robmcg

Originally advertised as limited to 500 produced, if I recall correctly my two 6231 Atholl models each had a numbered certificate, and I presumed that these three new current models would each have one too. To be honest the patchy availability of the models is a bit unusual. I do hope their use of the phrase 'strictly limited' is apt. Come to think of it, is it possible to buy a die-cast Duchess of Atholl these days? Last I saw in Ebay they had the usual high asking prices.

How strange that all three die-cast models in the recent release are still available. I had the impression they were all but sold out everywhere. Any excuse to show off my 35011, here are some views with different lighting, the satin finish isn't very deep in colour with this rear-bias lighting, but the detail is excellent on the body. No editing, just cropping and sharpening. Canon M6 MkII camera, auto exposure and colour. It's carefully packed away now, and in thinking about it, I don't recall seeing a numbered certificate, just the instruction pamphlet. I should have looked more carefully.

I notice that one major tier one retailer had none in stock for R3918 for the last week or more, but last night had one in stock. A couple of other retailers have '1 in stock' one had 5 R3918 46252 three days ago, 4 now after I bought one, and had 5 R3970 35016 for most of last week, but suddenly went down to two and is now out of stock. Jadlam appears to be able to supply either but I'd have to be desperate to deal with them. Other retailers seem to have an occasional one for sale, the disbursement of models appears to be a black art, I'm unclear as to the way some retailers act as if they can order one for you. For all I know some larger retailers who sell mostly non-railway stuff may have ordered one or two of each R3918, R3970 and R3971, Duchess 46252, Merchant Navys 35016 and 35011 respectively, and they might pop up on a shelf or indeed already be there. Restricting production to 500 certainly makes them more desirable, to me anyway.

Another video from Deepa, a 1962 H-D 2-rail Barnstaple showing its power..

Scaled it back, at least on RMweb, in favour of my Facebook page 'BR Steam Photos'. I'm enjoying Hornby models of the steam era as much as ever. My photos do not usually fit the rules for threads in the product section, many being modified and edited.

I see Peters Spares is down to 1 in stock of R3970 35016, after being on 5 for nearly a week. They still have 5 left of R3918 46252 ... I bet that won't last. No connection but a satisfied customer. I wonder how many R3971 35011 are still for sale at RRP?

Ah, of course! I was thinking of post-war versions. I have both 21C1 and 21C3. Superb models. While I wait for 35016 to wend its way to my doorstep, I messed around with the Hornby advertising photo, adding details mostly. Quite delectable. I can't see these hanging around shops much longer. I bought mine from Peters Spares.

A couple of stills from the video so kindly made by Deepa , showing 35016 'Elders Fyffe' in early BR Malachite... I think we are looking at a pretty high standard of metal casting here, I have bought one. Has Hornby ever done a Malachite SR or BR Merchant Navy before?

A few more pics of 35011, so tempted by 35016 now. The look and feel of these models is a joy.

Further to my scientific investigation into the vagaries of Hornby Bruswick Green, a topic which has stimulated slight interest hereabouts, here is the new die-cast MN 35011 alongside a known quantity, an old Sanda Kan 2005 BoB 34078 which I know looks darkish... Same iPhone12 and no editing, natural light. Direct afternoon sun and window frame shadow this time. Biggest difference is the lining colour, to my eye. Very slight difference in yellow could be the angle for all I know. Was lining orange and black or red and black? I must do some research! Here is how 34078 can be made to look. I hope to illustrate 35011 with similar depth of colour. Now, to buy a die-cast Duchess or not to buy.... Edit; needless to say, after taking the above pics, the light improved, so here is the comparison again. Did Light Pacifics ever have red and black lining? I thought orange and black was the norm, as per 35011. I'll shuffle off now....

In the interests of science and adhering to all the principles of good photographic ethics , here is an un-fiddled photo of R3971 35011 'General Steam Navigation', showing the nature of the Brunswick Green livery and the way different angles affect it. I got a friend to point her phone at the model which is sitting in the same position as my previous photos, but obviously the lighting today is different, as well as the angle. No artificial light. Window light from one primary adjacent window, diffuse light from other windows. Cloudy bright day, but indoor light as one might normally enjoy ordinary activity like reading, or looking at a model train.. iPhone12 on camera default settings, hand-held. Photo cropped and sharpened slightly. I think the body detail is outstanding.

No sooner did I write the above when a package arrived at the door, containing a beautiful Merchant Navy 35011. This afternoon a rare burst of direct sunlight illuminated the desk upon which it had been placed. I don't know if the photo is of any use, being direct sun from behind the camera, but it looks great from all angles. Runs smoothly and quietly. This is more usual room lighting... As often seems to be the case, looks better to the eye than the camera.

