dj_crisp

Funny you should mention the 60 fronts as I was also looking at mine last weekend. Hadn't thought that it could be a droop... I'm suspicious of the spring in the light connections forcing the body to ride a but high. Will have a play one day and see. Cheers Will

Thanks Shed Yep I agree Hornbys grey is a little off... especially their 56s for some reason. I've got a 56 to do one day but think it'll have to be a full respray. I'm just about to do a couple of Stewart lane 60s and have a couple of Hornbys Canisp to rebadge. Did you find removal of their logos easy? I'm thinking of attacking it with t cut. Your new additions look well smart. Excellent stuff Cheers Will

Imagine if we don't need cables to charge.... probably unlikely technology but that'll stop those pesky overnight unpluggers.

I can't wait for your next update - inspirational stuff Anything in toothpaste livery gets a thumbs up from me but those 60s do look awesome - I assume you've renumbered 042 and which model did you use as the base? cheers Will

Totally awesome Lee I do like centurion.... the stripes remind me of my painting skills... but then I'm trying to get a straight line cheers Will

Thats a very interesting comparison and also shows that the Lima example stands up very well against Dapols. Did you alter the roof ribs/welds on the lima version as they look spot on whereas Dapols look a little heavy to me? Some of the details on Dapol's underframe look fantastic... not sure about the straight exhaust though. I wonder if the early examples were straight? Will

I had a spare hour this evening and have put together a set of A1 etched sprinter bogie frames. I've trimmed down the frame around the bearings so as less brass is on show. Then I got the hacksaw out and chopped a bogie up and drilled slightly off centre holes for the bearings. The A1 frame is ever so slightly longer between axles than Bachmanns but i think I can get away with that. It rolls really nicely and I also like the feeling of space so was quite happy.... until while planning on how to mount the bogie to the underframe I realised the set up is far too wide Damm....!! I've now got to trim the bogie side frames down by several mm each. So a straightforward task now seems a bit challenging!! One for next week.

Hi Nick I totally agree regarding the bogies. I'm also finding the plastic Bachmann uses to be very brittle and have snapped two lugs already. I have some A1 models Sprinter etched bogie frames which I'm going to try out on the trailer car. As soon as I've soldered them up I'll post a picture and see if they're an improvement. Cheers Will

Work and sunshine has distracted me from messing about with models... but in between I've managed small progress. My craft knife has ventured further into the 166's under-frame so there is more space below deck and a few details where i can see them in photos has been added. I'm trying to get away with a lot of modellers license! I'm going to limit myself to a few more bits to add at the corridor otherwise I'll end up re-building the entire under-frame! Perhaps foolishly I've also decided to move the power car to an end unit as i felt the centre car looked more open. I really don't like the motor being so visible so I'm trying to think how best to hide it. Anyway a few extra seats have been approximated using plastikard; Next step has been planning how to couple the units together and I've used my 108 as an experiment. The arrangement is using U shaped brass and 10ba nuts n bolts. A simple approach! And they're of a length that the unit will go round rather tight curves (the sprung buffers and working corridor connectors help!) I'm pleased that there is no slack so I'm going to try this method out on all my DMUs. The 108 however is not in my good books yet. It has a habit of derailing going forwards which has been improved by bending the contacts to provide more spring, the trailer car seems to wobble and I can't get the interior or any of the power car lights to work. I think this may become a larger than expected project! Cheers Will

Cool

Looks great! I really like your subtle improvements Cheers Will

Some ingenious ideas on here. Although I'm sticking to the super detailed Hornby versions for my efforts, especially as it'll take some time to source all the suggested various bits n pieces. Heljan wheelsets are generally awful so I wouldn't recommend using those... especially for EM.

Hi Richie! Always good to practice on a cheaper bodyshell and the all OO 56s have a good body shape and make good models. The internal mechanism of the super detail version is much better in my opinion so that's why Id go for that. I've fitted Shawplans side and roof grilles and I seem to remember the sizes are the same. There is some work to do to fit them flush but is quite straightforward. You can go to town and and Shawplan do loads of parts. Check out blueeighties thread on rmweb as Lee has loads of 56s he's working on atm. Cheers Will

There are two 56s in the Hornby range. One that has origins from Dapol & mainline I think... and then the new super detailed version. Shawplan has loads of detail parts which make a good model superb. I'll be doing one soon! The etched grills are amazing As for wheel conversion I've got some 15mm Ultrascale wheels which are about right as the prototype is 3ft9. I'm hoping to be able to convert one of the newer Hornby versions with them. Tbh I'd go for the later super detailed versions... as you're repainting then just go for an unpopular livery! Enjoy! Will

Some excellent projects there. I particularly like the 56s. Cheers Will

Never mind! Cheers Will

Looks ace Will it be P4 only or is EM catered for? Cheers Will

Agreed! Looking good. I'm debating whether the roof needs the ribs smoothing down bit other than glazing and the wipers it really looks the business. I think there'll be a few bubbles at my place

Hi Steve! I quite like the Hornby wipers and I've haven't found a better etched alternative. I found taking the cabs out is quite straightforward.... have a try cause I have plenty of spare ones if you need them Will

A 50 too far for me is Lion which will hopefully go to a new home. As I have a few spare laserglaze front windows I thought I'd see what they look like; Not bad at all... maybe I didn't have to change the front after all...

sounds a great idea.... something I'd be very interested in

Thanks... I shall defintely keep going if you think they're an improvement

I was planning on leaving my Bachmann 166 alone and not doing much to it (detailing wise).... however I can't resist getting the hacksaw and craft knives out! The underfame looked a little boxy to me and I didn't like the area around the exhaust so I've opened a fair bit out. I've only got long distance photos of the underframes and so I've probably put bits and pieces in the wrong place but as Bachmann also seem to have taken the same approach I think i can get away with it. The closer i look the more i can add... however i'm going to resist putting too much on (especially as I have to repeat the process another two times!) The exhaust is from 2mm brass tube and the cylinder is from 5mm plastic rod and a few bits of wire to complement it all. I've also experimented with the exhaust by bending 2mm brass tube into roughly the shape i see in photos. There should be a shield of some sort but as yet I haven't found suitable material to represent this so i may just leave it off. Oh and the whole thing is detachable as i wouldn't be able to put the unit back together.... I've now got the fun task of batch building these...to finish off the 166 but also for my planned 158 & 159 which I'm yet to start on. Now onto the other 2 coaches.... does anyone know if the underframe is the same across all three coaches? Bachmann think so as the moulding is the same! Cheers Will

Agree with everyones comments.... i like halfords rattle cans fot priming. I've learned frim my mistakes though... The general use primer can eat away some plastics if used too thick so it's much safer to use the plastic specific ones. I don't know if it's me but I find the white primer harder to get a smooth finish compared to red and grey ones. A gentle wet sand down after spraying the primer sorts any issues out. Cheers Will

It's always nice to find a new and excellent supplier of bits n pieces. I've just fitted some disc brakes to the Ultrascale wheels that came with my secondhand 166 and very nice they are too; Check out http://www.stensonmodels.co.uk/ And as with most second hand models they always have a secret hidden surprise... the trailer that I'd fitted the lights to was fitted with a 12mm wheelset which explains why it looked a little odd when lined up with the centre car. Thankfully I've a spare ultrascale wheelset to match the other cars which I've just fitted... although the wiper pickups are preventing the wheels turning freely. Something I'll sort out soon! Happy Modelling Will