dj_crisp

Nice work! I guess the Hurst CDL lenses are no longer available? They look great and I'm after quite a few for my second gen projects. I donr suppose anyone knows an alternative supply?

Thanks Rich for the shots. I had fun with NSE white while messing about with Bachmann DMUs where they've switch to basically pure white. I'm not entirely sure it should be pure white but I think it looks better than the NSE off white from railmatch or precision. The lower white stripe does look quite thin though... Will make a mixes rake look a bit odd

Thanks! It always surprises me how small coaches look next to 37s. As you say there must be a slope in that shot as the coach looks a bit lower than it did in your other photos. Looking forward to having a play with mine when they arrive.

Some interesting photos and thanks for sharing. Do you have a side on photo of them coupled to the 37?

I'm hoping Cavalex will only supply them pre-fitted with ESU decoders :) Then the zimo crew won't buy it and we can all enjoy the peace and quiet. Just imagine the fun with the extra lighting complications.

I've not tried glue and glaze so will give it a go next time. Otherwise I do the same. JN my biggest tip is less is more. I.e. apply small amounts. I use matt varnish and if any seeps through have a small brush with thinners to hand to run over the seepage which with a dry brush can be soaked up. It's a useful technique to learn for any type of painting with enamels.... I guess I mess up on everything I do just that I'm learning how to correct stuff

Can you contact ESU yourself about why they've adopted a slightly different approach to Zimo. I'd rather the cavalex crew got on with their next projects!

Reading this I've sort of lost track of what the issue you have as it's not clear to me. I find lokpilots really easy to programme/map and I have them setup the way I want across the fleet so the functions operate the same. I much rather the standard off the shelf lokpilot doesnt have much mapped!! Purchasing an ESU decoder seems a no brainer to me. I now dont bother buying a decoder under 10 functions so until the rest of the market catches up then its a simple esu or zimo purchase. I'm sure they will and I'm pleased cavalex and other manufactuers start improving lighting as tbh its been pretty rubbish for a long time. Infact my Hornby 60/67 homebrew lighting projects could really do with 11 function outputs so maybe we'll all be complaining 10 functions aren't enough soon 😀

They look awfully deep in the bodyside which continues to the front as head on they look too tall and thin.... Just couple up to a mk1 and compare to the prototype. For me there are loads of other errors that are more subtle.

I'm slightly curious as to which manufactuers have done this as I'm yet to see one myself that wouldn't need something like a lokpilot as a minimum (admittedly I haven't got a cavalex 56).

Well not much has happened on the layout over the last six months or so. But I have got round to wiring and finishing the trackwork on my traversers! It's amazing how long this wiring malarkey takes! I haven't worked out locking yet but at home they're suitably stiff it doesn't matter too much. I've also tried bolting the two boards together so see how they work. Quite pleased that they do! Having 2 boards gives me a little flexibility on how I run the layout at home as I'm a bit limited on space where it currently lives. So I can either operate as a terminus or end to end but limited to small 2 car DMUs as through trains. Next challenge is fitting so new TOUs and tie bars as a number have failed. This is pretty tricky as I didnt plan on making the change and the pointwork is all glued down. Jot looking forward to that challenge!

Sounds a plan. It was quite nice to see Bachmann using warmer white LEDs for this model.

What a great set of projects! I really like your 158s and agree the new tooling is excellent. One thought is will the GWR bodyshell have different light clusters to the RR one you have? I'm debating on renumbering my RR one and whether I can get the lettering off without damaging the front glazing. Keep up to good work? Will

50017 seems to have been in NSE pools it's entire career and the most exotic photo I have is it on parcels. Saying that Laira put 50s out on almost anything to run them in so I wouldn't worry as it'll look ace on some ballast.

I'm also VERY impressed with my first SLW purchase. Runs really nicely and the first one that for me just looks like a proper rat. I'm rather looking forward to having a go at weathering this, might attempt to make the ploughs look a little thinner but there doesn't seem much to do! Only a minor niggle is on first inspection the EM wheelsets look just like the OO wheelsets but on a longer axle. So the wheel itself is a bit wide/thick but I'm going to check dimensions are ok sometime soon before fitting.

