SteveyDee68

Ian Banks, another talent taken from us too early

You are quite right - it is a 3D print (but yellowish, like other resin cast items I have!) Steve S

His SF writing, as Iain M Banks, is absolutely superb; I thought the Foundation series by Assimov was great, but then Banks just reset the bar in the Culture novels - and it is interesting that he sees the development of AI as something that will benefit humankind, freeing us from the shackles of capitalism, which maybe might be why the likes of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are suddenly so cautious about its development; after all, multi billionaires simply don’t exist in a post capitalist society! I must recommend the Dirk Gently novels by Douglas Adams - those don’t feel like they are flogging a dead horse (even if the first book is basically about a ghost) and like many others I feel DNA’s premature loss to this day. 42

And I just finished re-reading “Raising Steam” for about the 20th time a couple of nights ago! 🤣 Totally agree re: the great Terry Pratchett, although most of my collection was binned by a vindictive ex-wife. Together with my full set of Isaac Asimov books, my Harry Harrison ‘Stainless Steel Rat’ collection, all of my Douglas Adams books, my Lord of the Rings trilogy volume (the prize award from secondary school) and my set of Iain Banks books (the originals, in monochrome book covers). Now, there’s a writer who can be read again and again! The first book of his that I read (and actually the first he had published) was recommended to me by a close school friend when we were at sixth form college together; my friend was a brilliant artist, going on to achieving a first class honours degree in fine art, and was the coolest person I ever knew (never understood why he had me - the uncoolest of the uncool - as his friend!), sadly succumbing to liver failure aged only 49 due to a long struggle with mental illness and the bottle, which I knew nothing about… I digress, but I remember him handing “The Wasp Factory” to me as if it was yesterday - “Read this - it’s brilliant. As long as you don’t skip to the end. Don’t skip to the end. Read it. It’s worth it!” If you haven’t read it, get a copy and do so. Don’t skip to the end. I can vouch that it is worth it, and that the twist at the end is such a surprise that it may leave you - like I found myself all those years ago - with mouth agape! In fact, you may end up rereading the whole book again immediately in light of the revelations in the last few pages, in order to suddenly make some sense of everything previously read! The books I read once tend to be work related 🥱 or manuals. Anything fiction that gets read once gets donated PDQ to any local charity shop that will take it! Steve S

When my grandfather passed away, it fell upon my dad to clear his house as the executor of his will. My grandad was quite a keen car boot and antique fair visitor and downstairs were various vases and objects d’art that he has acquired over the years, but imagine my dad’s surprise when he discovered both a Stradivarius and a Rembrandt in the loft! Unfortunately, the painting was by Stradivarius and the violin by Rembrandt. Hat, coat …

Ditto. I agree that the Harry Potter series of books is excellent; the films are okay, but really should be thought of as “based upon” in so many ways! It has to be said, though, that the late Alan Rickman really did seem to hit the nail on the head with his portrayal of Severus Snape! Having said that, I bought The Lord of The Rings trilogy as a single volume with prize money from a school award and, upon purchasing it on the Saturday morning, proceeded to read the entire trilogy over the course of the weekend, including staying up all Saturday night, so engrossed was I in the story. I was 16 at the time. 39 years later, and I still find myself unable to put a book down once started if it has sufficiently gripped me! I am also fortunate in that I can read (and reread) books multiple times - or is that just a terrible memory?! Steve S

Please promise to show us how you go about these improvements - I have a (very growly) Dapol J94 that I would like to improve. I also have two very nice EFE/Bachmann J94s which I think are the DJH bodies with new Bachmann chassis - I ended up with two identical models because I forgot I picked one up off eBay second hand like-new for a great price, then took advantage of a ROS offer! The other J94 in my possession is a (bargain price) Hornby example in private ownership livery which I intend to keep that way, but which could likewise be “tarted up” so any postings on how you improve your fleet will be most welcome here! Steve S

