NBL

The only thing that is fundamentally correct on the ESU model vs the Accurascale model is the track gauge. AS is 4mm to the foot, ESU 3.5mm to the foot OO isn't a scale, it's a gauge

I wouldn't trust Kwik-fit to put a banana in a monkeys mouth

You obviously haven't seen the ladies 'round my way wearing them. Landbarges.

I recently interviewed for a job, I wasn't successful. I asked for feedback and was told that although I scored highest out of the interviewees, my reference to "he" and "she" in scenario examples showed that I would not fit in the company due to my gender prejudice. I should have referred to them as "They". I put it to the person giving me the feedback that those people may prefer to be known as "He" and "She" and not "They" to which I received no response. It was a large, well known company, who it seems would rather employ someone who ticks the boxes rather than someone with the skills to do the job.

Bachmann and Hornby wheels are good, as are Markits and Gibson Replicating a Peco point is a good idea, it will allow you to hone your soldering skills, which is something I've never mastered in 30 years of trying. I can solder electrical items but when it comes to anything else, I just don't have that skillset - even after being shown by someone who builds brass kits for a living!

Where I am, all electric car drivers seem to have taken the a******e title away from Audi drivers, who had taken it from BMW not so long ago! Range Rover drivers here seem to be glammed up orange ladies with big nails and lips, with grossly overweight children

I was in Pocatello back in march for an afternoon after driving up from SLC. Seemed a nice place with friendly locals, and had great late lunch!

Agreed, Cambrian kits are good but can be fiddly. Parkside Peco are great and more beginner friendly, though to get used to the mechanics on how glues and paints work, nothing beats picking up an old Airfix wagon kit or 2 - not the Dapol versions. You can pick these up cheap from eBay just to practice on them discard once you feel you've got a good grasp of kit building

I can understand wanting to model to finer standards, especially when coming back into the hobby. If I were you I'd take it slowly and learn what skills you have before committing to anything other than RTR at the moment. Building chassis kits and custom pointwork takes a lot of skill and patience and doesn't guarantee better running, or even better looks. I've seen well modelled RTR on code 100 track look better than many finescale layouts, mainly due to careful weathering and a consistent look across the layout. As has been pointed out above, the cost of new wheels, motor and gearbox all adds up to a significant amount. If you want to go down the finescale route, practice on cheap second hand wagon kits and develop your skillset. Regarding your query on Dapol wheel packs, I'd avoid these as they seem to be unable to stay on the track for whatever reason!

Not one of our models are 100% accurate in height, length, width or decoration. These are model trains, toys, at the end of the day. Yes we all want them to be as accurate as possible, but achieving absolute accuracy is impossible. If you aren't happy, return it to allow someone else to enjoy it for what is a splendid model, then build a kit to a better standard and show it off here.

I can't believe someone is complaining about the end of the tail of a letter. A minute detail. Seriously, get a grip

Ask yourself what you enjoy most about model railways then ask if you can replicate that in the larger scale. I am mainly a 4mm modeller, I used to help out on a 7mm layout and thought I was used to the size of it. I picked up some cheap old Lima stock such as a shunter, some wagons and a couple of mark 1 coaches. I was quite shocked a just how large they looked in my space, even though I have roughly the same space as yourself. Pointwork takes up a considerable amount of space too. It didn't stop me buying a Dapol 08 and some of their bogie steel wagons but I will have to seriously think about what I want to achieve with 7mm. I'll probably settle for a small shunting yard, which is fine as thats what I enjoy, I won't sell of my 4mm stock though. You mentioned that to you bigger is better with regards to 7mm, that can be debatable, especially when it comes to Heljan. Their Mark 1's have the wrong roof profile, something is off with their air brakes vans and I think I remember the buffers are too close together on their 35t tanks. Locowise, the class 37 whole body side between the doors from the cantrail down is far too low - I'm not a right counter just pointing these well known issues out. Some of Dapols wagons are a bit wonky too. Heljan loco's have also been plagued with spit gears in the past, which I understand are hard to source replacements for. You also mention that you can't solder, that would be something you'd need to work on, 7mm is not quite an RTR scale yet and a lot of stuff still has to be built from brass and plastic kits, or indeed scratchbuilt. Saying all that, I really like the bulk of 7mm, it has a heft to it that is hard to convey in smaller scales, and personally, I think it's the only scale where sound 'sounds' right. Think carefully about jumping in at the deep end, you'll lose a lot of money on selling your 4mm stock, but you'll lose even more trying to shift 7mm stock. As others have suggested, try a small shunting layout using Scalescenes downloads, to get used the the space needed. You don't have to buy a Dapol 08 and wagons to try it out, just pick up some of the cheap old Lima stuff from eBay.

The Hornby J50 is a great slow runner, as is the Planet Industrials Victory. I've no experience with any other steam loco.