brushman47544

The translucent grey discs (TGD) were fitted to both cabs initially, then the small marker lights started to be fitted (from around 1983) at the No 2 end, retaining the TGDs at the No 1 end. I would be surprised if any 47s still had TGDs at the No 2 end after the headlight was fitted.

Do you really mean dominoes with headlight, i.e. the back headcode panel? Or with yellow panel? I can't think there were many 47s with dominoes and headlight - wouldn't dominoes have been replaced with the yellow panel when the headlight was fitted? Either way, I think the opportunity for further BR blue locos has been lost for the time being. We've had 47012 and 47435 in BR blue with dominoes but without the headlight with the new tooling, plus 47001 with yellow panel without headlight and 47625 with yellow panel and headlight with the old tooling all relatively recently. What are "missing" are green with SYP and Sercks and green with FYE and Sercks, which liveries I would expect to sell better than some of the later ones we have already seen on the new tooling. But Bachmann seems to want to produce more liveries at a time at present and choosing winning later liveries to go with those two seems more difficult. Not for me but perhaps in NSE blue that would have been seen on Anglia, Thames & Chiltern and West of England (W-E) services?

The first eleven FKs 13476-13486 went new to the ER, but that’s all. No TSOs.

Bachmann does seem to like celebrities, which I presume it sees as something different that reflects the popularity of the actual loco. Whilst that probably still works for limited editions (around 500) I’m not convinced it’s the right approach for standard runs. You want people to buy multiples, so they need to be easily renumbered in standard versions of liveries without names etc., giving the most flexibility. There have been lots of calls for an original WR namer in green or blue, which I would buy, but when Bachmann produced D1677 THOR in green with FYE, it had red-backed nameplates and modelled its short stay at SF. Why??? Guess what…it hung around (though it was DCC fitted).

But Bachmann produced another celebrity rather than a standard version and wasn't 47365 Diamond Jubilee a late production with the previous tooling and that hung around? So I wasn't particularly surprised.

Based on responses so far, plus allowing for a few ditherers, a limited edition of about 20 models would sell out :-) As for darker NSE, you're never going to be able to please everyone so i would go for the common livery application with a shorter nameplate and no crest, making it easier for people to change identities without leaving visible marks. Me... I'll pass on any livery later than 1980s Large Logo and/or with an orange cantrail stripe.

The last two Mk2b BFKs in service were 17109 and 17107, both being converted to Royal Train coaches - 2920 and 2921 respectively - in 1986/87. I don’t think the Mk2b BFKs were ever formally allocated to the Waterloo - Exeter sets; in the early 80s the WR had a few mostly Mk2b sets made up of First Class coaches only that were downgraded to Second Class and used on Paddington - West of England trains such as the Class 50 hauled 10.27 Paddington to Penzance and 10.50 Penzance to Paddington and related workings.

Don’t think I’ve seen SF grey roof 47s with ploughs. Presumably too warm in East Anglia to bother with them.

Exactly BR Blue, indeed the nickname grid was in use before 56056 was built, so that can’t be the inspiration. Anyway I think we done this to death now. Sorry RBE to have highjacked your thread.

I wouldn’t trust anything of that sort just because someone has stated it as fact on the internet. Doing a search just now Safari suggested the “grid” was fitted from 56056 onwards… I’m not suggesting anyone else’s view is wrong, but the panel on the front of the cab is the horn grill - it doesn’t remotely look to me like a grid - and at least in the groups of enthusiasts I frequented “grid” was always understood to come from the bang plate, which is in the form of a grid, because it was so unusual and stood out as different on a British loco.

They were called “crackers” for some reason which long escapes me. They were awful to sit in unless you had short legs.

25198 would fit the bill for me. But for ordering, both have the same product number #2543A…

C5066 looks more like 47004

I can’t recall either but perhaps the window surrounds were executive dark grey? Definitely not blue.

Find the River - REM

That open wagon is labelled SR, but surely a delivery from Cadbury in Bournville should in LMS wagons…

I throw mine away and I don’t even know if that type of plastic is recyclable. Think of the environment :-)

ISTR when the first two 25s arrived Phil was quoted as saying there were thousands to be sent out - far more than ever produced of the 24s - so it wouldn’t surprise me if there were still (fewer) thousands still to be despatched. I’m lucky in that I’ve received my 25324 and am very happy with it. The retaining screws were slightly loose and fuel tank had become detached, but nothing was broken and it reattached with ease. If all the 25s have similar production quantities, Phil and Jamie have a mammoth task ahead as they all arrive. I hope they can get on top of it but I can see people defecting to Bachmann if their versions (I’m sure we’ll see more than the two announced so far in the next quarterly announcements) are as good as or almost, and are available pretty much immediately.

Anyone, especially if in the EU, looking for Mk2Bs, I’ve just received an email from ModelBahn Union in Germany saying that they have them in stock. €69.99 each plus postage of course.

They look useful. Hopefully they'll be with my banana van order even if it will sent from Dublin (IRM). Since we're talking about Accurascale boxes, can i just say that I do like the fact that they are getting smaller. The box each Mk2b comes in is perfect, whereas the Syphon boxes are slightly larger and take up more storage space.

Ah, that makes sense. I was thinking of a catalogue in the context of the Hornby and Bachmann annual affairs with a reasonable validity. I would not be amused to be given or worse buy such a catalogue only to discover much of what was in it had already sold out. For me that is totally counterproductive.

J5418 is 87019, not 87025. J5417 could be 87025 if you have transcribed the details incorrectly.

Well I for one didn't even know Accurascale had produced a catalogue, let alone a printed one. With models selling out to pre-orders and some in double-quick time, it must be a nightmare to keep relevant - I can't imagine Accurascale would want to issue an updated catalogue that was full of models that had already sold out. that wouldn't go down well with potential customers looking for something to buy.

That's an interesting photo and clearly shows that the Heljan model lacks the eyebrows above the cab windows, which join in the middle on Brush built locos but have a gap on Crewe built ones. The Bachmann model reflects the Crewe built locos in that respect. As regards the curvature from the cab doors forwards, you can really only see how the difference between Bachmann, Heljan and the real thing head-on, not from a 3qtr view. For me, Heljan's narrows too much and this puts the whole front out as other aspects are correctly sized. But at the end of the day, as long as you are happy with what you've paid for that's what matters.

The Mk2a used alongside the Mk2b on both WR services and later Waterloo-Exeter were always WR allocated and went from Blue/Grey to early (lighter blue) NSE to darker NSE blue. They were based at Laira/Eastleigh. I presume the Kings Lynn Mk2a sets went to Paddington for the Thames & Chiltern fleet to replace the NSE Mk1s there (and also perhaps to Northampton-Euston cobbler sets?). I can’t speak for differences in the dark blue colour on the prototypes, unless down to where they were painted? Ilford perhaps for the Anglia ones?