the penguin of doom

Hi Shane. Thanks, thats a really kind gesture. I'm hopefully going to be behind an EU07 today, so will give you a pm in a day or so. Sizewise, I'd expect the grilles to be the same as the 83, but we'll see. Cheers for now. Sean.

And just to add to the comments, I think this loco looks rather smart too. I've not managed to "spot" this one so far, but have seen a few of the new refurbished EU07's in the new liveries, (Biege and Maroon and, (I believe), Cargo Blue). Very nice and very reminiscent of the WCML in the 80's Sean.

Hi Steve. Thanks for the link. I had actually seen these models earlier in the week and I'm sure they're outstanding, however, having looked at the price list, the 550 euro charged is a little prohibitive for my meagre pay packet, so I'm going to try make a decent job at a little less of the cost. It will be the only Polish loco in my fleet, more for sentimental reasons than anything else, so it may even just be a static loco and a little whimsical as opposed to an exact scale replica of the real thing. Cheers. Sean.

Hi all. Well, I've managed to source an 81 off e bay, so there may be one or two more questions to follow, the first of which though is does anyone supply etched brass grille sheets, preferably of the right style and (if I'm really lucky), the right size for the 83 body side vents? Cheers. Sean.

Wonders will never cease!!!

You caught me out already!!! An EU07 if I can get a drawing and some inspiration. I'm here at the moment, but not managing to get close enough to grab some detail pictures. Going to Koshalin tomorrow though so will hopefully have more luck. Any pictures etc you need for your project? Cheers. Sean.

Aha. I won't say too much at this stage, but the headcode boxes are irrelevant for my plan. All I'll say for the moment is the 83 is exactly the right length, any of the other first generation electrics may need shortening..... I'll keep folks guessing for now though as I've already said too much....... Cheers. Sean.

[quote name=Waveydavey' date='06 April 2010 - 15:24 ' timestamp='1270567479' post='116528] Interesting you should say that, that be may how I look at doing it? I assume the rake on the front end is almost the same on all the early AC electrics? Now, to find a Triang 81...........

Thanks guys. I'm keen not to turn the thread into an MTK bashing forum, but have read many other similar reports on the standard. In their defence, a mate of mine has a class 100 DMU which looks to be a well detailed and simple kit. Having looked on the Apple site, it looks like they don't do any AC electrics, but I'll fire off an e mail to them and DC kits to see whats available. I'll keep you posted. Cheers. Sean.

Hi Shane. Thanks for your advice. Seems I may hit a dead end, but I wonder if you have any contact details for the Apple models company? Its not necessarily important for it to be an 83 and I seem to remember now that L + J did a large range of AC electrics...... Cheers. Sean.

Hi all. Just wondering if anyone out there knows of a kit in 00 for the Ac electric class 83. I know about the MTK one, but thought Silver Fox did one too? I can't seem to find one in their lists though. Cheers. Sean.

I saw the 0 gauge ones at Nottingham and can confirm they were looking superb. Had a word with the builder who told me all about the etching process and showed me the pantographs raising and lowering. Some may say thats a gimmick, but I thought it was cool! Cheers. Sean.

Nice model that..... Look forward to seeing it "in the flesh" this weekend. Cheers. Sean.

Hi Richard. Some nice bits of work to improve what is, in my eyes, an already superb model. You're right, the new Hornby staniers do look a little matt and your t-cutting has glossed them over just nicely. Still waiting for the shiney bits to arrive for my upgrade, but I've been doing some work on the bogies in the mean time. All good fun. Cheers. Sean.

Hi all. I'm having problems posting further pictures on my blog, so have started a short thread. You can catch up with progress here. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/topic/11056-stanier-diag-2117-conversion/page__fromsearch__1 Thanks for looking in. Sean.

Will do Jamie. As a point of interest, you may be able to find some compo's on e bay. I also have some replica corridor thirds, (2), if you would like them, give me a PM and we'll negotiate a price. Cheers. Sean.

