barison82

Crikey I better come clean seeing as others have here. I know I'm going to regret it 😆Although it's nowhere near as much as some have revealed (that's clutching at straws - I know I'm still in trouble). Accurascale really need to make their boxes smaller as when the next lot of preorders arrive, I'll be copping it for certain...

Received: x1Deltic D9012 Crepello, with period Driver/Secondman

Preorder: x3 Class 50s - D423 BR Blue, NSE 50017 Royal Oak, RF 50149 Defiance

                  x5 Mk2b B&G, x5 Mk2c B&G, x2 Mk2c NSE, x1 Mk2c IC...

...and no I won't even bother adding it all up 😰

6 hours ago, brushman47544 said:

 

As McC has said, there are many different options for the small details in the blue/grey period and it would be difficult to cover them all at once. I was disappointed that the Mk2b TSO was NOT being produced with InterCity branding, 50-50 smoking/non and early OHL flashes, yet there were two unbranded/all smoking/early OHL and two branded/all non smoking/late OHL, but I’m sure they’ll come later and it hasn’t stopped me ordering a couple in the meantime.

I also pre-ordered those 2 Mk2b TSO's minus InterCity branding (5446 & 5482). These would be 'factory original' with a narrow window before they gained 'Inter City' branding from 1970 onwards?  I'd like those combinations too - InterCity branded early OHE versions with 50-50 smoking/non, all smoking and all non-smoking. I'll look forward to seeing what future runs will bring us.

7 hours ago, McC said:

 

Some vehicles lasted with the ‘early’ style until the very end of their careers, while others were outshopped with the revised versions very quickly.

 

All our chosen subjects are based on dated photos but the principle blue/grey paint scheme didn’t change very much, just the details.

 

What we don’t do now we’ll revisit in the future, especially as announcing models tends to ‘shake the tree’ a bit when it comes to new pictures and information 

Yes I would have thought there would have been a few vehicles which had escaped any revisions. I appreciate all the careful research and effort that has gone into producing these, covering all the little details such as the OHE panels - a  wonderful attention to detail.

Brilliant, that's what I thought you would do, there's plenty of scope for further releases and I'm sure you'll make the most of this superb tooling.

Cheers!

On 10/02/2023 at 18:05, GordonC said:

So for the first 10 releases there, being LMR, are they modelled more 1970s as the coaches were built and on WCML workings behind the Class 50s?

 

 

Across the 2b and 2c ranges I had to pick the B&G examples very carefully as there is a mix of OHE flash panels - some have the early type (single flash) as originally applied to the stock when new, and is therefore correct for late 1960s thru to early/mid 1980s (the era I wanted). For these, they'd also be correct for the region to which they were originally delivered (WCML).

The later style 'double flash' OHE warning panels became standard from 1978 onwards I believe, but of course it would have taken some time for rolling stock to be updated, so the B&G coaches which have these would probably be correct for early-mid 1980s onwards. The earlier OHE panels would work for this later era as well as there would have been a mix of both in use for some time.

I got caught out with M19536 SK (ex FK) as this has the early style OHE panels but as posted earlier in this thread, the conversion was done from May 1985, so it's not correct for a 1970s situation. It's a bit of a minefield getting a consistent rake together for the '70s era because of these details!

Accurascale have done a fantastic job and over the course of time I'm sure further runs of Mk 2b/c stock will be made available in order to build up consistent rakes and fill in gaps (for example, no Mk 2c B&G TSOs with early OHE panels in this 1st run yet). I also just had to add the NSE TSO (T) & IC BFK, as with their Class 50, I started with a single early BR blue D423 and then ended up bagging an early NSE and Railfreight General example as well, they just look so good in those early sector liveries. These guys are pretty addictive I'll have to admit 😅

I'm sure someone has already mentioned it somewhere in this mammoth thread - but for very easy and minimal hacking replacement of the corridor bit of the DTC get a Repica Railways interior. Website here. RS002C is the one I bought I think. Almost exactly the same size (and certainly neater than I could cut out the windows), you only need one to do both ends of the VEP so for £2.15 and a spot of postage, if you don't see them at a show, all you need is a bit of paint.

That's a good shout and I forgot this option - I think it was mentioned before, yes

I have all three VEPs and five 2-HALs and 2-BILs. Most of them brought at the bargain basement prices. I cannot justify getting more Hals and BILs to be honest.

 

The Bachmann 4-BEP will doubtless be above £300, and is the last unit I need for the boat train, so I will get this. we would have to be in a seriously poor new southern items year for me to spend such money on other new 4 car EMUs.

