Pixie

Now, this is very spooky. I popped in here to post the following and put a comment that it'd be nice if there were some pukka GWR self container buffers out there and, low and behold, there's some waiting for me to purchase! With the Dapol 22 on the horizon thrown into the mixture, Christmas has come very, very early! So, with a now-solved buffer problem, here's a Bryn-designed Herring built by moi from what i think will be the final etch. Lovely model to builds and I even managed to get some transfers printed at work today. Cheers Bryn! Pix

New stuff works just as well in my opinion - the cloudiness disappears on drying and the gloss finish is as good as the old. Pix

Likewise or I'm going to be faced with a quartet of Venturers. Now there's a barber's shop act that never made it! Pix

Get those nameplates and a Jiffy bag up to Gordon ready Jerry! Pix

Lovely stuff Jeremy. One little thing - paint those wheels a nice shade of grime! They look a bit weird silver. Pix

Wouldn't it be nice Nig? I'd be interested to hear just how far the slide-technology could be pushed and how much of an impact that it'd have on the final product's price. When I was doing the 2mm resin Warships I started to think about what would have to made as slide and it really started to mount up. Off the top of my head, you'd need to cover slot ins for the five centre panels on the roof (two types of fan grille, two types of boiler port, three types of exhaust port), two slides for the lamps, two slides for the headcode boxes, two underframe mouldings, a blanking slide for the shoulder grille, two slides for the side grilles and so on. Then there's also the varients in the door kick plates, the bodyside seam line and even the bogies but I don't think it's realistic to expect these on a mass produced model and besides, wheres the fun if it's all done for you eh? Pix

Hi C2C, The short answer is that there probably isn't one and any common size would just be a statistical anomaly caused by what's available in ready-to-plonk or kit form. I'd of thought that people either build what fits the space available or what he prototype dictates. That said, if you asked me to sketch out a width, I'd probably draw it out at about an inch and a half. No idea why, probably it's based upon the memory of my first N gauge layout. One thing I can suggest is Google Earths measuring tool - means you can do a bit of site research from the comfort of your sofa and have some rough figures to work with. Pix

If it did, I'd love to see it posed on Frankland. Just, y'know, for posterity. Pix

I wonder if a 74-piece multipack will be available? Pix

It's a little odd to think that these were 'modern image' when they were built! Like Phil, I really hope they end up in a safe place and, assuming it wouldn't be destructive, they're still used every now and then as the builder intended. Pix

Excellent day out today and thanks to Jerry for letting me play - I promise we'll sort out Mission:Bracknell! Jerry - those kits from BHE look like shot down Jindenco, having done a little Google-ing. Reading around, they're 'fun' to build in 4mm so it'll be interesting to have a go in 2mm. Still, I've always wanted that LNWR chemical pan wagon, I just didn't know it! Pix

Hehe - should be black with polished rims really Jerry, althought overall grime is probably the best bet for a Woking loco. The red connecting rods were also a preservation thing, they were unpainted in service. Now, where my adenoidal voice and tweed jacket? Pix

Lovely work Jerry! One little point, what colour are the wheels on the 14? They look like loco green in the snap? I must, must, must run off some more 14 bits sometime. See you Sunday! Pix

Ok - own up! Who outbid me on that collection of Dapol Pannier bits on eBay with a rechassis-ing project in mind?! Pix

Didn't the little 0-4-0 appear in a magazine sometime ago? Model Rail springs to mind, it also included a photo of the length of track and controller. I think there maybe have also been a period receipt. Pix

I'm slowly building up bits and pieces for my one day man room - mostly targets from the Reading to Waterloo Line. There's no real back story except they're items that my family would have stood near, seen and travelled through their various locations during large parts of their life. A little nod to the past I guess. Although I do have a restoration project that's probably more suited to a garage wall. I've got a photo of my Uncle (who got me into this hobby) stood in front of it in the 1960s - there's a couple of little blemishes that allow it to be matched up (plus a whole load more that it's collected in the last 40 years!). Pix

