Hal Nail

I'm still toying with making my china clay rakes share a common underframe with two bodies, covered and open. Its the wheels, buffers, couplings etc which soon rack up cost if you are duplicating.

There's probably a forum somewhere that could identify the 37 for you! Reminds me of a trip to Swindon once where my friends were going to go through a hole in the fence and get all the numbers of stored locos. Good boy that I am, I didnt really fancy that so after a long and heated discussion, we eventually agreed if I nipped through the hole and just had a quick look down the line, I had "spotted" them and it was fine for me to write the numbers down once my accomplices had collected them. They inevitably got spotted and the police called but we managed to evade capture. We eventually got home to Southampton about 3 hours late to some rather tense parents. Funnily enough I dont recall any trips after that one!

Dapol have brought a rivetted out now as well. There are also other kits than MM1 too. I've only seen St Blazey's on local clay workings and occasional passenger work (eg on the Newquay branch) - I doubt they would have been at Dawlish with any regularity.

There is a little book available British Railways Steam Allocations that gives their sheds at various dates including 1955. There werent actually that many panniers based down there but a few between Newton Abbot, Exeter and Laira. Also worth noting that St Blazeys 57xx were mostly of the rivetted type - effectively a 3rd variant. I would have said the later cab was more common, but only based on my recollection of photos. Skimming through the book, 9623 was based at Newton Abbot. If you want accuracy find a photo and model that or the more tried and tested approach when starting out - just do what you fancy!

The 3 planks were often used for containers in BR days. I've seen photos somewhere of timber loads with detail of the rope work used secure it. People have used coffee stirrers. https://www.igg.org.uk/rail/9-loads/9-timber.htm

I think activity just goes in fits and starts. I listed something at a level I've sold at before and after 2 weeks had 100 views but only 6 watching, which is a fairly poor ratio and I thought it might not sell. Then last weekend, out of the blue, I had 3 different offers and someone bought it at full price, all in the space of 2 hours.

If something i want has a low start and "an or make an offer" option I have sometimes bid the starting price to get it to revert to an auction. I wouldnt think you are likely to win something very early on with a low offer, so probably better to take your chances in the auction as usual. Last time I did this this I then completely forgot about it and my opening bid actually won, which is the only time I've ever secured something with an early bid!

There is chat about that Bedford somewhere else suggesting it isnt actually too long but that weird body just makes it look so. I'm going to try a cardboard flatbed first to see how it looks i think. I'd like to do a pantechnicon eventually, which for some reason is how I always associate them

Masking tape is up there with traffic wardens and facebook. The only thing worse than trying to get a decent paint finish, is getting a decent paint finish and then promptly peeling it off again.

Its metal not plastic - totally different really. The original Lionheart ones were around £1,000 if I recall correctly but Richard Webster said way back that any future releases would have to be on a more affordable basis, presumably with an eye to where the market was going.

Just noticed there are a few red ones on ebay now of some sort of fire fighting variety! I don't think its a particularly British looking design but I'd have preferred to start with a red cab to yellow if I'd known!

I have a bit of a thing about smokebox darts - there are some ropey castings around. The Dapol plastic are actually pretty fine but brittle bitnive bought a few at that pricd I used to like ones by GWR castings but I doubt they are still about. Which are you using? I just use bog standard Wilko superglue applied on a pin for small details or canopy glue for my figures. They should be protected in the cab so a relatively light fixing is fine just to stop them falling over. Btw dont drop those Modelu men - they dont bounce!

Presumably the base boards can do either so you can start with them anyway. Worth buying some track - a few lengths of flexi and a point or two and see how it feels playing with those wagons. With the "heft" and detail of 7mm, as others have said, even running a loco over 3m can be fascinating in its own right, whereas that is less true in the smaller scales. These days you can always sell it again on ebay and if you bought carefully in the first place, often make a profit, so little to lose testing the ideas.

I'm probably being thick but what is a 5th wheel coupling? By the way Ixo also do a tk rigid - it's about half the price of the artic as well!

Amanda has built some wonderful stuff already on this forum. I dont think there is any doubt the impact 7mm has, the issue is, I think, purely down to whether the 14ft is sufficient to keep operating interesting enough. That is personal in the end but is an understandable dilemma as it is quite restricted.

I thought I was wrong once but I was mistaken.

I've never had any trouble just using a normal watchmakers screwdriver in these but you can buy the ixo ones on e bay as well.

Have you made those brake levers or were they spares? If made, how did you do the bends without snapping them?

As an aside, someone did produce these when it first came out.

"Scratch built from a kit" particularly irritates me.

Are you suggesting, he says whilst donning a tin hat, that you think Dapols QC approach could be improved? Hope you have finally shunted covid into the Swindon dump?

Dont know if you've seen this thread but i suggested lift out scenic cassettes which was just to avoid handling stock but basically the same principle - just fiddle the stock on the layout rather than compromise the scenic bit. Some other ideas on there as well - different size space but still essentially the same use of space theme.

I was about ask the same as unless I've missed the start, it randomly appeared a few posts back! I'm assuming Easy Build?

I found this is really useful in highlighting how constrained it gets trying to fit more than one "scene" into the length. I'm thinking about about having two layouts next to each other, linked by the traverser. Eg a wharf and a clay dry in my case, neither much more complicated than two sidings or loops, each keeping that feeling of space you can get in O whilst taking advantage of the room's width to give the variety. Especially if portable so they dont both have to be permanently up.

My concern was the sheer size of buildings isn't fully apparent from plans. You read time and time again when people start making them they are thrown by the impact even after planning! On my work bench a coach looks fine. Then I put two together with a loco and realise 1/3 of the room has suddenly gone!