57xx

And with retailer discounts taking them to approx £35, they are even more superb.

In my case, I picked up a couple of cheap spare bodies off Ebay (some from the batch of mis-numbered ones) with the intention of butchering them removing the topfeed and needed a chassis so took the opportunity to get a High Level chassis to go under the body that survives surgery.

That looks bladdy marvellous! You done a cracking job finishing it off. Looking forward to the next build.

Mine came from Rails, not sure if they have any still but it was sub £100.

Thanks for those pics Larry. Hope the bogies appear as spares, they would make nice upgrades for older models. Hope my Rails order arrives soon!

I think I'll be adding one of these to my fleet too. Looks very nice so far.

Maybe they are targeting the discerning buyer and making 45 & 60ft panels.

Missed this announcement. Glad I spotted it, looks like an alternative to putting a new chassis under my old Mainline relic!

I've built several of them, typical really I guess the LMS D1666 will be next on their list as I still have 3 or 4 of them to build too Really good to see another non-generic open wagon in RTR though rather than the re-liveried tat we usually get offered.

I think you need to make the first line an even bigger font, it doesn't seem to have had an effect, they're still at it.

Not as clearly as it states they would have been delivered by next Tuesday... It also said clearly 6 were available e.g. in stock, which we all know is a lie. If it's not in stock, it's a fraudulent listing. Guess someone must have reported them.

Better snap them up quick!! And then raise a dispute when they don't arrive by next Tuesday....

There are usually more overtakes in 1 lap of MotoGP than there is in a whole F1 race! It's funny how as time goes on, the spectacles get more rose tinted - As much as I love and miss the 500cc 2 strokes, it's simply not true that they had more HP or torque. By 2001 when they were axed, they were making 190-200hp in the V4s with about 80ftlb of torque. The 4Ts are around 240-250hp now and with similar torque at peak HP. The peak torque will be higher and with a better spread than on the 2T. Acceleration wise, they have a roughly equivalent power to weight ratio so you'd expect the same acceleration, but the 4T will probably edge it by getting better drive out of the corners. The future is here sooner than you think... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du7mSCmBxuY. Regarding traction control, you do know that the 2T bikes that too? Not to the extent of the current bikes but they introduced electronic ("computerised") torque reduction in the lower gears to reduce the amount of highsides coming out of corners in the early 90's. There was a lot of "computerised" gizmos on those old bikes that people forget about (or didn't know about). Drag racing is great. I don't think it translates well to TV as you tend to miss the noise and the feeling of the cars thundering past, but as a sport to watch at the track - fantastic.

Personally I think the springing is poor. I had one of the Peco coal wagons in my yoof (late 70's), it was great for prodding with a finger and thinking "wow look it goes up and down!" but the springs are way to stiff and the wagon too light to have any real effect. The buffers might have been ok were it not for using tension locks on the wagon. As you noticed, the chassis does not lend itself to 3 links easily so rendering the buffers another gimmick.

And those who drive with fog lights on all the time, especially when it's raining and actually makes visibility worse for other drivers by dazzling them, more so on a m/bike without a wiper to clear your visor. I believe it is actually illegal to use them inappropriately, but like all other aspects of motoring law, there are no police around to enforce it. He needs his licence revoking. No wonder the quality of new drivers these days is so poor!

Here's one I took in Hawaii on the flanks of Kilauea... Not so much a sign but a funny screen grab taken after Hurricane Katrina (apologies if this one has already been posted, I gave up wading through the thread to check )

We have a similar thing over here, added into the Highway Code just over ten years ago IIRC and London Buses then had a similar sign added to the back of them. Many drivers took this as carte blanche to pull out on people using the "manoeuvre, signal, what mirror?" technique. It clearly states, to give priority "when safe to do so", where-as the bus drivers just barge out, nearly had the side of my car caved in several times as they decide to pull out whilst I'm halfway past them (having started the pass before they are are indicating). If I am behind one that starts to indicate, I'll always let them out but I'm not a mind reader.

I can see people falling for that assumption, maybe there should be a clearer definition of Goods vehicle in the categories (e.g. all <=3.5T under C1) That probably stems from some twin wheel vans being >3.5T gross weight (thinking of things like the bigger 4.5T Sprinters etc). However it is not at all reliable as a lot of Transits have twin wheels and are still only rated for 3.5T (as was my first ever van, an excellent drive in the snow! ).

This is really coming along nicely. BTW if you need to see where the teapot goes, just check my profile pic

One other thought. Last time I asked about bunker steps (omission thereof on early examples of the locos) there was no response. Are there any EP examples of the early versions done correctly without bunker steps and cab roof handrail?

This was brought up before and from what I can see Dave has taken note and it has been altered from the original CAD pics we were shown: vs I'd love to get one of those cab fronts as a spare part to update my Airfix 14xx and make it look right from the outside. I think you have missed the fact this is a recess, not a raised portion. How will a recess make etched plates look like they have more depth?

Part of it - it's the electrical hookup for the bell system. The regulator was connected via a mechanical linkage which I think you can just make out to the right of the coupling hook, just under the buffer beam. As the yocal would tell you when asking him for directions "Well now, if oi were you, oi wouldn't be startin' from 'ere...."

I presume the big lump of plastic blocking the window to the right of the centre door in Rob's top pic is to hide the motor?

Very very nice. Glad I got my pre-order in on a small rake.

There's also the slow mo motors from Conrad to consider.