lapford34102

Tongue firmly in cheek again! Aaah, vinyl silk instead of vinyl matt. I'm undoubtedly fated never to learn the reason for the Hymek being the loco of choice for this exercise so should probably stop worrying about it. Maybe it will be the first of a number of "rebrandings" to come along. I wonder if Hornby are quietly kicking themselves here. They could have had the Hymek in a nice red box marked Tri-ang, the Co-Bo in a blue and white Dublo box and a Class 27 in a Lima box, Anyhow time for my medication, after wading through the last few pages think I need it. Have a good day, Stu

Fair enough Gareth, appreciate your insight. But rhetorically and with tongue firmly in cheek What local shop......? After the last 6 months..... ? Cheers Stu

Sorry, just realised there were more posts. Jon, the solders I have may not be that old but amongst them do have a big reel of Brazilian made stuff - have no idea where I acquired that or what's in for that matter but seems to work well. I'll need to get a more rigorous regime for but cleaning tips I have re-purposed the suede brush so if I go off-air look under the patio ! John, thanks for that, something else for the shopping list. I do have a safe working area, a very old wooden dissection tray but sometimes things seem to defy physics! Cheers Stu

EFE's product line and launch were probably in train some time before Covid became an issue and plans often have a momentum of their own and while I can see the logic in the EFE and ex-DJM items admit to being somewhat surprised by the inclusion of the Hymek. Fair play to Heljan as I doubt it owes them anything after the number of years it's been in their lineup and I'm sure they have a mutually advantageous arrangement with Bachmann. What baffles me is who is the intended customers are. Anyone on a forum will know the score and and any magazine review should explain it provenance. Doing new numbers/liveries/weathering might well appeal to the collector - perhaps one on here would care to give an opinion - or the casual buyer but I do wonder whether there's a wider market as Heljan have their own versions coming at around £20 cheaper with the only apparent difference being the EFE version seemingly having a "better paint job" whatever that is. I shall watch from the sidelines with interest. Stu

Hi, Weymouth 03's of the 60's, all with "flowerpot" exhausts:- 2082, 2397,2398,2399; also 2043 but can't find a pic offhand, B'mouth had a conical exhaust 03 which IIRC is the green one Bachmann recently did. HTH Stu Afterthought edit. Some 03's built for the Southern Region had additional marker lights front and rear. Again if IIRC conical was only used on a limited number of early ones.

Hi Jon, Appreciate the offer but you realise you've might just handed me a get out of jail free card valid for 12 months! I'll take note of your and everyone else's advice, get an order off and go from there. Cheers Stu

Hi, Thanks to everyone. Looks as if I have to look at a couple of ways forward. Think I have a very old 40w iron still in the garage - some black handled thing from the 60's with the tip help in with a split pin. If still working can try that on some scrap and see how it goes. I've also got to get some stuff from H+A models (usual disclaimer) and I know they do various Carrs solder so I'll treat myself - it's only money after all....! - and have a try with that. I'll put an update on when I've something worth showing :-) Thanks again Stu

Hi, Got to the point where I'm digging out projects from the Shelf Of Doom and seeing if I can complete them but run into a couple of issues that someone might be able to help with. 1/ Mallard kit - solebars have tabs to fit into slots on bottom folded up edge of sides. The slots are too narrow. Managed to widen one after a lot of bodging, scraping and minor trauma so any thoughts on an easier way ? Started this last century.....! 2/ Roxey kit - Unstarted, tried soldering on the bolsters but solder didn't flow and just "clumped up" Have an Antex 25w, cored solder plus have Carr's red and some sort of plumbers flux. So iron not man enough, flux and/or solder wrong, something else.. ? 3/ Branchlines gearbox - seem to have broken one of the tabs on the worm grubscrew - thoughts ? Also anyone with more experience of these things - mine is virtually zero - should the idler gear wheel be free floating or have thrust ewashers either side ? Thanks in advance. Stu

On local news website https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/model-railway-centre-closes-its-doors-231945/ Stu

