57xx

That was the first thing I thought. They both begin with "H" I suppose...

I think he was referring to the BigCheesePlant's post #292.

Your brake vans look good. Nicely finished, the lettering looks good and distressed.

Cheers for the update Dave.

I'd agree with you there, even for a small child that looks very low. Can't find any backhead pictures of the prototype to compare with though.

Can you elaborate or do we have to guess?

That's what I'm doing with the ones I have built up. The 5 plank will be in LMS and the 4 plank in LNWR livery. I fancied something a bit different livery wise, even if it probably wouldn't fall into my normal time frame (mid 30's)

I used the same technique for making nuts after reading about it in "The 4mm Coal Wagon", although I used white strip which made it hard to see where I was positioning them. One tip for cutting, use a piece of paxolin and run some mekpak on the strip to hold it in place while you cut it.

Somehow missed this excellent news. I'll be in for a couple or three of these.

One of my pet peaves on the old Airfix model is the front cab windows, along with the smokebox door, totally ruined the look of the loco. The front of this one is light years better. Looking forward to seeing this progress with the help of the feedback on here.

I totally agree with this sentiment. When I was a little boy "playing trains" on my Dad's TT layout, wagons were just things I made up into goods trains and I didn't really have too much concept of what went in them. Any Open to me was a coal wagon! It wasn't until I got back into modelling and started making up kits, buying books to get some prototype pics that I realised just how much depth and variety there is to wagons and how important they were. I can pick up any of my GWR, LMS or LNER books and have a browse through and pick up new details I hadn't previously spotted.

Well, that's easy! The Bachmann one hasn't got any moulded handrails on it at all like the old Airfix one has. Oh wait a sec... Erm, ok, well the Bachmann one has got a full representation of all the brake rigging and auto-gear equipment in the cab and externally so you won't be needing a Dart Castings kit. Oh wait a sec... Erm, ok, it has gone up to £70 already, so it must be an investment opportunity. And it's made by Bachmann.

One of the first things I did with mine was look at the possibility of removing the top feed. As Chris says, it looks incredibly tricky to do without damaging some of the fine detail on the top of the model.Probably not impossible for someone with deft skills, but something I'm not going to bother to attempt.

Hi John, I've had mine running on my test oval for the last hour using my trusty ECM Compspeed controller. It ran impressively smoothly right out of the box. Slow running is great, no hesitations over an insulfrog Peco switch.

Sorry, I was 2 minutes early

Here you go Lofty, 64xx vs 8750

That one is 8709 I think I have a later cab one upstairs... gimme 10 mins lol

Spookily I took this earlier before I had read your request...

Got the emails today, processed and dispatched

Where does it say it is stock at Hattons? I checked and it is still showing as pre-order and my Pre-order from last March is still sitting awaiting fulfilment.

Thankfully I was never in the market for one of these autotrailers, but that sort of pricing doesn't bode well for future releases.

That's the premise I'm working on. I have no need for a post WWII livery and fitted loco but I'd rather get one now than find out they wont bother doing a decent pre-WWII version without all the redundant gubbins on it.

Seems like the demand is still there and being met by Dave.... (Updated 9th February) We have further stocks of our GWR 14XX detailing kit (MT222). Our GWR 4 Wheel Coach detailing and underframe kit (MT220) should be available by end of Feb, albeit at increased prices. We are now clearing our residue stocks of Markits drivers (£1.65 Insulated and £1.35 Non Insulated) plus wheelsets at 33% off RRP. Some Comet chassis are still in stock at 15% off RRP.

The roof looks good. I remember seeing a pic of a goods yard that had a good view looking down on the vans there and you could clearly see the planking on them under the canvas. You have captured what I remember seeing very well.

Thankfully (for me) Dave is still in the process of winding down and continuing to provide his excellent levels of service (another ordered Sunday night, arrived Tuesday job). For those hunting specific parts, try using the search facility on the site if you know the MT part code. I was after some 4 wheel coach chassis which I couldn't find listed through the normal menus, however they appeared via search and were all in stock.