Shedmaster

Hi All, Just like to offer an alternative if I may, that being GC Weathering, who I believe offer a wide range of renaming, renumbering and weathering services to an excellent standard. They recently had something like a ten page feature article in one of the mainstream magazines too, where they were very highly praised, by people who know what they're talking about. I would give GC Weathering a call myself. No relation at all, just a satisfied customer.... Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi All, I sat and typed three angry, anti-Hornby posts a few days ago and then deleted them from RMWeb. What set me off was observing the price of the Hornby Class 60 model, go through the roof in front of my very eyes during the course of one day, whilst I was idly browsing. I went away and looked into the current and varied issues, rather than just typing in rage. Now, what you have said in your post, quoted here, is in my unqualified opinion, very well put and aligns with my views completely. The issues that EVERYBODY who deals with these clowns are facing are indicative of a brand that is simply pricing itself out of business as people, retailers AND customers, will start to say no thankyou, we do not want your overpriced, badly made, poorly presented products. My question would be, do RETAILERS actually NEED Hornby, or could they not just dump their account and boycott in protest? Making up for the losses by stocking other brands? A sneaky 24% in two stages price hike ( 10+14 ) by Hornby in rapid succession has been well and truly noticed, however, it will surely not be ignored? What happens now? Shed.

OK, so moving on now then and when is the Accurascale 2022 announcement please??? Only kidding of course, there is some interesting stuff there for sure but I'm a little stunned by the price for example of a Class 60, at over £220! Weren't they £79ish when they were first released and have had only basic tweaks over the years? Shed.

Hi, Been watching this with interest and I think both Hornby AND Rapido have been playing us…. Rapido’s part in this has nothing to do with new models, I suspect it is a new partnership between them that is to be shared with us all tomorrow. Maybe Hornby have subbed Rapido in on a consultancy basis for 2022, to show them how to assemble quality models for the discerning customer and paint them properly too? just a thought….coat, hat and all that….. Regards, Shed.

Hang on lads, I've got an idea!

THIS I would LOVE to see! I'm not anti-Hornby, I just want to see others do well.....by taking advantage of Hornby failings, that are nuggets of opportunity to build up their own position in the marketplace. Shed.

Well, THAT'S the where the all new HST is coming from then, nobody saw that coming did they? That's my guess anyway.... Shed.

Hi, I have to agree with this and have been thinking as such myself for some years. Hornby have done some excellent modern image stuff such as the Class 60, even if their painting and quality control has been deficient/absent. For their own reasons, they prefer to be a toy manufacturer covering mainly steam outline with a fair mix of good but not amazing modern image examples. That's fine of course and I'm not knocking Mr Kohler, he has been good to me personally over the years but...Accurascale are shaking the market up with amazing models of which I've invested a fair sum already, and that's where my interest now lies. I don't expect anything from Mondays announcement that will interest me, but still wish Hornby well for their future. Unfortunately, I don't see any great improvement to their offerings or quality control any time soon and wonder that with certain prominent staff joining the Accurascale team, if Mr Kohler breaks out in a cold sweat everytime Accurascale have an announcement to make? Kindest Regards, Shed.

Brilliant! Pure Dysonite!!!

Hi, I'd have to agree with this and it would also tie in with the expected upgrade/re-release of their HST offering. Without getting into the HST vs LOCO HAULED type conversation, as I don't know about these details, I wonder if Hornby had the basic Mk3 bodyshell sorted, would that mean they could then model ANY variant? Current DB spec Royal 67's then become an option for Hornby as well, so maximising the tooling on those? Whatever they get up to, I would really just like to see a worthwhile effort made with painting whatever it is. When they want to, Hornby are more than capable of doing amazing work, unfortunately they also suffer from self inflicted issues that must surely cost them noticeable sums of money and could be avoided? I'm happy to remind Mr K repeatedly of his cringeworthy but perfectly valid mantra's.... DETAIL, DETAIL, DETAIL and, It's for KEEPS! I hope they have a decent 2022 of course, but I can't help wishing I could be a fly on Mr K's office wall everytime Accurascale and others have an announcement to make! Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi, Yes, Roundel did the RES livery as well, much to the dislike or puzzlement of many! I can confirm that at Preston Royal Mail, they still have the signage on the buildings where the Mail trains used to be dealt with. The RES 47 on Stewart’s Lane is a very confused ViTrains machine, as I keep changing my mind whether to sell it or not and all I seem to do is move it from one pile of boxes back to another! As for RAIL readers being asked to design the EWS logo, on this occasion, what a fantastic idea I’ve always thought, although I know this contradicts the idea of trusting experts like Roundel to do this stuff. Cheers, Shed.

Hi, Many Thanks for your kind words. The painting and weathering work is done by a very good friend of mine, although plans are in place for me to have some airbrushing tuition at some point next year. Don’t worry though, I won’t be flooding eBay with ‘Professionally Weathered’ items anytime soon! Lol’s… Cheers, Shed.

Hi, Just a line to wish everyone a Very Happy Christmas for 2021, here’s hoping that 2022 is better for everybody! Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi, Considering the amount of years these guys n gals have been in the model producing industry, longer than I've been alive, we really shouldn't have to be asking for these things, they should come as standard due to their unrivalled experience and expertise, surely? Yes, yes, I live in hope like everybody else....enough is enough now! Shed.

