Hal Nail

Test sample at Alexandra Palace today - i’ll post a photo later. 1st ep has arrived and is being inspected, painted samples expected for Doncaster show and planned to be out late this year. They said they’ve held back announcing until well progressed.

Anyone hoping to see the 57xx at Alexandra Palace today, be aware Dapol didn’t remember to bring one!

If you squint at that photo, it could almost be Fowey, with a Lionheart B set behind those two Atlas F units... hmmmm.

I've had a go at fixing the previously mentioned warp in the guards area on one side. I plugged the misaligned screw hole which I will re drill once the body is in place and butt welded a thickish piece of plasticard inside the body at one end. Once set, I straightened the bend in the side and welded the other end to the side, clamped it, added various braces to make all solid and left it all to set over night. I inspected my handiwork this morning to find the reinforcing piece has moulded itself perfectly to the original bend in the side, strengthening the unwanted shape. On the plus side my efforts to make it impossible to remove have worked very well. As engineering fails go this is not quite up there with the Tay Bridge but nevertheless I am now at work in a bad mood. The fact that in the photo above you cant even see it was warped in the first place only adds to my irritation. I will revert to the original method of screwing the side back in place with a tiny sliver of plasticard placed inside the warp to force it straight, which worked perfectly when i tried it but was rejected as not elegant enough. Grrrr.

More progress on the B set which just needs a couple of bits touched up and is ready to reassemble. I decided to leave transfers until put back together to protect them - or at least that's what I told myself after I'd forgotten them and weathered it. I've had to compromise on interior colours given I'm running two eras with maroon and carmine on each side but the original red partitions did clash badly with the maroon. With hindsight i might have gone for dark grey seats rather than merely dulling down the supplied finish but there are only so many times you can paint these and covering the Dapol finish took several coats. Given i've removed the lighting you only get an impression anyway. The sides are actually quite warped, particularly around the inset Guard's door and a couple of the screw holes may not be correctly aligned so I may end up adding a false floor or bracing. Additionally I want to get the ends fitted flush to the sides and will almost certainly end up permanently attaching them, at least at the outer ends.

Funnily enough with a bit of fettling I’ve found the Parkside pipes are a lot better than some! I have a few wagons that needed pipes and tried all sorts of other cast types without being impressed. I also resorted to slaters springs over a guitar string core as they are pretty fragile if left hollow.

Thanks both for the A class pics - happy memories! I'd been staying on Phillip Island c2005 with friends who mentioned you could get back to Melbourne by ferry/train which sounded infinitely better than a longish coach trip. I had no idea about the line or those older locos so when it rocked up it was a completely unexpected bonus. I seem to recall there was a huge delay of an hour or more with the loco paused on the furthest points, with the crew all peering at the track. Never did find out what happened but we set off eventually and I went back later on with the camera - will have to dig out all my old negatives now!

Apologies for straying off topic but how do you store your stock? Mine is mostly individually boxed and is increasingly taking over the entire house!

If anyone fancies doing some property accounting at those rates I’m more than happy to subcontract my job.

Just noticed your avitar - I spent a happy afternoon snapping one of them (or similar) on the Stony Point line some years ago! Meanwhile I've got a bit of paint (Halfords' Ford Burgundy which is darker and richer than the photos make it look) on the other side of the B set. And taken it all off again and got some more on, but let's not go into that. I will need to matt varnish it eventually but having got a finish I'm happy with, I'm frightened to go anywhere near it at the moment. The windows need more work (I brush painted them having sprayed onto some scrap plastic) but by the time they are weathered will be fine and I can pick the better ones anyway as modelling them open you get two out of each window.

Class 47/0 advertised on eBay for £1500 buy it now (or serious offers in excess of purchase price).

CRT regularly attend shows with examples of both the milk tankers and coaches on display although best to ring in advance if you are hoping to collect a specific kit (which requires organisation obviously, hence I haven’t yet purchased!).

Could you respray one side of the coaches and one set of power cars to have two different liveried units?!

http://www.crtkits.gbr.cc/index.php/8

Be interesting to see the outcome of this generally, not JLTRT specific as I'd always believed that in the event of an insolvency type situation there was little you could do outside the formal creditors' processes. I'm increasingly uncomfortable having to pay up front (not just for model deposits but holidays, house refurbs etc) given we are seeing an increase in businesses failing at the moment, so it's good to know if there is some protection as individuals.

I do like this! Will give my 33 tanks some thought along these lines.

Yes - didn’t spot them and replied before I saw which etches you are using so a completely pointless post, sorry!

I got a cast slide bars assembly and cross heads with mine - are they in your in your photos somewhere and I’m just missing them? The bag of bits is currently doing good service as loft insulation so I don’t have it handy to photo. As I recall the smokebox door supplied was too big for the Shedmaster smoke box front plate (or the later is too small). I also bought a replacement chassis etch from someone on this forum (edit: same one you’re using) I formed the running plate, splashers and cab from the original Shedmaster but I doubt it will ever progress from there in all honesty.

Thanks guys. Sun was out, warm conservatory (I held my breath and opened the door afterwards) can and model had both been on the radiator! Suspect a duff can so will get a fresh one - never convinced they are as good after the first use but didn’t want to risk again until warmer after the last attempt!

Joking aside, in the positively sweaty 7 the other day I got impatent and primed something from a half full rattle can and ended up stripping it off again (splattery and a bit thick (the paint, not me)). Does the air temp actually make much difference or is it more likely just time to get a new can?

Ah sorry, slight cross purposes! I’ve got the slightly larger size but am quite sweet on that one. Just spotted St Ives was that type too so perfect for a small location.

If that doesn’t fit the one he’s just designed for the Dawlish sea wall main line micro diorama (under 7mm modelling) is about as small as you can get!

Technically 4 although one would be for a prairie which I’ve been building for over 25 years now so probably not urgent!

Was the ATC pick up in the kit already? I need a few but keep forgetting to look for a source at shows so not sure what options are about.

Which size box are you thinking? I really liked Steve Fay’s builds but needed a smaller more typical branch type and had been hoping for some time Phil would do a smaller 6 window type. I suddenly noticed the other day he has one in the range now, so I jumped in for one yesterday!