This sounds very interesting! I look forward to your findings (even if you deem it not a success!)

There's a bit more to it than just wheel size. Shrinking the wheels means you have to start playing with bogie sizes and/or relationship with the body and/or ride height. Worse still you can end up with off centre wheels. I've seen all of these approaches taken by all manufacturers tbh. The loco may look alright on its own but horrible next to say a coach.

Imagine that eh? Well I think the answer is never! The 50 is a good example of the compromises needed for OO which I think punters will need to accept. Although even with the 50 I think you can accommodate both.... but there are plenty of current models which simply don't consider EM/P4 and I've simply stopped buying those.

I was lucky that I answered my phone end of last week and now have a very nice Rat at home. They have a long list of people to phone so I'm sure everyone will get contacted.

Thanks Bruce for your helpful reply. Makes sense to me that for OO a smaller wheel is used. It'll be interesting to see how the ride height can be maintained with the different wheel sizes. I know Hornby didn't bother but their design allowed modification with a big old file :)

Ok im still puzzled about the body fit issue. Is this a problem related to using more scale wheels and then having to have a gap to go round tight curves? I'm hoping there's not a Hornby solution to this issue and I was wondering if you've got a cunning plan as hinted earlier in the thread.

I'm also not a fan of the removable roof trend. Personally don't see any point in it unless you expect a need to replace smoking decoders. There are some nice aspects of the model and I'm looking forward to a production version to see the fit of the body to the chassis as you noted the fit isn't great. Have you managed a way of fitting scale wheels and keeping a nice ride height? Tricky and something Hornby couldn't do.

The more I look at Iris 2 the more differences i notice.... and then a biggie that i hadn't spotted before and is pretty obvious . Namely that the DMBS is from a batch where the guards doors are the other way round on one side. To resolve I didn't want to cut up a lima or Bachmann shell but it just so happens i have a beheaded Dapol 122. A quick matchup showed promise so I decided to have a go and see if it's possible. I guess there's two ways of doing this with one way being just cutting out the doors... or mine which is a bit more dramtic taking out a larger hole as i didn't fancy chopping through the door hinges or adding the door banger. The theory is I think i can make a nice straight edge by the door and a combo of filler and filing will sort out the end. Although Dapol got the positioning of the bottom door hinge wrong on their bubbles so I may or may not visit this! Being from a 122 the profile however is a little flatter than a 101. Also the height of the doors in a little shorter as on the 122 there is a nice moulding of the rivits. So I filed these off and with some shaping of the the top to the 101 profile it allowed me to extend the doors to the top of the shell. You'll probably see a stress line on the bodyshell... this is me cutting a V channel out of the back and force bending the plastic a bit more and sealing it with some glue. Hopefully it looks ok and I'll only really know when the unit has been primed. I've just done a trial fit to the intended chassis which has been converted to EM to see how it all looks (the interior will change!) and a small amount of modification was needed where the etches are. I've also added the Hurst bodyside etch along with a partial cut out - no idea what it is though! The fronts now have Shawplan frames added which is no easy task and slightly daunting as plenty of plastic needs to be removed! The headlight is a replica effort that I've filed down and drilled out ready for illumination. The DMS is a powered version as I think Iris 2 is a power twin so it's sitting on a motorised chassis from Bachmann spares. However this needs modifying as it's intended to be powered so has had a bogie added (also from Bachmann spares). The combination of the heavy power car and metal trailer makes this one by far the heaviest DMU i own.... not quite a light weight 😉 I think it has prospects of being an interesting DMU - next steps are to get some primer on when the weather is better and there's plenty to sort and research for the underframe. Thanks for reading!

Agree with all this. One advantage I find with enamels is the ability to fix my mess ups post spraying if I've not got my masking right! Certainly with weathering enamels are an advantage if spraying. I do like acrylics but tend to brush paint those.

I'm sure if you post about your enamel spraying someone will be able to help.