Hi, Don't know about you, but I reckon the Roundel designed livery was one of the best things to happen for the railway system in the UK, definately one of the positives! Any Thoughts? Cheers, Shed.

Hi Rob D2, Many Thanks, glad you like it…. Yes, I do have plenty of fond memories of the place and the people I worked with down there. I think it will always be a sore point for me though how I never thought to take any pics back then, lols! Kindest Regards, Shed. ps…In my excitement I forgot to add that the Class 40 shown in the pics was just visiting for a week or so, whilst en-route from GC Weathering back to its home depot.

Hi, Just a few more pics, this time of some new arrivals. Wooden wheelset cradles fitted to our internal user BR 'Sturgeon' wagon, for storing or moving wheelsets around the depot... Wheel Scotches... Roof access ladder, walkway, pallet truck, saw horses and metalwork table... ISO Wheelset cradle...for Clan Line... ISO Wheelset cradle...for Class 71 ... the wheelsets are removable so can be used for any type/size as required. For a change, these are my own work including painting. Just need to weather a little now to tone the parts down a bit. That's all for today, Kindest Regards, Shed.

Ah, did I say that was it? Just found a few more that I hope you like... You'll see that the main shed is still very much a work in progress, however thanks to smaller suppliers such as Goodwood Scenics and Westhill Wagon Works, a lot of really useful details are becoming available that are fundamental to a modern depot layout. Cheers, Shed.

Okay, so now I've got the phone memory issues sorted, just a few random pics to finish off, hope you like them. Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi All, Good Morning! Just a quick pic or two from 'The Lane'... There's been plenty going on here but I've not posted anything for ages again, I know. Shed.

Hi Fran, Thankyou for your detailed reply on this, which I didn’t just find to be helpful, but was exactly what I had in mind! Honestly, I’m not at all surprised that you’d already addressed this, the Accurascale brand really is way ahead in every respect. Thanks again, Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi all, Good Evening, I’m loathed to ask as I’m certain Fran and the team will probably already have considered this but… Has any thought been put into Light Loco headcodes at all for the headcode sheet? I’m not familiar with Deltic movements or workings but was thinking out loud about light engine moves and the headcodes used, for example ‘0Z55’ or ‘0A33’ etc. Would it be asking too much to include one or two of these perhaps? Looking forward to my ‘Purple’ one arriving next year….you can’t imagine my delight when after cancelling my first order and then regretting it, a small subsequent batch became available! Over the moon doesn’t come close! Come to think of it, wasn’t the purple one running round with just ‘__16’ as a headcode at one point? Many Thanks, Kindest Regards, Shed.

Hi All, Just a line to add to the above post…. There was a time, around the period you mention, when I spent a LOT of time driving 37’s off Hither Green. 37 051, 37 057, 37 109 and 37 114 seemed to be the staple diet for many of the jobs at the time and frankly, I had an amazing amount of fun with these. I even made it to Victoria with 37 109 and the VSOE empties from The Lane! I think one of my fave stories was when I was summoned from Hither Green to Stone Crossing to rescue a failure. The failed train was a 1,400t engineers trip working and the 37 on it had boiled dry I thought as it was simply way too heavy for the route on its own. So, off I go with another 37 ( not my idea ) and onto the top of the failure, thinking this is gonna take some driving so as not to blow this one up as well and fail again! I got the train to Dartford and stopped to drop off a member of staff and then I had an idea, which I think saved the day, thankfully, as everybody played ball. I was certain that the punishing gradients up the Sidcup loop line would be too much for this one 37 to manage from a standing start at Dartford if the speed dropped too low, and worked out that we really needed to keep moving and would be on full power for the whole journey. I phoned the controlling Signallers at Ashford IECC and London Bridge and also the shunter at Hither Green Bramdeam sidings, simply requesting that I have green signals ALL THE WAY and MUST NOT BE STOPPED under any circumstances until I reach to stopping point in the yard. To stop would be to fail again and need another 1Z99. To their credit, and it really wasn’t often I would credit Signallers with anything in those days, they kept me going. One 37 managed that run on full bore, from Dartford Station right up until the stopping point in Hither Green Sidings, at a whopping 15mph! To say I was impressed was an understatement, it was working so hard that it just hummed, very loudly, but it got there. There are plenty of anecdotes from working with the older, traditional machines that really made the job interesting as you had to really drive stuff sometimes. This all died with the arrival of the Class 66. Best of luck with your project by the way, look forward to seeing some pics if possible…. Cheers, Shed.

Hi Fran, Thankyou for the regular feed of info regarding various details relating to your Locos. That’s gotta be a ‘World 1st’ hasn’t it, a manufacturer showing you how to modify one of their original products? Anyways, what I dropped in to ask…. With the head codes, I understand these will be stickers fitted onto the outside of the glass panel from the factory which are changeable by the user? Have I understood this correctly? I’m curious if these will be the rubbery type plastic sheet where the light only shines thru the characters from behind or will they be a paper sticker based affair? Many Thanks, Kindest Regards, Shed.