Thankyou Farren and 22C I think the green colour is excellently shown in these pics, at least within the usual variations of lighting, cameras, phones and so on, thanks very much to both of you. I see that there are a few R3918 'Leicester' s still with a very few retailers, I had better make my mind up soon!

Thanks for those pics Farren, has anyone had the time and opportunity to take any more photos of 46252 showing the green in neutral light? Given the excellence of the Crimson Lake livery on Atholl, courtesy Coachman, Larry Goddard if I'm not mistaken, I am a bit nervous about the rendition of BR green on Leicester, it's quite a bit of money to spend, after all. edit, ah, never mind your ppic on the Duchess thread shows the green rather well, and it looks the same to me as the plastic versions, top boiler seam notwithstanding. which is to say, not too bad.

Interesting seeing which retailers receive these very limited-supply models. However, harking back to days of Hornby Dublo proper, as in, metal 1950s stuff, I see that H-D never made their mind up over the paint finish on the many Duchess of Montrose models, gloss or satin or matt. It appears to me that the latest H-D models, Duchesses and now Merchant Navy models, are rather satin in finish, which led me to imagine what one might look like in a semi-gloss... perhaps a once-over with a semi-gloss spray? I don't personally think 00 models look quite right in the full gloss of current heritage steam locos, models usually being indoors vs the variable lighting of outdoors for prototypes, with all the reflections of sunlight and shade. So I messed around further with the Hornby pre-production photos of 35011 with a faux-gloss, which for me at least gives an idea of how the model could look. Edited with PSP6 as ever, but mostly only in tones, colours, brightness and so on. Will remove if it annoys. I think it looks marvelous, but I would say that, having bought one.

Further to the above, I have been fortunate enough to buy one of the R3971 35011 models and while I await delivery thought I'd tidy up the Hornby pre-production model a tad with editing, thus; I can't wait! The foreground is taken from a photo at Stewart's Lane so is appropriate. Except that 35011 was always a western division engine was it not? Will remove if pic offends. Cheers

Indeed lovely and I am intrigued, is the paintwork pleasant to look at in natural light? I took the liberty of enlarging part of your flickr photo and it looks like the rivetting and fine details are well-rendered, as is the green colour. Any thoughts?

Dear Tony, With reference to your recent ; "However, as an atheist, the 'hand of the Almighty', so to speak, might not be much help (judging by what's happening around the world right now, God's 'helping hand' isn't much use at anything!). That said, I've no wish to offend the superstitious (or have I, by just stating that?). Anyway, I've no wish to dig myself an even greater hole. " I have followed the repair and sale of these lovely models with interest and admiration, all power to you. It occurs to me that Little Bytham is such a fine model of the ECML of 1958 that I cannot help but speculate on how that line might have developed if someone like Gresley had continued after the war. Certainly the depredations of war and the work of the BR team took precedence, but Gresley and Bulleid both had good relations with Andre Chapelon, whose 242A1 showed that albeit with in a larger loading gauge 4-5,000hp was practical for steam. Thus instead of A4s and A3s wheezing past, you might have have had compound three-cylinder engines with thermic syphons, feedwater heaters and all kinds of 'improvements'. Imagine. No need for Deltics. At least until coal ran out... Alas the SNCF chose electric traction over steam, and 242A1 was quietly scrapped in 1960, but imagine if the P2 had been developed..... Here is my photo-montage of Chapelon's 1946 engine, and one might note that aesthetically it varies somewhat from British practice. In a world of 'what ifs...' I do like to imagine things. Perhaps it is I who have dug myself a hole....

Just another aside, while I am logged in, I was looking at that last pic of 954 and the shed in the background was built in early 1942 by Americans shortly after 'Pearl', and when my parents married. Dad wasn't allowed to enlist he was 'essential service' and my grandfather stayed on after retirement age because of the war. What the Americans achieved in 1942 was astonishing, given that we in NZ expected to be occupied by the Japanese (at which ironically I became fluent at in 1984), and this was before Midway or Coral Sea and more importantly the big naval battle which took out most Japanese naval supremacy, Leyte? but this is too far from Victorian railways, I'll have a quiet cup of tea. Best, Robbie

