andyman7

They sold through the entire first batch and the second batch have now passed the period where discounting is limited so a few places have them at around 25% off - hardly a fire sale. Looks-wise the Heljan 25 is great - a convincing leap ahead of anything previous, and it made it to market years ahead of revised Bachmann and SLW. So as far as I can see it's been well worth doing, and at £150 it's going to remain a contender. I'm certainly planning to keep the Heljan ones alongside my awaited SLW and Bachmann purchases. As far as the original Bachmann version goes, I did obtain this 25/0 that had been made out of the first release Bachmann 24, and refinished it in BR Blue as one of the few to gain the livery whilst retaining full skirts and original exhaust - the beauty of this being that the skirt hides that hideous false underframe

I think 3D prints might be the way to go as there still seems to be a complete absence of a range of UK streetlamps, the Bachmann Scenecraft ones being the only ones I know of that look British rather than international. There were a number of distinctive designs, especially the CU or Stanton concrete posts which were everywhere at some time but have almost completely disappeared in the last 20 years.

Just like 47s back in the day. We'll miss 'em when they're gone....

When setting a back to back for Triang wheels if refitting them to the axles I always aim for 14.1-14.2 mm for running on modern Code 100 set track

Time to add all the other fittings back - I'm missing one windscreen wiper which the donor model had lost, so I'll have to tackle that at some point. I will add a little light weathering to the roof and exhaust port but I'm really pleased to have a model of this variant.

Although I have a large boxfile of decals acquired over the years I didn't have any Rail Alphabet 'D's so took the opportunity to order a complete set of loco decals for D5165 from Railtec. The only shortcoming on the sheet was that it included 7 electrification flashes but D5165 needs eight as it had three on each end, so I had to borrow an additional one from another sheet. Then the process of adding in other details including the 'translucent' section of roof

The boiler grille needs plating over to reflect D5165 which is the chosen subject; Railmatch Rail Blue and Yellow were the colours used. Nite the way that the yellow extends down the edges of the skirts on this body variant

Here's the model as acquired and after stripping:

I have a 'thing' for Class 25s as I remember them well from the London end of the WCML in the 70s and 80s. These days we are well served with RTR models but the sheer variety of body styles, modifications and variations mean that there are all sorts of opportunities for modelling. One variant not yet modelled at all by anyone in RTR is the Class 25/0 - essentially a Class 24/1 body style with only one underbelly tank and (in real life) with the uprated Sulzer engine. This body style included a 'skirt' as built; Bachmann reflect this on their early Green livery Class 24s and omit them from the blue ones. The biggest weakness of the original Bachmann Class 24 and Class 25 models in my eyes is the 'false' underframe under the body that is absent from the real locomotive (the newer ones correct this error). I like modifying models but am a bit of a tightwad when it comes to carving up £150 superdetail models so when I acquired a neatly done Class 25/0 conversion from one of the earlier Bachmann 24s (with correct style headcode boxes having been very neatly added) I was eager to add it to my projects pile. However, early non-yellow end green is far too early for my memories or modelling period. However, the wonderful DerbySulzers website not only had some decent images of 25/0s in blue but revealed that at least 3 of the class had received full rail blue whilst retaining their full skirts and the original exhaust ports for a short period. https://www.derbysulzers.com/25015.html

The Airfix moulds have been to various places, for many years after Haldane Place closed the kits were made by Heller in France. Nowadays most Airfix kits are made in India but there are other locations that get used (occasionally UK as well). Making plastic kit is vey different to making an RTR loco, the process consists of moulding, breaking down the sprues to 'box' size (newer moulds generally have the frames set to the box size to aid this) and boxing with instructions and transfers. There isn't the skilled assembly and soldering requirement so kit making is still pretty well dispersed across the globe. Frankly if you need some screws and they're 99p shipped 'shopping around' is likely more effort than its worth

The Triang ones would have been test shots but shouldn't have left the factory. I remember a factory visit to the Margate plant in 1984 where in one corner they were grinding up unused Scalextric bodyshells to stop them 'leaking' out of the factory. There are tales of the 'back door' trade in Meccano and Dinky Toys out of the Binns Road factory in Liverpool when industrial relations were poor and times were hard

No, the mainline brushes were simple cylinders and didn't have the taper like Hornby/Lima. The springs tend to end up quite compressed in a Mainline motor but are quite long before fitting. I've still got a original replacement brush and spring set sent to me by Palitoy in 1982...