Did several car boot sales back in 2013/2014 at a regular - and massive - event held regularly near Chorley.* Absolutely agree with @Northmoor - we had a lot (a LOT**) of baby/toddler clothes to dispose of, and my other half shrink wrapped like-new M&S baby grows into packs of seven (one for each day of the week) selling them for £5 (which we thought a bargain). Several interested parties asked about paying £1 per pack if they took the lot off us… like @Happy Hippo has remarked, a bunch of “professionals” looking to sell on at a profit! I do remember a young lady - possibly from Eastern Europe - coming once with her two very young children, and getting very excited about the baby grows, but only had £3 left on her; she asked if we would be back again, and would we mind keeping a couple of packs for her? I was about to let her take a pack for £3 when my wife*** surprised me completely by giving her two packs and saying pay us the next time she saw us. If I had done that, I would have had a right royal telling off about being gullible, but away went the young lady full of thanks etc. Next time we were there, I waited for five hours for our young mum to turn up, but she was a no show. Of course, no way was I going to mention this to the other half … I valued my life! However, next time we went, she turned up with her husband, who apologised and said he had been working and so she couldn’t get to the sale, thanked us for our kindness and paid us £10 as promised. Needless to say, when she was looking at a couple of packs of the next size up of clothes, I let them have three for the price of two. On another occasion, a lovely as-new toddler’s party dress was for sale for £2 - it must have cost about £18 new - and a lady offered us 25p for it. My wife said no, and the offer was raised to 50p. My wife still said no. Our potential customer said we could either sell it to her for 50p or we’d have to take it home! My wife promptly packed it into the car and told her “It’s going home, then” at which point she offered £1 rapidly followed by the £2 original asking price. At which point my wife’s stubborn streak kicked in and she told her it was no longer for sale! It was an interesting experience whilst it lasted - some days we could make £30-£50, other days barely scrape the cost of the pitch. * I’ve not seen the car boot run since Covid … sign of the times, perhaps? ** My wife simply didn’t let go of baby/toddler clothes, despite them being long outgrown! *** ex-wife as of 2017 Steve S

That’s right, Birmingham is the second city in the U.K., after Manchester! 😉 Steve S

Now that is really useful to know, as I will want limestone for the loads for Blackford Wharf in due course, and your research will save me a lot of time (plus expense of getting it wrong) as I trust your judgement with this. Really like the hopper wagons and also the brake van shown earlier. However, any chance of some clearer pictures of the water tenders, please? As you know, I got myself one of those resin castings 3D prints that you commissioned, but it is currently sitting in a drawer of “things to do when I have more of a clue” so anything to push me in the right direction much appreciated! Cheers Steve S

It’s happened! Finally the Triang 4 wheel “Swedish” balcony coach (or “starter” set coach) has appeared on eBay! In fact, not one, but four of them, all in good condition! Okay, that was the good news. The bad news? Only available as a set of four, from our favourite seller… Triang Swedish Starter Coach Of course, that makes the individual price much more “reasonable” in price, as these have fetched in excess of £30 each when sold on eBay before now. Whether £25 per coach for a 50 year old and admittedly “toy” coach is “reasonable” is up to the buyer, of course. Just a shame that I never stumble across the cheaply-cheap £3.50 versions as improved by Kevin Whyberd! HOURS OF FUN!

He says to contact him for further details and postage is available for a small fee. I think this is another example of someone trading off eBay - should be reported! Steve S

I used to live in Adlington, Lancashire (overlooking the Leeds Liverpool Canal, as it happens). I once mentioned jokingly that I was off to the “Big Smoke” (meaning London) for a city break. To which one of the old timers asked (in all seriousness), “Why would you want to stop over in Chorley?” ”Not t’Big Town,” says his buddy, “T’Big Smoke!” ”Aaah!” Realisation dawns and the auld chap nods his head - “Manchester, then” Chorley - where the M61 is cobbled Steve S (And if anyone thinks I am stretching the truth a little, that conversation really happened, in The Top Spinners pub one Thursday night back in the early 2000s!)