I haven't logged in here for some time but I couldn't let this go unremarked. Modelling NZR would be like modelling the steam days when I grew up in the 50s and 60s, 16-carriage 500 ton trains overnight between Auckland and Wellington, my Dad and his father having been railwaymen we kids got 1st class free for month each year, and 1/4 fare otherwise, and didn't have to travel with peasants in 2nd class smoking,... refreshment room stops while 4-8-4 engines watered, or were added or changed. A lot of double heading over the 1-in-50 uncompensated for curves including the Raurimu Spiral, towering steel viaducts, moon-lit scenes with the steady beat of exhaust quite clear even eight carriage back. During holidays there were 5 trains each way overnight, single track, tablet the Somerset and Dorset on summer Saturdays, on steroids. I haunted the nearest steam shed, 2 hours by suburban trains away, and at 11 yrs got my first cab ride on an express 4-8-4 all ready to take over an express, from shed to main lines, then backing up, "stay off the fall plate there" was the stern warning, the driver had taken pity on me I guess, armed with my plastic camera, I photographed it leaving with the express wreathed in steam. However, back to 16.5mm or S scale 1:64 it does look good, here is 'my' first ride, modelled by Ajin of Korea in brass, grafted onto the exact shed as it was then. Annie I know that NZR suffered under management but I was young then. My grandfather was more of the era you prefer, cleaner in the 1890s, top link driver by 1920 when his compound A class 4-6-2 was his favourite... here is one back around 1906 at Petone where I was born in 1950. But just to add perspective here, my mother was born in Guildford in 1921... hence with a Hornby childhood I will happily model BR. 1927 Royal Train Pilot. And just to show one of my beloved Ka class 4-8-4s again.... you won't believe the haunting whistles these engines put out on night-time trains in the King Country, it almost makes you weep when you here the reverberations off native bush clad valleys and cuttings. A short 'pop' as a warning to close windows with each tunnel, 22 of them from memory, and if there was a moon you could see far below the land beyond 200'+ high steel viaducts. So indeed why don't we model NZR? Simply because we would all go mad as you cannot re-create that stuff. I do mess around with pictures still... S scale Ajin Korean model... This is 944, one of the King Country engines, rarely seen at 'my' shed, Paekakariki. And as a sad an mildly relevant aside I was nearly 3 yrs old when Xmas day 1953 brought the sombre news of the Tangiwai disaster, I recall the mood in the house, Dad had been called away to work that morning. The engine No.949 made it to the other side of the volcanic lahar, the first five carriages didn't, 151 died they never found the bodies of the engine crew, engine was in emergency and in full reverse gear. Repairable but engine crews said they would never drive her, she was scrapped. Not a very nice note go finish on, but Annie I enjoy your thread and apologise for raving about things which some here already know. Many modelers here are not too pleased by my messing photos of 00 models of BR, so I made a call to stop putting them on RMweb. (just broke my own rule!) Cheers

Hi bathgreenpark I hope your hip is better, I am absolutely stunned by the quality of modelling and the video presentation of this station, yards and up the bank to Combe Down tunnel and beyond. Brilliant! What surprises me even more is that hardly any people here on RMweb have added 'likes', where a single average photo on some popular threads will garner dozens. I know that is silly and little to do with motivation and excellence, so I am moved to add least add my appreciation for the superb modelling and filming. Thanks again.

In contrast to the subtleties of Retford I suspect that some here have memories of 1950s and 60s train-spotting, and youthful attempts to photograph trains with such as a Box Brownie or Agfa Clack.. I recall hot summer days when I might have waited for a long time under a blue sky and in burning heat, surrounded by the smells of fields and the railway. Alas, any photo taken completely lacked life, no smoke, no steam, and the muddy tones of shop-developed black and white, 120 size eight pictures per roll... If I didn't err and fail to advance the film and get a double-exposure after the excitement. Such was the pleasure of seeing steam when it was 'real', and Heljan's lovely Garratt has become centre of this edited photo below realling those days. Even though the picture purporting to be circa 1953 would have been ten years before my actual adventures. No kit-building, scratch-building, nor even much modification of RTR... just placed on track in front of camera, I have done the picture in colour, but find the black and white version reminiscent of those early days, when I thought over-exposing film would 'bring out' engine details better.. I hope others might like this picture too. Cheers

I just opened this thread now and read the first couple of pages and saw a fair bit of Hornby management-bashing but zero thanks to Andy Y and Phil for obtaining this statement from Hornby, so thankyou Andy and Phil and any others involved. Some criticism appears oblivious to manufacturing and supply constraints during Covid. But as I say I only read two pages, or about 40 posts....

All I can say about that latest 2P photo is wow! Superb! I love the LMS 4-6-2 photos too, always liked them in wartime black. Brilliant stuff.

Well Tony having experimented with good half-frame cameras and rather goods lenses I can get very good depth of field with F40 , but I have to say that your excellent Nikon full frame camera and lenses are without equal for 4mm models at least. This is well-demonstrated by your lovely goods train shots. Excellent photos, thanks. Not to mention your many, many review and other photos. For any interested in modern cameras and photography at a modest level, here is a result from a 33MP Canon M6 MkII with its standard 15-45mm lens on 45mm Aperture priority, ISO100, 20 secs F40 window light and reading lamp. Question is, will I buy Chamossaire as well? With a 118 boiler instead of 117. I think the detail on these RTR models is state of the art.