Monkersson

The only people to blame for secondhand prices, are those paying the prices asked.

I fully agree. I enjoy building kits, even though I couldnt match the fidelity of detail on rtr releases. The whole experience of seeing the parts come together always gives me a sense of satisfaction. However if an rtr model was released that was significantly better than a kit I'd built, I'd probably buy a rake of rtr to compliment my kit built versions if I wanted another rake that is. My interest lies in 70/80's stock.

I sent an email asking what was on a sheet of decals Modelmaster offer, I did get a quick reply (this was a couple of years ago), with the answer 'buy a pack or 2 and find out'! My order went elsewhere

Good video and great to see others actually modelling rather than stressing out because they cant get the latest release. Too many older models get forgotten about as soon as an upgraded version is announced, though that is great for people who like modelling!

Halfords Camo Brown sprayed over the rails and sleepers is a great start for well weathered trackwork

Some of the people I've seen wearing the sunflower lanyards, catching covid would be the least of their worries, I base this on a woman I know. She refuses to wear a mask, and bought one of the lanyards. She is adamant that all the masks sold contain covid and will slowly kill you (despite also saying that its all a hoax). She'll proudly tell you that as she stuffs her face with McDonalds and Greggs crap all day long.

They do look good, can they be taken apart to change the glazing/add an interior?

Rock Island in the yellow nose era, Utah Railway and Amtrak NEC when they still had E60's

Cant wait to see the livery on your HST that you've saved from the scrap line

I use AK Interactive white putty, doesnt appear to shrink at all and can be cleaned/smoothed with water

Is the dead spot at the frog with no short circuit? If so it could be the frog wire isn't wired up correctly, or has become detached You would be best to look under point at the wiring to see if anything is loose

Thanks Ben, much appreciated Im thinking of a northern cross country route, that could justify the RevolutioN Mk5 TPE set and the LNER Azuma on a diversion... Getting rather upbeat about it, when I look at the costs of modern stock I baulk a little, but when I factor in the upgrades that I do to 4mm stock to get them to the way I like then some times its not much of a difference at all! I know virtually nothing about current/recent formations though, so that's a big learning curve for me - do Cargowaggen bogie vans still run in revenue service? M

Many thanks for the confirmation!

Hi All Apologies in advance for the long post... I've been a dyed-in-the-wool 4mm modeller for as long as I can remember (40+ years), though I also dabble in German & US HO. I'm working on a 4mm layout at the moment and whilst I enjoy it, I feel as if I'm just doing the same thing over and over again with each layout I make, and I do feel my interest waning. My layouts have always been urban end to end (apart from the supersonic ovals as a kid!) not any longer than 10ft, set in the mid 70's. With my latest layout, I'm modelling a different era (late 80's/early 90's) to see if that increases my interest, it does, but not enough I feel. I'm rather envious of those with continuous run layouts, my modelling room just isn't large enough for one (11ft by 5ft) Over the past few months I've been looking more and more at N Gauge/2mm scale layouts, there are some absolutely superb ones on here, and the latest one I've seen, Bluebell Summit, has frankly blown me away (its Andy Y's fault for pointing me to it). I'm being more drawn towards starting something in N but I do have a few questions! The type of layout I'd like to build is along the lines of a double track main line with part of a passing loop, or branch junction, set in the last 5 or so years, in the countryside, a 'watching the trains go by' layout. New scale, new stock era, new type of layout. In the scenic section I'd like to use the Finetrax products - flexi and points, they look relatively easy to put together and, to me, look so much better than Peco's track (which I happily use in 4mm and would use in the off scene sections), so the first question would be: does modern stock run fine over scale track without changing wheelsets? (Stock such as Dapol 66/67/68, Dapol/Farish/RevolutioN wagons etc) and does anyone have any experience of the Kato 800 on Finetrax? I've read a few reports that the Dapol 68 derails on curves, is this due to the coupler being mounted on the chassis rather than the bogie? My plan would be to use a simple hook/loop system as there would be no shunting involved, so I'm hoping that would overcome the problem if its due to the mounting location. In a break from the norm for me, I doubt I'd use DCC, can anyone recommend a DC controller that would suit the motor types found in recently tooled stock? All I have is an ancient Duette! I think that's all for now! M

I think the fans on the real 50's are yellow if I can remember correctly

We don't know Bachmann's overheads or profit margins that are resulting in the high rrp for this unit, I do hope it sells well for Bachmann's sake. I think we'll see units coming from the smaller, newer entrants to the hobby, Accurascale and Revolution - the latter are offering OHL units in N (complimenting the Farish 319), and their pricing is keen Im hoping for a 303, 304 and 314 from someone in 4mm at some point!

We get your point, you experienced poor service and found the prices too high. Plenty of people are very happy with Gaugemaster's pricing and business model. Their prices cant have put you off too much if you bought a loco from them though, why didn't you go elsewhere for a better service and price?

Totally agree John!!! Going way back to 1990 or so I wanted the Lima Dutch livery Class 47 but I couldn't afford it. I bought a cheap airbrush that fitted onto a propellant can, used the Humbrol paints that I had lying around and sprayed up an old Hornby 47 myself. Most certainly wasn't the best job but it gave me the confidence to keep trying, and I'm very happy with the results I can now achieve. Now I don't bat an eyelid at respraying something to get what I want (I'll never bleat on about a manufacturer not release X product in Y livery)

For a good conversion, with a good paint finish to match the other vehicles I think you'd be looking around £200 for a blue/grey coach, less for a plain blue or green.

I personally cant wait for shows to return, both as an exhibitor and a visitor. The main thing I miss about shows is the social aspect, chatting to other exhibitors, visitor and traders. Really miss that. I don't miss the soap-challenged characters that appear at shows (on both sides of the layout/stand!) My only concern is wearing a mask for long periods of time, I find I struggle a bit after 20 mins or so, but Im willing to give it a go! Im my opinion the only people who should be refused entry are the anti-vaxxers and covid-deniers - they'll soon tell us who they are! We all have our opinions on both subjects, that need to be kept to ourselves.

You could always buy one of the previous releases and have it resprayed, it would save any disappointment if Hornby get the colours wrong/printing details wrong, or if it sells out before you get a chance to order it. Supporting our cottage industries too...

The phtotos in the following link, although for a 26/27/33 will help as all HJ loco's are essentially the same under the shell http://www.penbits.co.uk/Content/KitDocuments/Content/Helj33Final.html The circuit board is held in place by 2 rectangular flexible pads, mid-way on each site, the board can just be prised off without disconnecting the wiring. Take your take and make sure you have very good lighting to help line up the spigots on the shaft with the sockets on the bogie towers

Its a Model Rail magazine commission, rather than a direct Heljan product, any updates will be on the relevant thread

Great video, thanks for uploading! I particularly liked the passing MGR, a seemingly endless rake of wagons, and the overtaking 47 on a parcels train. A lot of realism there. Not forgeting the OLE of course!