The Black Hat

I suggested when I first saw these that doing them in the brown and cream livery to complete the Vintage trains rake would be an excellent idea. Although I was told they are a Mk2z I would readily accept these coaches done so far and liveried and numbered as the rake on the mainline as there is little difference between the types.

Bachmann need to choose the celebs as they are charging more than others and so need something thats iconic to pull in the demand for theirs over the other alternatives. Bachmann's choices though still don't get all the celebs or popular ones that you might be looking for. Some standard workhorses would work too as the demand 'should' be there but you still need to gauge what period or whether they are weathered, etc. Bachmann still (overall) do the whole green and blue for one release, then sectorisation and later in the next, rather than just go for what you need to make when you see what has been made already and what the competition is doing...

Could be right. Scratch that...

I think you could be right. Accurascale would be a good choice to undercut Bachmann again with the release of something like the Turbostar - which Electrostar option... Other DMUs to consider I think would be: Voyager/Meridian 220/221/222 Class 185 - with Desiro options All singing all dancing IEP - 800/801/802... etc 110 HST...

If you go back over the various wish lists that were done for a few years, you can use the data to see where the trends are. Matching this to models on bargain shelves tell you what sells and where the demand is. Some models have been made that were mid polling, others higher have been picked but some remain. As such you expect these to be options, but then so too are others that have been done and need the dcc refresh - particularly some steam options. Does a retool make the process cheaper and more efficient so stops the price rises that now make some think twice about which model to get. The fact that tooling options mean that more varients can be done gives hope that this no longer is a reason not to make a model. Cue the B16 and its varients being pushed front and centre. What I would propose is that some models are wanted by those looking to get another model. I would suggest these are: 8F B16 1, 2 and 3, BR standard 3 Ivatt 2MT and 2MT-T Hall Class Bagnall tanks - Victor, Vulcan, Valiant J21 / J25 A8 GWR Large Prairie

Its been a while since I asked for 66044 in EWS... do I do that again?

To be honest you could have it as a faded one... but the Mk. 1 set that I have repainted I have used Pheonix paints for BR Coach Crimson. As in Blood and Custard livery... but painted full coach in that and they look spot on.

Id say they are spot on. From my research and little memory of the time I think Transpennine was a livery carried at the time and was darker. Regional Railways comes along based on this but think the shade of blue got a bit lighter.....

I get the impression its not what you do, or how you do it, but who you know...

Regional Railways units lasted into Arriva Trains Northern days so ones rebranded would be able to serve your purpose. From my memory, the provincial blue and chocy cream units that were left were painted into Northern Spirit. That then was left while 156s got the paint brush. Arriva arrived and began painting 142s but this saw many of the various regional railways units last well into arriva trains northern operation. I also recall seeing some units swapped over between those in the North and those in Wales. Think that was due to some units having had seats installed in Wales that were matching those up north, so other ones went down that would allow the welsh ones to have standard fleet seats across their 143s too. So a rebranded regional railways unit with a small Arriva logo would work fine!

Hello all, Time for a bit of an update with the build of the layout and the plans for the future. Apologies here but there won't be too many photos jut yet. The layout has been moved so that it can be assembled and tested in place. That saw a need for a van to be hired in order to get it to the venue. When doing this it was realised that even with a few people and the crates concept working properly that the layout overall was going to be too big to move easily. While this is very disappointing I felt that it was better to scale back the layout now rather than continue on and build the layout which would then be taxing for having to need more people to help whenever it was wanted. As such, 4 boards are being removed from the overall plan - shrinking down the total space the layout would take up but then also making it much easier for venues to accommodate should they want to host the layout. The main area of boards being removed will focus on the townscene area, turning departures that that end into a full mainline departure as it snakes it way around the corner. The idea now is that the next board down features the curves into the fiddle yard and can have a townscene built over it for extra scenery. While this is a compromise it allows some scenery to be retained even if the town area will pretty much have a cliff running through the area to get from the lower bottom of the baseboards here up to where the town is over the height level needed for trains to pass underneath. At the far end the loading area looks to have been saved, with the operation of this flipping in terms of direction. This will see the area built on a board so that the line curves round towards the back of the layout. The branch line will still remain between the main and loading area before joining with the double track on the next board. It will also serve as the arrival line for trains to the loading area that will propel stock into this scene. Here it will pass onto the river scene which was always popular with those that have seen it and so has been kept. It makes the fiddle yard a bit smaller but this should still allow a nice amount of stock to be shown and for some to be able to be swapped out when running exhibitions. Despite this, there has been some work done this last week where the plans have started to come together. The boards for the yard and station have been made and crated. Other areas because of the reduced size have started to be matched and the boards that have been made and are now spare will form the basis of a smaller depot layout that can be made and exhibited just on my own. So in many ways it can and has been made to work out. The change still allows the layout to function even if the whole focus now is pretty much on just the station and the traffic passing through. While some boards have gone the compromise on the curves at the end of the layout means that its unlikely high speed running can or should take place and the lack of the extra length will mean that engines running on sound are not seen accelerating as much off scene. Still, it manages to hold onto a lot of the original idea - the station, depot, loading area, branch and north exits all remain. So there should be a lot of activity for those watching to enjoy. Will try and post some updates and photos as time allows, but this is after what has been a change of plans...

So - it wasn't my best move. Plugging in the connecting blocks to test the track saw me plug in the blocks 2 further to one side than they should have been. There was a short snap sound as all the 3v LEDs got fried at once. I looked around, realised what had happened. Checked the power over to proper supply. Nothing. It would all have to be done again. Thankfully, the way the layout is made has paid off. Taking up the boards allowed relatively easy access to the wiring the lampposts that needed swapping out. Some scenery needed to be given some persuasion to let go, but this can and has been fixed once its back down again. The buildings on the next board are now getting built and put into place. The kits are a range but give the town scene a decent feel to it. There is one that will become the 'North Eastern Hotel' with another to become an office/ council building that deliberately doesn't fit in with the buildings around it. Another view of the buildings into the town scene. The road is made from sandpaper that was bought as a roll and then sprayed with a can from Halfords. This gives it a nice realistic look. Pavements are made from thin wood board with slaters sheeting placed ontop. Most of the buildings here are actually HO scale but given the difference and realism I think all look fine. The aim here is to build a decent scene overall to give depth and interest rather than the fairly simple town buildings you can get at the moment in 00 scale. In this view here you can see the main high street as well as another bridge under the railway. From one end of the town scene to the other is supposed to also be a gentle gradient, meaning that its lower at the station and higher for where the backboard and break scene will be. The two tracks here show the lines away from the station, although the one on the left will be bi-directional so that access can be gained to the branch line point that will be on the final board. Will update more soon. Hope its all of interest.

Tried to place order and one of the few with trouble. Have emailed in as didn't want to miss this! Wonder if any other forthcoming 37s are black and orange with an EWS door...

Or... if you want full comparison over which class 31 is your preference ask Hornby to do 31407 in Mainline Blue...

Nice idea and a good livery to choose, but then fallen into the same trap as Hornby when picking which 'Fragon-wagon' to do. 31452 is the only one with the headlight mounted on the left side, the rest of the fleet had it at the middle above the bufferbeam area. This just makes it harder to renumber a 31 as they often ran in pairs, although doing this for two Fragonset 31s at the prices that these will fetch will show more than some loyalty to those liking the black livery with the red stripe.