47901 is a perfect candidate for some actual modelling, whether your start point is a £35 Lima model or a £200 Bachmann one

Ooh yes I remember that Wembley show. My friend's father was on one of the stands there promoting SEEP point motors - he was one of the founders, having helped set up the operation when the H&M works shut down in the early 80s. I can remember going round to my friend's house and seeing SEEP motors being soldered up on a workbench. Gaugemaster eventually bought the design - I wonder how many people know that SEEP stands for Sandown Electrical Engineering Products. names after the Sandown industrial estate in north Watford where they were based?

I'm awaiting a sound fitted SLW25, when it's ready it will be ready. I am slightly amused by the 'I must have SLW, it's the only acceptable one' comment. When the Heljan one came out there were comments that it was a bit pointless with the SLW one 'imminent' - well I have 4 Heljan ones and whilst I've no doubt that SLW is a better model and that the Bachmann one is likely to be good as well I'm really glad that I've had a couple of years of enjoyment from the Heljan ones. Frankly, for me they are first RTR ones to actually capture the look of 25s out of the box. Then again, being a child of the 70s, I'm pretty used to adapting what's out there for what I want in terms of D&E rather than banging the table and demanding that my needs are served.

Looks like a bit of wishful thinking from a house clearance seller

The latest version of the Bachmann E-Z command can do up to 28 functions. I know many would turn their noses up at it but for a small layout with a few locos, if you're not into resetting CVs etc it's a simple bulletproof design. I have an earlier version I picked up for a song that I use on a test track and despite its limitations as a tactile piece of kit it's really good. https://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/80824/36-502-Bachmann-E-Z-Command®-Plus-Digital-Command-Control-System

Absolutely. I've reached a point where I can offset a whole myriad of losses to a pretty good extent by careful sale of stuff I don't need or want through regular clearouts. I also try to get better prices when I sell things by ensuring that they are serviced and work properly. But as for a business, it's decidedly negative, which is why a need a real job (on which I pay very real taxes) to fund it all!

It's because the rules will start being actively applied for the upcoming 2024-25 tax year

The Triang R152 Diesel Shunter was made for many years in green with the early emblem so it must have been true 🙂

Sorry, I meant that they encrypt the buyers email address. Like you, I use the Royal Mail Click and Drop site rather than ebay and as you say that also allows the opportunity to correct errors in the buyer's address (I am amazed at how many people seem to be quite sloppy at entering their address details!).

No, it's a Royal Mail service, not Parcelforce: https://www.royalmail.com/sending/uk/tracked-48 https://www.royalmail.com/sending/uk/tracked-24 I've found that Tracked 48 is pretty reliable for two day delivery

If you want it properly tracked, then it needs to be sent using Tracked 24 or Tracked 48. Paradoxically, these services are actually cheaper than the Post Office Signed For service, you can enter the buyers contact details (which are provided by ebay in an encrypted form that can be copied into the order) and they automatically get notifications when its on the way and due to be delivered as well as full tracking. There are still sellers that insist on using (and charging for) the inferior 'Signed For' service but the Tracked services are the ones to go for.

I do like the Hornby (ex-Lima) 101 so it's good to see it issues again. One oddity I've noticed is that the motor bogie frame has a NEM socket but the other bogies retain the moulded on 'D ring' coupling. Upgrading those bogies so that the couplings could be easily altered would be my next choice of upgrade for this model.

Lovely wagon builds! As something of a KItmaster/Airfix enthusiast its' worth pointing out that Airfix did not take over the Kitmaster company, nor did the latter go bust. What happened is that Rosebud, having overextended itself with their railway plastic kits, sold the tooling to Airfix and withdrew from that market. They carried on with the Rosebud dolls and other sundry products before being taken over by Mattel. Indeed, if you are lucky enough to possess any original UK market Hot Wheels cars from the late 60s, you will see the maker's name as 'Rosebud Mattel', although the cars themselves were made in the US or Hong Kong (the latter normally provided the UK stock). It wasn't long before consolidation saw the final closure of the Raunds facility and whatever Rosebud DNA remained was subsumed into Mattel. Here's a 1968 Pathe film of the Raunds factory making Rosebud Mattel dolls: https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/55852/