dj_crisp

Maybe it's time I learn some CAD and get some sides etched. I have a DC kits 120 stashed and just had a look at that one. Windows are smaller but they are perhaps a little large too. It's less noticeable though and hard to tell on blue grey. My understanding is the 120 has similar sides as the 119 just with a different cab? Then there's the small matter of getting dimensions !

Totally agree. The front looks brilliant

Thanks Rich. That's a great summary on the 119. The WW etches window frames are the same size as the Dapol cab window frames. Not sure if I'm going to progress this project at this stage! Been just looking at a possibility of a 114 from the remaining etches. The DTCL looks similar but the DMBS looks quite different!

I treat western region as anything west of Paddington.. 😀 Interesting that you think the windows are a bit deep as that was the conclusion I was coming to as I have a WW set too. But I haven't measured anything though and only roughly lined them up with a Dapol cab. I'll have proper look soon.

It's a good club to be in! I'm slowly working my way through the WR heavyweights. The 115 is proving harder to do than I first thought which is down to me trying to keep the original Bachmann livery... and one day I have ambitions to have a bash at a 119/120. I have etched sides for a 119 to marry up to a Dapol Derby cab but I think the etch was designed to be used with Lima bodies so is a bit different in height. One to solve in the future!

It'll be good to see your 158 working! I'm after some nice 11mm solid disc wheels in EM to do my 2nd gen DMUs... which reminds me I need to pester a certain manufacturer we both know to produce some! I'm sorry to say the Hornby 153 is my most disliked model still in production. I just can't get over everything being basically wrong and being unable to fix it! It annoys me as they had an opportunity to produce something great as the finish is fantastic. And I don't think a 153/150 is that far a stretch on the Newquay branch... any old stuff seems to end up there 😊

Here's a link to a flickr photo I was aware of... the modern hybrid!

Nice! I have some (I think) hurst Dapol class 153 etches if you want to improve the 153. Mostly the side windows tbh but the gangways look so much better if you can get rid of the originals and fit Bachmann or even Lima ones. You can guess I gave up on doing a 153/155 as soon as I heard rumours of a new tooled 153 in OO 😁 Although I'm yet to know who's doing it I'm hopeful they can draw curves as the roofline is very subtle.

I think my layout will do likewise now as i have some plans. Also the garage being flipping cold will slow quite a few projects down! I doubt my coupling method is that neat... just set at bufferbeam level so that the buffers and gangways hide them as best as possible!

I now really think Bachmann will announce a 116! I've nearly finished my version of the last Class 116 set in BR Blue (Please see Railcar.co.uk for an excellent write up of the prototype! ) The DMBS is pretty much the same approach as described for my NSE 116 - this time being a full respray i could be less careful with removing the guards grille! Hopefully it's hidden! The DMS also has replaced grab rails which I haven't bothered to do on my other models to avoid messing the original paint. You may also notice that in a proper moment of madness (while having a beer) i decided to remove the window frames on this set.... yeah it was (not) fun... but strangely relaxing (the beer(s) helped). The fun bit on the DMS is for a change I added some deliberate damage, which in it's last years was painted over in yellow. I'm also quite pleased with the effect of thinning the front windows and using shawplans glazing... and also added the T702 set number in the secondmans window, which is just a printout stuff on some clear plastikard. On all of the units the interior lighting circuits have been completely replaced and I can now control separate Head/Tail/Cab/Interior & destination lights on DCC for each coach, which does mean this unit soaks up 3 decoders but i prefer it that way and quite happy to be rid of Bachmanns huge coupling. So a 3 car set kind of needs a centre car! This case a TC converted from a TCL & DMS body; The other side; I think I've put up some in progress shots of this previously but now it's been put together and some blue paint slapped on. Talking of which I did these at the same time as my 121 & 122 and really didn't like the finish.... so they'll all been t-cut and then sprayed with satin/gloss varnish mix. Hopefully it looks passable! In the end i abandoned my attempt using Dapol inserts and went with just Bachmann shells (if anyone wants the abandoned effort please me know - it's not one of my best efforts tbh). So it's a combination of a Bachmann TCL and DMS bodies than have been chopped and joined to have the right window combination. This also means the interior needs modifying to remove the TCL toilet and add in the extra compartments. It all took a lot of sanding and filling! Adding the York Models corridor connectors really helps make this look like a complete unit; One mod to do is add data panels (when i can get some) and then lightly weather the ends. I can't take a photo of the complete 3 car unit on my shelf as it's not long enough..... so here's a finishing shot of a pair And that wraps up finished models in 2023 for me (i only varnish when the weather is ok as i spray outdoors) . If anyones interested I'll add some in progress updates in the future rather than just finished stuff Happy Modelling ! Will

Or yellow with red tips..... bit that could be a preservation approach. But I liked it so painted some of mine that way.

