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I use 0.3mm styrene Square section. Either pre painted and stuck with thinned acrylic varnish or paint if I want to keep the paint job, or else liquid poly if I don't. Note the little bend at the front. I skimmed off the moulded gutter over the cab doors and sanded carefully beforehand.

Many thanks. I have a pipe dream of incorporating into a larger layout one day, when I have a little more spare time.

Well the new model makes for a bonny 86/2: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/164738-nifkins-bridge-tmd/&do=findComment&comment=4737865

I wasn't quite happy with the paint job on the new 86622 from Heljan, and on reflection it was slightly out of era for me, so it got converted to an 86/2. Some of the roof detail didn't survive the paint being stripped as it is delicate and it had been firmly glued in place at the factory, so there are some Hornby roof details in the mix. The tail lights were another tricky area, as the red lenses were stuck firmly in place, unlike the 86/0 where they just push out. However some little piece of styrene tube held on with acrylic varnish helped to mask any damage caused trying to remove 2 of them. A bit of a challenge, this one was, but I'm pleased with the result. If I do another one, then I'll overspray the existing paint job, having rubbed off any tampo printing.

I see. That’s a shame, I was hoping they had the moulds.

The Tunstead to Northwich ICI hoppers behind a 25, 40, two 37s or two 20s. Absolutely scared the bejesus out of me as a nipper, but wow! Unfitted freights on Skelton Junction in the dead of night making their distinctive high-pitched squeal. My Mum giving me electric shocks on Navvi Road station. Banger blue electrics at Piccadilly Station. How they looked and the sound they all made. That is what I love about it all.

I've had some transfers peel up at the edge, sometimes when varnishing. Most frustrating when the respray has got that far. Decal fluid and acrylic varnish don't always go together too. I have toyed with painting the stripes using thin masking tape, but get a good result with the transfers. Your 43 looks well worth the effort anyway.

I remember those trains well. I lived near Navvi Road Station and Skelton Junction, and they were a regular feature of life when I was growing up. The earlier 25s and 40s scared the hell out of me when I were a nipper, I tell thee!

Regarding InterCity livery, I use transfers for the red and white stripes, laid over a gloss varnish finish, and using plenty of decal fluid. It often takes a few goes, and sometimes I get one just right and it then goes and sticks to my finger and comes away, accompanied by some colourful language. Once in place and dried, copious amounts of satin or matt varnish is applied. I’m currently working on an executive 86, but noticed Fox Transfers do the curvy end stripes for the HST power car, so may just look for a cheap Lima 43 to do up.

There’s some great stuff on here. Nice to see someone else doing what I enjoy best, but with a modern twist! The 69 is best. Ace stuff!

I know, I’m a little gutted that I missed the Dapol re run of them a few years back. My 86/3 has a Sommerfeldt pantograph on a Hornby base, and I too was impressed that it just dropped into place.

I experimented with the very finest grade wet and dry I had on 404, as I was overspraying it anyway. It was 1000 grit, but rolled into a tube and rubbed carefully over the number removed it. The executive dark grey is a precise match with Railmatch dark grey if you do need to paint, and varnishing over the transfers will hide the abrasive marks. The RFD version with the blue roof’s darker grey upper band looks to be bare plastic, though this is not obviously apparent, and it still makes for an excellent finish.

It's underway. I'll post the results on my thread when it's done.

I think the bogies are as near as damn it the same good enough for my eye, looking at pics on the net. There is some bracing on the bogie under the flexicoils that is visible on a couple of 86/2 pics but most do not show it due to the lighting. We need all the surviving runners together at an open day! There are errors in the cab windows and bodyside grilles on the earlier 86 that have been rectified on this model, so I prefer this one by a long way. Plus the paint job isn’t quite right on 622. I am definitely thinking of how to get an 86/1 easily without leaving a a set of expensive spare parts. The windscreens and headcode boxes are the main difference, plus I don’t think the 86/1 underframe parts are in the same layout as an 87. Perhaps a hybrid of the older Hornby and Lima models, and I have a couple of spare Hornby bodies. A class 81 is also something I ponder. There’s one on here that someone converted from a Bachmann 85.

You need to be a stickler in this day and age! Or so I keep telling myself!

It wasn’t a particularly good advert for the county of Gwynedd, though at the time! Greyfriars Bobby had wierd pointy black windscreen surrounds for much of its life, but it carried the more conventional style as well, as reflected in the model. It does look good!

At the moment, I can’t see a visual difference. The 86/1s had the bogies that were destined for the 87, and I think they were briefly numbered in the 86/2 series, so that may be where it came from. Anyhow, my eye is untrained in that area, so will scrutinise more pics after work. I do remember the bogies being converted from the original AL6 bogies at Crewe, where they attached the flexicoil mountings in much the same way as an 86/2.

I’ve not managed (yet) to find a definitive comparison. I can live with that if need be as they’re black and dirty, and close enough. Converting the 86/0 to a 2 would be a bit of a challenge, though. Edited to add, it looks closer to the 86/2 bogie than the Hornby 86/2 bogie for what its worth.

I sense some proper cranks working for them.

Yeah, I was squinting at photos of the real thing for hours. Fortunately the yellow panel is a good match for Phoenix Precision Signal Yellow (Pre 85 (I think) warning yellow). The white cab roofs end too high above the doors too. Another thing I’ve addressed.

I have a proper soft spot for cans (and forties), so I’ll grab what I can and make it right!

The thing is, as hopefully I’ve shown, it’s not an insurmountable job to get them right. I’ve had mine less than a week, and 2 have been rectified. These would have been easy things to sort throughout the processes leading up to production, and there are lessons to be learned by the way the likes of Accurascale engages with its customer base. Nevertheless have really enjoyed tweaking mine, and a more ambitious blue early-to-mid eighties 86/2 is in the offing.

Same with the executive one, hence my partial respray. I grew up with early Hornby and Lima locos that were pretty awful out of the box so you had to learn how to make them better, and the Heljan 86 is a much better starting point. I do think Heljan’s signoff process often misses key details, perhaps they need to employ the services of a good rivet counter! On reflection, my 622 is a bit out of era for me, so I’m wondering about backdating it and respraying it. Banger blue or executive livery (perhaps with the fuller yellow end) and maybe turn it into an 86/2 ahead of the next Heljan run. 86218 Planet was one I remember from the mid 80s, though this needs work to remove the lower door handles.

Well here’s one anyway… https://youtu.be/DPf8JBX5JFQ

That would be an ecumenical matter!