Bucoops

I think they also mention that the plastic used is recycled which may or may not make a difference.

Out of curiosity - you've replaced a couple of the buffers - I assume one day you will run out of spare ones - are the parts available to rebuild them assuming they are something that can be rebuilt? Same with wheelsets? I believe they aren't fitted with tyres so once they are worn that's it? Are good spare ones knocking about still?

It's fascinating, carry on!

19 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Been in the same area for the last 7-8 years It was $1.25 in Dec 2106 compared to $1.27 currently

It was $2.01 in Jan 2008 but but dropped about 60c over the next year or so. It was $1.09 in 1985!

When we went over to visit my brother (NJ) once it was 2:1 which was great. It was also par with the Canadian dollar so they were happy to accept US$ when we went to their side of the Niagara falls.

I think the worst rate we had for a trip was $1.12. We spent somewhat less than usual on that trip!

19 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

 

Teaching in the '70s, several boys I taught still indulged in trainspotting and building model railways. In the '90s, I saw none. 

 

I know us rail enthusiasts were in the minority by then but "none" surprises me. There were 3 of us in my year at Secondary School (1989-) and I was aware of the odd other modeller. Although how it took me until Sixth Form to twig that the teacher who also taught photography was *that* Michael J Collins I have no idea! 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/30843245@N00/with/50313090561

Have you got any old laptops lying about? Usually good for harvesting suitable screws. You can get M2x2 on ebay otherwise.

4 minutes ago, melmerby said:

I always felt the staff there were very pleasant and willing to help (if they could)

Not the cheapest place for electronic bits but useful if you wanted a few without the hassle of online.

Shame it went belly up.

I used to use Tandy way back - we had a local one and they were very knowledgeable and very happy to help. Then they went under, and I had to use Maplin mailorder. Very effective, used it quite a lot.

Then we got a local shop. Gradually the component side shrunk and the gadget side increased - changing with the times I guess. In the end the component section consisted of a small cupboard and a pile of catalogues. If their system said they had it in stock, I had to usually find it myself as the staff had very limited knowledge of that side.

Sad really but no surprise when they went.

17 minutes ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

Malcolm Crawley designed the K2/2 and was involved in the N1 but I think Paul Craig produced the CAD drawings for that.

Oh, yes, that name does ring a bell actually.

56 minutes ago, MJI said:

 

Funnily I used to use a Helghan marksman but not able to change the below text, however I did change my PSN avatar to my dog a couple of years ago. So I suppose still relevant.

I did wonder why you changed from a kneeling computer character to the pup but not the associated text!

As a member I've witnessed absolutely no Elitism whatsoever. Which is why I find this so odd. Something definitely hasn't gone as it should have and I really hope it doesn't prevent further models as I know Paul and others have put a lot of effort into ones that are in production.

The GERS was originally created to assist with modelling and that hasn't changed.

Have finished working my way through - excellent work, obviously I followed it at the time as I have commented, must be this thread that made me buy my one.

Without checking it looks like the same kit designer as the LRM N1 I want to finish.. 

My favourite warning

I know that First Class carriages had the crest, I'm not sure about composites that included a First Class element. John Watling is THE authority on GER coaches so I would trust his word.

It is sad to hear you did not get much assistance from the GERS as in my experience they are more than happy to advise. Not sure what went wrong there.

5 hours ago, 30368 said:

 

All Done Richard - Phew!

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

Brilliant, thank you :)

4 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Firesale?

Somebody should've told the Birmingham Branch

Even on the last afternoon a couple of hours before final closure they would not budge on the cost of a reel of cable.

It was the same price it had always been, I tried a bit of bargaining but couldn't get a penny off! So it stayed there.

 

I did get some cheap stuff but not much less than typical January sale prices.

Maybe hoping the longer they had stock the longer they had jobs? Wouldn't blame them!

30 minutes ago, 30368 said:

 

Hi Richard,

 

Thanks for this, I am certain that all the pictures are backed up on my PC. Let me have a look and see what I can do.

 

Kind regards,

 

30368

Thank you, it's much appreciated :)

On 27/09/2019 at 16:34, 30368 said:

I have now assembled all the parts necessary to start building a London Road Models K2 2-6-0 kit. I will construct the K2/2 side window cab version that operated on the Scottish Region since the completed model is destined for the Bentley Model Railway Group's "Kannotburn" layout. 

