Pete Piszczek

The obligatory shot down at the shed... D8401 Ardley Bridge Sept 2013 b by Pete Piszczek, on Flickr

We are supposed to snip the Bachy capacitors off when we fit DCC, correct?

Not sure where this "rare as hen's teeth" is coming from, you can still buy the Class 22 from a couple of major retailers, and the Hatton's 10000/10001 is still available in those liveries that have been delivered... I will agree that the Heljan Western's will become even more readily available, I have some untouched models that are going to get flogged to the highest bidder, I suspect I'm not alone in that regard.

I believe the main problems were out of tolerance bushings on either side of the worm with a number of duff motors thrown in the mix...

There's plenty of shots with the skirts on, here's fully skirted: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24041160@N02/6652110623/in/faves-45603744@N06/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/5596077402/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/5596077406/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/5367941510/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/5727144676/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/5596077406/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/5410073393/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertcwp/2728616506/ And missing a section or two: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johngreyturner/3923618684/in/set-72157622720375618 http://www.flickr.com/photos/59835095@N02/6260767746/ I suspect you are looking at locos with skirts on, and thinking they are off?

I doubt the price would go down that much, and what about those of us who like the lights, they look fantastic at night. As for them being too bright, depending on what you chip them with, the lights should be dim-able. The Lenz silvers I have in my locos allow me to adjust the brightness by changing a CV value. You can't see the light in the daytime, but there is a wonderful glow at night. Great for photography...

The Simmons-Boardman Cyclopedias, loco, and car volumes, then after 1966? combined volumes, are very useful. The car builder Cyclopedias are basically what the engineering staff at the various railroads used to order piece parts or whole freight cars. Passenger cars too, all the hardware you'd need... They can be pricey, but if you are patient you can find them at reasonable prices. I have a few 'pedias from my decades of interest and they get used regularly. Another reference that is a real gem is the Popular Picture and Plan Book of Railroad Cars and Locomotives. Although this might sound like a kid's book, it was published by S-M in 1951 and has all the choice steam, diesel, passenger, and freight car photos and plans from the Cyclopedias of the era. If I was to get shipwrecked on a desert island, and only had one book, this would be it.

Would that 2002 book be The Heyday of the Scottish Diesels? Title Page 6121/32 Grangemouth Sept 1971 Page 40 6112 Cader April 1971 Page 44 D6107 Crainlarich Page 45 D6103 Monnessie Gorge April 1968 Page 46 D6103 Fort William April 1968 Page 47 D6129 Corpach April 1968 Page 48 D6129 Locheilside April 1967 Page 63 6112 Dundee Tay Bridge August 1969 Page 66 6116 Friarton Shed August 1969 Page 69 6132 Grangemouth September 1961 This is a fabulous volume, all color, really is a nice addition to a library...

Pick-ups in the tender- Bachmann, No?, Hornby, yes? That's worth paying extra for...

The Hatton's LMS Twins seem to already be in the delivery queue, the Western seems to be fast tracked (should sell really well), and there's Kernow's D60X that are billed for early 2012. Considering the way Dapol has asked for feedback on the Class 22 and 52 CAD plots, and we haven't really got to this stage with the D61XXs, I'd suspect we have a ways to go...

Thanks, I know it must seem like a thankless task at times, but I'm very grateful we have subject matter experts trying to coax the factory into producing better models...

Do you suppose they will go to the trouble to get the bottom edge of the yellow panel the correct distance from the Sherwood green?

I used the photo in post 228. Do you suppose a railway would have vastly differing horizontal center to center widths for buffer spacing? Regardless of whether we were speaking of a wagon or locomotive? You obviously have no experience measuring photos to derive dimensions. Have you ever accurately measured something from a photo? There have been magazine articles written on the subject. And please don't tell me that unless it is an absolute frontal shot you can't use it to derive dimensions... Again I offered objective numbers to either support or disprove the individuals that are stating that the box is too small. I'm not taking a position either way right now, I happen to like what I have seen of the model, I just don't care for the suggestion that I am tossing numbers out on a whim. These sort of discussions should be constructive...

ar·bi·trar·y Adjective: Based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system. Not sure how random choice or personal whim has anything to do with using a fairly standard dimension off of wagon drawings... If you have a better buffer to buffer dimension for a Baby Deltic, then by all means offer it. I was putting forth something objective, as opposed to more subjective, "I saw a photo once and it looked fine to me!" We ought to be able to rationally discuss the model without individuals getting offended.

