MrWolf

That's given me a mental image of a Cambrian Railways wagon fitted with a Tri-ang ducking giraffe mechanism. A repaint of the giraffe required for authenticity of course. Something that I have considered doing with a GWR bogie iron mink. I'm not sure if I'll get more stick from the purists about the ducking giraffe or the fact that it's OO gauge...

You would, as other makers have done, need to manipulate the computer model to make the rims and tyres attached to the mudguards at various points to support them. I doubt that you could print a spoke of around 1/8" Ø at 4mm scale. The art of compromise and all that. It would be a great project though!

There were a lot more bikes in daily use rather than weekend toys in the twenties and thirties and also a lot more women riding than now too. There's a few white metal ones out there, but most are not particularly good, I don't think the sculptors could get the details or the engineering at such a scale. There's a few decent ones that can be detailed with work because they are real old stagers: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153521759358? But there's odd things to be aware of like riders wearing helmets, something that doesn't really take off until about 1960 and not mandatory until the early seventies. There's a very good BSA M20 in one of the Airfix RAF bomber re-supply set, but it's 1:72 and a tiny part of a big kit. There's the old standby of the two bikes from the RAF recovery set, again 1:72 but the riders are moulded on and both giving a right hand turn signal. At least they work at a junction as static figures.

Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional. - Walt Disney.

That is something that I have often thought. Unfortunately ours are two from 1949 and one from 1951. One of the two I'm after is 1946, basically the 1939 model, but with noticeably y the wrong front forks for a prewar bike. It does however give me an excuse for the next addition to the equation being about 1936, which would be rather nice. It's all down to opportunity and the asking price!

Likewise, it came from Hattons and like many, the tyres came adrift on the driving wheels and I had my first ever demonstration of the wonder of superglue at NorCol models in Leicester.

Same for my generation, around Loughborough it was Brush engineering, Rolls Royce or Goodwin Barsby. Those of us deemed to be destined for university were given zero careers advice and were told that the uni would provide. Of course the uni didn't, assuming that as we had made it this far, we must have come from a family of career people and already have the right connections. Try explaining to most people born post 1990 that joining the right bit of the military is better than a degree in many cases and opens a lot more doors. Plus it's a good option for anyone who doesn't want a huge debt and doesn't have a rich family. They generally parrot out some pacifist mantra. Not a lot of use when someone comes at you with an AK on his back and waving a panga. 😉

That all sounds very familiar, except I'm 53 in May, substitute the apprenticeship for university and the pharmacy technician part for restoring / trading in vintage motorcycles and being an artist and that brings us up to date. My father was pushed into engineering as an apprentice toolmaker in 1956, hated it, survived the slow death of the Midlands manufacturing industry until 1988 and went driving lorries on multi drop work to schools, hospitals, prisons and other state controlled institutions for a lot more money and a lot less aggravation.

Which will no doubt be announced about ten minutes after I finish converting a 1466 into 530 🙄 Which was announced about ten minutes after I finally got around to upgrading the ancient Airfix model.... 🤣

The formula only applies if you want to have Panniers though. If Panniers are your bag, then: N = X + 1 Taken as mentioned elsewhere from the Wolf - Spiers Theorem of vintage motorcycles. Speaking of which, I am currently in negotiations for two more. Unlike the stories you hear from the bloke down the pub about how his neighbour's mate's brother found a genuine 1959 Thrapston Flagellator (of which only four were ever made) buried in his garden, blew the dust off and rode it to Cheffins auctions, they're the real thing. A pair of 250cc BSA singles from the mid 1940s that have been thrashed, bodged and neglected, before being dismantled and dumped in a shed for about sixty years. I'll restore one and sell the other once I've put it back together, which should generate a decent amount of pannier tokens for the new superior 57xx. Will I be getting rid of my Mainline relics? I think that you know the answer to that! 🤣

The bits of room are photoshopped in I think. One day we'll have the big reveal and find out that the main line extends a scale mile in either direction. 🤣

There's an awful lot of potential to be had out of upgrading one of the later incarnations of the venerable Hornby 2721 as @Mikkel and others have done (and I've been gathering detail parts for). Just saying.... WKT is looking very good indeed, the pipe connections for the nasty stuff are a work of art.

Which reminds me that I have a nearly finished upgrade to the old Airfix version sitting on the bench. It's on the list!

Those look rather good!

Four that we know about. There's a rabbit hole either end of the main line through Encombe Town, all sorts of locomotives keep appearing through it.

It does, if they cancel their bids, they're out of the running. I don't think that stops them from bidding again before the auction end though.

Hence the 'almost' enough panniers. 😉 I'm presuming that+1 is about to hove into view from who knows where.

The other option was welding his tin legs to a manhole cover and using him for life size Subbuteo... But she hates football.

This was more what I had in mind: You only get a bigger bang with a Dreadnought carriage if 4472 Flying Backwards reverses into it.

I think that I know the word that you desperately seek: It's &*#!!....

A friend of mine used to wear a black Hawaiian shirt with large pink flamingos on it. His wife's opinion is not recorded.

Ah, layout operator's corporate wear. It's much better than the usual corporate polo shirts or sweatshirts that are made of some weird fabric which simultaneously brings on asthma, hay fever and radiation sickness.

She'd have welded his tin legs together and used him for a hat stand.

Bit cruel making him wear one your shirts though...

A 21 gun salute from HMS Victory should be subtle enough... Pity that we don't have any Dreadnoughts left, that would be even more appropriate.