atherton

Love the O1, a great model that runs very well. Love an 8F but a bit miffed that we now have what is technically a railroad model at a full fat price....

I'm sure that it's a class 30 as there's no grille in the bodyside door which was put in at the time of conversion to a 31 with the EE engine. Also it's a toffee apple with the white window surround which will need to be painted to include the yellow panel, although I have seen a pic of D5515 with SYP and white window surrounds. Happy to be corrected on any of these points, but the have certainly put me off buying one!

Yep that's fair, and certainly the approach Accurascale take. Most of my Sulzers are freight only so never clean and I always add to the factory weathering anyway, although renumbering 25057 to a four digit version and changing the headcode would not look out of place ex works for me....

Personally I would have preferred it the other way around, with a well weathered green 25 and the blue one clean as ex-works in a transition period layout. You don't see many photos of clean green 25's do you?

Wow just received my green ones. These are amazing. I love my Bachmann type 3's but these are on a new level. They are beautiful. I have changed the head-codes no problem, a bit fiddly and knocked one of the horn grilles off in the process, but easily fixed. Three green Tinsley based machines. The biggest issue is going to be having to weather these gorgeous machines.....have to do it as they're freight locos and you can't beat a dirty freight machine....well worth the wait!

Sooo...that makes it a definite 45/0, and only six of those had the trapezoid grill as far as I can see - so not 45008, 019, 022, 26, 41 and 56 as did all of the 46's and a number of the 45/1's which all had the foot holds removed completely. The vertical grille is a bit trickier, I would recommend checking out the peakdieselarchive website as they have pics of 'em all but at various stages in their lifetime, but a great resource.

The two blue/white Northern units arrived yesterday...absolutely stunning models, they run perfectly and such good value when compared to the Bachmann class 150....happy days!

BSYP never been done before in 4mm. 23 members of the class were in this livery if you include D83 which quickly gained full yellow ends. I am sooo looking forward to these, remember them from when I was a kid and we lived in the UK, fantastic machines, you could hear them growl all over town....

Yes it's exactly the same - apart from the roof mounted aerial and livery. I bought a bunch of the 56 108 models when they were under GBP100 a couple of years ago and renumbered/repainted some of them. It's telling that direct from Hornby it's now just under GPB220 for almost the same model. Terrible value for money, but as it's 56 and it's the sort of thing I like then I'll pay the money, no complaints, you can't take it with you! I am looking forward to the Cavalex model which I have pre ordered and keen to see what a step up that is. I've also just ordered a bachy 47, the first new one for me and have only heard good things about it, so looking forward to that one too. We really are spoilt for choice.

No but I have bought the earlier 56047. I hate to say it but ordered direct from Hornby and it arrived here in NZ 10 days later, which beats the average by 4 days! Nice model, heavy runs smoothly, a little bit fast for my liking and for a freight loco even at low speed settings on the controller. It still has the flaws of the earlier detailed models in that the scavenger fans are sunken when they should be flush, but it looks like a 56 and sits well my other 15 grids. Love the all blue version. Didn't get 086 as I already have one renumbered to that - murphys law.

I remember a rake of Gatwick Express mark 2's rolling into Feilding station....only 12,000km away from home. Pity nobody does a Kiwirail DL diesel to pull them, they looked good behind the big red beast!