FWIW, the box should be about 21" vertically, or in 4mm that would be 7mm high...

Using a photograph, and assuming a buffer to buffer width of 5'-8", I calculate the head code panel to be 48-1/4" wide, or in 4mm scale about 16.1 mm. Anyone care to measure the outside edges of the box, horizontally? Mine won't arrive for weeks... To be fair, earlier Heljan locomotives had minor paint issues too, yellow panels that should have ended inside the irons, but extended too far out, etc. Of course it is nice when the error is too much yellow, it being fairly straight forward to plop some green on top. Did I mention someone needs to produce a sound chip? Heck, I'd probably be satisfied with a Deltic on one engine, you can always have the chip reblown if something better comes along...

Whoa there, take a deep breath, relax. I wouldn't bail just yet. The full yellow fronted ones do look entirely different from the half height yellow locomotives. Amazing what some paint can do. Compare the Heljan front end to these photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmc1947/5863824769/ What really makes the Heljan model look odd in those front end photos is those under nourished head codes. The font should be much thicker.

DROOL! We need a sound chip!

In more than one photo of different locomotives it does appear that one of the horns is installed at an angle facing outboard... Maybe this is the arrangement is on the Co end, while the Bo end has them both facing in the direction of travel? http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/

Go to flickr, then start searching for D5701, D5702, etc. you will find scads of photos. Quick search turned this shot up, horns are new and clean, they show as white orbs about where you thought they went... http://www.flickr.com/photos/8050359@N07/2162892710/

It is most likely caused by impurities, but Hornby has never acknowledged this. With Chinese quality control, this problem could rear its ugly head on any run from any manufacturer using mazak for the chassis. If you read back on some of the older topics you will find several dissertations on this old problem.

Heljan did the two tone Class 27 a few years back, and yes there are a few problems paint wise on the model. Heljan did D5382, but D5380 was also in this livery. The area on the cab ends between the upper edge of the windows and the rain strip should be gray. Heljan painted these green. The grey should in fact extend under the head code panel, granted it is a very fine line here. This grey extends around the side and the top of the doors are in fact roof gray. The yellow warning panel is also too wide. The vertical edge should end just inside the lamp irons, on the Heljan offering the vertical edge extends past the irons. The green on the body side goes up too high, by maybe 1mm. The bottom edge of the vents along the cantrail should be grey, they are green on the model. Care here, if you come down too much with the gray, you'll hit the top edge of the radiator frame, which appears to be green in prototype photos None of this is hard to fix, and if you are going to weather it, your sins will be forgiven. The two tone unit is an earlier model with the older wheel sets, if you pick up a second hand one, do yourself a favor and replace the wheel sets with the newer plated ones. This is my favorite Class 27 livery, it is very smart!

Actually, I was the guy that was terrified that there would be wrap around windows and the later era models would have ill fitting window-post plugs. I'm actually quite pleased with D5705. Haven't had it apart yet, but it is a lot more "polished" then I expected. Basing that comment on my Teddy Bear and what was required to make it fit for purpose. Hattons has improved with this offering, credit where credit is due. Two external assembly niggles on the one delivered here, one of those dozen rectangular vents on the roof is glued on at an angle, it will need to be sawed off and reattached. Not quite sure how the factory managed this, there are locating lugs on the bottom of the vents, but it is glued firmly askew. The handrails on the cab fronts are pushed against the body too, probably won't be too hard to ease them out, but you couldn't get a feeler gauge behind them now. There was a very slight clicking and hesitation in one direction when I had it one the rollers, it sounded like one of the bushings that hold the worm gear in place might be on the edge of an acceptable tolerance. Rather than investigate, I just cranked it up and let it run in that direction for awhile, whatever was catching, isn't as much now, because she has quieted down. Red lights work, but no white. Not sure if that is to plan. When I fit disks, I'll probably look at some fiber and a white LED. I like the idea of fitting all the end hoses at the factory, and then letting the individuals who don't want them, make appropriate use of their finger nail clippers...