andyman7

"Rail Blue" looks as varied as any other color between two items of rolling stock which have been painted at different locations and at different times then have had different exposure to daylight, washing plants and acid strengths. There would be a limit to acceptability but to define that limit may be an extremely subjective and personal decision.

Hence my original comment that the colour looked washed out rather than wrong. It does very much remind me of the rather sunfaded look that rail blue/yellow would go after a time. I do rather suspect that a suitable semi-gloss varnish would bring out the colour a bit - but as my layout is in bits and I've other projects on the go mine will stay as delivered for now!

In which case it's possible that a coat of suitable varnish may provide the necessary lustre - has anyone had a go at this yet?

I asked Harvey at the Hobby Shop in Faversham to put a blue one of these by for me a few weeks back, but then had a despatch confirmation from Kernow - I had obviously placed an order when this model was announced several years ago and forgot about it. Anyhow, The Hobby Shop's price is £105 which is considerably cheaper than both Kernow or the well known Liverpool box-shifter. I've obviously honoured the Kernow order (and they are owned by a former colleague of mine in the rail industry so I've plenty of goodwill for them), but if you want a bargain one, Harvey has one more for sale (he's fine about it as his shop gets a high proportion of my model spend.

Anyhow, first impressions are good, albeit the blue and yellow are somewhat washed out in shade - but my impression from photos is that the WR hydraulics suffered a lot of bleaching to their colour so it actually looks OK!

With their up to date stock control and large turnover, Hattons can flag if an item is going to sell out and adjust the price upwards (i.e. reduce the discount offered over RRP). They clearly feel that this version is going to sell out and are ensuring they don't give them away. They are a business after all!

I think there is a clear distinction here between Hornby's attitude to individual customers and their corporate approach to forums such as this. For example I wrote to Hornby direct re the Class 31 issue and was personally dealt with in an entirely satisfactory manner quite a long time before the offcial remedy, when the official stance was still 'on the fence'. Here, we have seen an individual approach acknowledged by Simon and remedy offered, but the general discussion seems to have been dismissed. Bachmann seem much more collegiate in their approach, whereas as Hornby seem fearful of any corporate admission of failure. I think they are missing a trick, but I would stop short of accusing them of contempt for customers because it is clear that they do enage with (and remedy) individual customer issues. What they don't do is to recognise and treat the (not unimportant) subset of serious modellers as a constituency that merits their own appropriately honest and open approach - and it is something that they are losing out from.

 

I'm stunned - you can't fault the seller - started at 99p. I was thinking at first it was a newbie got carried away in a bidding frenzy (score of 13 as I write) but the second place bidder had a score of 140+

 

I guess some people will pay lot for the right transfers (decals)?

As I sold one of these a few months back for nothing like this I'm stunned - but a quick look at the bid history reveals normal bidding up to £51 and then two lunatics slugging it out. Rails stuff also sells well because there is the added reassurance of main dealer service and security!

Lovely - another model that I would have eaten my own grandmother to have when I was a kid, so I've only waited 35-odd years for it (but at least I should have enough pocket money to buy it when it comes out!)

I pointed him towards the Hattons website for the fix...easy to reconfigure the wiring to fix the problem.

Do you have the link? I can't find it on the Hattons site. Thanks

Fenwicks in Canterbury had them for £18, well no point arguing with them as they are a department store so I passed. Tried Modelzone in Holborn today. Firstly he said they didn't have them. I got him to check the stock, 2 in stock. He still couldn't find them, eventually I found them for him. Prrice £17.99! I said that the RRP had been revised downwards but the guy said the system was down so he couldn't check. So then I asked if would price match - 'yes, no problem' - wait, no Railway Modellers on the counter, no internet, he shrugged his shoulders. No sale. This is getting ridiculous!

Finally picked my blue VEP today - although the comments are very valid, I'm still happy with it compared to my memories of 20 years+ ago trying to fiddle with MTK kits etc! One comment i haven't seen is regarding the printing of the vertical bar on the large side windows. This was an opening vent when the units were built, and although quickly sealed up, they always retained a very noticeable anti-draught flange - this is very obviously not present and is to my eye more obvious than the cab end distorted proportions.

Of all the issues raised, the most significant one is the lack of compartment internal windows, I hope this as least will be addressed when we get a blue/grey version. The only other comment I would make is that the outer card carton it is packed in is very flimsy - for the price, you would think that we could have a nice thick card box with lift off lid to store the thing in. I noticed that the second batch of CEPs from Bachmann came in a much thicker gauge of outer card box.

My blue one turned up today, definately much better looking in the flesh than Hatton's photos. Although a bit too early in period for my other BR blue locos I couldn't resist it and I've realised that it will actually go quite well with my weathered Black 5/8F/9F kettles for depicting somewhere in the north west circa 1967/68.

The pencil trick works remarkably well!

I remember these very well, I lived just up the line from the depot at North Wembley and always looked out to see if one of these block trains was in the process of being sorted at the sidings. A VIX Ferry van sat in the siding as a barrier vehicle too. IIRC the very overgrown (and disconnected) headshunt remains although the depot has gone.

