Dan Griffin

I highly doubt this is a prank. advertising a world wide rights/license agreement? on a world wide platform? would Rapido stoop so low? No, of course not. What would Rapido gain by trying to alienate Hornby? Nothing. come on people, use some common sense, its not a prank. if, and it's a big if, i'm wrong, i'll gladly eat humble pie. Radio's hand was forced to Tuesday from April 1st because Hornby couldn't be seen to be copying someone else, and being second past the post, that's why they made a snap announcement Monday, instead of using the 2022 range announcement for Lion as they said themselves they would. There was no Hornby 'leak' of Lion, an internet search from prior to Monday shows just speculation from various parts. If it was an April fools joke, they could have waited until April 1st. it wouldn't have mattered at all.

I cannot find that model, any clues as to where on RMweb it may be hiding?

dcc sound with sid james' laugh?

Not mad. Savvy. Looking at it i would think Hornby approached whoever holds the rights to the film for permission for a Thunderbolt model only to find that ‘someone else’ i.e, Rapido, had already beaten them too it, so they had to make a big announcement yesterday to avoid being second place. I would wager Rapido are further along with their project than Hornby are. if both projects go ahead, it will be interesting to see who wins the duel in the shops, with the raft of recent pre-order cancelations and customer let downs, and with the prospect of other vehicles from the film (14xx, Wisbech coach ( that would go well with the Rapido J70) steam roller and bus) Rapido may well have the edge on this. it will be interesting to watch it develop. meanwhile, i’ll be at Beals farm with the water!

you give me time i can rig up something that'll tow the queen mary. time? we don't have a fireman!

Bachmann/AIP version will be the same. from what research i've done, Bachmann/AIP have acquired the tooling for the old Japanese Aoshima kits. with that in mind, i'm hoping they re-release Zero X as that's not been available for some time now.

And last but not least, for today, is Thunderbird 4. This model, when issued by Aoshima, had two choices of build. 1), How i built it, with the stand and flat underside. 2), with a pull back and go wheel mechanism set to allow it to be a toy. the kit had two different types of underside for the builder to choose. I built it with a flat bottom and stand. i replaced the stand rod with clear plastic rod, and detailed the base, once painted, with rough sand and the lichen that was supplied in the kit. Thunderbird 4 has a fully detailed cockpit interior and a Gordon Tracy figure. it has a working front light and a working missile mechanism that you build and spring on the inside. it also comes with various tools that can be posed in the front of Thunderbird 4. You can see my model currently supports the drill attachment from the episode 'The man from MI5'. Missiles, grabs, claws and bumpers are also supplied. replacing the supplied rod with clear plastic rod makes a big difference. the working light. the detailed cockpit i really nice, when painted carefully. That's it for now. although i do still have a few more kits to build. i have the Recovery vehicle from Pit of peril, which was not included in the Bachmann/AIP announcements and the Excavator, also not in the announcement, which is an interesting vehicle as its a model of a POD vehicle that only ever appeared in a 1966 annual comic strip. i also have an Airfix tiger Moth which will, once i can source someone to make transfers, be made into Thunderbird 6 from the second feature film. I will be getting a Bachmann Thunderbird 2 to build, as i built the Model space one, an Aoshima/Bachmann/AIP one would compete the set, the launch bays also interest me. Thunderbird 3's launch bay being conspicuous by its absence in the Bachmann/AIP announcements. until next time, stay safe.

Here we have The Mole. Now this is an excellent model, and massive considering its supposed to be 1/72nd scale. it is a complex build, i go as far as to say two separate kits. firstly you build the chassis and the motor/gearbox for the wheels to turn. a tedious part is that every tread has to be individually glued to the rubber tracks, and painting them first is a must. then you build the main body of the Mole which also has a gearbox and motor to allow the drill to turn, the side tracks to move and the safety light to flash. its a very clever design, as the electrics are such that when the Drilling part is level on the chassis, the chassis will run backwards or forwards, but when you tilt the body to the drilling position, it cuts power to the chassis preventing it moving whilst in the drilling position. The main battery pack is inside the drilling body, and you can see in the picture of it tilted, towards the back, the sprung metal pin that makes the electrical connection between the two. i hope Bachmann and AIP keep the internals of this model, but for ease of construction i wouldn't be surprised if it no longer has them. which in my opinion would be a great shame.

Yep, they are extending the car park, so the old oil terminal will be gone very shortly. i work in the power box and they are making rather alot of noise.

Now we have Everyone's favourite Rolls Royce, FAB 1. This was an easy kit to build, painted with Tamia Pink. the silver lining was provided with the kit and takes great care to apply, especially around the canopy. care is also needed with the chromed parts that make up the bumpers. and wheel hubs. i painted the insides and pin stripped the seats. the model is/was provided with water slide FAB1 number plates and also etched version should you prefer to fit those. the model has working steering too.