Update on this https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2020/08/04/government-commits-12-million-for-thanet-parkway-station/ Loved this comment Cllr Barry Lewis said of the funding announcement: “I have spoken to hundreds of people about the problems in Thanet and not one person has said the problem with Thanet is that we only have seven train stations. Plus be interested to know where our MP got this from That can now change with a headline journey time of around 1 hour to London Stratford International. Non stop to Stratford perhaps. Stu

If any more Heljan 4mm models appear under another banner I would wonder if Heljan intend to concentrate on O gauge where there are fewer players and a lot of untapped material Stu

Heljan Hymek in a box that ain't blue.... Can see it would be worth trying to see if it brings their products to a different audience. Stu

We've just had our grandchildren to stay for 2 weeks. They live just outside Leicester's lockdown zone. I can easily sympathise with any parent getting their family on the beach whatever the difficulties. I've got 3 big and and a couple of small beaches in walking distance and on Fri they were all full and traffic in the area was bad. Yesterday was marginally better and I expect I'll find the same today when I go down for my swim. Signs on the M2 15 miles out saying "We're full" seem to make little difference unsurprisingly plus the trains have been very busy at times. But then every summer has days like this so it's nothing new and it's good for the local economy. Plus there seems to be little evidence of any Covid spike as a result. The Leicester one certainly wasn't caused by crowds on the local beaches though I'm not goiung out of my way to put that theory to the test....... Beaches strewn with abandoned rubbish are an issue as pictures of the beaches after they've gone home put on the local facebook group show though I have seen more bins and notices recently. Plus I get a bit alarmed by some of the water safety - or lack of. Came out the sea at my local beach yesterday; no lifeguards there and little beach at high tide to see dad, resplendent in flipflops, shorts, shirt and sunhat screaming at his two youngish kids on bodyboards about 5m offshore in about 2m of water "don't go out too far!" Bit late for that. Stu

There's the link to website in first post Stu

Hi Adam, Thanks for all that. Remembered you mentioned using Masokits but looking at them wondered if you used Accurascale ones and modded them to get them the "right" way round. RE the Ralls wagon, yes, I should have realised as there was recent thread on here about the GW finished version plus also should have got off my backside and had a trawl around myself. They have a certain sentimental value so will probably put better underframe on and live with the inaccuracies. One lockdown benefit was a good chat with the gent at Lanarkshire Models who certainly improved my knowledge in that area. Cheers Stu

I'll get seated comfortably then...... :-) Very nice Lowfits, can I ask what screw couplings you used on them ? And a randomish question if I may as I've spent some lockdown time doing a few wagons and ransacking your thread for guidance. Found a couple of Hornby 5 planks I bought as it seemed a good idea - Ralls of Bridport - underframe obviously wrong but off hand would a Cambrian 17'6" steel be more accurate though I suppose they might be wood... Cheers Stu

Karl Crowther did some work on the model. A pic and some details here https://emgauge70s.co.uk/model_omwb92.html About 1/2 way down. Stu

