplier for over forty years, although problems with supply of certain ranges by them caused me to look elsewhere, and to my very pleasant surprise I now have two or three alternative suppliers. These businesses will also become my preferred suppliers in the future, as I have cancelled most of my current preorders with Hattons, stating as the reason their change in terms for export trade. The danger being that if others follow my lead and transfer business to the same suppliers will they then pass the threshold value and need to take the same action as Hattons? (Lest anyone think otherwise, I am not 'blaming' Hattons for the changes, I realise that legally they had no choice), however, I still find the notion that they have been 'subsidising' overseas customers for the last few years a little odd. Overall, I am sad to lose Hattons as a supplier, I cannot fault their services, but economically, whilst alternative sources are available, I must use my modelling dollars most effectively. Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

It is an ex-W.A.G.R H class Bo-Bo diesel. They were purchased by SCT as shunters in Perth W.A. and South Australia, which is where you saw this one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAGR_H_class_(diesel) Hope this helps, Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

Which is all fine and dandy, but then when you see reports that giant multi-national corporations like Google and Amazon, with massive sales in Australia, pay zero tax in Australia because of a very clever corporate tax structure, then I do begrudge the 'guvmint' chasing me for an extra $20 on a Jinty! I know the ATO are attempting to rein in these corporate behemoths, but in the words of my old school report..'must try harder'. Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

I absolutely agree Jon, and I have reviewed my pre-orders with Hattons. Where I have relatively low-value items such as wagons and the occasional diecast vehicle, I will probably stay with Hattons as they can be released over some weeks and stay in the trunk until sufficient accumulate to make a decent parcel. However, with more expensive items such as locos, and even coaches if 2+ are purchased together, it may pay me to shop around. For example, I have two Accurascale J68/9 on preorder. After VAT reduction they will be 117GBP each, so 234GBP the pair. Given they are likely to appear at the same time, if I order from Hattons I will pay 23GBP extra for them than if I order from a seller not adding GST, or even from Accurascale themselves. These are the items that I am looking at cancelling and ordering when they become available. I feel fairly safe in doing this as I cannot think of a recent main range release that has sold out prior to release. There is little advantage in 'trunking' loco models as their weight makes it worthwhile to post as a single item. I don't wish to come across as miserly or a serial tax avoider, but like the example above, serious money can be saved assuming other suppliers fall below the reporting threshold. Think of the difference if you purchased a Heljan 104 3-car set and a Heljan LNER Garratt together and added a Hornby 'Coronation' rake! Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

Summed up in a nutshell! There does seem to be an increasingly vocal demand for 'new' versions of relatively recent releases, duplicating an existing model, whereas other quite numerous types have yet to be modelled. In the past quite major improvements have been made with updating, the Bachmann original Patriot was light years ahead of the existing Hornby model, and I had no hesitation in replacing examples in my fleet. The Bachmann 9F was totally different from the Hornby example and again purchases were made. However, with, for example, the new Hornby Black Five. Other than the Caprotti variant is it significantly better than detailed models from the new tooling? I have the Caprotti on order, but my existing examples are safe! The 78xxx was very welcome and purchases have been/will be made. If Hornby had offered an updated Ivatt LMS Class 2 mogul, the boxes would still be on the dealer shelves, I'm happy with Bachmann. I cannot think of any steam outline models released since, say, 2002, that I feel could be improved upon sufficiently to make me retire my existing models. I realise the Accurascale 57xx pannier releases come into this category?, but with the variants they are releasing they really can be classified as new different prototypes. Not wishing to start a wishlist please, but a new previously unmodelled prototype steam loco is more likely to get my interest and order in than an "all new" Stanier 8F. Think County 4.6.0., SR K class 2.6.0, Fowler/Stanier 3P tank, Raven B16, Standard 77xxx (to be all things to everyone!), rather than another rebuilt Scot, or G.W. Hall. Please note I have confined my thoughts on this matter to Steam outline models only, other forms of traction different parameters seem to apply. Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

Thanks, Jon, for sharing the information. It will be interesting to see whether other suppliers take the same approach, I was certainly unaware that Hattons had been paying the GST and therefore subsidising us. Would be interesting to hear from other suppliers, although I feel that Hattons trade value probably is greater than the next two put together. At the moment I will play it by ear as and when items are released. Will miss the trunk though, very useful. Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

Lovely work Steve! The J15 must be one of the best of Hornby's 'little black 0.6.0s', certainly the variety catered for in the model is exemplary. A pity that the later releases didn't sell too well, I did my bit and ended up with four of them! This project has me on the lookout for a cheap donor, but care is needed to get the right starting model. Cheers from Oz, Peter C.