Next up, Thunderbird 5. This was quite a complex kit to build as it has an internal gear box that allows it to turn on its stand, the top light also works and flashes whilst it turns. whether Bachmann/AIP keep the internals will be interesting to see. The small Thunderbird 3 base was modified from that provided as it sat on the ground, whilst the 'real' Thunderbird 3 sat only on its rockets. Thunderbird 3 is removable so it can be displayed docked or with Thunderbird 5 alone. Some Trivia for Thunderbirds fans, Thunderbird 5 was the only craft to have its own theme tune! I painted the base to represent the Earths surface, and used Humbrol silver for the main body. It is a very detailed kit and looks nice when built and on display. (yes i know, i have to glue that receiver back on!) Thunderbird 3 docked with 5

Morning. After yesterdays announcement from Bachmann i thought id share some more of my Thunderbirds Builds. These kits are Aoshima, but, it looks like Bachmann has acquired these kits and they are one and the same. first up, Fireflash. The iconic aircraft from the very first episode, and also, the star of episode 13, and a personal favourite, Operation crash dive. i built two models as i wanted one 'in flight' and one on its landing gear. This is a lovely kit to build, the paint is Halfords ford Riviera blue and revell Lufthansa dark blue. One thing with this kit, it will be interesting to see if Bachmann/AIP have altered the transfer sheet, as the Aoshima Kit did not have quite enough white lining.

Having looked, i cannot see if they have maintained the mechanisms in the mole and Thunderbird 5. With careful building they work and work well. My mole for example moves forward/reverse and the drill and lights work. Thunderbird 5 has lights and revolves on its stand and Thunderbird 4's front lights worked. it'll be interesting to see if these features have been kept as the price (on rails) is the same as the previous Aoshima prices.

thats excellent. i'm having one of them, even if i have to sell one of the kids! thats genuinely made my day

for anyone interested in the 144 scale Thunderbird 1 and 3 i have built them here in my thread. I've also built, fireflash, FAB 1, The Mole and Thunderbirds 4 and 5. i can upload pics for those interested. i have the recovery vehicle and excavator yet to build. fingers crossed Bachmann re-released Zero-X.

good luck with that, i have built the mole from Aoshima, from which these kits are derived, and it is huge, even in almost oo gauge. it would dwarf a lowmac wagon! when you look at the mole, you can only imagine how big a 1/72 Thunderbird 2 would be!

Is anyone else having difficulty with the fox transfers website. it will load up the waterslide page, allow me t choose scale etc and allow me to view page 1, but when i click the next page it says ' no products match your search' initially i thought it was because the internet browser may have been out of date, but i tried again on microsoft edge and it still fails to work. is it just me or is it the website?

Thats fine, and any situation he’s in he has my sympathy. I have been a customer of his for years. however there is no need to be rude to customers in email responses. People are bound to chase up orders when they've spent their hard earned money on them. Just my opinion, but if the situation is that complicated, shut the website for a while until things calm down, and allow himself breathing room to catch up.

At least I'm not the only one. I ordered and paid for 1 set of transfers over 9 weeks ago, and nothing. Although i do get the weekly moaning email about how busy he is. i have used model master for years but i fear i will never again. whilst i understand delays with covid etc, he sent an email saying he had over 400 orders since Christmas. If he works a standard 5 day mon-fri week, over 9 weeks, thats an average of only 10 orders a day to post. That doesn't seem a great deal considering orders from one-man-band shops on Etsy supply quicker. It wouldn’t be so bad but when you have customers stock waiting and their waiting, it makes it worse. I sincerely hope things get sorted. I don’t want to have to go through an independent to claim monies back.

Hello. has anyone built a rake of OO gauge Parkside tube wagons? i have 7, and built them all OK, fitted small NEM couplings to them but they persisted in derailing. even on 4th rad curves inside a tunnel. i have narrowed it down to the couplings. because the wagon is so long, the NEM couplings do not have to flex or room to allow for movement and this results in the wagons derailing. i have found a picture online of a Bachmann tube wagon and have realised they used a cam system much like that on a Hornby 31/50/60. has anyone built a rake of these wagons and run them successfully? if so, what couplings did you use on the Parkside kits? thanks in advance. Dan

Afternoon. Question for those qualified in all things DCC. I can programme cv’s but am clueless as to which ones do what. I have a chip, Bachmann 36-553 i think, hard wire fitted to a circa 1995 Hornby battle of britain 501 Squadron, Works well running but judders alot when at slow speeds, and starting off. Can anyone advise of the CV’s to alter, and to what, to make it run smooth? I also have a Hornby 4f, also hard wire fitted. What cv’s do i alter to make it move off slower? Thanks in advance.

oohh is this the follow up to the deltic one from last year?

When you read the introduction in the book, it is explained that N Preedy didn't contemplate DMU's and never took pictures of them. That's why there isn't any pictures of them!

No i haven't done that, i will leave the power on for 5-10 minutes and then have a fell around. if there is a warm spot, how is this cured? i will double check my wiring .