I'm nearing a similar amount for the HALs, those prices were just to good to miss so provided a good fleet building opportunity. But same here, space is also one limitation I have as well. I'm waiting for the BEP as well, to tack onto x2 CEPs & an MLV, for the boat train setup. But I'm getting ready mentally to expect £300+ for this as well!

I wish Hornby had released replacement interiors for the DTC vehicles to get those corridor side windows. I have successfully hacked one unit using older Triang-Hornby composite interiors for the first class sections. I really wanted to avoid the hard work if I could with the other blue and NSE units, but it looks like I have to do it the hard way after all.

 

I wish they did that too. I was thinking of getting hold of a Hornby Mk1 compartment carriage and using the interior from that as a donor, I think others have done this as well. Not sure how much hacking it involves.

Much like the long forgotten Class 466 Networker, I think it very unlikely the VEP will ever appear again.  As for other third rail EMU's, a four car will probably be in excess of £300 now and that is before DCC, sound and all the rest of the technogubbins is thrown in whilst the two car BIL and HAL units seems to have petered out judging by how they wound up being dumped by Hornby at around sixty quid a pop just to get rid of them.

I fear that you are correct John. It would easily get to the £300+ mark these days which puts it out of reach of many, in these austere times. And yes, there appears to be a large surplus BIL and HAL units hanging around at the £60 mark, I nabbed a couple of HALs last year from a well-known box-shifer for £62 a throw, I was very surprised to see that they are still available at that price now, and in large quantities.

No fear - I am not getting rid of mine for anybody. Just remember if modelling mid-70's condition, that most of the orange curtains were in the four foot by then, courtesy of their visits through the Medway to deepest Kent on a Saturday night.

Hi Mike, thanks for the tip regarding the curtains - I'll bear that in mind! I may need to do 1970-71 if I want to run them alongside 2-BILs, but I can always use creative license

Just got to the end of reading this mammoth thread in it's entirety - not in one sitting however - and thought I'd add that I have finally got hold of a B/G one on the well-known auction site, for £160...very happy with it and it fills a gap in my Southern EMU scene for the 1970s; I'll have to add orange curtains (may use real fabric) as I want this unit in early/mid 70s condition. I have the blue one to pair it with and I'll renumber that one as I'd like that to be a final all-blue delivery condition VEP, so I'll also blank out the small silver BR double arrows and replace with the standard larger white ones that these late blue units were delivered with. As with many others here, I have gone through all the various trials & tribulations and have got the units working in the end, and I can live with the flaws, but making improvements here and there. The B/G version is my favourite and they were ubiquitous in this livery. It screams 70s BR! Vital for a Southern layout of this era.

I missed the boat on the B/G version when it was finally released in late 2014/early 2015 and I did not think it would become so difficult to get hold of afterwards - there doesn't appear to be many of them around at all nowadays.

I think subsequent releases in all the various privatisation liveries would be popular, plus some alternative running numbers in B/G - just as Bachmann have done with their B/G 4-CEP (3 different running numbers are available), but something tells me that this is unlikely.

Alex

Are you sure it was a 71? They rarely left the South Eastern Division and would have had a conductor if on the South Western. Might it have been a 74?

 

Simon

Hi Simon

Sorry I've only just read your reply - and it could well have been a 74, I didn't think of the division it was operating on (SW)

Cheers

Alex

Dear Alex,

 

Many thanks for the info.  That gives me a better excuse for running my 71 with 4 wheel drive hauling an EMU (driven or motor-less).

 

I have got a 4-SUB kit to build, although I'll practise on some less rare kits first.

 

 

Regards

 

Nick

Hello Nick

Sorry for my late reply - only just read through this thread again - and have just noted Simon's later reply; it could well have been a 74 on reflection - it was such a long time ago since I came across the book (in a library). It was definately one of the two and by the sounds of it, more likely it was a 74. But I wouldn't want this to stop you going ahead with running a 71 with an EMU in tow, it could still have been possible...and the 4-SUB kit sounds great!

Cheers

Alex

Does any one know if the Class 71 ever hauled dead EMUs or DEMUs?.

 

I recall seeing a photo a good while ago in a book depicting a Class 71 hauling a 4-SUB unit through Thames Ditton station after a derailment at Hampton Court; the loco was utilised to tow the damaged stock clear. So I'm certain that these loco's had hauled dead EMUs/DEMUs.

Alex

Fantastic - love the way you've captured the detail on those window frames, they look very authentic to the period of architecture

Hattons have justed posted out the BR blue one I pre-ordered a few weeks ago...cannot wait