andyman7

I have found that a two stage approach is best adopted with the cabs located in place and glued with 5 minutes epoxy, and then a liberal interior coating of a good 24 hour epoxy that acts as a fillet and strong bond, left to set properly. Milliput can also be used to strengthen the joint.

On 28/12/2023 at 00:52, andyman7 said:

This isn't as good as any of @Darius43 's builds and has taken much longer to put right but of note is that the second-ever MTK project I acquired has finally been sorted. This came to me in an auction lot pre-Covid, a 4-REP built in classic MTK style with door shut line transfers etc, brush painted with a gloss varnish. As acquired the BFK was a mess as the chassis was cut up from Lima components and used class 33 bogies. I guess most would have chucked it in the bin but I like a challenge. The REPs of course had the driving ends powered on both bogies, so I bit the bullet and bought a Replica motorised 63' chassis with the aim of motorising one of the driving ends. Bogies for both Driving coaches came from Hornby VEP spares, the sideframes only for the powered vehicle and the complete bogies at the other end. The 'recovered' aluminium floor from the end that took the Replica chassis was used to create a floor for the BFK. Replica B5 bogies were used for the Buffet and BFK.

It was nearly all done when I realised that the BFK vehicle was wrong for a REP - the kit seems to have included a Mk1 BFK shell but on the REP the BFKs were rebuilt from Mk1 CKs so have a different door arrangement. I happened to have a spare MTK BG shell that could be cut to provide the altered windows and door. Trying to piece together a bodyside using MTK aluminium parts is a nightmare, it's nothing like as straightforward as Kitmaster or Triang plastic sides. It's just as well that the whole kit had a bit of 'patina' and that Mk1s are more compatible with filler and general bodging but eventually I was able to sort the shell and interior so that it was the correct pattern.

The MTK cast ends definitely don't quite hit the mark - had they been raw castings I would have had a go at improving the 'face' but they were built and painted so left alone.  The whole unit got a complete set of new number as the originals were in the wrong place but the other markings are vintage MTK or SMTS. And at least with the Replica mechanism it runs properly! 

You may recall my MTK 4 REP featured last year. The weak point of the model for me were the cab ends - the cast MTK versions being fairly crude representations of the BR SR standard fibreglass corridor cab ends. However it was done and other projects beckoned...then at the Tonbridge show I came across a stand with some MJT parts including a pair of said BR SR EMU cab ends....£6.50. I bought them, took them home and made them up, they are so much better than the MTK ones that inevitably with a sigh out came the MTK REP again. Anyone who has built these kits will know that getting a decent bond between the whitemetal ends and aluminium sides is not easy, but I managed to get the old ones off, clean and attach the new ones and then endure that they were well bonded with copious epoxy filleting and filling.
Well, I have to say it is well worth it, the model actually looks the part now from the end view as well as the sides, so I am pleased I went to the effort.

2 hours ago, MattR said:

Is this the one with plastic wheels and traction tires on the power bogie, or did they do an upgraded version?

Yes, that's the one and this example still has the original mechanism. The plastic wheels etc were a clear reflection that this was being built down to a price but the design was (and is) good - if it was being employed on heavy duty work I would look to replace the wheels with metal ones.

2 hours ago, franciswilliamwebb said:

Hell!  My eyes hurt after that!

 

But I guess that's Wolverhampton for you 😉

You just need to put on 3D spectacles 🙂

9 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Talking of older models, I still reckon you'd have to go a long way to beat John Philips' upgrading of the venerable Triang Brush 2, in, if memory serves, a 1970's MRC.

 

Mike.

Oh, I also have a Triang one stashed away too that someone did an incredible job with too. I'll dig it out at some point 🙂

My personal favourite layout exhibit was the one based on the RTC test track - with literally dozens of classic RTC items of rolling stock faithfully modelled.  

22 minutes ago, simon b said:

 

Thanks, but it wasn't York road. I've taken a screen shot of it, looks like a couple of layout modules possibly?

 

 

Ah yes, that's actually part of the DOGA display. It's a really nice diorama display but every time I've seen it. the person on the stand hasn't been able to tell me much about it as 'someone else built it'. Here's a couple of images from the Longfield show:

16 hours ago, simon b said:

Sadly work commitments meant I couldn't attend this year, but it looks to have been a great show. Could anyone help me with the name of london underground cameo layout, near to the Double o gauge association stand please? Just caught a glimpse of it in a show video.

I think you may be referring to the MRC's 'York Road' which is a 2mm finescale representation of the tube that fits with the rest of Copenhagen Fields in the full setup

14 hours ago, adb968008 said:

Sorry to pick up on this but what qualifies as mass market ?

 

For instance, I can only buy KR Models from 2 places, and one of them is a Canadian website.

Realtrack is also a very limited availability, Revolution and Cavalex arent much wider available.

 

i’m just interested what perceptions are… 

 

The slw 25 is so nicely wrapped, i feel bad for unwrapping it.. and thats just the brown wrap… the tissue inside is meticulous also !
so much care into each model shipped…its very clear.

