Kenton

No experience with Ace but this is usually a very good warning sign. Especially if it leads to major components not fitting. The etches should be reworked when reducing to a smaller scale as the calculations of thickness, etched lines, folds and their relation to the final orientation of the folded component need to be revisited. It should not be just a straight reduction of the drawings. But most importantly it depends on the quality of the originals. Tab and slot construction should also wave a big warning flag - though not be exclusive - again it depends on their use, positioning and quantity. I always think that any any set of etches that "may require significant fettling or additional part scratching" or has "near useless instructions" has no valid right to call itself a kit. It is simply a scratch aid and needs to be identified as such. However they do obviously make up into good representations and so probably should not be totally ignored - it all depends, as always, on whether there is an alternative and how good that alternative really is.

Welcome back and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to you. The GW Models rivet punch is probably the nearest "modern" equivalent to the Leakey and does a very good job. The rivet table is a bit restrictive for 7mm work as it has very fine control and requires quite a bit of resetting in the clamps for large areas of brass (tank sides, tender sides, etc).

Will machine this cut acetate sheet, say for glazing ? It looks like it has great potential for those of us who don't particularly like applying pressure to a scalpel blade. Does the cutting mechanism blunt quickly on paper/card ?

Possibly (there is always going to be one!) but the arrangement of shed yards were more often based on the process. To minimise conflicting actions. The process of fire drop/ash removal/cleaning was usually undertaken when the loco was first brought on shed (following turning). It then being sheded or stored under power of residual steam. Engines would then be cleaned again and watered and fired before coaling and sent on duty. (generally) A quick look through a few yard layouts deems to have the ash plant on a separate road from the coaling plant. Though there may well have been examples where the constrictions of the site and access may have resulted in different arrangements.

I wish to add my congratulations to everybody who made the effort to start something - because to me that was the whole point of the competition. Of course the extra congratulations are due for those that finished (well finished enough to offer themselves for voting) and to those with prizes or even just placings - an excellent display of modelling expertise. Well done. Oh, what and when for 2011 ?

Because ... well it is all explained back at the start of the thread ... and besides 12a would have just been plain daft

I just fail to see how any particular layout can be defined as a "cliche" and the GWR BLT possibly least so The cliches tend to be those plonk on the layout cameos that seem to get everywhere they probably never were or are repeated on every layout when they were a rare sight. Some like the whitewashed cattle wagon example may simply be lack of research or an ill defined period for the layout (also running a particular loco that never was in that era - just because you like the look of it) others might have validity like empty wagons - they did exist - these are all really simple mistakes or "its my layout I'll run what I want" so should not be heavily criticised they are no worse than the whole idea of running trains round and round in circles. There is nothing wrong with a cameo when it truly fits in to the theme and overall appearance of the layout and when it is done well.

another bid war gone to unbelievable limits £72 for an old w/m kit OO van built (dubious claim that) bent running board, no handrails and still unpainted. Isn't this kit still available? I'm sure I've seen one somewhere recently.

I think (I hope) that is a typo or a decimal point is missing £149.90 ? and as for the fishplates - following what we have seen on RMWeb with folk unable or unwilling to switch on a soldering iron, perhaps pay just over a £1 for one to be prepared for you isn't that bad.

Sure they might be rare Alan Gibson but at that price I should start considering a loft clear-out followed by retirement to some sunnier aspect. It is not only AG kits going for very high prices ATM, DJH and just about anything is going for way over the "normal" odds. I think there are an awful lot of sellers out there who will be happy this Xmas ... or is it the buyers who are clicking away while drunk on Xmas spirit ... roll on the January re-sales

First let's stop this myth about wiring "for DCC" wire the track correctly then it will work. Wiring a double slip is no different for DC than DCC. A double slip is essentially 2 points back to back and should be wired following the basic rules for wiring any point. Insulate the frogs from the rest of the track world and power them from the point switching DPST Run a dropper from each stock rail (you will note that being back to back points they share the same stock rail.) I can't think of any good reason to use insulfrog points so I certainly can't think of a good reason to use "effectively" 2 of them.

