mattingleycustom

Stern view of a Type 45 Destroyer; possibly HMS Diamond, in the Naval Base.

I always do Rob, that's why they look so good! ... here's one I laid earlier:

I thought Wilton was more famous for its carpets. That reminds me, I must put some etched plates on mine one day ... ... btw you should be carpeted for that comment!

I voted for the Bulldog, Saint and Aberdare classes (and Toplight coaches). Personally, I've never seen the appeal of Manors.

Those without a plaque are the least favourite in my experience, I didn't get many requests for Chard, Shaftesbury, Watersmeet or the like. By far the most popular was Salisbury, closely followed by Bideford. We are talking renamed Wiltons here; BR late crest with cut down tender. I spent most of this weekend researching LMS BCKs, how my little modelling world has changed!

Well that's me out of it, I think I've renamed over 110 Hornby Wiltons alone in my time, plus lots of other Spams and those 'Bulleid/BR Standard abomination' things. I'll have to get my Antarctic break another way ... ... I still luv Pingu

Sounds like fun, what have I got to do?

Saintly!!! (someone had to say it), I would have preferred it with the curved drop ends, but it's a Saint and it is good to see. Glenn with his 'Churchward Appreciation Society' hat on

1300 pages now Rob ... and at least three of them are about model railways. G. W. Aaahhhhhh!

Have I? ... it all seems so long ago now ... By the way chaps one has a Spam-type thingy on a well known auction site at the mo: 34002, yet another renamed 'Wilton' proving popular; they always did well for me.

The damn thing hasn't got any cylinders, madness!!!

That 'thing' has been severely altered enough already, an air pump is just another insult. Glenn - I luvs me Spam

2-P or not 2-P, that is (out of) the question! W. Shinsplint

Larry, Excuse my ignorance, but what do you use for the extra rain strips? As an SR modeller I was blissfully unaware of the missing rainstrips until I read your post ... and then I looked at my existing Hornby Maunsells and they all have four rainstrips ... they are also in the fully lined out olive, if only the Restaurant Car had been lined as well. Glenn

Having just taken delivery of Hornby's LNER 4493 Woodcock, I was looking for a review of the loco but came across this thread. For my forthcoming (if Iive that long!) SR/S&DJR layout, naturally I require lots of LNER pacifics ... somehow I have acquired fourteen A4s, one in BR green and the rest in pre-war LNER condition with skirts - of course they regularly hauled the Pines Express; that should have the purists screaming!!! Glenn

As much as I dislike weathering anything pre-BR, I do like what you have done with 21C159. The top photo is best, the Hornby rendition of the malachite green is pretty good, it wasn't nearly as garish as many of the colour photos of the time would have us believe. One thing I have noticed with photos of the Bulleid Pacifics is that the cowl usually has a gloss finish unlike the rest of the engine 'roof' which is nearly always dull. When I used to weather these things I used to mask the cowl (at least for the first pass of the airbrush) to retain this feature. Glenn

What is a Wombat? ... a bat you play Wom with, of course! ... ... I'll get my coat

Look closer and see, see in to the trees, find the 'Hall' if you can ...

Learning how to use a bow pen takes forever too - believe me, I have tried. Stick to the transfers, IMHO waterslide (Fox) are the easiest to use. Glenn

... and now they are an energy supplier

But the photo shows 1405 is paired with the correct 4000 gallon tender; these have the turned in tops to the sides and the rise in the running plate at the cab end over the steps. Confused of North End

Ah electricity you see, something the GWR brigade are only just getting used to now! Sparks

If you have ever tried applying black/yellow lining to a Southern coach you would know why repainting, or just lining one is a daunting task. I tried it once, never again!

Well, thanks for the positive comments chaps (the cheques are in the post). Reports of my demise are slightly exaggerated. I still like to dip into the madness of ANTB now and again, it helps keep me (in)sane! I had to shut Mattingley Custom down as I have too many other things going on currently. I still have commissions outstanding from last year; ask Rob, he's one of my victims! On top of that I started a new job in January and that has been full-on (I've had to learn things!) and I am trying to get the house(bombsite?) up together in order to sell up and move on, although there is little sign of progress yet. Once I am moved in and settled down, my intention is to take on commissions again. However, exactly when that will be, I don't know. Glenn Here's a pic I took of 34101 with 34029 in the background last September, the wind fairly took your breath away, but it was a great day to visit North Devon.

Very impressed with the samples on the Hornby website, but if the SR version is not in lined olive green then I will be cancelling my order as it won't match the vast majority of the previous examples - such a shame. Glenn