 

 

I would define mass market as any manufacturer with an established retail distribution network and a catalogue of items that are available on demand for a sustained period of time. It's certainly not a definition set in stone but all the examples noted above have limited distribution although Revolution and Cavalex are somewhere nearer the border.

Accurascale have expanded enormously since their inception and some of their items are 'stock' ones but many of their current/announced items still require pre-ordering and purchase immediately on release rather than being available for a little while at least. I'd expect this to be less of an issue as 2nd and 3rd runs of items such as Deltics, Class 37s, Mk2s etc are released.

15 minutes ago, Albie the plumber said:

Agree that the SLW '25 is the top dog in terms of quality,  I have two on order .

But delivery times are slowwwww ! 

Those who can't / won't wait may be attracted to what's currently available. 

Agreed, the SLW product is the ultimate one but is simply not widely enough available to directly compete. There are a few Diesel models now where Heljan and Bachmann compete directly.

5 hours ago, phil-b259 said:

 

Every single retailer I have bough from since re-entering the hobby well over a decade ago HAS NOT 'guaranteed' pre-order prices!

 

What they have said is that if the price goes up (i.e. the manufacturer has raised the price they charge the retailer before delivery) then the retailer will allow me to cancel with no penalty.

 

If Hattons had such an absolute pre-order price guarantee then thats plain stupid business practice - its only a sensible practice where the manufacturer is also able to guarantees to never to raise their prices they charge the retailer or the retailer is able to lock in the manufacturers price at time of ordering. 

4 hours ago, phil-b259 said:

But such policies are quite different from the general honouring a pre-order price from 5 years or so ago (which with the gestation period of some models from Bachmann and Hornby was a real posability) right up till when the models reach the retailers shelf - and they are only possible because the hit the retailer takes on the profit margin is considered acceptable.

 

The situation up to about 2012 was indeed that, Hattons and other big retailers did offer a per-order price guarantee. The system fell apart for exactly the reason you surmise - in particular I recall the first run of Bachmann Thompson coaches and at least one of the Class 40s where the time between announcement and delivery coupled with hefty price rises at Bachmann's end meant that some people who had ordered years earlier obtained these items at less than trade price on release when those buying once they were released paid a lot more..

1 hour ago, chriswright03 said:

Ah I did sort of suspect that.  Can you on a Dynamis by any chance?

 

54 minutes ago, Kaput said:

Not sure but I'm fairly sure the Dynamis can only access up to F20.

Yes, functions only to F20 but they can each be configured for 'latch' or 'trigger' on the Dynamis

I do agree that in my experience Hornby's QC and consistency is more variable than other manufacturers. I also agree that rather a lot of these super-detail models end up in cabinets and a rather small proposition are actually worked hard (i.e. hauling long loads and/or used frequently and/or for extended periods.

I always check new items before putting them away, even if I have no immediate use for them. I am as guilty as others for buying things because I like them without really needing them and haven't physically got the time to ensure that all my models get run regularly; however, my (teenage) son does use his models more and through repairing and fettling those I have been more exposed to the longer term issues - for example, the lights failing on a month-old HST dummy power car. I could have returned it or sent it back but as the part was available for £7 it was just quicker and easier to swap it out myself. On the 2MT 78XXX thread I was helped to identify where to put back the bits that ended up separated from the model on a arrival - that one's a beautiful model and runs sweetly but I wouldn't vouch for it running for a long period without something coming adrift.

Hornby would benefit from attending to these issues but they are not new developments, the variation in specification, design and build quality across comparable items in their range goes back years. The VEP came out in 2010 and it has taken a fairly major redesign to deliver (in 2024) a model that at last is really good and value for money at today's elevated prices. Or take the APT - it reminds me of the British motor industry in the 70s, where those in the know would always wait for the Mk2 iteration of the model that ironed the faults present when the first version was launched too quickly with inadequate development.

36 minutes ago, Ninefingers said:

Hope it goes better than when WH Smith acquired the Modelzone brand...

Given that Rails are an established major model railway trader whereas WHSmith had no knowledge or experience of this sector of retailing (and it showed), I certainly hope so.

I remember trying to buy a model in the Modelzone cabinet of the Croydon WHSmith. It took them half an hour to find the key and they ended up giving me 20% off. I thought at the time that they weren't going to last very long in the game based on that experience

3 hours ago, E100 said:

So I have just wired in the new super-capacitors and... ...works an absolute treat. They retain full brightness for a couple of minutes after charging for around 30 seconds before they slowly die away but there was still noticeable and acceptable light well after 5 minutes. There's no in rush issue either as it draws 0.02A initially and then 0.01A once charged.

This is really useful to know. Did you just swap out the old and new capacitors noting your comment above that they are located in a different part of the lighting board on the original 2020 version? And do you have a link for where you sourced the new 0.22F / 5.5v capacitors?

2 hours ago, JSpencer said:

 

When you buy on e-bay a UK based item outside the UK, even if it is a private sale, E-bay gives you a VAT/Importation charge.

And this does not avoid you paying additional importing charges when the item arrives anyway (and a right cow to get the money the back).

I've given up on E-Bay now. Waste of time.

 

Rails does sometimes post PO on their own website which is more efficient for me.