Perhaps you might like to go into more detail about that. Here, lie on the couch, make yourself comfortable whilst I adjust the lighting and get my notepad. This first consultation is, of course, free but I shall need your credit card details if we are to continue these sessions further... HOURS OF THERAPY THERAPEUTIC FUN!

Just had an email from Hatton's about the Hornby Procor bogie palvan, which I happen to like as a wagon. Looks like Hornby have done a good job on the livery, too, but the 3/4 view from Hattons really shows up the absolute worst issue with the model, and it's related to those old continental bogies by Lima that are still underneath... It's the VOLVO-bumper-sized tension lock couplings! Ye Gods, we may complain about 'drooping' NEM slimline couplings and issues of compatibility between what should be identical couplings between manufacturers but when you look at the absolute horrors we got from Lima back in the day, we should all be paraphrasing the old "never had it so good" speech. I bet its the same bl@@dy awful plastic that Lima used, too, that doesn't accept glue (well, not one I've found yet), a bit like the plastic used for school glockenspiel beaters (which is similarly flexible but when broken cannot be glued back together - not very environmentally friendly that, is it?!) Okay, stepping down off my soapbox... hopefully @jonhall has some of his solebar etches available to upgrade the drawerful of cheap eBay-sourced palvans I have stashed away ready to be improved at a future date* Steve S * Need to revisit the thread about improving these wagons again, to remind myself of where to get suitable bogies from!

Littering boils my p*ss - it is just laziness writ large. However, when we have a culture that allows water utilities to get away with - literally - dumping sh*t into every stream and river in the country with the only consequence being bigger shareholder dividends, I can understand how that might permeate into the national subconscious and people (not) thinking “What does it matter me dropping a bit of litter when THEY can do THAT and not face consequences” After years of gradually cleaning our rivers and beaches, the “dirty old man of Europe” finally shed that image - I even remember the news item on TV talking about fish returning to the Manchester Ship Canal. From the minute the water utilities became privatised it has been a slide backwards as they relentlessly chased profit above all else. Sorry for going off-topic - the felling of the Sycamore made me feel physically sick, a little like when the owner of the strip of land opposite our home decided last summer to “tidy it up” by felling over a dozen mature trees, one of which was already a mature specimen when my parents moved in over 50 years ago. (Still waiting to see if the Council, with the backing of the Forestry Commission, force him to restore the area, as it was a wildlife corridor until him wantonly levelled it in preparation (he thought) to developing/building on it. As designated river bank, it cannot be developed upon but this individual* thought a “fair accompli” would get him retrospective planning permission.) * other descriptors are available

One step further on, thanks to vintagemodelplans.com in Canada, who have resized their semi-scale plans for Vortigern to 1:76. Opening the plans out, they are literally as long as my bed! Definitely going to be a massive project and a huge presence when completed. HOURS OF FUN!

Last time I saw one on eBay it went for a very high price! Elsewhere I’ve been advised to check out car boot sales to find them, but the largest one in the local area didn’t survive covid/lockdown - in fact, I don’t think I’ve seen any advertised recently! Steve S

Just seen this - not my chosen era, but such a good cause and a cracking model that as I read the earlier part of the thread I was thinking “why not?!” Of course, it’s sold out. Hornby did a run of ‘Captain Tom Moore’ for the NHS Charities - if there isn’t a licensing issue, would that be a good one for Accurascale to produce? I would rather purchase one from Accurascale and know a donation was going to charity than pay over-the-odds for a Hornby version on eBay, where all the funds are going into the seller’s pocket! Another suggestion would be for Alzheimer’s Research - sadly, far too many modellers will also succumb to that awful condition. Steve S

