djparkins

Indeed! David ParkinS!

You mean Tony Reynaulds. Well if you look at a bill from, say, a plumber - who might charge you £30.00+ an hour labour and then multiply that by [guessing] 1,000-1,200 hours then you will begin to see that £14k is quite a good price in fact. I suspect builders like this might be working for well under £20 per hour and this is - no disrespect to any plumbers who might be reading - skill at a whole new level. If you'd have read the link thoroughly you would have seen that the £14k figure actually related to a Stan Beeson loco. Stan Beeson lived in Hangersley, near Ringwood, Hampshire - about five miles from where I grew up. We would see him driving around in his period cars which were his hobby. Much later, in 1974 I attended a lecture he gave to the Bournemouth Railway Society. He brought along several locomotives he was working on in various stages of completion, but the one that stuck in my mind was a GWR Collet tender for a King class. The tender sides etc. had still to be added but he had built a working water scoop that would take your breath away and all of the internal structure of the water tank on the tender, complete with full rivet detail. I recall him saying that it would never be seen again, but he knew it was in there and so did the customer. He also said that the best way of getting to know anything is to build a scale model of it. Later, I built many coaches for Colonel Ronnie Hoare, who could be quite fearsome - but that made you drive up your standards. Col. Hoare had a collection of Beeson locos and I was quite proud that one of my rakes of coaches got to be hauled by one of his locomotives. Seems incredible now that he sold me two axles of Beeson Duchess bogie wheels for only £9.00! They were so beautifully engineered that you could spin the wheels on the threaded axles and they would always end up with the nine spokes on both wheels exactly in line. Worth the money just to do that! Wish I hadn't sold them. Beeson was an interesting man to be sure, though he did spend too long a part of that lecture concentrating on his pet hate - which was Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid and all of his works! And in that regard only, I couldn't have disagreed with him more! David Parkins www.djparkins.com

I did enquire aboiut my order yesterday and have recevied this reply - 'We have been informed by the printers In Poland that there is a delay with the print-run of our books. They were supposed to complete the job in May, but it has now gone back to mid-June before they will be despatching them to us. They have had problems obtaining the required quality gloss paper which we specify, and we didn't help by recently increasing the number of pages from 216 to 240 in each book. We will be updating our website www.mnabooks.com in the Latest News section as and when more news comes in concerning deliveries. Our apologies for the unfortunate delay to the publication of the books.' I thought I'd post it here as it may be of interest to others on the forum.

A Big Thanks to everyone who has purchased from the remaining stocks of the ABS 43-two-1 Wagon Kits and Accessory Packs – and the Cavalier Coaches Bogie kits and Accessory Packs. Over 75% of the kits we inherited with the purchase of the ABS ranges have now been sold and a good proportion of the accessory packs too – and we have sold out of many subjects already. To clear remaining stocks here are the details of our new Special Offer Prices as of today - Any 43-two-1 ABS Cast Wagon kit for just £20.00 each [some less] and Brake Vans, Covered Vans and Twin Bolster Wagons for only £28.00! Note this does not apply to the few subjects that have one-piece resin bodies. All the remaining accessory packs in both the 43-two-1 ABS and Cavalier Coaches ranges are now offered at only £3.00 per pack - unless they are already less than that. There are offers also on the remaining etched Bulleid/Maunsell coach sides and some other items. We are offering remaining stocks of the Cavalier cast bogie kits for just £8.00 pr. Here are the links – https://www.djparkins.com/home.php?cat=348 https://www.djparkins.com/home.php?cat=351 Finally – we have an offer on one of the superb Classic Commercials kits – https://www.djparkins.com/product.php?productid=18891&cat=357&page=1 These are one-time bargains and when they are gone they are gone – never to be repeated at that price. So, we very much suggest you get all you think you might need for future projects. Happy Modelling David Parkins www.djparkins.com

I agree. Having to spend a fair bit of time lately ploughing through Adrian's research material that came with his 7mm wagon range, I keep coming across various drafts of letters to Dapol! How many of these he actually sent I do not know - but I am totally sure that [had he still been with us] these upcoming vans, and the recent conflats from Dapol, would have kept him in a state of hightened anxiety for years to come! I'll comment no further as to whether the changes we are seeing in the hobby are for the better. But with Adrian, everyone must surely agree that he, at least, left us in no doubt whatsoever of his own views! David Parkins Modern Motive Power/43-two-1 Wagons www.djparkins.com

Yes - I'm almost 100% sure that it is. I recall building one in about 1974. Some things have moved on! We were very restricted in choice back then. The Highfield kit plus 3H Wagons. Things changed thankfully, once Metalmodels, Mallard Models, Colin Waite and the ABS wagon kits started to appear.

Very sad to read this news. As an O Gauge kit manufacturer, I dealt with him over many years through Hiome of O Gauge. He ran a tight ship and was very professional at all times - always paying his bills promptly! I liked his sense of humour and would get at least one hearty chuckle from any phone conversation had. David Parkins

No - I was only interested in the 7mm ranges - 4mm is a mystery to me! In fact, I didn't even know that Cavalier did any 4mm bogie sides, so sorry I just don't know

I thought something had been announced on this forum but I could be wrong - maybe it was about the bus & tram kits. I'm afraid I don't know.