Whilst we'er on about yellow ends......

Does anybody know why Hornby did the last production run of the BR blue liveried 21/29 hybrid thing with a semi full yellow end? I've never found photographic evidence of an all yellow nose with a blue cab.

Given the manifold inaccuracies inherent in the Hornby model, using a fictional livery appears entirely appropriate...

Nobody else seemed to think it was worth £200.00 either

Ludicrous starting price but does contain the rather interesting '3 part pre-formed layout' that Hornby made in the late 1970s which if started at a realistic price (like 99p!) and properly described would sell

I've followed this guy before, he buys up "Ltd Editions" from the likes of Modelzone, Model Rail etc and puts a third on... simple business model!

 

To be fair I've bought a couple of items from him when I've been desperate and the service has been very good.

 

Glad I snapped up my TPOs for the list price of £30, moral of course being is that if something you fancy is a "Ltd Edition", buy it asap....

A quick trawl through his completed listings shows not very many actual sales - which I think tells its own tale

Just noticed this -

TWO genuine 2008 TWENTY pence pieces without dates

so how does he know they are genuine 2008?

Sorry to be boring and reply to this, but in 2008 the design of the 20p was changed. Part of the change was to move the date from the face to the obverse of the coin. A number of 'mule' issues featuring the new design on the face but the old on the obverse were accidentally released into circulation. They are legal tender but collectors will pay around £100 for examples - and due to the well documented history of the error, it is well established amongst the target market that these 'undated' examples are from 2008.

Hi, it would be western region BR era 1976-82 Blue and Yellow power cars.

 

Thanks

 

Nigel

Normal WR formations quite straightforward for this period - 2 x First class, Buffet, 4 x Second class, and towards the end of the period, the TGS added as a fifth Second class coach.

Cheers Sir Hadyn, is there any way to reverse these effects or are the towers ultimatly doomed

I don't know the details of the Carnforth tower, but under normal conditions a structure with Concrete Cancer would just be demolished. If it is a listed or notable structure, it could be conserved but this would be a very expensive process. Therefore we end up with the catch 22 of so many unique structures whereby their listing prevents their demolition, but the money to fully restore them cannot be found. Many such structures have survived for many years until eventually the have to be demolished on safety grounds or they collapse (e.g. Brighton West Pier....).

Let's hope that the coaling tower at Carnforth can be rescued before this fate befalls it.

I don't want to get into the Hard Jeff debate again (is he hard, by the way, would he take our drummer on in the car park, I mean what a handle!), but as I am an unapologetic defender of our mother tongue, I can't help but smirk at these completely contradictory parts of the description:

 

CLOSE TO THE END OF HER WORKING LIFE

 

PAINTWORK FADED

 

COVERED IN TRACK GRIME AND DIESEL EXHAUST

 

but:

 

IN AS NEW CONDITION

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bachmann-CLASS-25-WEATHERED-BEAUTIFUL-LOOK-/320557852805?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item4aa2bca885#ht_917wt_1137

I have to say that the 25 suits this treatement a bit more than some of the other models I've seen, my memeories of them was that they always seemed incredibly decrepit....

You're right, I travelled on it once. It was DTSO 76275 and retained the original bulbs too even though the rest of the unit was refurbished wwith fluorescent tubes.

This was always a favoured vehicle to sit in when the unit in question turned up - deep padded seats, wood trim and tungsten lightbulbs instead of formica and flourescents in the rest of the unit. Latterly with Connex South Eastern, the unit survived until the final mass withdrawals of slammers began in 2004, making it by my reckoning the last tungsten-lit vehicle in everyday main line service.

Hi,

I have some older items in my loft and i'm wondering if they are part of a Blue Pullman set? I have a triang pullman loco, dummy and coach, some old track with pointed fishplates with the name 'Marx Toys' on the sleepers and a Airfix controller.....i think i remember that when i was younger the pullman i had was a set with track, controller..etc, but as they are all different makes am i remembering wrong?! If these are all part of a set, do people want the track and controller too these days or is it just the rollingstock that is wanted due to the lack of a modern version?

Any help or info would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Ian

Unless it's part of a complete original boxed set (and it isn't if the the bits you have are not marked Tri-ang), the track and controller are worth buttons, but provided the train itself is complete and in reasonable condition it's definately worth some money with the centre coach. The centre coaches are actually in more demand than the power and dummy cars - there aren't enough of them about in relation to the surviving power cars.

HI all

Found this weathered 31 ,looks like somone has set fire to it! Top bit of weathering

Well at least it can donate it's chassis to another Hornby 31 in need... B)

It's not a fire, but I remember after the Bushey derailment in 1980, the damaged Mk3s were dumped in the sidings between the WCML up fast and the DC lines on the approach to Watford Junction. No-one was injured in the derailment but the Mk3s bore various scars including windows missing and bodyside dents. As far as I can recall they were there for around 6 months.