 

I am using Alan Gibson wheels, a Mashima 14/20 motor and a multibox two stage gearbox supplied by Branchlines. I do have the small matter of completing the Alan Gibson ex LSWR G6 kit but as soon as this is finished I shall start. I do not claim to be an expert or anything similar more an "improver" working through a large-ish collection of white metal and brass loco kits and learning much from each construction. An image of the prototype follows, interesting loco's designed and built before the great Gresley became enamoured of three cylinder engines ( I'm not forgetting the J38/9s).

 

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B 

Hi RIchard,

It looks like a lot of your photos got lost for this thread - do you happen to have them to reinstate as I have one of these in the roundtuit pile :)

Thanks,

Richard

5 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

After an electronics chain in Australia went broke, it was revealed that they had loads of home branded batteries. Every day stuff like AA & AAA types. Except the problem was that they had 7 - 10 years worth in the warehouse. In other words some would be beyond the shelf life!

 

The administrators, ended up selling the batteries back to the overseas manufacturers, which means they would have got 5/8ths of FA for them! Who wants to on sell named products like batteries?

 

At least the stuff Hattons of old kept, was timeless and if they got it cheap enough, it mattered less.

I have an awful lot of Maplins branded batteries from when they had their firesale. We go through them quite quickly so not that long until I am out and will have to look for another bargain source.

1 hour ago, lezz01 said:

I have 3 different mental health disorders, yes I know I couldn't have just the one right, and it means that I don't always play well with others. This has always been a problem with me joining clubs. Being a loan wolf modeller is a bit isolating and I would like to join a club but the only one that is near to me is one that I didn't really fit in at. I really did try and even thought of giving it another go but I went to an open day there a couple of years ago and I still don't fit. I have given some serious thought to joining the Princess Risborough club but the problem with that is the fact that their club night is on one of the nights I work and then I would have to struggle through London rush hour traffic to get out there and it's not really practical. However this forum is a good substitute in many ways.

Regards Lez.      

I am in a similar position. I get very uncomfortable when around people I do not know well. In the last couple of years I have briefly met two forum members, and through no fault of their own I had to make my excuses and head off. A club with several people fills me with dread, even though once i am familiar with people I am fine. Catch 22? I find internet forums much easier. 

11 hours ago, Great Waterton said:

I used to love the older style catalogues where they had pictures of the models on some kind of display layout rather than a computer generated image. I still buy one each year, probably out of childhood nostalgia and happy memories, plus a general love of the brand but of course that doesn't mean I agree with everything they do (far from it) and I'm certainly not blind to their many recent blunders either...

 

 

Think that was the last catalogue I bought - attracted by the 91. It was well thumbed, but I never did get the 91...

I've done the survey, thank you - one thing I did ask about some time ago was lamps for Class 04 shunters - I think also used on 03s. Is that possible please?

thank you

2 hours ago, scots region said:

Just to wade in, ‘Low Skilled Worker’ doesn’t mean unintelligent or unimportant work, it refers to the level of training that a job requires. Take engineering for example, that requires years of study and then constant learning and unlearning throughout a career, you can’t just pick up the basics and go. Now with say, cleaning, someone can take around half an hour or maybe that latter part of an afternoon and quickly have someone else broadly up to speed.

 

Its not the amount of effort required it’s the amount of training and foreknowledge that’s needed.

I wonder how much training Boeing Assembly bods get and look at how that's working out for them at the moment :)

2 hours ago, MikeParkin65 said:

And the best packing in the business by a country mile in my experience

My small pile of bits arrived today and the packaging was certainly sufficient - overkill really but can appreciate that for delicate stuff it would protect it very well. Mildy amused by the outside bit excitedly stating plastic free, with the bubblewrap inside obviously plastic (no claim to becardboard free though?). 

25 minutes ago, Hal Nail said:

I read somewhere Hattons had 3-4m of stock in their accounts 

 

Shudder to think how much Gostude has.

The difference is Hattons' is priced to sell as opposed to priced to retire?

13 minutes ago, melmerby said:

The most succesful UK clothes retailer is Primark, cheap and cheerful. A subsidary of a food company.

The most successful part of M&S, primarily a clothes retailer, is their food halls.

 

Make of that what you will.

I will mull that over when having my lunch.

10 hours ago, John Besley said:

'Not working' no kidding there...

At least they're being honest!

Looks like a Nikola Tesla experiment.