RMWeb Topic

Is it just me - but I get the feeling there is an awful lot of over optimistic Buy-it-now prices around ebay at the moment. Some of my regular searches seem to be coming up with multiple hits, far more than usual, but they all seem to be buy-it-now with prices that are far in excess of their normal worth. I guess it is an attempt to make a fast buck before Xmas. Hopefully after Xmas all the unwanted gifts will go on to pay for the usual over-indulgence.

NO, please don't start someone new to trying to get a chassis square on the "how to get sloppy holes that never line up" method. Use a reamer - always to open out holes.

i would like to second that point and make it more emphatic. You say that running quality is highest on your list of must haves. Yet it sounds as if you have not put a running chassis together. There are two very distinct parts to loco kit building 1. The body - this requires soldering technique, and the refinement of adding detail. 2. A fully functioning and smooth running chassis and motion - this requires more of an engineering skill. The DJH kits are quite good at providing all you need for (1), this one being no exception. Their chassis, have on occasion left much to be desired. Especially if you wish to go EM or P4. An 0-4-4 chassis requires very delicate balance to operate well and getting that weight distribution right can make the difference between a loco that moves smoothly in both directions and one that does not move at all.

Well I guess I'm getting so used to topics on RMWeb being replied to by posts that generously include photos of the prototype especially if something is in preservation. Despite Google's world encompassing answer to everything it is still not quite the same and you do have to filter out some of the less useful stuff. Still, I guess if I could be more determined bothered interested I could have looked it up as well - but thanks for the search link anyway. I rather like the look of this model and have one on pre-order - despite my normal reluctance of things RTR. Still, it will be the first for well over 12 months.

That Rover looks particularly fine and the castings crisp - how well did it go together? Has it the ability to pull anything other than itself around the track?

Yes, the VAT is quoted as included £13.11, (@ 17.5%) so sounds like a pre-order would be a good move with Hattons usual guarantee on pre-order prices. Oh and there is a (small) photo of the "grey" model in Jan RM pg74 and must admit surprise and disappointment that there have been no photos posted of the preserved ones on this thread.

The GW one looks pretty unmarked to me, and I'm sure someone will know how to remove the decals on the others - to respray one in blue* - just because they like the colour and really like the idea of one on their layout. (* red, yellow, or any other colour of choice) to suit industrial use

A lesson well learned ages ago. I find that a well focused search frequently fails to bring up the goods - usually because the seller is unaware of the gem they have and just lists it as a "toy train" or "kit". The only real bargains to be had are those gems that are poorly listed by those sellers unaware of what they are selling. Then to get one up on the others scrabbling for that same bargain you have to be in early with the first and highest bid (within reason) hence all my searches are restricted by "time newly listed" within 24 hr but are otherwise pretty vague and tend to exclude things rather than include.

No I use Carrs blackening - or simply a light painting - you realy only need to lose the shine. I'm sure gun black would work just as well if not better. I also use the base plates and can confirm that using them you can go down to Radius 1. They do seem to lose the "delayed" uncoupling feature at such severe curves and especially through reverse curves. So good planning of uncoupling magnets is more important. I'm another of those who also batch produces the couplings. Although they can be a bit fragile in transit, I think all the alternatives are worse, they are so easy to bend back to alignment and do not require the exacting standards of some of the others AJ's especially

That and the inertia of changing. Once you have committed every item of stock to whatever system of your choice, the idea of changing them all again for little overall gain makes you a vehement follower of the one you first tried. Of course you could always adopt a Kadee - quite realistic for coaching stock, but they are not exactly smooth operating or unobtrusive. BTW blackening the hook and bar is essential on S&W and makes them invisible to my eyes.

Actually that is very unfair. Probably out of all of the ones mentioned they are probably the most reliable and easiest to set up. They will go down to a much lower radius than the rest especially if the 3mm version is used - though can still buffer lock. Possibly the most important thing is they are delayed release so you can uncouple over a magnet remote from the dropping point.

Wasn't Weymouth another station where the pilot was also frequently used as a banker to get departing trains full of happy holidaymakers up and through Ridgeway Tunnel?

Well it IS blue, what more do you want?