Hi Bernard. Funny you should mention the MK2. I did an FK a few years ago and lo and behold, Bachmann fetch one out. I'm taking bets now on how long it will be till Hornby fetch out a Diag 2117, and since they announced the L1 just as there was no going back on my conversion, I expect it won't be long!!!! Cheers. Sean.

Hi coachmann, Thanks for looking in and may I say firstly, having seen some pictures of your models on the site, I can only aspire to that sort of level. As I say above, this will only be a representation of the Diag 2117, as I don't have the drwings to get everything spot on. I actually looked at the comet drawings on my computer screen and measured them with a ruler to get an idea of where things needed to be and maths was never my strong point!!!! Just to answer your question, the reason I didn't use the comet side was that I had the coach, bogies etc already, so thought I'd see if I could do a cheap job, based on my experience on my K1 and L1 models. Anyhow, I think its as near as right for now and is waiting for a little more sanding, before I give it some undercoat. Thats when I'll be able to tell if the conversion has worked or not. Cheers for now though. Sean.

Hi all. I posted an entry in the questions section re this, (check it out before you ask why I didn't use the comet sides....), but basically found an Airfix corridor composite in the loft and so thought I'd try to upgrade it to the standard of the recent Hornby ex LMS coaches. I don't intend it to be an exact 100% representation, but more something different to run in the rake. Whilst researching, I found the Diag 2117's lasted till 1967ish, so would fit with my period, but would need some carving and extra doors etc. Anywho, it's something to do alongside the mammoth L1 task and will keep me sane if I need to get away from the main project for a while.... The corridor side with the window moved and the first extra door slotted in. Second extra door marked up. Close up of the area to be altered. And closer still. I have some Hornby class 110 windows which are an almost exact fit and hopefully near enough top light depth, so I'll be flush glazing the coach and replacing most of the moulded detail. I also intend to replace the underframe with some finer detail and some Bachmann bogies I have in the spares box. Cheers for now. Sean.

Thats the one. I think my Peak was a little more like the regional railways one next door though, with the striping nearer the ends and Black cab window surrounds. Its not that bad looking though in my opinion. The inter city livery seems to suit too....

Hi Chris. Hmmmn, I guess Blue and Grey is probably best, even if just to remain faithful to the prototype. I reckon the sprinter livery would look good too, but I guess it would not be dissimilar to the 150's? There is a site somewhere on the net dedicated to what might have been liveries, (DP2 in large logo, deltics in virgin livery etc), so I'm sure someone out there could photo shop the WYPTE livery onto your model, or indeed, a picture of the prototype. Just for fun, obviously.... Regards the peak in trans-pennine, it did look nice, very much like the 37's in Regional Railways, (but longer and obviously before their time in this livery), but I don't know where it is now. I never scrapped it, but I think its lurking in my mates loft, having never turned a wheel since about 1990! Talking trans-pennine, I have a six car class 124 that I kit bashed years ago. Wonder what THAT would look like in sprinter livery?......... Cheers. Sean.

Hi there. I'll be watching this with interest as I too have a spare Bachmann chassis and the Dapol kits as well as the brass parts. I was just going to use the Bachmann chassis painted White, but your posts have spurred me on to have a go at making the chassis correct. Please keep up the good work and keep the pictures coming. A very interesting thread. Cheers. Sean.

Hi Chris. I've been periodically looking in on this thread and am finding it very interesting. The 321 is looking the part now that the Red coat has been added. I always feel that a model never really looks right till the transfers are added though and its always at this stage that I am spurred on down the final straight. That masking on the front end must have taken ages, but, as the result shows, is worth it. With regard to the DEMU, its an interesting thought and I'm sure it would have been just the job to climb the Pennines. Seems a shame the Sprinters came along! Just an aside for the "what might have been" thoughts, I did a Peak many years ago in the Trans - Pennine livery, as applied to the one 47, (number escapes me at the moment), but it looked quite good, (in my eyes), similar to the inter city 37's Well, enough musings for now. Keep up the good work. Sean.

Hi all. Just to let those interested in this project know, I have actually started work and have a thread running here..... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/topic/4615-thompson-l1-conversion-from-Bachmann-v1/ Take a look and keep me on the right tracks. Cheers. Sean.