AndrewB7585

He also said they should stop announcing new models until they’ve actually delivered a few of them “to increase buyers confidence in them”. I’d say judging from this forum our confidence is pretty high already. I’m counting the days until KOYLI arrives

I’d like to see the 321 EMU. They’ve run all over the country for thirty years and appeared in a wide selection of liveries.

That’s a good idea, I might give that a go. I might try it one side first and see how it looks. Thanks for the tip

The point I’m trying to make is that there is a distinct difference in the colour between the main body side and that surrounding the logo as the two were not applied at the same time. I can not find a photo of an LNER class 91 where the body side is one colour, which is how Hornby has modelled it.

The vinyl is colour matched to the original paint which had already been on the locos for a few months when the new logo was applied. Even when fresh there was a distinct line between vinyl and paint which has become more pronounced over time. Even modelled in pristine condition, there should be a noticeable line between the two areas

I’ve received an email from Hornby today to say the Class 91s had arrived in stock. Considering the loco was announced in 2020 I’d say the email was written quickly. 91117 has a 16 pin DCC socket while the others have the more conventional 21 pin. 91002 was decommissioned in 2009 and 91118 revived the name Robert Louis Stevenson in 1993, and kept it from 2000 until 2009. Having had a chuckle at that I am looking forward to my 91 turning up. However from photos the LNER logo appears to have been printed directly onto the loco body. On the real thing it was a large sticker (vinyl) placed over the VTEC logo with a distinctive difference in the shade of red. From photos I’ve seen of the models so far this appears to be missing.

I’m very happy with this announcement. When the order book opens I’ll be wanting an Arriva 175 and a Grand Central 180 in 00. It’s nice to see some underrepresented modern multiple units being produced. Ideally I’d also like a 00 class 321…..

On the GWR Manor thread Accurascale have said they have visited Didcot on some “interesting business” that they will tell us more about at a later date. So what is there at Didcot that they might be interested in? A Saint or a County perhaps?

I’ve got PFA x 3 and buffer stop x 5. On order I’ve got 8 x HYA, 2 x 37 and 1 x TPE Mk5. There is lots more Accurascale models that I admire but fall outside my modelling area / period. I’m sure as more announcements are made I’ll be placing more orders.

My Farewell Tour HST arrived today. I’ve unboxed it, fitted DCC and given it a test run. It runs well and from normal viewing distances looks good. Close up there is noticeable paint bleed. The power cars also have black roofs in contrast to the grey on the trailer cars. Not sure how accurate that is.

The lettering was straight on my TGS. The EDR handle is green on the real train with a white background and a body coloured surround. Hornby have painted the frame around the handle white and represented a red handle with a green background. Hornby have silver door handles, these were yellow on the real train.

I filmed the last leg of the LNER Farewell rail tour leaving Leeds so I’ve gone back to my video and screen shot the TGS to compare with the model. Here are the results.

The TGS looks exactly the same

I’ve started the painting of the 333 and I’m happy with progress so far. The 3D prints seem of a good quality with no noticeable distortion and only the tiniest amount of flash to sand. I did spend some time sanding the cab roofs as the print lines were quite noticeable here.

The Electra Graphics seemed a little out of alinement, especially on the door windows. I also thought that they covered the moulded detail on the bodies. After applying the graphics to one side I decided to have a go at painting the other. I then used Railtec transfers. I’m much happier with this side and will be using this method on future projects. The 323 is the first time I’ve tried to kit / scratch build rolling stock so I’m using this project as a skill builder before moving on to the units I really want to do. I’m modelling West Yorkshire so I really want Class 333 and 331. So I was happy this week to take delivery of this….

Here’s a photo of the office interiors and the van with working lights (I bought this already converted so take no credit for this)

This is the Network Rail yard on Bronteworth. The double deck portacabin is a 3D print while the single story office containers are Scale Model Scenery kits. I’ve detailed their interiors and I’m planning to add lighting. I printed the notices myself after photographing the real thing at NR Skipton. The yard has a selection of the items that tend to be found in these yards including equipment for maintaining the railway and rubbish that stuff have removed from the line side. There’s still move to do in this area but I’m fairly happy with progress so far

My layout is based on my local railway - the Aire Valley line. It’s a tail chaser around the edge of the attic which I also have to share with the children (it is their bedroom!). The shape of the base boards has been determined by the need to fit around the various existing furniture and fittings in the room. This leaves me with a double track mainline with a scale length of approximately three quarters of a mile. The name comes from the observation that most businesses in this area either fit the words Bronte or Worth into their names somehow. As we are quite near Keighley there’s a preservation site represented which may or may not be a thinly disguised excuse to run any loco that doesn’t quite fit in with the time period and location being modelled. I’m trying to represent the trains I see every day which so far means 3 class 66 and the Hitachi test train form the backbone of the fleet. I’m also in the process of constructing Northern EMUs to represent the bulk of the trains in this area (see separate post for more on those). I’ll add a couple of photos for now then put up other posts looking at the various areas of the layout.

Hi 313201, I used the full chassis off the 153 but with hindsight I might have tried fabricating something and just using the bogies. The Hornby chassis needed a lot of trimming to make it fit the coach body. The isn't much flex in these 3D printed bodies compared with injection moulded stuff so fitting was a bit of a pain and I'm still not really satisfied with it. I've not fitted an interior yet so I'm still considering my options on that. I don't think there's anything ready made that's going to have the right seating layout so I'm probably going to get out the plasticard and try and make something. I'll post more on here as I progress.

I put Electrarail Graffics on one side but decide to experiment with painting the other side and using transfers. The Electrarail graffics are obviously easier to apply but I wasn’t really convinced with the end result. They cover up a lot of the moulded detail on the kit and I just didn’t feel they looked realistic. So I’ve gone with painting it and applying Railtec transfers. I used their Class 158 kit as it provided all the elements I needed. The end result can be seen in the last photo

I’ve recently started to dip my toe into modifying stock and kit building as a way to get the models that appeal to me. I understand that whilst I may have a fascination for modern EMU it’s not the sort of thing that any manufacturer is in a rush to produce. I’ve started with a 3D printed kit by Modern Multiple Units. I’m using this to build my skills and experiment with different techniques before moving on to the units that really interest me - anything used on the Aire Valley line. So far I’ve joined the two pieces that form each body, filled, primed and painted, added Railtec transfers and built a chassis for the each of the driving vehicles. The centre coach is running on a Hornby 153 chassis. There’s still a lot of detail to add and work to be done but I’m happy with progress so far.

Here are the CAD images from the Hornby catalog. Looks good to me