Luciton St James

Bought a pair of Lima HST power cars last year to put into Arriva XC colours . For their £40 price they also came with a Airfix mk2d bso & fo. Had them sat in a box for ages mulling over what to do with them. Having seen the various reviews / complaints about the price of the Bachmann NR dbso & the half a job Hornby releases I thought I’d have a go at a NR test train doing the old fashioned way.  Not done a Airfix mk2d bso - dbso conversion since doing a Anglia one in 2001. So 9702 & 977983 OHLI coach being done. Then managed to secure a further 3 Airfix cheapies to do as 1256 PLPR2 / 72631 PLPR3 & BFR 9516. Humbrol 69 / 27 & finished with Railtec transfers. 

My dad is what gave me the bug for chopping stuff up. Back in 1980 he had a dbso fashioned out of a Airfix mk2d , along with a Hornby 47 converted to a class 56. He was always one for chopping stuff up / conversion jobs / detailing the old Lima - Hornby models up & it continued right up to me starting to gradually take over when we did a 442 Wessex electric in 1989. By the time 2000 came along a 325 , 2 321’s & another 442 where the books along with a 57. Added more dbso’s / mk3 dvts, bfo’s / PCV driving cars etc from a mixture of MTK kit parts etc.

I stopped with the hobby in 2003 & then returned in 2014 & since with the increasing costs I realised that to keep the railway as areal time operation that almost tuning my back on new tool models was the only option / go back to the old ways of doing things to keep it affordable / interesting , so for the past 3 years I’ve been doing various jobs of repaints / conversions / kit builds to equip the layout with a modern fleet in the latest colours - sticking to a Northern / ScotRail type scenario. The Lima/ Margate Hornby models have been brought in to do it , had a trip back in time to do a GNER mallard mk4 set / GNER Jouef Eurostar & a GNER class 89 kit. The 88 being a fitting return to the bonkers ways of chopping up a locomotive to produce something that rtr will take a lifetime to get round to. I eased my way back by doing another PCV conversion out of a spare Lima mk1 bg. The 88 is a big ask in every dept but I stuck to the Impressionism approach of going for a convincing look rather than chasing shadows of ultra accuracy. The jobs are not going to win any prizes or get the model press calling , but I do hope they show it can be done on limited funds / stuff from the scrap box to produce a overlooked look loco type that essential for the layout shifting the Tesco boxes & automotive set

So after a 2 & a bit year gap & with 88002 proving to be a indispensable part of the roster with the Tesco train & automotive set, with a spare bodyshell to hand thought it was time to add a second class 88 in the shape of 88007 Electra. So a weeks worth of work has got me this far , few changes in method from 002 

So far so good with the GNER ‘mallard’ mk4 set. Apart from replacement wheel sets the coaches are complete. All painted up inside, figures added , painting / transfers etc all complete. Used Fox transfers for this. Got a matching class 91 underway , it’s 90% done just awaiting GNER logos & OH designs etch brass frets for between the bogies.

Cheers , I’m still mulling over the keen drag boxes etc. The set we have , have had all the weights removed , Peco plastic wheels fitted & one hook removed from the ‘91’ end of each coach to eliminate the cross coupling. The 91’s we have all run with Lima class 87 power units / pick up bogies. This produces a lighter but far more reliable locomotive / eases up the spares as we have a lot of Lima locomotives / not many Hornby ringfields, most of the 86’s have Lima 87 motors & the 90’s are being converted to cd/ dvd motor drives.

My little boy requested a ScotRail Inter7City HST set for Christmas. Bit of a short notice job off his Xmas list , so set to work to source a Lima HST power car / dummy. Just not in the position to buy the Hornby ones so got a half decent pair off eBay for £40 to paint up / use the Electra Rail vinyls. Rainbow Railways make the steel blue shade. One aspect of this project was keeping it a secret from him, so time was at a premium. I would have chopped up some Lima mk3’s but again not enough time & lack of sensible priced coaches to convert. So bought some brand new Hornby mk3 sd coaches from Rails who where knocking a few quid off / free p&p. All told it cost £84 to do the Lima power cars. All our other HST sets are Lima power cars & Hornby coaches. Nice little project to do. The vinyls are meant as one piece , but I decided to cut them into the 2 main slabs & let paint the rest. Altered the exhaust baffle to suit , driver / paint the cab up. The coaches are the first brand new Hornby coaches I’ve bought since the then new scale length GNER mk3 coaches  they issued in 1999. Dear Lord , what are those couplings & cast wheels all about? Bachmanns multifret bar couplers are in order & im still deliberating over new wheel sets. Shame as they are the usual nicely finished Hornby paint job etc. 

