justin1985

Those bright metal coupling rods really do make the model look "unfinished". Looks like they need a very good dunking in blackening fluid! As people have said, not what you expect on a model over £100!

After getting the wheels and motion to look so good on the B17, its amazing how Dapol have managed to step backward with the Britannia and B1. But then thinking back, wasn't the first release of the Hymek a bizzare backward step, with steamroller wheels?

I can only imagine, but would be happy to be corrected, that Dapol change their Chinese sub-contractor for chassis really quite often, or that one subcontractor is a little variable in quality or interpretation of specifications. Once a batch of chassis have turned up in the UK, I don't imagine there is much choice but just to accept them in the form they end up having been finished in.

So often with Dapol it seems to end up being "so nearly, but not quite"

This layout is looking seriously good!

Do you have any more details on the TPWS grids you have found?

Cheers,

Justin

(PS. looks like you've made a better job of painting the yellow stripe on the Clam than I've managed! How did you mask it?)

I think that a CLASP style station building would make a great Scalescenes kit (I'd love one for my 70's layout too!). A definite addition to my 'to do list!'.

I'd just like to second the support for the CLASP style station!

Hmmm, I hadn't really noticed that the pantograph was incorrect when I saw the modern liveries on Nigel Burkin's blog, but it seemed a bit more obvious on the BR blue models.

I wonder if the Tomix? (or Greenmax?) plastic pantographs would actually be much of an improvement over this? Perhaps an opportunity for some after-market etched cosmetic replacements? Perhaps etched in stainless steel for strength?

Still, I'll definitely buy one if\when Dapol do a model in Anglia Railways livery!