dj_crisp

Exactly as 25kv describes. I've tried many methods but for RTR (I caveat I paint diesels/DMUs) the slightly diluted IPA route has been best. I've bought several litres cheaply off Amazon (I think) and you can reuse it. Just soak your loco body overnight in a container and then brush it off in the morning.... with an old toothbrush. Then a simple wash in water (I try not to get any down the drain if possible). I've settled on Halfords grey for black but I'm now preferring Tamiya fine white which has resulted in an excellent finish. Cheers Will

This is a great idea! Way beyond my skill set but I'd love a set (as I have a 166 in the long term works)

I go with... Strip to bodyshell, Strip paint, clean, prime, light sand, clean, top coats, gloss varnish if using waterside transfers... (sometimes I don't bother with this if using dry rub transfers), apply varnish (your finsh preference ) and then weather and if needed apply some more varnish to seal everything. Personally I prefer enamels and only spray outdoors. Firstly keeps the wife happy, but also means I don't spray when it's too damp, cold or even hot! My best results are when I can wear shorts ;) Also enamels allow more post spraying adjustments... eg removing overspray. Although I'm preferring acrylics for final weathering these days. Enjoy! (It can be quite good fun!)

I've fitted several bug eye illuminated models kits to Hattons 66s and they're excellent. A really straightforward forward fix that i recommend. Also I changed around the wiring on all my 66s to end up with 10 seperate functions for lighting as that's my preferred setup. I haven't yet come across any other circuit board issues with the Hattons versions but I guess that'll be seen with time. So unless they die I have all the 66s I can ever have the use for.

There are some suspicious holes in the chassis of the Bachmann Mk2f that could very easily be for Mk2d/e bits. Only subtle differences in bodies to tool. A Mk2a/z would be very welcome. For me the Bachmann Mk2a only misses due to its roof shape otherwise it looks fine to me. So I'd much prefer these to be done by Accurascale to match their Mk2b.

Sounds cool.... Looking forward to some turbos!

A fair review in BRM this month. Hopefully the next model from Heljan (what ever it may be) gets the basics better.

Many Many Thanks! Loads of great detail and help :)

In my 1992 Platform 5 book theres a nice shot of 6521 in NSE - I couldn't quite work out what vents it had based on an annoying background so thanks for clearing that up! Do you know if the layout of the roevac vents is the same as the Accurascale version? Many Thanks Will

Layouts looking great! From my electrical numptys viewpoint I've found wiring my layout for DCC easier than DC. I couldn't tell you if I have less or more wires though! I've gone for the approach of wiring each section of rail which I'd have done for both DC or DCC. Where things are easier for me to understand is things like lights, accessories or controlling points. I just wire up the input wires to the DCC device and wire up the corresponding output wires to the item. There's no control panel to wire up as I can get a PC to do that or atm as things are simple I'm just using my phone. Although I intend getting a cheapo tablet to replace that soon. And it's nice driving trains up to others.... messing about with lights etc which is easier on DCC.

This is brilliant! Hmmm I was too late to order any 2cs and I have one too many 2b TSOs for my eventual waterloo to exeter rake. I might just have to do some copying :)

Enjoy your weekend and a few pints! Cheers Will

They aren't too bright so I doubt anyone will really know with mine. I'll have a look to see how my Bachmann 158 works out of general curiosity.

I used my sprog and decoder pro to programme... when reading the decoder type cv it gave hundreds of options then with the help from this forum I found the right light bar option. Then it's plain sailing. I've got 2 mk2f sets and have so far only programmed my virgin one. It was a breeze in the end. As there's an option to have CDLs operating one side or the other or both they're now directional as well as the tail lights. I've never really noticed if CDL lights illuminate platform only side or both on the real thing tbh!

That's interesting. Did you use the standard coupling with the magnetic coupling? When i tried the supplied magnetic coupling i had a much larger gap whereas yours looks great on the straight.