You only get additional charges that you need to claim back if the seller does not understand how to print the shipping and Customs label. Anyone that just toddles down to the Post Office with their parcel for Germany (or wherever) won't get the specific 'IOSS' labelling that proves it is a VAT paid parcel - you need to be able to complete the postage paperwork online first.

A business ought to have this set up properly even if they are selling through ebay.

6 hours ago, JohnR said:

It should be noted that Hornby already own Corgi, this is just the model club that is being acquired - they offer limited editions of classic corgi models. 

 

I see from the reports that the expected margin of the sales is just 15% - seems low to me? 

 

https://thebusinessmagazine.co.uk/corporate-finance/kent-based-Hornby-acquires-corgi-model-club/

...and they already license the name to the CMC, are involved in the design and have the rights to use the tooling. 

35 minutes ago, 1andrew1 said:

Interestingly, the Corgi Model Club also distributes Dinky Toys although most stocks seem to be exhausted.

https://corgimodelclub.com/pages/dinky001

They acquired some of the overstocks from the DeAgostini Dinky Toy partworks to sell, they're not a distributor as such.

Essentially, the CMC has been doing more to curate the Corgi brand and acquire new customers than Hornby itself was doing, so it makes sense to bring the key CMC personnel in house to manage the brand.

6 hours ago, dj_crisp said:

 

Aaah the fun of paint matching yellow. I've kind of given up using yellows out of a tin these days and mix my own. Helps with some variety as each time they're different!

 

I had a tin of precision pre-84 yellow which was a perfect match for Bachmann yellows on post 84 stock. A second tin now no longer matches and is more lemony. Their post 84 (& railmatch) didn't match and looks more orange so I now mix my own as a combo of pre n post 84s.

 

When I was doing my pair of 70s bubbles I really noticed all photos of my 122 seemed lighter than the 121 despite being from the same period and similar repainting times.... But then again I found photos of the 122 freshly painted where the shade of yellow is closer to post 84 than pre. Weather conditions and camera trickery really makes it a hard call as to what looks right.

 

So I've gone with a lighter shade on the 122 below Vs the 121. Not sure if it's right or not but I like the difference! My photo is on a sunny day so even this looks a tad more orange than say a cloudy day today.

 

 

(I wasn't very scientific seeing as I was batch spraying so I started out with roughly 90:10 pre 84 Vs post 84 in the mix for the 122... then kept adding post 84 to the mix till I finished on some 90s DMUs 😀)

 

Rightly or wrongly I don't get on with the lemon yellows straight out of the tin.... but they're probably totally accurate Vs the paint spec!

The other big issue with yellow in the real world is that as colour it is very prone to fading - just look at photos of withdrawn locos that have sat outside for a while. So the paint colour 'off the brush' so to speak does not necessarily equate to the in-service look (my photo of 82003 dumped at Willesden in the 80s)

17 minutes ago, wirey33 said:

 

This is exactly why you should ignore all this new-fangled nonsense and stick to the simplicity of 309 items in banger blue..... ;-)

308, as D6983 didn't make it past 1965 🙂

5 minutes ago, 33C said:

Use guitar plectrums. Easy to use and you won't damage anything if you slip....

'cause you will...

These early Hornby tender tops are not like the bodies of Super detail models that need easing off a multitude of clips. There's a lip below the body that means you cannot insert shims but there is a specific slot above the brass tender-loco coupling pin that will take a screwdriver blade. It's a case of sticking a flat bladed screwdriver in that slot and using a twisting motion to release the body. In this case the Guitar plectrums won't work as there's nowhere to insert them.

It's a clip fit. The instruction sheet that it would have originally come from advises that to remove the tender body it should be carefully levered off with the blade of a flat bladed screwdriver from the end that couples to the loco.

4 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

 

That only happens with some locos, it depends how well they initially sell, which is a consequence of the manufacturer having to estimate in advance likely sales when placing an order with the factory.  Sometimes the manufacturer under-produces vs actual demand, which results in them not being available except for the pre-orders and you can only get them second hand at silly money prices on ebay.

Indeed, and if you really want something then to pre-order and buy on release makes sense. Items such as the Kernow GWR Railmotor are real 'one-offs' and I would not hang back if I wanted one. But a Class 47 is a different matter, with a much higher chance of at least some liveries hanging around

I think we're all familiar with the pricing approach these days by pretty much all manufacturers. First releases, RRP or minimal discount, those who want a specific example now or for whom money is no object will buy. After a couple of months, a better offer on some examples will no doubt appear. A little further down the line a retailer may decide to clear some stock and offer a special deal, or the manufacturer will want to move a slower selling line and do a deal with retailers. If you're not picky on the exact one you want there will be more agreeable deals to come.

I'm not biting with these right now but can see myself succumbing down the line - we may have a glut of 47s right now (as with 37s) but if your modelling period encompasses these locos there's always an excuse for another one.

On 06/03/2024 at 03:25, 33C said:

Try the Triang Dock shunter, Transcontinental diesels as well. Cheaper and more common than the 81 wheel sets.

It's exactly the same wheelset - part number X.116 if you want to search for them loose