Pixie

1 hour ago, franciswilliamwebb said:

I'm sure this is cheating, but I'm equally sure it was early "research"...

Whilst it's against company policy to talk future plans, I can quietly share we're working on the 'DEMod Yahoo! Group - 20 Years On' commemorative pack to celebrate this scene. A world first in capturing every detail of two decades worth of weathering, decay, battle wounds and odd livery choices...

...and that's just the Accurafolk figures.  

Pix

10 hours ago, Tankerman said:

an Accurascale standard model of a Class 42/43 Warship?

I believe it’s their Product Manager’s favourite class, make of that what you will.

Pix

4 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Are you taking a micrometer and tape measure with you to your new employees Pix?

Just sayin'.

 

Mike.

They both get an outing from time to time but the former isn’t the most efficient prototype measuring.

Pix

D1021 quietly ticks over at the Ropley.

Pix

Hi all, 

Long time sub-forum lurker, first time poster. 

There's a very interesting clip on Youtube  that appears to show 1630 in GFYE but retaining the lower green band on the front end. Link is here, 1630 appears at around 2:50. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRZ09mgjJOU&t=1s

I suspect it's wear on the yellow painted over the lower band, rather than being purposely painted that way, but a new one to me at least. Does anyone have any photos of 1630 that show if it was on both ends or which end had this feature? The video cuts out at just the wrong moment. 

Cheers,

Steve

A long shot, but here goes. 
 

Does anyone have a Chinese-tooled Farish 31 body up for grabs? Livery, box, glazing, handrails, damage, weathering is all irrelevant really - I just need the overall shape. BR Lines and Farish can’t assist; does anyone have one lurking in their Gloatbox? I can promise it a good home and death by a thousand cuts; whilst offering a potential seller remuneration by all typical means.

Thanks,

Steve

34 minutes ago, Paul H Vigor said:

Thinking back to the mid-1970s, I recall a strange cone-shaped structure in a back garden alongside the single siding at Marsh Wharf? I later heard that it turned out to be a very rare vintage aircraft component - reused as a 'shed'? Apparently it was recovered for preservation? I can find no record of it online. 

I’d love to know more about that!

Wasn't the Bristol Blenheim that was converted into car was it?! 

On 30/03/2021 at 16:21, Re6/6 said:

Some wagons awaiting the paint and weathering shop!

 

The newly converted MR Rapido16xx. Brake gear yet to be refitted and wheel painting is yet to be done. After conversion with Ultrascale wheels it runs quite smoothly but will need a deal of running-in to be totally satisfactory.

 

 

 

 

 

A 'Rule 1' might-have-been image!

 

 

 

 

Lovely stuff!

The Hymek isn’t strictly rule 1; D7043 made it to Parkend and the Marsh Sidings in 1971. It arrived with a couple of brake vans and moved a few bits of DFR stock around in preparation for an open day. I have no proof of it hauled any coal or ballast but I have a photo of it at Parkend and cinefilm of it on the Marsh Sidings. 
 

I think D7001 made it down the branch with a ballast train, not not proof sadly.

Cheers,

Steve

Thanks all for the comments - I’m glad they appear to be of interest. I will post a dedicated thread in time. 
 

15 hours ago, tiger said:

 

the early Mk2 FK, which has numerous detail differences from the Mk2a FK including a different, more square window shape with 4 part sliding ventilators (Bachmann got the proportions wrong in the 00 version)  and a different level to the horizontal divider on the toilet window

 

Like this one (Flickr link - not my original photo)

 

Mk3 HST catering vehicle sides - the TRUB would be most useful but TRSB and TRUK I’m sure would be of interest to some

Hi Tom, 

I’d never given the first back of Mk.2 FKs much attention; I hadn’t realised the windows were different! I don’t really have a use for them myself, but I’d be tempted to do an etch when I get around to doing the Mk.2Bs and Mk.2Cs. I would be inclined to make the etch the size of the grey panel.

Mk.3s are an interesting one; do you base the etch around the Farish or Dapol model? I much prefer the shape of the Farish model but if you go for etched sides (or window strips as I’ve been toying with) you need to find a neat way of going the doors.  I’m currently working on a Prototype (in more than one sense of the word - please excuse the iffy roof fit) with a hybrid of the Dapol chassis and sides and a resin roof and ends based around the Farish model. Assuming one of the RTR companies doesn’t release a bells-and-whistles HST, I think this is probably the way I’ll model some production HSTs which will spawn some etched sides. 

Perhaps we should take this conversation to PM to avoid dragging this further off topic?

Cheers,

Steve

I wonder what the designer of the Lone Star A4 would think if they knew their model would one day be hauling something that's 'magically' made in a little box and, potentially, decorated with a by product of the space industry. 

I was going to say he may think it's all like something from the Jetsons; but it appears the diecast pacific even predates that.

Cheers,

Steve

I'd be intrigued to see that in action. 

This is very good:

It's far too bright for the traditional roller blind; but would look great on a more modern DMU for the destination blind. If it could somehow be combined with the 'matt paper' look you get on a Kindle, it could have real potential.