My little boy who is 9 is a big fan of the IC225’s / 91’s , we have a InterCity liveried set that I’ve had since Nov 1990  . He’s a big fan of the GNER livery ( it is a class corporate look) , he’s been badgering me for months about doing a GNER mallard set & luckily a week before Xmas a super cheap set of 6 coaches inc a dvt & a class 91 was aquired. Started the task of altering the coaches to suit. Done a fair bit of cutting / filling / sanding to get where we are with the TOE / TOD / SV / PO (d) & the DVT , made a start on the class 91 chassis by cutting off the incorrect drag box shape & making a new one from milliput. It’s probably a given that Hornby will be making new mk4 coaches , but nonetheless I like old fashioned railway modelling / chopping  / altering the old Lima / Margate Hornby gear.

Many thanks for all your kind comments. I was asking Bachmann about spares & they stated that a pantograph would only be supplied as a spare if a bodyshell of the model it came on was ordered, which is about £50 min for a 350. Sommerfeldt ones are about £26. I must admit I’m pretty much past caring about what Hornby / Bachmann announce for new models as they just seem to be going through the motions / remakes / retools , same old same. The wheels I used for this are Bachmann air braked wheels & Alan Gibson axle cups. Couplings are sparkler wire bent at each end that locate into holes I made in the bogies , makes for closer coupling. I am on YouTube as Luciton St James. Just lots of 1-5 min videos of the layout / stuff running round , don’t do waffle / reviews of models. Layout is mostly made up of Lima / Margate Hornby / Jouef / Roco / Airfix / Electrotren. 

They’re nice kits to build. I used a Lima HST as I had a spare motorised chassis spare. Hornby class 153 parts look as though they will work quite well. The one issue that does afflict these models is getting hold of pantographs. They’re designed to take the Hornby class 86/90/91 pantographs , at one time when Hornby when Margate made would supply them as spares , now it’s very hard / expensive to source. The one I used is a spare off a Jouef Eurostar &some odds & ends out of the scrap box. The one thing I’d do differently for the next build is to paint the cab fronts inside first before sticking them on. This is the first Bratchells kit I’ve built since the resin mk3dvt back in 2000,  before that it’s been Cambrian kits BBA/BAA steel carriers. Hopefully 2021 should see a 319 / 769 in northern livery get built. Got a 3d print 323 on the go at the mo that’s a more long term project. 

A update on the class 323 kit build project. So far so good. 3 weeks since the kit arrived & im

further on than I thought I would be. The bulk of the painting is complete & it’s onto trying out various chassis / mechanisms to get it working. Hope fully the etched window frames won’t be far off & it should take on a whole new look. 

I’m currently in the midst of building one of Andys 3d print class 323 kits. Arrived 3 weeks ago & so far so good. All arrived safe & sound , bodyshells are the EP test print ones & the halves went together very well, super glue & milliput. Decided to put her into the latest Northern livery , humbrol 130 satin & some DRS blue ( nyon a full tin left over from the class 88 conversion job ) Trusty mix of Lufthansa yellow & trainer matt yellow for the ends. Had some res grey left over & lightened that down a touch for the roof. Pantograph is off a Jouef Eurostar / 3d print insulator pots off a guy on Facebook & some plastic card. It’s been a nice build so car &it should produce a great looking model. I was going to do a 319/769 but the 323 jumped the queue. 

While the class 88 awaits transfers & a chassis sourcing , its onto another missing item in rtr. Always liked the 323’s & so when I saw these on eBay ( from the same bloke who does the 313-315 & 507/8 units) I thought for these test prints it was to good to pass up. Not done a 3d print job before so now is as good a time to learn. She’s destined for the northern ( croquet hoops) livery

Class 88 project continues.  Added a few transfers , had enough black numbers to put 88002 on the fronts & she’s officially on the roster. Put the shell on a class 68 chassis for her first run out on the layout. Hopefully should be able to get hold of another 68 to then give it is own proper chassis. First impressions are that it gives a convincing look.

   The conversion of a Dapol class 68 bodyshell to a class 88 continues. Tin of DRS blue arrived so made a start on what is going to be the trickiest part of the project which is the livery. As far as I’m aware there are no transfers or nameplates for a class 88 , so this will be a longer part as I source & mashup what is available for other loco types. So far so good with what has turned out to be a enjoyable return to old school railway modelling. 

Been wanting to build a new emu for quite a while. Last was a class 325 back in 2001. So took the plunge with a Bratchells class 320 & decided to put her in the ScotRail Saltaire livery. Nice kit to build , powered using a spare Lima HST power bogie & pick up. 6 packs of Railtec mk2f bso transfer packs to craft the livery together. Definatley be building another Bratchells kit , hopefully a class 319