I just picked up this month’s BRM magazine* from my local ASDA, and was surprised when my shopping bill came to more than expected. Then again, I had picked up some steak for use in a stir fry and as that is not a regular purchase I just thought “Ah, cost of living increase! Steak’s gone up in price…” Just got home and checked the receipt… When I’ve purchased a sealed magazine bundle in the past, the “extra value” is in the additional magazines (or whatever) being included free, with the obvious hope on the part of the publisher that you like the contents and start purchasing those as well as your regular magazine in future. However, the price is up from the usual £6/£7 so I feel that the publisher has used me to rid themselves of unsold copies of their previous “Traction” (July/Aug ‘23) and “NGW” (Sept ‘23) magazines - neither of which I really want - and which otherwise they would have had to pay to dispose of… and which I will recycle and have also paid them for the privilege of doing so!! Of course, I have no proof that the above is what has happened but it is how I feel - in other words, like a fool (who was soon parted with his money).** I agree with @Ruston - sell BRM magazine on its own and don’t justify a 25%-30% price hike by including stuff I didn’t want. What I’ve learnt today from @AY Mod is that single issues can be purchased online - useful to know. 👍 Steve S * Purchased because I liked the listed contents for the issue ** Fortunately, I won’t so easily be duped on eBay, so the likes of Gostude will be disappointed!

This was my intention, too, especially as this is the last time Bleat Wharf may be seen in public, organising to travel down on the Saturday after working in the morning and stopping overnight with my sister in Ironbridge… Then last night I had the bomb dropped on me that we are running a workshop session for the kids in the cast for the next show I am Musical Director for! To quote a fellow Night Mail member, “Turdycurses”!! All the best for the exhibition - hopefully lots of RMWeb members will take (and post) lots of luscious photos of Bleat Wharf in all her minimalist glory. Steve S

Might be one to match to see how mad the bids end up - currently 10 bids and stands at £208! 🫢

One car park operator in Bury (my local town) has become notorious, sending out fines months after the event (when people have long ago thrown away any ticket receipt evidence), and - even more ludicrous - when challenged with a screen shot of the app used to pay for parking, dismissed it as fake because the map at the top did not show their car park … the app uses a generic picture and does not actually show where you have parked! 🫢🙄 Definitely a case of wilfully ignoring facts in order to “justify” a £100 fine! 😡 They (the company) have an office in another local town (Heywood), or rather a sign next to a door to an upstairs office where nobody ever seems to work. They have a website but with no contact telephone number for any issues (to report say a broken ticket machine) only one for taking payments (of fines). Our local MP has asked questions in Parliament about them, the Manchester Evening News has run articles about them, and yet still they continue to run what is at best an expensive parking option and at worst a money making/laundering scam. <soapbox rant mode off> Steve S

Called in at The Locoshed in Prestwich today, mainly because a big accident on the M62 impacted severely upon my journey home (2+ hours from just north of Altrincham to just south of Bury) but also to pick up a couple of nice Bachmann vans I had noticed on the shelves a couple of weeks ago. What’s the chances that Jim happens to have a very nice pre-owned Bachmann 1F Johnson (?) 0-6-0 tank loco (the fully cabbed version) for sale, when I’ve had my eye out for one for some time to go along with my 3F “Jinty”? (Very good, as it happens!) It’s another small loco to add to the collection, as I couldn’t resist. At this rate, the only region’s locos I can’t present on Blackford Wharf is the Scottish region (Highland, GNR etc). Currently I can muster suitable ex-LNER/GER locos, ex-GWR locos, ex-SR locos and ex-MR/LMS locos! Let’s not even mention industrial type locomotives! Better keep an eye out for the next time Lidl has their display cabinets in stock! HOURS OF FUN! PS In case you are wondering, return to school has put a temporary halt on modelling activities, although I am determined to continue progressing with my pump house! PPS And I also bought the two vans I went in for! 🤣

Okay, this isn’t the usual eBay madness fodder for this thread, but I thought it worth sharing as I was searching for “Lidl hobby display cabinet” (to display model locos, of course!) Imagine my delight/horror/amusement when this came to light… I mean, the price isn’t too bad for a combination 2 x wardrobe/display case/wall unit (£212.10 or best offer) but the postage is a bit steep! 🤣 HOURS OF FUN!