Hi, I’ve got a couple of “big” projects I really should be getting on with but as shows are unlikely any time soon found it difficult to get motivated. Instead I’ve been catching up with some wildly assorted unfinished projects. There is a tenuous link between this one and the recently completed Class 74 in that they ran over the same bit of track a dozen or so years apart. I justify having one as i saw them pretty much daily in the early 60’s, sometimes at very close quarters, and apparently had a cab ride sometime in the 50’s courtesy of my dad who was firing it at the time though I have little recollection of that. Was probably told to stand at the back of the cab and not to touch anything! Mine was one of the discounted ones complete with loose dome and dodgy cab handrail. With the dome secured I checked the axle tightness which needed a bit of adjustment then ran it in on a circle of track so at least knew it was OK mechanically before invalidating the guarantee. This thread has covered many aspects of the model so if I’m simply repeating something already mentioned apologies. Mine was GWR green and I needed it BR Black but there was some work to do before that could be changed. First up was the cab handrail which was either badly installed or damaged somehow. They are commendably scale but fell apart when I tried to sort it and resisted any attempts to repair. I replaced with Gibson knobs and wire which matched the originals well. Took the cab off to check the DCC setup and see about installing a crew. The cab floor being glued in meant taking a deep breath and start digging. It took a bit of effort to get out but it did. Looking at the design it’s clearly important in keeping the separate bunker and cab mouldings in the right place so with the floor out take care with the cab/bunker assembly. I found the floor could be clipped back in without having to re-glue it which was useful. Also dug the coal out the bunker which was only held in by a bit of double sided tape. Did my best to shave off the moulded numberplates and discovered the cab is painted clear plastic which accounts for the commendable glazing. I could, and probably should, have removed more but my experience of glazing plastic is that it’s less forgiving. The buffers are a let down though Heljan are not alone in this area. If anyone can say what size they should be I’d love to know as they look big compared to those on my DJH model. Perhaps they use a stock “one size fits all” for a number of their models. Whatever they had to go though in the end I bodged them rather than have to remove the backplate from the cast footplate. I’m definitely in the accurate static camp when it comes to buffers so cut the retaining pin and took the heads out. The problem, apart from sticking out too far is the shank is undersized. The heads also suffer from prominent ejector pins on the back though these easily file off. Digging through my box of scrap bits looking for a possible solution happened across a short length of shrink wrap which fitted nicely over the shank and gave a better fit so that’s the way I went. Another possible solution might be to replace whole buffer with Bachmann’s sprung round ones which while lacking the footstep, easily rectified with a bit of plastic card, might be a simple replacement job. Heljan thoughtfully supply a bell but for tramway use an additional handrail and footstep were added for the shunter to ride on just in front of the RH cylinder. I’ve added both of these though the footstep is more of a representation the accurate reproduction. With a crew figure in the cab and the glazing and chassis masked up a coat of black and in due course Totem and numberplates added. The latter I’m not that happy with frankly. I used a set that came with the DJH kit. They appear to be oversized and because of the remains of the moulded on plate sit quite proud which is noticeable from some angles. I could have nicked the set off the DJH model which came from CGW models ages ago and swopped them and might well do that though there are detail differences between 67 and 68 or might try some Railtec 3d decals. Anyone got any experience of these? Then the weathering using Martyn Welch’s time honoured mix of Humbrol’s Gunmetal and Leather plus a modicum of washes and powders. His “Art of Weathering” book is nearly three decades old and in spite of developments in methods and materials I still find it useful. Though rather sparse on the diesel side it, unlike some publications I can think of, explains how weathering occurs as well as how to reproduce it. If you’ve never looked at a copy do yourself a favour. All that remained was to add “real” coal, smashed up barbecue charcoal actually, the provided lamps, possibly a bit overscale, and the obligatory bucket. Heljan’s effort may have issues but I think it captures the character of the loco well and a nice reminder of when they were a common sight for me. With typical Tramway load in tow! Cheers Stu

Hi, Been a busy few days which is something of a novelty. Have made some progress and as the weather was quite nice even did some al-fresco modelling. Even took the cd player out with me but only to show the neighbours they aren't the only ones with a poor taste in music. Windows and handrails. The kit comes with a set of very flimsy vac-formed windows that are quite a good fit but have that characteristic corner typical of vac-forms. I went the long way round and cut he windows from clear plastic sheet. The headcode, cab side and engine room windows are straightforward but the cab screens took a few goes to get 4 passable ones. The glazing is fixed in with Kleer which seems to work well. The handrails are, I think, nickel silver wire. I used that to avoid painting them. I might have been better off using brass as the cab front/side were far from easy and I'm not overly happy with them though they look OK from normal viewing distance. I think using brass might have been a tad easier. Cab interiors were carved up from spare Heljan 33 ones that were to hand. Not accurate but there's not a lot visible. This gave me somewhere to pop a couple of crew figues, again not that visible but they're there. A bit of weathering - and a smudge of weathering powder under the grill that needs wiping off I see - and we're getting there. No couplings or beam detail yet till i decide what to use. I'll give myself 7/10 for this. If I ever did another there are a number of things I'd do differently or in a different order but I'm not sure that's likely. But I have a "Big ED" and I'll take that. This is something of a collection that might get a home at the moment and a Class 12 0-6-0 would be a necessary addition as they were the first air braked shunters in the area. I could wait and hope the Heljan one makes a timely arrival or I could do an EMgauge70's and convert an 08. A handful of W.R. Brush Type 4's were used until the 74's arrived. so that's another project. Easy option a nice 2 tone green Bacchy and a simple renumber, difficult option a cheap Limby 47 that would need a hatchet job to backdate but that might be more fun. Thanks for looking Stu

