exet1095

The triplet has now had the bodies painted with Halford’s aerosols and the roofs done with an old tinlet of Humbrol from the 1980s. The black bits, touching up, lining and glazing and the interiors to do, all before going back to work on Monday!

RFO bodyshell assembled. The roof join was a pig, which is why I was procrastinating in the first place. I need to build an underframe too, although I do have an interior!

Thanks for your advice Darius. I have finally started work on mine, along with its companion TO. The RFO is still lurking in its component parts, but hopefully getting this far means that I will stop procrastinating and get my triplet set built, just in time for Hornby to bring out a version from their Coronation Scot tooling… The door hoods will be added separately in future! Paul

Nope. It’s in Garsington, in Oxfordshire. Garsington Opera is now at Getty’s old place, Wormsley Park, which is in the Chilterns. It moved there after Leonard Ingrams, its founder, died, and the house was sold.

A vote for the 2021 from me. Industrial service into the 1960s, passenger service (including auto-fitted) into the 1950s. Open cab, closed cab, various bunkers and even bells and spark arresting chimneys. Last month’s ‘Bylines’ to illustrate my point. Paul

This has got to be the largest number of typos in any single post on this forum. The legibility is not helped by the poster’s (constant) use of italics either.

But both Leopard types and Challenger 2 have stabilised guns which can be fired on the move. Not so the T55. Paul

Could the OP kindly correct the spelling in the thread name to “Barnstaple” please? Many thanks, Paul

Nice looking CVRTs. If I may add a little feedback, as a Crew Commander of these wagons: You’ve put a fuel jerry can on the back door the Sultan. Not a great idea in real life. It should be a water can. Additionally, as these are designed as wagon loads, the GPMG would not be mounted in transit. I hope they do well, Paul

I had a great afternoon at Statfold today; many thanks to the organisers, and to all of the volunteers who provided such a warm welcome. Paul

Only Padres are excused weapons training. (In fact, they are forbidden from handling them). Quakers could be conscientious objectors, but once in, you are in, and you do as you are ordered. Basic training will have involved skill at arms almost every day; one thing that has not changed since the Army was first raised.

Let’s have a look at some of the gauges you have painted on your models…

I saw dark blue and “87” on an oval plate. Huzzah! An 009 Garratt, I thought… well done to them, even if it is actually a GER tank engine.

I flew back from Prague to Birmingham in a Bulgarian Boeing 737 which belonged to an airline just like that. The whole crew were an extended family, and they only had one plane. The business model was to step in to provide cover when scheduled airlines had to deal with broken-down planes etc… The plane was elderly, but fine, and the crew were great. My compatriots returning to the UK after a drinking holiday in Prague, less so. Meanwhile, what a great end to the show, although the filming must have been early to catch Blenheim so empty! He was also heading the wrong way to go back to Oxford! Paul

As Clive Mortimore said, when talking about the British Army, it’s better to use our terminology. Across the world, units using tanks use different formations, different vehicles, different tactics, and even different numbers of crew per vehicle, so it makes no sense to assume a homogeneous type of armoured unit that is comparable with one in any another army.

Battalion? That’s an infantry word. We have armoured regiments in the British Army.

Looks amazing. I have now assembled most of the bits to produce an LMS restaurant triplet, using a Mainline BG and three Replica TTO bodyshells for the two open coaches. I am interested in the use you made of the Olfa cutter; I will try to find one before I get started. Paul

One taken by my 11-year old son as the train roared past Thrupp, both engines with safety valves gently lifting.

Looks good, speaking as someone who has spent far too much of his life rattling round in a Series III Rover. Just a couple of points on the rear, if I may: The vehicles should be fitted with rear bumperettes (one on each side). All military Land Rovers also have a NATO tow hitch in the middle of the rear bumper. The hard top’s one is missing, and the soft top has part of a two-part civilian ball hatch applied (presumably present on the ex-Army vehicles you look at). The hard top also has a rear footstep. These were sometimes found on 110s after 1990 or so, but I never saw one on any of our SIIIs. Finally, are you going to fit mirrors? The original ones tended to be replaced with Defender types from about 1990 onwards. I hope this is helpful, Paul

Thanks - trouble is, the cost is more than what I paid for the whole BP set… And delivery is in months.

Almost untouched, in its original box (with Super-4 track). The flanges are massive - much bigger than the AL1 or Hymek. The B2Bs are the same on all three.

Thank you, but as the motor bogie runs beautifully, I’d like to keep using it. The issue is the size of the flanges. I have an AL1 which I managed to get going today; it has a very similar bogie, but with different sideframes. The wheels are also knurled, but have ever so slightly smaller flanges, and so it (and its contemporary Hymek) run without issue. Actually, my wife assumed the AL1 was sound-fitted as the wheels do make a roaring not dissimilar to that she used to hear at the Liverpool Street buffer stops in the 1990s!

Thanks, I’ll call them tomorrow. Paul

I wonder if anyone is able to help? I have just acquired a mint Blue Pullman from the early 1960s. It runs beautifully on the rolling road, but the knurled wheelsets will not run through code 100 points. There was some earlier advice on replacing the driving wheelsets; but the suppliers mentioned seem to have vanished. Does anyone know if there are suitable replacement driving axles available to drop in? I am not sure I have the tools available to knock wheels off the axles and drill out coach wheel centres to fit those… Many thanks in advance, Paul

The Light Gun is there to be used by light forces, dealing with contingencies, not trying to smash today’s equivalent of Third Shock Army. Minimal heavy kit and manoeuvre… Anyway, it’s neither an AFV nor a tank, so OT for this thread!