Many Thanks! DJP

Update re- ABS 43-two-1 Wagon Fittings Packs and Cavalier Coaches Coach Fittings Sets As l may have mentioned earlier we still had some pallets of boxes to go through to find the remaining finished stocks we inherited as part of the ABS range acquisition. We have now done this and have put ALL the remaining ABS Wagon Accessory Packs we have up on the web site. This includes several subjects not previous listed plus re-stocks of some of the sets we’d sold out of, and that some customers have been asking about. In addition we have some real new year bargains on certain of the remaining ABS 43-two-1 wagon kits, so don’t miss these. Also we have now been through and listed all stocks we have of the Cavalier Coaches Coach Fittings Sets on the web site. Again - some real bargains - all at the last prices in Adrian’s final listings - plus ALL coach bogies at a standard £10.00 per pair right across the range. Obviously stocks are very limited on some items and once they are sold out, that’s it. Anything then later reintroduced will be have to have 2022 production costs factored in! Regards to all DJP

Just a quick update. We have just added all our inherited stocks of the excellent Cavalier Coach Bogie kits to our web site - https://www.djparkins.com/home.php?cat=367 These are detailed and accurate [but basic] kits that are easy to assemble for anyone used to working with castings. We have kept the prices very low and in most cases all to one price - and they will be available at this price only whilst the current stocks last. There are no illustrations for these temporary offer, but most are likely to know the bogie types they need! We have some Cavalier coach fittings packs too, but these are all in boxes that are still buried deep. As we find them we'll sort them out and put them up on the site, but that might take a little time. Regards to All David Parkins

Oh well - sorry I asked! I obviously know nothing about the 7mm market. David Parkins Modern Motive Power

Well they must think there is a market for a Class 66 at least! And they will need something contemporary to pull.

Hello - Are these on the cards for 7mm? They would be good for use with the upcoming Class 66?

Well my green job arrived yesterday. At £590odd quid I'm not amused. broken buffer and bogie parts etc. No point in complaining as the replacement will probably be just the same. Seems that every time you unbox one of these RTR locos - something else falls off! IMHO they are far too heavy for a plastic bodied loco.

Just a quick update for those who are interested - We have now uploaded all of the items we currently have from the ranges we purchased from Adrian Swain's Estate. All of the Wagon Kits and all the Wagon Accessory Packs we currently have are now on the web site. We also have put up some budget wagon and coach wheels that are well worth a look. The three-hole wagon wheels are in the ABS General Accessory Packs Section, whilst the 3' 7" coach wheel packs are in the Cavalier Coaches Section. We have also put up some real coach bargain packs in the Wrightlines narrow gauge range. As we re-introduce other items from the ranges we will update things. It will all take time but we are on it! Regards to all. David Parkins www.djparkins.com

No you don't! I have ten Kemilway 7mm coach kits stashed but it was a continual struggle to get all the bits sent through in stages and many many phone calls - and this was at least fifteen years ago. I can only imagine how it is now. But it is not only Kemilway. Kit suppliers just don't seen to carry stock now. As a trader myself our stock levels are linked to our web site and we can't take orders for what we do not physically have on the shelf. Only that way can you hope to turn around orders very quickly.

We have several packs in stock. We will try & get them all listed in the next fortnight - after the wagon kits are all on. There are 1-3 of most packs and sometimes around 5-7 of some others. I cannot say if they will come back once sold out - maybe in a rationalised format - but it is just too early. Certainly not all will return. As with the wagon kits - as soon as they come on at these prices - it might be prudent to get what you think you will need - assuming we've got enough!

Just to update things - we've now added all the GWR Wagon Kits we currently have, plus a few Classic Commercials vehicles. There wasn't much left stockwise from the CC range. Have also added some Wrightlines locos. Now starting to prepare the LMS/LNER & SR wagons, and all the Narrow Gauge Rolling Stock we have, for adding early next week. Regards David Parkins www.djparkins.com

Yes I remember building Adrian's 4mm Mk.1 Suburban coaches in longer versions of those tubes!

To end the speculation I am posting a link here to our own web site about several of Adrian's 7mm ranges and the Classic Commercials range - https://www.djparkins.com/home.php?cat=350 Please note the part about us not having the time to get into discussions about individual items. We are very busy getting all the currently available items onto the sight and re-tooling out of stock ones. Updates will be made at very regular intervals as more stuff is being added every day - see the sidebar menus on our home page - https://www.djparkins.com/home.php - for the individual ranges. There are some real bargains to be had at present, as with the stock that came with our purchase, we thought we'd just keep the prices at or just below those charged when Adrian was last trading - and hopefully this will provide an alternative to some of the exhorbitant prices being suggested on a certain auction site for [in particular] the 43-two-1 wagon kits. As new production costs get applied in the future, then obviously prices will have to rise - though of course we will always strive to keep them as low as possible, as we do with our own MMP kits. For the SR Coach building fans amongst you, you might want to check this link out! - https://www.djparkins.com/home.php?cat=351 Regards to all, David Parkins An afterthought! With the inherited stocks of wagon kits you get the added bonus of addtional reading material from the scrunched-up pages Adrian used for packing. Catch up with the Radio Times and the Poole & Dorset Herald from as far back as the 1970s!

To end the speculation and to keep discussions to another area, I am just posting a link here to our own web site about several of Adrian's ranges - https://www.djparkins.com/home.php?cat=350 I shall post more details on the thread about ABS Models in the Small Suppliers section in a day or two. Regards to all, David Parkins

Agreed - but I think all the posts have been towards that end, and not at all off-topic - i.e. to encourage you and to show that it can be done without any problems. I wish you well in the build and look forward to seeing how it all progresses. Any advice you need - just ask here or PM me. DJP/MMP

Thanks Jeff - I'm well but overworked - and about to be more so! Not so - the mineral kits were introduced with individual leaf spings. It really depends on what you mean by working leaf springs, as nowhere on our web site is there reference to working leaf springs - rather individual leaf springs. If cleaned up, de-cusped and formed correctly they look so much better than cast ones and it is interesting to see that at least one other producer of etched wagon kits has followed suit. Obviously they cannot be working leaf springs in the truest sense of the word, since you cannot scale mass. But they do enable free movement of the horn block within the W iron, thus keeping all the wells on the track. Regards David