Adam, the Bedford looks excellent, you must have a steady hand and good eyesight. Tempted to ask if it took more than one attempt but wouldn't be that impolite! Just a random thought, were milk churns individually numbered ? Superb work. Stu

Hi, Some progress on the body. Now sprayed up and numbered. Not too onerous as I could do the yellow ends and “fibreglass” roof panels at the same time. The roof panels are quite distinctive on a number of classes and to me painting them some shade of grey never looks quite right. I use a couple of Tamiya colours, deck tan and IJN gray/green. As an aside we get quite heated discussions over whether the shade of a particular model is “correct”. These are playground spats compared to the fights over what the colour, called Ame-Iro, Zero fighters actually was. However these panels often get weathered into obscurity and looking at 74 photos it appears they were no exception though roof shoots seem next to non-existent. But whatever class you’re doing it’s worth trying to find an overhead view to see if they are a feature. With the ends and panels masked, nothing too complicated here, a coat of Rail Blue. Lastly black for the grills and bufferbeams. One job worth doing is painting the inside edges of the windows as this does disguise the thickness of the resin body. Lastly numbers and arrows from the HMRS pressfix sheet. Windows and handrails next. Stu

Interesting original layout, surprised you don't see it "copied" as it could be a different corner filler on a layout. Have this photo from 2014 of the Wool aggregates train being run round. Stu

That's right but the kit's resin sideframes are scaled for a 10' rather than a 10'6" wheelbase probably because it was easier to source that size RTR power unit. I didn't fancy, or think I could, scratch a new sideframe as some have done. Alternative is to look for a decently priced 71 somewhere. Cheers Stu

Hi, Well things were going SO well. Then I put the chassis all together and gave it a decent test. Well I would have but it would only go in one direction. Turn it rouns and it would go in the opposite direction but not the other. After checking up various blind alleys the penny, or rather a large bagful of loose change, finally dropped. Wheels shorting out on the brass subframe. I then took a couple of steps back and checked a 33 chassis and realised I’d not allowed enough for the bogie swing and that Heljan had put recesses in the casting to allow for this. Contemplating some mods to subframe a rather dark thought surfaced and that was sideframe to body clearance. Virtually none as it turned out so this wasn’t going to work. Put to one side, do something else for a bit – a Parkside BY as it happens – and have a think. Apart from the wheel swing issue the casting needed to be lower. At some point inspiration, or more probably the blindingly obvious occurred. Don’t put the casting on the subframe, put it in it. So a casting shape hole was cut in the subframe. Fortunately Heljan have allowed a small rebate for the cosmetic plastic underframe so I could leave a mm or so at the bottom for additional strength. Looks pretty rough but solved the problem. Tested the chassis with sideframes though some assorted trackwork including a Setrack curved point so happy with that. Then got on with getting the body sorted and this where I’ve got to, a coat of primer on ready for painting. From this angle the front does look too flat, a point commented on by some. I think the primer doesn't do it any favours and hope getting some colour on it will make it less obvious. Cheers Stu

Hi, For the period you're interested in, 1960, there weren't any green BG's IIRC, they didn't need any as they had enough of their home grown parcels stock. As Chris pointed out you could have maroon BG's from other regions as they were far from uncommon on the Southern in parcels rakes plus the odd one tacked on passenger services. Stu