I will be interested to see the reply Jon receives, as I am in exactly the same situation. I currently have many pre-orders with Hattons simply because of their very useful trunk system. This allows me to save on postage and I can always despatch trunk before it hits the magic limit. I am very disappointed to see this, EBay did the same some years ago and completely ruined sales from Oz to the UK due to the massive charges imposed, they don't even deduct local VAT/GST so take a double dip. Cynical me often wonders how much of this tax take actually ends up with the government. From memory the original idea to tax incoming goods was a sop to big retail here, (Harvey Norman), by a liberal government when the billionaire owner cried poor because people were using the internet to order identical goods from overseas cheaper than he was gouging them for domestically. I personally will review my orders with Hattons, it will still be worth trunking individual small items like wagons until a sufficient value has been reached to save on postage, but larger items such as locos will probably go to other traders, one in Yorkshire and one in Kernow. Very sad to see this happen. From West OZ, Peter C.

Three images of a 'deblinged' Tyne Dock 9F. All frills and fripperies removed, and a 54B shedplate added. A very nice model indeed. Cheers from Oz, Peter C.

Thank you for this James, I read it in conjunction with news on the GWR overlays. As a result, plain black ordered with a set of overlays, VAT deducted and a very reasonable postage rate to Australia! Look forward to receiving the items, and good luck to you both for the future and 2024. Now to get the other westerney bits and plates from 247. A nice Xmas pressie to me! Cheers from Oz, Peter C.

I have to say I have the Caprotti version on order from Hornby, and lamps aside, I see nothing in the photos shown so far to put me off, rather I am very much looking forward to my 'Gorilla Mickey'! I can see another deblinging exercise will be necessary, but that is not a major problem. Like others though, I am quite happy with my existing examples from the current tooling to be looking at multiple purchases. However, if I had no Black Fives, and wanted one or two, I would be very happy with these new models, (lamps aside!). Cheers from Oz, Peter C.

Referencing the discussion on bikies, in Oz we also have this group of ne'er do well misfits... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_Club Well known as the go-to guys if you need to score a little extra ibuprofen or Milk of Magnesia for the weekend! I have seen loads of these gents, (and ladies), about and they genuinely do love motor cycling and bikes. Possibly a potential home for Puppers and his cohort? Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

Try doing that on the M1/A1 North in Yorkshire or Northumberland mid-February with a thin freezing rain falling! When I first came to WA in the 1970s there were three bikie gangs of note, Coffin Cheaters, Club Deroes and Gypsy Jokers. The police have seem to have cracked down now and you don't see as many riders in their colours anymore. The Cheaters were well-known in the 1980s for organizing huge rock concerts at their Bindoon property with massive crowds going to see home-grown and international acts. Very little trouble occurred with all security being handled in-house! The police let the revellers get on with it, but used to pick up anyone under the influence on their way back home. All booze was supplied for purchase at the site by the hosts, it was very unwise to try and smuggle in your own! As an aside some of the bikie gangs have 'clubhouses' in the suburbs, apparently local street crime is practically unknown in these neighbourhoods! Cheers from WestOz, Peter C.

Yep, after you've bought it and tried to set it up, (and failed), it becomes 'KINHELL!!! Cheers from Oz, Peter C.

I ordered the 'small' plate earlier this year, it is fine and looks correct. Cheers from Oz, Peter C.

Does anyone make the nameplate for this one? https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p465188564/h9874d7c6#h6a82dec6 Something a bit different, anyone know when the plate on this and 90774 were carried/removed? Already ordered 90763. Cheers from Oz, Peter C.

Just wondering if anyone has a spare Hornby K1 loco body. Decoration perfection not important, I am looking for the boiler/smokebox unit for a K4 conversion project. Can be posted to either UK or Australian address. Thanks in advance, Peter C.