DougN

Andrew I am sorry I missed the date.... Just as well we might be able to make it next year! infact I think Victoria might have a general note at the borders still at the time of the convention that will read "last one out turn off the lights" With Victoria and Melbourne being the most locked down I bet we will all be wanting a change of scenery! Still intend to make it over for the convention and the photos of the layout look wonderful!... cant wait to see it in the flesh!

These are all looking great. I have a thread about the Wills kits https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/19130-wills-building-kits/ I have been addicted too them for about 12 months... maybe it has something to do with COVID... and a lock down. Any how I am finishing up a Water Mill at the moment so I will drop some new photos over there shortly.

Mike, the speaker is well sealed into the bottom water tank of the tender. It is one of the ESU style flat speakers about 12mm x 14mm. The underslung water tank is the sound chamber.

Been a long time since I posted anything. It is interesting to compare the A4 front of the cab roof to the V2's The Finney kits I have been building for about 2 years or more. (they are around just not moved forward for almost a year!) The V2's have a arc for the "humped" section of the rood to the V point where the A4's as we can see have the same point but no humped section. Also SNG above has a similar triangular section to the rear of this humped section but it is truncated by the removable rectangle where as the V2's stops short. Other than enjoying V2's one thing that keeps showing up on all the photos of the models is the 2 oil pot manifolds that are missing under the smoke boxes on the foot plate. Yes the enginemen must swear at them as they trip over them! I have also noticed there is little reason for them to be installed north south or east west as I have seen both versions on the prototype photos. The Oil pipe runs seem to vary from neat and tidy to a bowl full of spaghetti! I have been distracted this year by "buildings" but I am slowly looking at my loco kits to get more completed on them in the medium term. I seem to have had a hankering for a southern layout... hence all the buildings, stations, and typical Southern style infrastructure. Well it could be dealing with a Southern modelers estate... well Bullied did learn from Sir Nigel Gresley.

Porcy, that is a bad one. I have a Bachmann B1 Tender wheel with a similar problem as being assembled off centre! I would be interested to hear if the running is better/worse/ the same with Alan Gibson's installed! My Sound fitted does run nicely though I still haven't got around to adjusting the pressure of the pick ups.. they need a little less tension on them! I need to look into changing the speaker as I find the sound is missing the lower bass sounds. What are other peoples thoughts on the sound fitted versions???

Sitting here in Lockdown Melbourne where the delta variant is running lose in the North western suburbs. We are all wearing masks out side of the home. It is getting rather frustrating as every where we go or do must include a mask. With our vaccinated rate rising quickly (as long as the supplies hold out!) we will head towards reduced restrictions. As thegreenhowards says states above "I’m not at all sorry for those who have refused the vaccine who make up a large share of those currently in ICU." I have to agree. More so from the point of Charles Darwin with the philosophy of culling the heard of the weak ones, but as it has to do more with the intelligence of the individuals, or lack of it! If we are all trying to achieve a the best outcome and get back to a more normal life we have to give up some freedoms to achieve this. I would dearly love to get to a Railway meeting or even a railway exhibition! It helps my mental health. Hopefully this is sooner rather than later! Unfortunately the way the Australian lockdowns have gone and specifically Melbourne's my Mojo for everything has gone. This includes work and hobbies and even things around the house! The UK has opened back up with the risks as outlined elsewhere I hope we can soon. This will get life back to a more normal setting rather than the "groundhog day" that Melbournian's tend to be living at the moment.

Stop encouraging him John... I would have to use another favor to get the timber

Gwiwer I have suggested that another layout is needed for all the euro stock SRman is collecting.... I suspect I am not popular at the moment Mrs SRman... just suggesting locations . We will get him back to the UK railways soon...

I have heard to never work out how much you have spent or how many kits and bits you have to build... I am looking after a mates estate and I am positive he never thought he was ever going to pass away (he was 83 when he passed) He had 12m3 of timber in his garage.... he had a few layouts left to go in the planning! On a serious note the volume of models has to be constrained at times. My mate, due to his interest, had multiple of the same loco from the main manufacturers. I am now looking to sell the collection off but the shear volume has shocked his friends and I. There are items that have never been out of the box... others have been run into the ground. So far just from the layout being boxed up is about 60% of the rolling stock has taken 28hours! It is highlighting that we can appreciate a good model and use them gaining enjoyment. Some have an off switch to buying more and others don't. Personally for me I am only buying a small number of items and kits I will enjoy in the next 10 years or so. Limiting the purchasing of kits to only those that can be used in that time. RTR I am only buying specific items but even then my interest is becoming more and more narrow.

I would suggest it is because you have serviced and reviewed the models, then taken a good photo of them. So the good prices are really due to your effort to achieve the best for all round! I am amazed at your perseverance doing all this Tony. I hope that the families and purchaserers all appreciate your efforts for every one, not least CRUK. Doug

You knew then what you know now you would be positively dangerous... in fact most people would....

Interesting in the photo above the splashers above the wheels are not fitted as well as a Finney kit. Seriously though the photo shows just how much stuff is installed between the frames of a steam loco and that is only part way through. Then the real thing needs working room so that the equipment can be maintained over time.

