TheGunslinger

My previous motorcycle was a lump of shite (kept alive out of necessity in what I can assume were similar circumstances of poverty), but even it only ran that badly when part of the rectifier blew up. The battery kept it running just long enough to strand me in the middle of nowhere, at which point it became a crippling load. I had to disconnect the battery and headlight and limp home in the dark on 6V power.

Any further updates from Slater's? I'm among those chomping at the bit for plastic Toplight kits

Several of the windows have gaping holes where the builder hasn't bothered to fill the gap between a round window and a square hole. There's visible seams where the windows used to be, which means either poor conversion work or very, very thin paint. The modified ends have sloppy filling and the corners are a mess. Normally this would all be acceptable but for five hundred quid I expect a damn sight better. This guy is vastly over-valuing his abilities. Or he's a shyster, because it's Ebay after all.

The closest example that springs to mind is several of the "busway" stations in Brisbane. It's a signature look to have the footbridge, even if it's immediately adjacent to an overpass with a perfectly good footpath (just to make it extra dumb the footbridge is almost always level with the street). https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-27.4969417,153.03961,32a,35y,182.51h,51.37t/data=!3m1!1e3 If the footbridges weren't built level with the upper street, you'd end up with a stairs->footbridge->stairs->street setup similar to the Ebay listing. What breaks it though is I think there's at least one example just like that, and they only built one staircase for the upper level, much like Five Ways.

Ashamed to admit it took me longer than it should to figure out what was so wrong with this thing. Might be because I live in Brisbane, some of our rail infrastructure ends up looking like that!

This is a very common theme in the warhammer/wargaming community. Every painted kit listed on Ebay is "PRO PAINTED" with a price premium, regardless of how terrible the painting actually is. Case in point: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Warhammer-40-000-Pro-Painted-Stalker-Tank/271982679743?hash=item3f536e56bf:g:htkAAOSwdzVXjtVq Compare with an actual professional paintjob: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Space-Marine-Stalker

Much the same here in AU. Unfortunately you're looking at a long uphill battle and this will probably be the hardest thing you have ever gone through. You will question if there ever was such thing as "fair" and the courts will bleed you to the bone. I don't know the legal system over there so I can't advise on that front, but I'd have a poke around online and see if there are any men's support groups local to you. You are not alone through all this and there are men who have gone through the same BS who can provide advice on your best course of action, your options in regards to contesting the assault charge, how you can legally get your property back (and what she can and can't do with it) etc. More importantly there will be plenty of men who can advise on the dos and don'ts of any potential custody dispute, and how best to handle that situation so that she can't lock your son out of your life. Best of luck mate.

That's okay, I found the HMRS decal set which has everything I need for coach side lettering.

Upon having a further snoop on Comet's site, I discovered a GWR coach detail kit that included two cast battery boxes, two cast vacuum cylinders and a cast dynamo! Jackpot!

Most plant life are incredibly good at absorbing and trapping ionizing radioactive material (Chernobyl's "Red Forest" pines and tobacco plants are notable examples) but this is the first I've heard of one converting it into a benign form! The Red Forest has round-the-clock fire wardens because any conflagration would release trapped radioactive material back into the atmosphere and it would be like a second meltdown!

I'd prefer RTR clerestories to be honest; there's a smattering of Collett options (including new tooling from H) but an absolute dearth of clerestory stock unless you get into kits. Early 1900's GWR modellers would also appreciate it.

