43179

What a find! - they look perfect - again , thanks for sharing - im off to buy some! tfn Jon

Nice! the Cat' class 66 looks tasty alright - you cant go wrong with black on diesels So far my all time fave is still the new freightliner livery class 67... i wonder if Mr CJM is busy at the moment... tfn jon

Goodevening - yes Heljan plastic does put up a good fight when it wants to For the handbrake chains I use shawplan brackets - the chain itself is from A-Line - its about 40 links per inch from memory. I ordered it in bulk from the states - I think Backwoods also do simialr here in the UK. tfn Jon

Proper Job! Please can we see some close ups of the 37s tfn Jon

Goodevening working from top to bottom , the next bit to describe on 37403 I guess - will be the noses and bufferbeams. On the noses ive replaced the Bachmann lamp brackets with vitrains versions - a little work with a new scalpel blade tidies up the vitrains brackets nicely (they sometimes have a little 'flash' on them' , and they're a bit finer than bachmanns own - plus being moulded in bendy plastic - theyre harder to break Like most small fittings I secure them to the body using PVA. The brackets either side of the headcode box are again vitrains parts , thinned down using wet n dry - again chosen these for the same reasons, theyre robust and look good . These are also fixed with PVA. The ETH fitting on the nose is the original Bachmann part - but the multiple working jumper is Vitrains - this is the only bit im not happy with , it doesnt look like the real thing , so i'll change it for a modified Bachmann part - when I can source some. It seemed like a good idea at the time. The cables for both the ETH and multiple working jumpers are strands from knicker elastic - simply glued into the fittings (at one end only , so the body can still come off) with a drop of Devcon epoxy. Ive found that superglue makes the elastic brittle over time and it breaks off - Epoxy or PVA is much kinder. The ETH fitting mounted on the bufferbeam is scratchbuilt from plastic rod. Obscured by the buffer - at the other end of the Multiple working jumper , i've used a vitrains class 47 multiple working socket - known as the 'elephants trunk' this vitrains part is a little underscale for what its intended to represent - but is just ideal for the fitting on the bufferbeam end of the cable. For the actual multiple working sockets , I've replaced bachmanns moulding with Heljan class 47 parts. The easiest way to remove the moulded-on version is with a very narrow chisel - which avoils damaging the vac pipe. The pastic used on Heljan detailing parts is hard to glue - so to stick the sockets on the bufferbeam I always drill and glue in a small piece of wire - then glue into a small hole drilled in the bufferbeam . Vacuum pipes are also Heljans- the narrow air control pipes are Hornbys - the other pipes are vitrains , as i had them in stock - theyre not quite as detailed as Hornby pipes - but they do have a representation of the taps on them. The shot above shows the ETH socket - another vitrains part - that does the job quite well - also Hornby class 31 buffers have been added - and , easy to spot - Heljan snowploughs. I'll have to get the camera out again later , as the ploughs have been modified quite a bit to improve thier look , and to fit them easily. Its hard to explain whats been done on them - much easier to take a pic of them One last note about modelling ETH fitted 37s - to mount the ETH fittings on the bufferbeams correctly you need to file , or cut away the lower half of the outer extrememties of the bufferbeams - ie , the sections outside of the buffer mounting plates. The ETH fittings then sit in these cut outs. On the real locos, they were retro-fitted quite crudely - part of the bufferbeam was cut into , then bent up through 90 degrees , and the fittings were 'hung' off it. I still have the paintwork around the noses/bufferbeams to tidy up a bit - paint the bufferheads and fit some screw couplings - but the hard work is mostly complete. Ill most likely fit Hornbys screw couplings , as they dont need to work - the loco will just be sitting in a box on in my little cabinet. phew , that was tiring ! tomorrow - the bogies and all the underframe - and some better photos hopefully tfn Jon

Goodevening - I've used quite an eclectic mix of bits for the various pipes, and all over the loco in general - for part 2 I have taken some close up shots of these, that show what is used for what , and what goes where - if that makes sense ... (I've used this project basically to use up all my odd bits thats ive had leftover for ages) I'll hopefully have time to write more tomorrow - after a horrible early shift at work. The plan is to finish '403 for Showcase - it'll be a close call thanks for lookin' tfn Jon

wow! amazing what youve done in a week - (takes me that long just get all the 'bits' I need for something, or find my tools!) a G scale class 50 next please Its hard to get my head around scratchbuilding in such a large scale - Even in 4mm i wouldn't know where to start.. I like how 'Purposefull (sp?) the G scale stuff looks. tfn jon

Goodevening - Ive recently dusted off a long term project - the last of my class 37 fleet - 37403 Ben Cruachan. This started life as a Bachmann collectors club loco - 'Caerphilly castle' which has been renumbered, renamed, and had the orance cantrail lines repainted further up the body where they should be for '403. The warning flashes have also been replaed for earlier pre 1998 style. I just need to find suitable white numbers for ther '403' on the noses - so far I've drawn a blank. Elsewhere I've done a fair bit of detailing work on the model - starting from the top down - the roof grille has been replaced with a Shawplan etch - the mesh is glued on first with Devcon epoxy - the brass frame is then lashed to the mesh using tiny strands of wire wrapped round the frame and through the mesh , then twisted round and round to 'tighten'. The Air horns have been replaced with brass versions from markits , these are cross drilled and can be soldered onto a short piece of wire to mount them with. On the noses , the aerial has been replaced with a fine piece of black nylon from a brush , so they're nice and fine , and indestructable the nylon is fixed with devon - and just to prove it , look - no stabbed fingers more soon tfn jon

