brushman47544

Perhaps the absence of photos and reviews on here is a "review" in its own right?

J3692 is not 47525. The last digit looks like an 8, or possibly a 9.

But that will be an Eastleigh repaint as part of a 4-REP EMU. RB and RBR as individual vehicles will have been painted elsewhere so you can't really say that blue is fine for loco-hauled versions on that evidence alone.

Looks like the large Prairie has failed it’s been there so long. I hope they’ve detrained the passengers.

Are we back to Deltic sized boxes again? How am I supposed to get them into the house without being noticed…

I was hoping for some more Bulleid coaches in BR (S) green but now that the new Mk1s have been announced I suspect we’ve a bit longer to wait yet. Very pleased to see the Mk1 RB though - hopefully an RBR in blue/grey will be in the first batch. Too late for me, but the FO should do well if produced in InterCity charter livery (white roofs). I expected that to be one of Hornby’s first offerings but they still haven’t produced it. Class 47s in Two-tone green (OO) with both SYP and FYE with Sercks are the big omission from the new 47 releases so far (the green/SYP we’ve had had the fixed grills). Surely we won’t have to wait too long for them, please… Bachmann seems happy to compete with Heljan over the 45/46s but so far not with the 47s. With the flush front end regional limited editions seemingly being slow to sell (retailers I use still have some), all these new ones may end up adding to the warehouse stock.

Isn’t there a separate thread for Farish N to avoid such confusion?

Since it’s Bachmann no doubt we are guaranteed E (eastern) numbered vehicles in the first run as usual…

Those images have a very Peter Gray look to them.

I got in touch a week or so ago and was told that the EU-destined banana vans had been delayed due to customs issues.

Speaking of 50008, have you noticed that the right hand marker light in the headcode panel is non-standard (less opaque) and allows the light bulb behind to shine through more (at No 2 end only)? 50008 was like that from the early 80s and looking at the photos posted elsewhere today in the new HH livery it still is. Accurascale modelling that oddity in the Run 1 model would be a nice touch.

Hi David. J5920 is 47011

No..... without the radio pod on the roof please, and preferably with the original round crest too. I like it but already have the Hornby Laira Blue version (R3050) so couldn't justify that.

I wouldn't be so sure. Older tooling seems to last much longer in general then newer tooling. Look at how much use Hornby has made of some of the ex-Lima tooling - they may be more primitive in terms of detail but the models are still crisp. The same goes for the last run of Mk2Ds. No a reason not to retool though.

In my case being taken as a child to see both steam and diesel trains, it’s not a preference for BR liveries per say, rather a preference for authenticity - a preserved loco should only be painted in a livery consistent with its current state. So rebuilt Bullied Pacifics should only be in BR liveries etc.

Very interesting, Kevin. Until now I hadn't realised there no run round loop at Little Muddle, or have you missed a bit of track?

That looks like the previous Heljan model, not the new one.

My announcement email from Bachmann with a link to the video arrived in my inbox at 08.59 this (Monday) morning! Also includes an announcement about the newly updated Routemaster tooling - four RMs at this stage, three London Red and one Leicester Confidence Bus.

Accurascale have said on several occasions that they use more than one factory, so a delay to one model does not necessarily impact delivery of another. Have they said the 66 and 31 are being manufactured in the same factory?

I have long suspected that Heljan has a policy of going through a maximum number of iterations in making tooling changes at which point - presumably on cost grounds - no further substantive changes are made. So the accuracy of the final CAD and the ability of the toolmaker to turn that into an actual model is critical. As you say, some models are absolute crackers and other leave something to be desired. The will and the knowledge, with Ben, to get it right is clearly there, so there must be something we don’t know about that has a negative impact on the final versions of some models.

J7213 is 55021 Argyll & Sutherland Highlander and C3874 is 55012 Crepello

Love is a minestrone - 10CC

J2945 is interesting. Other than the fact the passengers would have had to put up with a DMU all the way from Reading to Birmingham (I'd simply wait for the next loco hauled train), it's the first time I've seen a Reading based Pressed Steel Class 117 unit with a fourth coach added - and a Met-Cam with non-suburban seating to boot.

J3702 is 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier

The line from Dieppe used to pass close to my aunt and uncle’s house near Gueures. In the late 60s there was still a goods train most days from Dieppe that went at least as far as Luneray. One day my cousin and I were offered a cab ride in what I suspect was a 63000 but we turned it down. We were only about 7 or 8 though.