Good morning all, I've been digging through the forum archives (EDIT: and GWR.org.uk) finding as much information as I can on the Diagram E140 b-set coaches the Airfix 4mm RTR model is based on, and finding ways to spiff them up a bit. There's plenty of information, but not much on how to make those changes happen. I think the simplest way to explain is to list out all my possible improvements and raise any related questions there. So here goes, in order of easiest to hardest: -Painting interior and window frames: This is a no-brainer; there are plenty of images of coach interiors and liveries that I'm just listing this one here because it will still make a dramatic improvement to the coach appearance. -Re-numbering the coaches Another simple one. However I'm struggling to find anyone who sells the appropriate decals? -Replacing the window glazing Self-explanatory. Laserglaze seems to be the go-to, however I'm trying to minimize on multiple shipping costs as I live in Australia. Are there alternatives and/or third party retailers who I may be able to pick up other detailing bits through? So far I'm looking at Dart Castings and Wizard Models as they stock a large range of detailing goodies I can purchase en masse. -Detailing the bogies: Options include replacing the bogies with Bachmann 9' bogies with better detail (changing the coaches to Diag. E145), or in the very least adding link rods to the 7' bogies with a little bit of brass wire. As far as I can tell there's nothing else really wrong with the stock 7' bogies, however there are several aftermarket bogies in OO gauge. Are there other details that are absent? Are the stock bogies hard to re-wheel? Are the MJT compensated bogie kits worthwhile? -Detailing the underframe: Here's where we get serious. The underframe detail is chunky and rather sad. MJT/Frogmore offer etched brass battery boxes, V-hangers and centre cranks. However I cannot find any options for truss rodding, despite the Airfix parts being frankly awful. Is this a 'standard' detailing option I've overlooked in my trawling? Are there guides for assembling the v-hangers with the appropriate rigging? I remember seeing cast white metal dynamos and brake cylinders (rather than tackle making one from etched brass) but I cannot for the life of me find the seller again. -Coach end detail: Another significant modification. The E140 buffer bars were straight, not bowed, which means cutting and changing the underframe. Not enormously difficult, however I may only do it on the outer ends as I plan on replacing the buffers as well. I may cut apart and modify the stock "shorty" buffers on the inner end to make them sprung, to help with close coupling. Also required is shaving off excess details that weren't present on the prototype, again relatively trivial. I found a blog post from Fatadder mentioning a detailing kit that had separate end details to replace the molded ones. Can somebody provide a link/manufacturer? -Fill in non-existent guard compartment window Not sure if I'll bother with this one, unless I'm required to repaint the entire livery. -Recessed door handles Again, not sure if I'll bother with this infamous modification, however I have some ideas on how to do it quickly and easily. With an appropriate "stencil" it may be a matter of ripping material with a rotary tool with drill bit, and a bit of filing to get the edges flat and smooth. After that a plastic backer and brass rod handles are a trivial matter. Once again I'll consider it if I repaint the coaches.

Hmm. No mention of the Orwellian laws against fun at any establishment that dares serve liquor. Nor the woeful infrastructure that means you WILL be trapped at a standstill in some variation of metal box whilst trying to get from one place to another, and there's a fair-to-good chance that the air conditioning will fail at some point, or simply be inadequate for the startling heat in the sun, leaving you roasting at 38C instead of 46C. But hey, there's a little taste of home for the Poms, who are all too familiar with having their bank accounts blasted into oblivion by the state if they dare let the numbers on their speedometer creep too high. By comparison being violently murdered by the wildlife is a blissful mercy.

Hello all, After scouring the forums via the search feature, there seems to be some conflicting information regarding top feed installation on 57XXs. The commonly thrown about date is "1942", however there is mention that panniers may have received top feeds as early as 1936 (described as a "Churchward type") and that panniers received improved versions of a top feed from 1942 onwards. This is of importance due to the abundance of top fed RTR panniers on the market, in particular an old Replica/Bachmann pannier, #7768 in "shirtbutton" livery with the offending top feed detail. If panniers received an early type of top feed from 1936, then the model is technically accurate for an interwar period, and could run alongside "GREAT WESTERN" liveries and coaches with shiny(ish) white roofs. Otherwise I'd face shaving off the top feed, or change to a late-war period and the associated weathering and repainting (it's unlikely any "GREAT WESTERN" liveried locos made it through the war, and any "shirtbutton" stock would be at least 5 years old with suitably tired paintjobs). Of further interest is that the first 300 locos of the 57XX type supposedly received top feeds right from the factory back in 1929-31! So my question is, what information is there available regarding a 1936 top feed design? How greatly did it differ from the 1942 design that made it into the BR era?

Testing quote function