This looks like an interesting approach. I was kind of asking how you'd do it with an eye on ideas for mine which hasn't been successful enough. Thanks! Will

I look forward to seeing some photos! But especially lined up with a coach ;) I never understood with why my Vitrains 47 looked off until I got a new Bach 47.... then I realised that while there is a smidge of a difference body height wise the bogies of the Vi's aren't big enough. So lowering Vi's helped make it look better on its own it doesn't look as good with a coach. All sort of makes sense to me now. So I suspect something is going on with Heljans as the photos seen so far don't look right... but that could easily be the camera tricking me.

This model is definitely one I want to see in person as some of the photos taken seem a little distorted. I've always felt the 47 is one of the more deceptive shapes in that it looks simple but probably isn't. I imagine it's camera angles. To me it looks like it's on stilts, can look a little fat in the face with a fairly short body (as those bogies are quite large). Most models to date haven't completely captured this right imo. I think this one may fall into the same category as the body looks to sit too low Vs the bogies, and the arc of the roof could be off too... but will reserve judgement till when I see it in person.

I think this all looks really good. What do you guys use for TOUs, tiebars etc? That's the bit I'm struggling with to get a robust and reliable setup my hand-built track.

An interesting thread that I've stumbled on as I'm trying to research better ways of doing point stretchers (or are they tie bars?). Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere. My trackwork is a mixture of bullhead and flatbottom.... and hasn't had much use this year. Anyhow I returned to the layout and have found 4 or so tiebars have failed (3 FB, 1 BH) since i last used it so need to sort these. They all have differing methods of construction... simple soldering to copperclad to using Ambis etches with C&L TOUs. A few photos of the failures... Ambis etches on a non standard drive due to baseboard frames - snapped on the copperclad stretcher. Standard soldered joint fail. Ambis stretchers with a C&L TOU So does anyone know of a better way of doing this? I think I need a solution that needs a bit of flex/rotation especially so with the heavier FB ones.... and I'd also like it to look ok but I'm beginning to think something more robust would be better? Also in this world of 3d printing has anyone drawn up things like point locks? Thanks Will

Thanks Guy! Doesn't time fly.... I think it was over a year ago that I brought the repainted shells along to show you at Tolworth Showtrain!

Time for a spot of toothpaste livery. I'm very nearly finished with my attempt at modelling Set L210.... which was a little n large hybrid comprising of 54381 101 DTCL & 53083 116 DMBS in nice NSE revised livey. My photos are just snaps taken on my phone in todays winter sun so lighting is perhaps a little different lighting wise to my normal ones. Here's one of the 116 DMBS leading.... And one of the 101... It's been a lengthy project but one that I've enjoyed. As with all my models it's not totally finished.... I'm waiting for some data panels for the 116 from Rail Tech and so for the time being I've painted out the "117" bit and haven't yet weathered the ends as a result. I also can't bring myself to weather the roofs (just yet) so these will probably stay as is! I've probably mentioned most mods already so will just summarise a few changes I've made; Class 116 DMBS Throughout this project I've expected Bachmann to announce a 116 so now I've finished one I reckon there'll be one announced soon! The starting point is a Bachmann NSE class 117. The hardest modification is the removal of the guards grille which appeared on refurbishments of 117s and this has been scraped off, filled then primed, filled then primed etc and then painted over. Hopefully it's not too obvious where I've filled but did mean i needed to spray some white and blue to hide it. Also while doing this the guards handrails have been replaced to be two piece type which the 116s seem to have. removing the original handrails meant I needed some more filler and painting of blue grey and white so the red is the only colour untouched by me! The front cab needs handrails removing and I also removed the headlight as the prototype didn’t have one. so more filler. The Derby cab roof is from a Dapol 122 roof and the extra roof marker is just a bit of plastikard and metal brass which i think i showed me doing earlier in the thread. To add some extra work I broke one of the markers so had to replace that with brass tube.... and also the marker lenses! The roof vents where replaced with MJT shell vents and then sprayed black. I also now open out the exhausts where-ever I can to try and make them look like tubes The destination blinds are a railtech transfer sandwiched between two bits of clear plastic and is illuminated behind using the Bachmann circuit board but modified to illuminate the top and so I removed the window destination LED etc. Also replaced is the front glazing with Shawplan laserglaze with the front window frames reduced in thickness with MJT wipers. (Which i wish had longer fixings! One benefit (?) of shawplans glazing is that it does show off the cab detail so quite a few things needed picking out in paint etc. Although I can now clearly see the drivers window being clunky original glazing! And the great debate I have with myself.... to include a driver or not! My now (usual) chassis additions were all added which I batch did all my DMUs in one go which regular readers may note is more than one DMU.... even my wife commented that I seem to have alot of trains with them all stacked on the bench so I just casually passed it off as only a few but they happen to all be in bits.... I think I failed there. Class 101 DTCL A surprising amount of effort went into doing the DTCL as quite quickly I realise Bachmann have made a right mess of measuring the size of all the windows. TBH i can live quite happily with the sides but couldnt't with the fronts so have added shawplan frames which to my eye makes a real difference to the look of the model. It’s subtle but I think has a massive effect to the front. The hardest bit for me was getting the electrics right which is mostly homemade bodges but seems to work surprisingly well. The interior lighting circuits have been completely replaced and I can now control separate Head/Tail/Cab/Interior & destination lights on DCC. The undeframe has had lots of extra details such as airhorns and speedo cablesadded , and I’ve mostly used a spare Bachmann 117 kit for the rest of the bufferbeam. Hopefully the speedo cable will last as it's a bit stretched out! The corridor connector is a working slaters etched brass effort… It’s only a single scissor as I think a working double is beyond my building abilities! I've actually borrowed this from a NSE 108 which will now be moved on as I probably do have the odd DMU too many ;) I'm pleased with the effect of the working corridor connectors as it's made this feel like one unit to me. And it goes round surprisngly tight curves thanks to sprung buffers! Painting & Transfers As the 101 started life with early NSE blue and I didn’t fancy paint matching Bachmanns revised blue on the 116 I just resprayed the lot with precision revised NSE. It's a bit more purple than Bachmanns interpretation but it's nice to have a variation and tbh every photo I look at seems to have a different shade of blue. Railmatch NSE grey is a great match though so that I've been able to blend this in. And Tamiya white primer is nice match for Bachmann's NSE white - LOL! (I did try "NSE white" but that looked awful.... it's basically just white on Bachmann models and prototypes as far as i can tell). The roof is Halford Black and I'm still undecided as to weather or to not weather (as i quite like it as is). The NSE transfers are railtech but everything else I've drawn in inkscape. They're about right but not exact! I've finished off with satin Varnish and while it won't win any prizes I'm quite pleased with the effect. Hopefully this has been of interest... quite a fun project to do tbh. Next up will probably be my other 116 project so that will definitely bring in Bachmann announcements! Happy Modelling and cheers for reading this far! Will