I have received my J27 From Rails. fantastic service as usual, along with the postal service. As this has taken a trip half way round the world the end flap on the box should have said contains a kit of parts for a J27. All the bits were there but there was some reassembly required. the chimney, safety valves, one buffer, coupling hook to the loco and the top lamp iron all to be put back on. What I found when I put it on the track was the pick ups not making (as has been reported by others). However due to the long time in the postal system the tender/ Loco connection was bent. This was lifting the rear of the loco and the front of the tender off the track. The solution was to back off the screws and the loco was test run. The running is pretty good not my best loco but again not my worst. Interestingly I have the sound version. The chip is a ESU V5. Sounds are OK currently nice range of functions. However I will try to work on the install of the speaker which is not the best. It is currently very tinny. The speaker is a sugar cube mounted in the tender. I will experiment on improving the install as generally i have found the sound can be improved from the speakers by sealing them properly to the tender. Specifically the locos and sound chips I have done this too are the TTS J36 and the 28mm speaker, Q6 Zimo with a 28mm speaker, B1 Zimo again with a 28mm speaker. I will report back once this has all been done.... Now the challenge is how to get the tender body off the top.... the clips don't want to let go on mine....

Its a nice surprise to read the above so I had a look at the rails site to find the LNER with sound was in stock so I have ordered one. I look forward to having it arrive in the next few weeks!

The Dave Bradwell J26/J27 kit dates from about 1995 as first release. How do i know this... it was mrj 72 which mine is looking very worse for wear as i read it over and over and over.... then in 1998 I had one sent to the most odd location which Dave still remembers... Kokopo East New Britian PNG! Where i was working and spent many happy hours building... not my best build but enjoyable! I currently have my second kit on the work bench to move forward from a start about 8 years ago!

I don't disagree with you Pat but the last 2 that I purchased were $54 AUD which works out at 29 quid which matches the UK pretty close (28quid on hattons) but as you say they only get 10% back on GST and then add the postage on. Like you said they have to "really want them". The traders that have them in stock are: Branchline.com.au (no only ordering but they will post) Metrohobbies.com.au- online ordering Frontlinehobbies.com.au (I am only a customer of these and have no other connection)

Just a heads up to all of those that have missed the coaches in the UK. Australia has received a large shipment. So if you are looking for specific liveries it is worth checking out Australian retailers. I have picked up over the last 2 weeks a train of NBR carriages.

While I wait for the sound fitted versions to arrive I have pulled out a Dave Bradwell kit I started about 7 to 8 years ago. For various reasons it has been placed in its box until I could get back to doing the detailing. I am starting on the tender. While I was looking at the etches and what I had built I was thinking that the spares from the 2 kits I have built could be very useful to detail and modify the oxford rail version. Any how back to a comment that Porcy made above regarding the surprisingly critical review by Hornby Mag. I found the same to the Hattons o Gauge teak coaches. It was not a glowing report as we have seen before but did have some criticism which was surprising. It could be a situation where Mike Wild (who I think is one of the best editors... other than having a nice quirky sense of humour on the youtube channel which I quite enjoy) might have been having a challenging time so was a little more "honest" than previous. I would say that these are better reviews as they really are reviews rather than unpaid for Advertorials.

There is nothing Plain or Old about Dougs....

I do like the look of everything I have seen so far. The chimney falling off in Sam's video saves some time for people to change to the Bradwell version, though it might require a bit of filling in of the recess. I am curious if it would be possible to convert this to P4... looks like 2mm axles. The current unlined version has grown on me... I was going to go for the lined version. There seems to be no rumours regarding the next round of deliveries of the sound and other versions... Mr Hattons says in the next quarter!

It will be interesting to see how all of nsw goes as you know Victoria has had so long in a lockdown it has knocked everyone's mental health around in some way. Modelling production does go up some what the need for supplies places a lot of additional pressure on the postal system. One thing I would recommend is keep in touch with as many people as possible via phone and zoom calls.

Really, my birth certificate says NSW!!!!!! Been a while It would be great to catch up some time as I have been flat out with all kinds of work.! I have been keeping a lowish profile. If you checkout the thread of the buildings I have been putting together though I want to get back to my V2's. I needed the relaxing side of the hobby rather than the challanging! I'll just keep an eye on what you are doing!!

Nice weathering there Jesse. What method have you been using? It is one area I would like to know more about. This includes in no particular order - powders and air brushes. I find it brings out detail hidden by the livery or on plan black locos!

The one thing I am surprised by is none of the magazines I have seen have said anything about the impending arrival. I would have thought that Oxford would have Air freighted a box in so that the magazines can do their reviews as the models are so imminent. Therefore making sure that the first batch sells out! Any how I am not sure I can resist the impulse purchase of a non sound fitted version!

Am I allowed to get excited yet? Yes I think so. I was even planning to work on my Dave Bradwell J26 this week end from years ago started but never finished!. So I will content my self with that until they become freely available..... Of course the one I will go for is the sound fitted version!!!!