Thanks for the explanation - fascinating stuff! tfn Jon

Thanks to the forum I recently aquired the Rail Express/vitrains class 47s in Colas Livery. Im really pleased I treated myself to these locos - I've spent a week or so gradually adding all the bits , which is most enjoyable - I've added some extra pipework on the bufferbeam associated with the ETH gear - and changed a few detail parts for Heljan/Bachmann alternatives. Vitrains have done a lovely job of these models - Demelza is finished - Rebecca is taking a bit longer - as it has a diffrent ETH arranagement which is a bit trick to model accurately due to the vitrains body/chassis design - but ill get there in the end. A couple of quick pics of 749: tfn Jon

Hi Pete - could you explain the "shadow gap" - not come across this before? tfn Jon

Ditto! jon

thats the picture ive been waiting to see tfn Jon

Looking very very nice - I do like the bogies. Look farward to seeing them behind a class 60! Jon

Typing away at work, while listening to a TSR-2 Documentary on't tinternet Jon

Sounds like we both had exactly the same experience - I bought Dauntless to make it into '032 Courageous - it turned out the livery was plain wrong in every way possible , so I resprayed the whole thing aswell , so really I could have just bought any 50 for the job The orange warning panels are indeed horrible - Valiant seems to the only 50 Hornby have done so far that actually has yellow warning panels tfn Jon

Nice to see 92s getting some attention. The Hornby 92 bodyshell has a lot going for it - ie - it looks like a 92 (the lima one is not so good around the cabs)- one thing Hornby missed , thats quite distinctive on the real things is the black surrounds on the light cluster covers - Its well worth taking the time , either with a steady hand and paintbrush - or with a lining pen , to carefully paint them on - It totally transforms the model, and would be a shame not to do them if your going to detail up the rest of the loco. Hopefully you can make them on on this: Look forward to seeing piccys of yours too! tfn Jon

Lovely Lovely Lovely '034 - what was the base model John - did you use 'Dauntless' or was it a full respray? tfn Jon

Nothing to do with trains I'm afraid, but a rare little moment I thought I'd share , from early this morning while most folk are asleep. Most of the time , when I get home from work im not in the mood or too tired to do much modelling - I work in a Marina in london, so my shifts vary with the tides - anything from 04.00 to 21.00 Being out in the fresh air amongst the boats in all weather takes it out of you! Locking out onto the Thames early this morning was an RAF Seaplane Tender - which was making its last ever voyage on water , heading up river to be lifted out and displayed at the RAF Museum in Hendon. The boat has been beautifully restored to museum condition and made a fine sight (and sound) setting off at 0600 thismorning. These things were built for speed and its cuts through the water lovely. By huge coincidence , It turns out , my dad had worked on this very craft as he was in the Marine Branch of the RAF almost 40 years ago. A nice bit of history there , and some of it quite personal too. The pictures are of ST 206 just about to pass through our lock onto the river. Cant wait to show my dad

hmm - the bit of metal thats shown broken isnt actually part of the main chassis casting - its the cover for the close coupling mechanism - I think its likely the corner has snapped off possibly because its been stressed by the screw not aligning properly or being too tight tfn Jon

Thats a good trick using the vitrains pipes. With some thought , the vitrains bits are alot more usefull than you first think - originally I was going to bin them all but now every bit has a use. jon

Good evening - I have a fleet of 14 Hornby HST power cars for Laira , and need a bit of variety in the fleet - so to break things up a bit , I have already modelled a buffer fitted DVT conversion , and have a Mirrlees engined example on the work bench aswell. To add to these two I'm modelling 43183, which, thanks to some help from you guys last year, I found out was one of the last Exectuve livery power cars , (on the western region anyway). The paintwing work is done - I've retained as much of the swallow livery as is useable, carefully sanding away the red stripe - The Intercity and swallow logos were removed with modelstrip. Ive had to respray the executive dark grey around the cabs to get red of the black triangles painted by the cabside windows. once the transfers are on, itll need to be made tatty so that it looks right among the newer swallow livery power cars. tfn jon

Seconded ! - Johns saved my bacon many a time producing custom transfers when I've not been able to get suitable from Fox or Modelmaster. It seems the man never sleeps either - no matter what time you email , he replies a few mintues later - even if its at 4am Jon

I think the price depends on how you buy the rail - it seems more economical to buy the roll of rail instead of buying it in lenths - as a result your not forced into having lots of track joints, therefore better running , more reliability , and less wiring to do - that , to me, is worth any price! A million times better - yes - in all honesty, now ive tried a little bit , it really is that good! Buy a sample , you'll be converted

Goodevening - heres that 50 with the big logo again - and infront of it is the second set of Extreme Etches - Brian really does spoil us! A complete new panel is provided for the roof grille, as the panel on the model is not positioned quite correctly, and neither is the big round hole in it! Also included is a new roof fan , with a lovely detailed hub the mesh - ive never seen anything like it not only does it have the weave etched into it , but also the 'wiggle' on all the strands - just beautiful - but extremely delicate. As a result this will only be fitted after all work on the bodyshell is done , as the body will be handled quite a lot. Poke the mesh by accident and itll tear The fan panel on the model is raised from the rest of the roof , and this needs to be filed right away back to roof level in order to fit the new etch. I have surround the area im working on with masking tape - coverng all the raised detail around it - ie the rain strips , roof vents and other raised panels - that makes iut easier to see where not to go with the file - and if it does slip , the tape should protect these raised details from damage. ive not had quite enough time to get the panel fitted tonight , but heres a quick shot of one of my sanding sticks for Mark - mentioned in previous posts. I make them different sizes to suit the job , that ones about 5mm wide - I always cut them from 2mm thick plastic - so they have a bit of bend in them. Used with water and washing up liquid the wet n dry paper wont clog , and will last for years - the stick shown i think is about 3 years old and had been used to do the cabs on all my 50s tfn Jon