Cheers,

Pix

I’m sure Rolls Royce made some excellent cars, but their DMUs were bloody ugly.

Pix

On 30/12/2020 at 17:38, Donw said:

Obviously some engineering works on the fast lines.  When I was a lad we lived in a terrace of cottages looking across the river and Kings Meadow to the main lines headed to Paddington out of Reading General. There were goods at a low level  but the slow lines above were full of long freights headed to London in those days. So I was well aware of which lines were which well before I travelled frequently  on the line.

I quite liked the DMUs if you could get a seat up the front with a driver who left the blind up  on the one side you got the real feel of the mainlines.  Of course if there was something running slow in front you heard the klaxon at every AWS and you just new we would be switched to the slow lines to let some express past and probably run into platform 8 instead of 4. 

 

Some lovely modelling.

 

Don

Some good memories there Don; have you got any railway photos from the area? I hadn’t realised you were originally local to these parts. I’ve always thought that the stretch of GWML from the Reading Gas Works to the Vastern Road bridge would be a great model with the Waterloo lines in the foreground too. 

On 30/12/2020 at 19:55, Steven B said:

Have you been mixing 2FS stock with standard N gauge? The Mk1 CCT and the pres-twin wagons look tiny next to the Warships.

 

Steven B

Yep, guilty as charged and just about the worst combination of an high-riding 1/148 loco and 1/152 smaller-prototype van as Chris pointed out. Normally the difference is not vastly noticeable but it certainly looks a bit odd here; I’ll have to be a bit more careful of this in the future. 

The Farish Warship does ride about 1.75mm too high, I presume to allow the bigger flanges to fit under the floor of the model. The below example (which is slowly becoming an NBL example) has been dropped by 1.25mm, I didn’t fear to go much lower as it does push the buffers out of alignment. Sat next to a Farish CCT, it looks a lot closer. 

And a Farish Mk.1 for comparison.

Cheers,

Pix

On 28/12/2020 at 18:52, Jan W said:

Have you considered a modular concept?

I have a similar 'problem', I share my layout room with the rest of the family. My daughter has her desk and a lounge chair and we also use it to dry the laundry.

No space left for a permanent layout.

I've recently decided that I will build modules that are easily set up and connected with some 'blank space' in between. Two terminus stations (one is a junction to the main line aka fiddle yard) and at least one station in between. Can be extended in the future or I can build more modules and use different modules in a running session.

In your case it will be a bit more difficult with a four track main line but maybe u can use two lines for through running?

 

Jan

Hi Jan, 

I think that's a good approach - for me, I'm not really much of an operator. I like building things and occasionally shuffling a few wagons around which I can do with JAPlank and Parkend when it gets set up in the living room. I've got mid-term plans a brick-built workshop in the garden so I may end up building a simple loop of track in there to get stuff run properly, an idea would be to have some modules that drop into the loop. Food for thought! I do like the '3D painting' style of layout, it means it can always be set up without dominating a space. 

On 28/12/2020 at 19:38, Ben A said:

Do you regard the Dapol HST as being poor?  I reckon it’s not too bad, though of course some tickling is always good. Or is it the Mk3s that are the problem?

Hello Ben,

For me, a bit of both. Putting aside all the livery issues, QC issues and general poor build quality I have had with Dapol stuff of that era which could be corrected, I find the Dapol offering very lack luster. For the Mk.3s, I think the rooves and end are too flat, there’s not enough depth on the corridor connections and the windows I think are a little too square in the corners and perhaps a little too high.  For the latter two points, some Shawplan style Laser-Glaze may do wonders, but the coaches just lack the bulk of a Mk.3 to my eyes. Bringing in Dapol’s weird livery errors, colour choices, lack of tinted glazing, curvy bogies which could be corrected, but on the kind of fleet I would want it’d be a massive repaint and rebuilding undertaking (especially for liveries like Swallow, Fag Packet, etc).

For the Power Cars, I think they’re better than the Mk.3s but still have some oddities which ruin the look for me. If you take this image - https://www.flickr.com/photos/sheedypj/28334636486/ and comparing it to this image https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnfrombedford/30990689328/in/photolist-PdxoeN-bneUYs-HaQGWU-n6rXsE-qoeCaG-WKKg3v-QrLEVg-p8YHkm-nLTcJ2-sctoNq-2jxpBbQ-G4htf2-BenNwk-dRfyjS-2jrmFvo-JeF8bN-TfM4vU-oZkrZF-28tD1h1-qb1Hfg-dVjbyH-244YT6d-oz9tw1-WUXnUD-2cB9XjJ-YMhqLD-2h5Vxik-2gyDosw-2jrmFgA-kocExP-k4MCps-rPDtDQ-PnBNQu-2jrpsxG-bX4tNW-2h8FV9v-b3afut-2jrmFo9-nkbvCy-2jnc42t-2jnbVV9-qaNstC-256fXaq-2isVks2-y6MtyR-2isVkwL-2ivkzpL-zaqPue-222TiGh-hPiWXK - the ‘face’ of it looks out. I think the horn grille is too wide, the headlights aren’t quite wide enough and too tall (possibly a little high). I wonder if the front windscreen is a little too low, which results in the weird shaped cantrail stripe which is straight as a die on the Prototype. The whole thing isn’t helped by the livery application which makes it look odd. I appreciate all of this can be deemed as rivet counting, but it’d jar for me.

