Hal Nail

Up again to £662 now. More than aware this is world economics but unfortunately, I think I'm going to put the heating on instead.

Not specifically on this one but IPA applied sparingly with a cotton bud (squeeze it out / wipe on towel first) usually removes the lining before the main paint. Anywhere it goes over rivets may well be a problem with any technique though.

Good shout. This is a late Southall embellishment in 1963/4 just before the loco was withdrawn rather than the original use. Its got red con rods as well. edit: and white/silver smokebox and guard iron detailing but no shed plate.

My first kit was a Springside 45xx probably over 30 years ago and, not knowing any better, I used 2 part araldite. I did carefully clean everything first and whilst admittely it has been in a box ever since so had little handling, it is still completely intact. In contrast I bought a Roxey well tank someone had soldered and I could literally pull it apart without any heat, to get back to the components! That said I would always solder now.

I would post a photo. Will be far quicker for people to spot if there's an issue.

A 7mm BR 21T mineral wagon with potential to use the chassis again (eg 24T) is one of the few remaining wagons Dapol havent snapped up with appeal for several eras, produced in large numbers and used in rakes so people might buy in multiples.

Some were built with central split headcodes before having a central fitted and like the 45 they got marker lights later. Loads of other changes through their life as well.

I'm not sure it would be that easy to get off - mine seems fairly solid. Glad I didnt get 4564 for that reason. Being metal, the paint does chip fairly easily so you have to be careful doing work on these. I've never seen one with red plates but of course colour photos in the early BR period were rare anyway.

Some progress today. The tank vents need to be moved back alongside the firebox but the base is integral to the cast tank tops with no access to sand it off. I might have to live with them in the wrong place.

I've never had any problem getting my money back selling on, so its not actually that risky. In fact the value of second hand kits has comfortably outstripped inflation so i regard my (ludicrous) stash as an investment that would only be losing money in the bank.

In case anyone is interested, Phoenix Precision BR Loco Green pre 1954 and a tiny dash of signal yellow is a pretty good match for Lionheart's BR green.

Bit of a bump for this. The subject of the GWR toads being banned as had a relatively low veranda came to mind yesterday on the Watercress line when i noticed (and was grateful for) the extra rails that have been put on. Sadly the planned Queen Mary was hemmed in somewhere so to allow photos out of the back, I opened the rear lamp access hatch. Inevitably one bloke firing off 1000s of photos got over-confident while the guard was on the veranda and as the coupling slack was taken up for the descent, was very nearly fired straight out through the opening!

It may have meant they got replacement wheels....

im genuinely struggling to understand how anyone can prefer gaudy colours and grossly over-scale heads over ones scanned of real people. We all have different opinions of course but you did start a thread asking :)

An authority on mk1 coaches - or at least his brother keith is - which is probably where the confusion comes from!

Thats an unusually clear photo. Sods law no rear ATC shoe though, so i cant test my theory they remained on the original buffer beam even after extending at the rear!

Aha! You picked up The South Wales Borderers then?

Some interesting points youve raised. I slightly disagree with this one tho. Yes some of the more expensive models have not sold so well, the GWR AEC railcar for example (not competitively priced compared to Dapols bubble car). The 60 is a bit more niche than some and sold badly the first time - I was a bit surprised they re-ran it. The 50 tho is on its third batch in short order. I think by any measure that one has done well and Dapol's 57xx and 14xx shot through the door. Interestingly the 45xx, priced nearer to the mogul, is already hard to get in some liveries. This all suggests to me, given the obvious space contraints, larger stuff is generally still not as popular. Which brings us back to the viability of a 2 or 3 car 2nd generation unit...

I would be the first to admit i have a slightly unhealthy disregard for the massive increase in r-t-r. Obviously it has put pressure on kit manufacturers - I like weathering and painting more than the build, so am not adverse these days to buying an r-t-r product such as Dapols 16T rather than one of the kits around and I'm sure thats true of many but as a result we will have less kit choice in future. Such has been rapid influx that there is now a significant number of people who treat 7mm like a Hornby trainset and just plonk things on the track and off they go. We are starting to get requests for opening doors, smoke units and other gimmicks and I fear these will be rolled out at the expense of detail and fidelity. What I cant quite get my head around is the original demand for detailed products must still be there? Or was it never there in sufficient numbers anyway and the hobby is just evolving down the more commercially viable path? As to 2nd generation, traditionally first generation had more appeal as both green and blue era modellers would buy and simple economics means you go for the thing with the broadest sales potential. As time goes on trends change though: we have seen 60s and 70s overtaking GWR branch lines as the most popular and in a few years I could see sectorisation being the new thing. Edit: I should stress i dont have a problem with how others chose to enjoy a hobby. The issue is there probably aren't enough in either camp for all our needs to be met. And being a miserable git i prefer my way, naturally!

That does look better. Its always difficult to know whether to comment on things like that especially given the wood effect was rather nice.

Wasn't there a castle class named Daniel Pooch?

If Oxford did that we might end up with a half decent Armstrong goods.

A blow to your travelling fans no doubt.

I am genuinely fascinated to learn what more we could possibly say that is relevant to a train of banana vans.... Although a relevant question, did fruit wagons smell?

Flush cab front... I got an almost perfect paint match on the cab front but when touching up a chip on the body I noticed the cab front was a slightly different shade to the metal body to start with. Little bit more rubbing down then will match to the main body colour.