Hi Mark, Welcome to the area - you're more than welcome to join in (*Pssst* Anyone got a membership form? *Pssst*) A couple of thoughts from me... For the drive unit I would either look at one of Bernard's (Taylor Precision Models - TPM) motorising kits and adjusting the length to suit (There's some information here - http://www.tpmodels.co.uk/1611.html) or perhaps the power unit from one of the new generation Farish units. The latter is a great piece of design and is a standalone motor/drive shaft/bogie unit which clips into their chassis plates. I've recently bought a couple of the Express Parcels 101 units (http://www.ehattons.com/38741/Graham_Farish_371_503_Class_101_2_car_DMU_BR_blue_grey_Express_Parcels_motor_in_each_car_/StockDetail.aspx) as both vehicles are powered giving up two sets for motorising projects. I'll grab a photo if this is of interest? The bogie wheelbase is 8'6'', which I is suitable for the driving bogie if I've read your message correctly. Painting is one of those things I hate so I keep trying to take the pain out of it - I've used Halford aresol primers a lot (I'd suggest placing the tin is tepid water before use) and these give good coverage with low detail loss. Top-coat areosols I'm not too keen on as they either apply too much colour and/or give a poor surface finish, so I tend to use a cheap airbrush (something similar to this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRO-MINI-AIR-BRUSH-KIT-ARTIST-CRAFTS-AIRBRUSH-/260549428969?pt=UK_Crafts_DrawingSupplies_EH&hash=item3ca9f4c6e9). Brush painting can be OK with decent brushes - something like these are quite good for modelling: http://www.fredaldous.co.uk/art-shop/art-supplies/artists-brushes/daler-rowney-simply-brushes.html. I should probably add that the manufacturer is my delightful employer - although I'm at no gain if you go out and buy them. Cheers, Pix

You've got a willing volunteer when you 'play' my home town in May. Cheers, Pix

Seasons greetings Mark, I'd of thought so but looking at various snaps seems to suggest otherwise - I wonder if the ability to remove the frame but leave some glass might be a 'feature' of the earlier windows, as opposed to the later reinforced frames. PS - thanks for your contact details - email coming up shortly! Cheers, Pix

When ever I have a period off work my body clock reverts itself to student time. I find that the small hours are a great time to get modelling done as it allows for a bit of piece and quiet. The only issue is that each night I stay up an hour later than the night before and consequently roll out of bed an hour later. What's now tomorrow morning, and the first day back at work, will be a shock to the system. Anyway, the fruits of tonights labour. First up are a pair of BSOs in ENPARTS livery - one based upon a David Larkin photo and another as a believable figment of imagination. The BSO is one of the coaches missing from the Farish range, but combining outer parts of a BCK and the inner part of a BSK makes the conversion quite a simple one. Still a couple of jobs to do - the rooves need the vents repositioning (on hold pending another trip to Tiranti's) and footboards need adding too. The ENPARTs network was used to transport locos spares from major works (I presume primarily Swindon) to other depots on the WR. The vehicles used were very much hand-me-downs from other areas and in addition to the vehicles shown here, I've got ideas to model a BY, Collet BG, a couple of Siphon Gs and a Mink or two in such condition. Here's also a blue/grey BSK, based upon a Paul Bartlett photo, to keep the above company. Farish out the box with a few tweaks and weathering. I've also managed to finish off a pair of Mk.1s that really are at the end of their lives! By the early 1970s the first MK.1s were approaching 20 years old and scrapping programmes had commenced. These two are based upon a couple of photos of vehicles taken at Long Marston and were done for the challenge more than anything - although if the one day South Wales layout happens, I'm sure I could claim they were en route to Cashmores or something! Right, bed time. G'night. Pix

Hi Cody, A bit of Googling reveals a few stores are showing them as still available (I guess you're after a GWR green one from your other messages). Here's one for examples - http://www.bourtonmodelrailway.co.uk/Dapol-nd204c-060-pannier-loco-9659-gwr-green-gwr.ir?cName=new-in-this-month&src=froogle. I see you've preordered one, but if you're eager it might be worth dropping a post here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/61750-Dapol-57xx-pannier-photo-review/ Cheers, Pix PS - which part of New Jersey are you in? Anywhere near Cranbury?

Imagine shipping it abroad? MSDSs, DGNs, Limited Quantity Declarations. Or selling it in California where it would almost certainly be considered a carcinogenic and need a wealth of ACMI and haz-mat labels. I bet the three kings didn't have to worry about this! Pix - who's just come out a meeting about working with cadmium.