jessy1692

Wow! With 60 kitmasters you will be able to make a fair few rakes up, also they'll make into great models with that flush glaze and to me they have a little more finess than the triang ones.Keep us posted when you start work on them, will be great to see the results. Cheers for the feedback on mine, the lounge car is just a bit of fun, very much in the if it looks about right then it is right camp. Its really enjoyable chopping these up too, slightly addictive as iv been up early researching other options to bash. James

Well I havnt got much done over the last couple of weeks, time just seems to vanish. I was up at the bench today and was in the mood for chopping things up. I have been collecting up old Hornby coaches for the last few months to chop about so cracked on today. 1st up was a BFK which fell together pretty easily: After that I had a go at a lounge car, basically an FK but with converted compartments on the toilet side. My Dad came up with the idea as we gave some spare blue pullman window strips kicking about and the lounge car looks about right for them. The Hornby carriage was chipped about to get the correct windows in the right places and then I cut a slot for the trimmed down Blue Pullman window strip to sit. It's not perfect and not quite dimensionally accurate for the windo spacings but looks OK from 3ft to us. I'm leaving everything to go off fully over night and hopefully tomorrow evening I'll bob up to start filling up the gaps and tidying up. Lots more to do on these, roof vents, end details, new bogies etc but I'm pretty pleased with how they look so far. Also lowering the ride height and moving bogies in 2mm help massively. Cheers James

It is amazing at what they are achieving down at BH on this. Having been a follower for a long time of their efforts and reading their book and posts I doubt they have had many sleepless nights. The work already done and standards they have set themselves strike me as an extremely knowledgeable and highly skilled group, so all decisions I'm guessing will have been thoroughly calculated. One of my favourite bits is the new engine/gen mount with the deltic triangle lazer cut in to help show the exact centre line. Great little touch to show the engineering skills off a little. I'll have to get down BH again soon for a proper look. Cheers James

I think I read somewhere if DP2 was taken off the deltic production it was around number 17 or 18 off top of my head, however, the works build number doesn't add to it being in the deltic sequence. Having said that I'm not sure if works numbers were allocated until completion, also EE probably were building locos for all corners of the globe at the time as well. I'm sure I put the info on a thread somewhere... I'll try dig it up. Cheers James Edit, found it:

Brilliant news! Order going in now for Barber! Looking forward to this one, no rush, i completely understand you have your job and do this in-between and I'm very grateful you put your time and skills into making these kits available. All the best James

Sorry chaps, my dad was out at lunch time and I didn't have keys so will grab it and scan it tomorrow all being well @cheesysmith & @SteveyDee68 Keep you posted James

Ah well, as it was a test it obviously had a very heavy rebuild at somepoint, a demonstrator for class 50 styling perhaps?

Cheers Steve, I'll see if my dad is about a lunch time today to see if I can grab it to scan in from work this aft. Keep you posted

No probs, it may not be until next week as iv a wedding tomorrow so I'm thinking Sunday will be a wright off. A super western you say! Now there is a future project, iv got 3 super hymeks so will deffo have to do a super western now. Here's the blue super hymek, iv also got a green and maroon one somewhere. One day Ill enquire about a sound chip with double MD870 sounds on, lots of room for speakers.

Evening Clive, it's one of the 1st models I really hacked about a few years back now, it's a lima 50 with Lima Deltic roof added in with some extra grills from a Lima Western planted on a Lima Deltic chassis. All made up as I went along but based on an outline drawing of the Class 50 style super deltic It's just recently had a railroad 59 power bogie fitted In place of the Lima pancake, infact the side frames are actually white metal cast 37 ones from Dave Alexander I believe with A1 models Class 50 cab steps. I'll try grab some more pics next time I'm up at the bench, it's still sitting on the fuelling road penned in by TEA tanks. Cheers James

You can't go wrong with rail blue, iv even managed to get the 'feature' wall in the front room at our new house very close to rail blue... The S Kits bits arrived a couple of months back now I think, I do recall we sent a cheque off and waited for a couple of weeks until the bits appeared. I have the current product/price list somewhere if you'd like me to scan it in Cheesy? Cheers James

Cheers Jon, feels good to be clearing the myriad of wagons off the bench and get them into service. Hopefully Barber will be along soon to fill the next production slots! Your D20 does look very good, always liked the elegant style of them. Cheers James

Cheers John, the Javelin should be red and white but I accidentally sprayed it silver! Picked up the wrong can... it was a Polish kit I got cheap off ebay so I'm not too worried it's wrong. The lightning is a revell kit in desert sand livery painted to the instructions (I think!), however, the varnish has turned very yellow from being on a windowsill for a decade so it looks a bit off now. The Deltic is one of my Dads latest creations, I have to say I didn't think it'd look right but it does suit BR blue, I think I'd have ground off the whiskers though! Thanks for the compliments on the weathering, it's just a mix of humbrol tan and matt black daubed on and removed with a cotton bud, dead easy! Cheers James

Thanks Chris, the 'field of planes' came about only due to lack of space, I have the V force and an xb70 hanging above the layout too, the xb70 Valkyr is a monster even in 1/76! All the best James

I'm sure there is a list of numbers somewhere, maybe on here but if not iv seen them in a book. Possibly the life and times of freightliner? Funnily enough, I was just thinking this evening I have a suburban brake somewhere to be painted grey to go with my flats, think it's time to dig it out and let my guard ride in that rather than the caboose.

