boxbrownie

The other thing is exchange rates, back in the 70/80’sI worked in Japan a lot and always bought loads of Kato, Tomix and Greenmax and came back with suitcases full, Tam Tam in Akihabara always welcomed the mad “long nose” back with open arms, but back then the exchange rate was something around 500 to 600 sometimes, which now with a 170 rate makes the models look very expensive in comparison. But you correct about the market, trying to find an HO model in the shop was like rocking hor….well you know 😁 Homes in Japan usually just aren’t big enough for an HO layout, especially a permanent one.

And yet Hornby are no way at the lower end of the price categories.

I glued my pantos at exactly the amount to clear the lowest obstruction, but then when not running mine are back in the wall display cabinets not “on shed” looking daft or failed 😉 The Hornby pantos need only the lightest spot of glue they are so flimsy.

Are you saying the AS pan will be weak and made of tissue paper? 🤣 Thats a joke BTW, better say that or the thread could go haywire, rather than OHLE wire.

I’ve used “metallic paint” T-Cut before for removing numbers, but never tried on Accurascale body finish, suggest trying on an inside bit of overspray/paint first. Very gently with a cotton bud and a tiny spot of T-Cut.

Excellent, it’ll looks so much better. They must had envisaged some really tight corners on their layout! On the gears issue as above sometimes they can be made a bit quieter by bedding in, on particularly noisy gear sets I have used fine automotive valve seat grinding paste first, it is obviously made for the job of “surfacing” and you can always finish off with toothpaste (but bare in mind a lot of toothpastes nowadays have not so aggressive abrasive properties) , as an alternative you could try automotive T-Cut.

It doesn’t seem to act as a brake buttons like the Zimo feature does, just sound presumably.

Just noticed no flange on the centre wheel set, does it really need those, just saying as when I was building a J72 (a long time ago) it had all wheel flanges and even on 36” radius it wasn’t a problem, just saying because it looks so much better.

What is amazing is how Hornby managed to get the couplings so close, I’d buy in if that was genuine……annoys me.

You could probably make it out more or less from the sleeper spacing, if the track is a known quantity. Someone will 😁

One would hope so, yes.

Hopefully it will operate on D.C. the same way as the pantos on the older LGB Locos, as you start to feed volts the panto extends before the Loco starts to move, been done before easily enough.

Indeed, even something relatively simple as a wagon can be a pain, ask my mate where I used to work (one of the biggest motor manufacturers R&E Centre)……he worked in Rapid Prototyping and we had access to (this was fifteen* years ago at least!) the latest 3D scanning and resin, sintered and PU printing machines costing hundreds of thousands, in fact I think the laser resin printer was over a million due to its size, anyway I was modelling 7mm at the time and wanted an FNA nuclear flask wagon, after chatting to Pete Waterman a few times about him making one in JLTRT, (don’t think it ever made it to production) I decided to buy the recently released 4mm Bachmann FNA, so we scanned and printed a few and they turned out excellent, after realising that some of the crucial measurements and scales would be different from 4mm….everything from the bogies down would need tweaking, my mate was very understanding but even with all the latest computer tech it took him a whole weekend of overtime 😉 to get them correct. I still have them, but unfortunately never got around to finishing them completely due to changing scale upon retirement. But it is far more than just clicking the “scale” button, my mate told me that in no uncertain terms. *edit….actually it must have been twenty or so, thinking about it 😱

So did Hornby ask permission? Or was permission covered in the show contract to use the images? Oddly my comment in the Hornby FB thread got deleted, that mentioned Hornby and copyright 😅

You’re King Charles?

But the show publicity quite rightly credits the originator.

Mrs BB says it can 😱

And if anyone does say anything just answer them in Czech 😁

I would have agreed, and in fact bought a set for my Grandchildren (they are actually here at the moment) and although they operate well and they are fun for a while the kids get bored quite soon I found, they have preferred my old LGB starter set I dug out two days ago, they keep going back to that and luckily it’s virtually indestructible, I never knew a Stainz could do 90 mph around such a tight curve before 🤣 I seriously believe the starter set is too “toy like” even for tiny kids, but for sure you and Andy liked them, especially the unboxing 😂

Aha you have visited the same factories as I have then?

putting the funnel on the keel was a rookie error though

He is not subscribed to RMWeb then? 😆

Which is why plasters come in assorted sizes.

I don’t know what the fuss is about, skim reading admittedly. I have no great, or almost any knowledge of how real railway regulations stipulate operation but I love fine detailing even down to trying to get a moustache even on a station master (and that’s getting almost impossible nowadays for me) but I still have no signals on my layout, everything else is about finished but does it bother me? No…..why should it, I love modelling not running trains to strict prototype standards, TBH I think that would be incredibly boring in as much as there would be massive gaps between operation and movements. When I went to shows it was the detail and some truly amazing feats of modelling prowess that impressed, not how well the chap driving did. All just IMO of course.

There was also a coach crash which was the result of seriously old tyres fitted, there is now legislation for a maximum age of tyre on a commercial vehicle, 10 years….but only on the front axle! Now that’s what I call stupid.