Probably still worth a try.... I may have just been unlucky!

It's always fun colour matching! The closest match I've found to Bachmanns yellow is strangely a tin of precisions pre85... but this has nearly dried up so I bought a replacement and im sure the shade is now a touch lighter... more like pre85 yellow should be I guess... but not as light as railmatch pre85 (which I used on a recent 122 I sprayed) So now I've mixed up a combination tin of precision pre and post 85 to get a closer match to Bachmanns for current and future projects 🤔 Personally I've found the post 85 yellows from railmatch and precision to be a touch more orange than Bachmanns efforts but one thing I'm learning is that each pot is subtly different! And for that reason I like to have several shades of yellow available....(and some humbrol yellow gloss)

Somehow I've managed to get my 101 DTCL lights to work.... A proper homemade bodge! I have in stock some Trains4u stay alive capacitors and while they were probably not designed for DCC i've hooked them up Lais DCC function only decoder which all just about squeezes in. My homemade circuit bodges now stretch to using copperclad point tie bars which I've scraped off bits to make circuits for SMD LEDs and resistors. I'm using 5 of the 8 functions on offer for head/tail lights, Interior/ cab and destination blind. Today feels like progress as it all seems to work (for the time being) and I've matched it up to the 116 so L210 may just come alive soon! Before that I'm playing with getting the tone of the interior to sort of match Bachmanns 117..... then theres the small matter of what colour to paint the cab interior.... should the desk stay blue?

The early blue does look really good and a cracking job! One of the problems I have with Bachmann 117s is the glazing is really difficult to remove. Not sure what glue they use but I've struggled with it. Had a few cracked windows and crazing on the sides so it's always obvious the glazing has been removed and re-fitted. So for my final 117 I need to varnish it prior to weathering and so have left the glazing in situ which i normally wouldnt do. Will use alot of masking fluid! L210 is a great idea! Or any 116 :) The only horrible bit is removing the guards vents but fine if you're doing a full respray.

Challenge complete! Brilliant and some excellent photos! Thanks for posting. The 104 in NSE is a fav of mine and yours looks smashing! You can never have too many DMUs :) what plans do you have for the Bachmann 117s?

Enjoy! I won't be able to make it but please post some photos if u get the time to take some (especially if they're DMUs) Will

Always nice to see a 50 hence why I've ended up browsing this thread. I reckon they're taking a different approach to the challenge of producing a EE model to go round tight curves. On the OO one they used smaller wheels (which I think Accurascale did with the Deltic... I dont fully know as I haven't bought one). On this one it looks like their solution is to raise the body as the wheel size looks good to me. You can see this on the front as there's too much bufferbeam showing and a gap between the buffer beam step and bottom of the body. I think (but hard to tell) there is the same gap between the bogie and body but it looks a little tighter to me So this will look tall Vs coaches and the HST next to it ;) Debatable whether this option or smaller wheels is better but I understand why they have to do it.