I think what it really boils down to for me, is that the Dapol HST is alright but it’s not what it could be. Imagine an HST to the quality and standard of a Kato Shinkansen N700 Shinkansen or even their 20-something year old Eurostar; where it just looks right straight out of the box. Not to give a disservice to Dapol, I think their 2mm 68 is of a similar level to the two aforementioned models. It’s the signature train of my generation and probably the one before also; I think it deserves a top-tier model. With your Revolution hat on; if you could be tempted, I would be willing to put my name down for 4 Swallow rakes immediately. If you produce FGW Fag-Packet and the original Barbie livery, a lot more.

All that said; I think the Dapol Prototype HST power is excellent. For my 1973-testing rake, I’ve been working on a project for the Mk.3s which is using the original window inlay Farish models, a tinted window inlay with a 2thou etched overlay and (when I find the heart to start cutting it up) resin doors mastered from the Dapol Prototype Mk.3 offering. I’m waiting on PPD to deliver the next wave of etches which will give me the masters for the corridor connections, bogie inners, brake discs and a few other bits. For the buffet, I’ve cheated and etched the sides for Mk.1 RKB as M1542.

A couple more snaps from the trackside; more oddities rather than ‘porridge’, with a dose of plausible fiction attached in a couple of cases. 

Above: One of BR’s initiatives in the early-1970s was it’s exhibition train. A motley collection of former LMS vehicles, along with a couple of Mk.1 BSKs, which was painted into it’s striking red and cream livery. The train would be rented out by companies to display everything from printers to musicians. In 1971, the train was hired by Bracknell-based fine art manufacturer Rowney to undertake a national tour celebrating art of all generations and promote their various wares, under the title of RailArt’71. The train was stationed at Salisbury and is seen here headed for Kensington Olympia were the tour commenced, before travelling to Cardiff, Birmingham, Newcastle and Edinburgh over a 4 week  period. The train was made of 7 vehicles; one acting as a reception room, three acting as a gallery with Stefan Knapp (a Polish born artist who has recently completed a mural on the Rowney’s newly built Bracknell headquarters), two as a product Showcase and finally one vehicle offering a small sales stand. The tour was a success but not repeated in later years.  

Above: The last trip for the ‘Boosters’!  Having been withdrawn and at held at Brighton for several months, 20001 and 20002 are seen in July 1969 on their way to Chashmore’s in Newport. They would be scrapped by September.

Above: Another Southern Region interlooper, this time in the Summer of 1970. Whilst ED's were certainly a rarity on the GWML, your photographer initially believed that it was the fabled all-over blue Mk.1s which were rumored to be operating on the Reading to Redhill line at the time. Development of the film however proved that E6047 was in fact hauling a pair of 4-CEPs, something unseen before. What they were doing here was a long term mystery, but it's now believed they were headed for Swindon for repainting from their initial dreary overall blue into the corporate blue/grey scheme. These repaints would be foretelling of the future, setting the wheels in motion for Swindon to be used for the fleets refurbishment later in the decade. 

Cheers,

Pix

36 minutes ago, The Fatadder said:

Really like the concept you are aiming for there, even if it would look a lot better 20 years later with the stock in Swallow! 

Should a decent 2mm HST and Mk.3 appear (Paging Mr Kato-san) expect to see load of Hydraulics on eBay and the whole lot being moved forward several decades.

Pix

6 hours ago, Chris Higgs said:

 

Steve,

 

Do you find it easy to clean off the printed side painting that the earlier Farish Mk1s come with? Or did you manage to get hold of some unpainted versions?

 

Chris

Hi Chris, 

Yeah, it's pretty easy to remove. I tend to lightly sand (using around 800+ grit) then polish the sides using Meguiar's Plast-RX; it bring them up like glass. The first couple of coaches I did use chemical methods (primarily my usual 99.9% Isopropyl Alcohol with a 6% water dilution)  to remove the livery but it slightly softened them which made polishing harder and also the clear material slightly absorb the colour you were trying to remove. 

Cheers,

Steve

On 12/12/2020 at 11:51, 1965Nick said:

Love the Derby lightweight. 
just a question about your the Mk1 sides are they designed to work with the association Mk1 body carcass and under frame? 

Hi Nick, 

For my own uses I have mostly standardised on Farish Blue Ribband Mk.1s, primarily as I don’t have to do the thin white lining on blue/grey myself. Therefore the etches are designed to match the new Farish 1:148 coaches to blend in as much as possible. However, to get simple flush glazing and to give the coaches a solid structure, I’ve been using upturned Poole-designed bodies with the roof, ends and chassis from the China-design Mk.1s grafted on. 
 

It’s worth noting that the genuine Poole produced Mk.1s have a tendency to bow so the early China produced ones tend to be better donors. 
 

If it’s any help to your ‘bogie-quest’, I have done etched inners for the B4s, both with and without the cut out for the close coupling mechanism but I can’t help with the side frames. 
 

Cheers,

Steve