Hal Nail

Or in Brian's case, care and a couple of evenings!

Hi, No wasn't that one - link attached hopefully: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bachmann-00-Gauge-Class-47-236-Professionally-detailed-and-weathered-/271152025101?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item3f21eb8e0d. I suspect its a GFYE respray although it doesn't say as such. Anyway thanks for info re the 3 piece moulding.

Just out of interest, is the Backy 3 piece fixed grill just an etch over the Serck moulding? Noticed a blue Bachmann on e bay at the moment with roller blind headcode panels and serck grills which is claimed to be an ex 47148 (which was one of the 3 piece models). Which got me wondering....

Big difference between a giant absorbing losses to put rivals out of business compared to Dapol stating prices don't need to be so high though... If JLTRT don't think a Warship would sell, I can see why Falcon wouldn't. But then they said a 47 wouldn't sell (even though the Heljan effort has its detractors) yet they produced duplicates such as a 26, 33 etc which were not widespread (let alone something like the Clayton). Not us taking the risk I guess but I don't follow the logic really.

How about a 1/24 bus placed at the front then?!

Presume you will be doing this in blue?!

And you're still hoping for a present?!

Many thanks. With those pipes across the moulding theres not as much access as I'd hoped but will have a crack in due course. Is your JLTRT bagpipe on hold? If so that must have spoiled your average finishing time!!!

Brian, going back a bit, how did you do the cut out in the 33 tank? Also have you separated the pipe work moulded above the tanks and then fixed to the body, slightly set back, or is that just an illusion?

SR green? Go on, live a little...!

Just asked our IT support what to do if your computer won't start? They said switch it off and turn it on again

Brian, Bumped into you at Swindon - I presume they justified letting you in as 33's ran to Bristol?! You said sooner or later someone was bound to ask for a Heljan/JLTRT class 33 photo comparison. Just thought I'd mention it... Got to be honest - and fully prepared to be shot for this - the unpainted JLTRT face reminds me a bit of the old Lima OO effort! Looking forward to seeing what painting does to it though.

The weathering looks consistently superb

I've been thinking the same. Brilliant! Just a thin strip of masking tape wound round? Just done my bike handlebar tape and its not as easy as it looks!

Brian, These look very similar to an unbranded set I picked up at a show supposedly for a class 47. Nice but the shanks are huge compared to the JLTRT equivalent! Earlier musings in this thread about class 33/1 buffers being larger that the 33/0 (which I agree looks the case). I noticed last weekend the GCR's class 47 "Sparrowhawk" (grrr ) stabled in between a 25 and a 37. All three had identically sized buffer heads. Made me wonder were there really loads of different buffer heads or just a few standard types? Having said that the retracting type were probably unique so not sure this is relevant anyway?!

I knew I'd seen a driverless 08 trundle past. You must have been busy measuring at the time

Ok, I'm going to stick my head above the parapet. Nothing to do with Brians modelling I should stress! Are the bottom of the 08 cab side windows too high up the body - compare with photos of the real thing and they are almost at the bottom of the fuel gauge (or whatever that circle on the box in front of the cab is!). The real windows are well over half the height of the cab side. Probably a good thing but for once I'm not tempted to race out and get one (until the paint job turns out superb and I change my mind obviously... )

128 looks tremendous - albeit ugly! Going back to a topic several pages ago, I've just spotted a photo on page 13 of Modern Railways Illustrated No. 184, of a preserved 33/2 with one large and one small buffer. Quite a marked difference - although of course no way of knowing if both were actually from a class 33 originally...

Quite a good strap line. If you start using it I'll send you an invoice for pr consultancy

I've been struggling to find a shot of both together, which ought to clear it up, but if you put "class 33" into google images, there is one on the first page from the Swanage Railway of both types. Utterly inconclusive

Brian, Check out your own photo of 73006 and 33039 on your website. The 73's buffers are larger than the adjacent standard 33/0 - so were the 73 style buffers which were already working on a loco with buffing plate, then fitted to 33/1s on conversion perhaps?

Either everyone is out being romantic tonight or busy reshaping their 47 cab windows but since no one else has said it, that 33/1 is looking pretty good! 4TC conversion next?!

What a cracking stat. And its nearer one in ten excluding Brian!

Sorry for continually hijacking this thread with 47 musings. I will start my own although most of my mods have been covered elsewhere by now. Superb job with the photos there and yes, from some angles, it looks really good. And trust me I've spent hours looking at it! I think the lack of glazing on your model is significant - as many others have suggested the glazing is part of the problem and a flush fit and disguising the thinkness helps. This is not a case of nit picking for the sake of it though - I could live with the bogies for example. I just think the most important part of any model is the face and it just doesn't look right to me. As to whether the corners are too square (and they do look it from the photos), whether the modelled top edge looks dished inwards and whether the bottom edge should curve downwards are not a case of rivet counting - I'm just trying to put a finger on what to correct to get it to look softer and capture the real thing. Besides which if I wasn't thinking about this I'd have to do some work...

Once again many thanks for the various 47 responses. To be perfectly honest I don't like the shape of the MMP ones and I can't see how I'd bed in the combined two window piece without messing up the whole thing. An overlay of each individual frame ought to be much easier (although admittedly I can still see it going pear shaped). The possibility of access to 105 is so exciting I nearly broke my no smileys policy... I'll definitely follow that one up!