Iv managed to move a fair few things down the production line since the last update, I had a fair bit of time spent over the weekend trying to get the desk cleared a bit to get going with new stuff. The grey PWA that has been hanging around for a while finally got its bogies made up and fitted. I had a bit of a transfer session Sunday afternoon so got the numbers and trussing lettering done, only bits left to do is find the missing buffer head and add the yellow axle box covers then itl be a couple of washes over the underframe and bogies and it's ready for varnish. The curtain sides are having similar yellow axle box treatment. The Cambrian mermaids and catfish were lettered up on Sunday as well, these have been dirtied up and just need couplings and they are ready to join the engineers fleet, I do like the gulf red I mixed up and have a shark kit in a box that will end up red once I build it. The PVV is coming on, first coat of grey has gone on the body this evening, this is railmatch later Freight grey I think, looks close enough to me and should darken up with a bit of weathering. Very much looking forward to getting the transfers on and this van at the head of my cemflos. Finally, the TEA tanks are coming on, 3 are now just about ready for another coat of primer now the new roof walks and bogies are fitted. 3 more are still on the go, need to order some more bogies and maybe another roof walk etch or two. I'll be making my own transfers up for these, just need to bribe the other half to get her to put her photoshop skills to use again. That's about it for now, iv been gathering info on 47 901, very much looking forward to getting going on locos again after a good 18 months mainly pratting about with wagons! Hopefully I may be chucking a 009 narrow gauge project into the mix soon too. Thanks for looking in James

Excellent stuff! Just after pay day too, perfect. I best clear the workbench off this week! All the best James

Hi Melvin, Shawplan do etches for just about anything you can think of for the Bachmann deltic, loads of choice to upgrade a lot of areas. For the buffers though I'm not quite sure, I re used some ancient metal oval headed ones I had lying around and added Shawplan tread plates and inspection plates. Hope this helps James

Latest smallish update from the bench, the APCM van is getting there now, roof cut down and glued on, will need some filler after an a light primer coat to show up any bits that need fettling, the roof joint in particular will need some filler. The TEA project has moved on a bit, I have started on the SKITS roof walks, quite impressed with these and quite simple to assemble. Having said that the etched hand rail which is part of the end tread plate etch is VERY fine, I managed to break one off with very little effort so I think I'll make some more robust handrails myself. Pic below showing the upgrade from the Hornby moulding, well worth the effort. Should have a free ish weekend coming up so hoping to get a few projects closer to finish so I can get going with a couple of things that iv been meaning to start for a while, 47 901 or possibly my PoP train kit. Cheers James

A1 models do a pack of etched ladders available via ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-MM-Ladders-138-mm-Approx-long-Longer-than-the-usual-ones-we-sell-4-in-set-/143499714311?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0 Looks to be plenty available. Cheers James

Finally got back to the bench this evening for a few hours after an enforced absence due to my household either getting the worst cold in the world and the child coming down with covid.. I didn't get either thankfully but I still stayed away from my Dads house. Work has also been very testing recently so iv been knackered on an evening, such is life! Anyway, update on the APCM van which I'm very pleased with so far, I added some strapping from plasticard around the edges of the extension panels and then added some T section for the verticles and angled strips, the angled strip should really be L section but I'll live with it, the other angled strip by the door is just some flat strip. The ends of the T section will be champhered in once all is set. After I got the strapping on, thoughts turned to representing the brake gear. The brake lever was the giggest headache as its a very funny shape and bends in and out at various places but I think it looks OK and once painted black will be fine. I used some V hangers from bits of parkside kits and made up the links from plastic and some bent up wire. It's probably not quite correct but it looks something like. Finally, I have spliced two rooves together in preparation for trimming to size to fit the van, I also have some coupling hooks and vac bags to fit and I think it will be time for a coat of primer. I best get deciding on what colour I can find to look like the real things did. That's all for now, hopefully I'll get a bit of time over the weekend to push this on and get on with the TEA roofwalks. Cheers for looking in James

Have I seen somewhere someone is working on or has released a 3d printed E3173 nose cone? Your rendition does look spot on Gibbo, I imagine it was quite tricky to get it right? Also to keep the pics of models coming, here's my heavily converted Clayton to DHP1 model, made long before KR Models entered the market. Cheers James

Along that fuzzy line you have D1702-06 the short lived 'class 48's' Do they count as prototypes or a very short lived class experiment? Also the uprated class 31 at 2000hp for a time, lots of things to consider. Cheers James

It was a good day was that, where has the time gone! Hopefully they can recreate it in a couple of years, 14's @ 60.

Very much is, I'm tempted to create an anglicised version now...