Phil Parker

Unavoidable. When I visited a few years ago, the place emptied every time they heard a train passing behind the offices.

Sorry, I didn't bother giving the full discussion between myself and the exhibition organiser. In over 100 shows, it wasn't an issue, but if I was bringing barriers, I'd normally let them know. The extra space for a rear-operated layout was less than a foot. If your show is so tightly packed that this makes a difference, there is a bigger problem.

The only question I used to ask was "Do you provide barriers?" - if the answer was no, and I really wanted to go, I'd borrow a couple from the club and take them with me. Generally though, it was no barriers, no attendance. People will lean on something, and if it's not a barrier, then it will be the layout, no matter how much scenery gets squashed. As for the rest, I don't care if you rub yourself down with a damp copy of MRJ every morning, uninvited poking of my layout is a capital crime. In my experience, "enthusiasts" are no better than the general public, and older people no better than children, in their respect for the models on display.

Except that 3-legged walking machines fall over as soon as one leg is lifted. The BBC worked this out when making "The Tripods" TV series in the 1980s. Matt Irvine explained that they invented some sort of lifting ray underneath to combat this, but it wasn't ideal.

Paul Martin (NG Trains/EDM Models) talks about the NG7 thing on his excellent blog about the new range launch here: https://ngtrains.com/blog/quarry-hunslets-in-ng7/

On the Statfold stand. Looking good.

As mentioned on at least one layout thread, layouts have been invited already, and the trade is being booked. If we hadn't started by now, we would be in trouble! Don't forget, we already run three successful shows, so this is the same, but a bit bigger.

The Octogenarian Railcar by Charles Carson We didn't have the space on our pages for all the diagrams in Charles's article, so they are posted here to help anyone following the project.

Contents The Fairplex Garden Railroad by Rick Bremer Testing my Mettle by Mark Thatcher The octogenarian railcar by Charles Carson Diary Dates A Bridge Too Far by Peter Charles Bodging a Big Hauler by Nick Midgley Painting Figures The Easy Way by Daniel Cousins A couple of Oddities by Dave Skertchly Product News Seen at the show

You are right, the quote about profit should have been attributed to the Johnster - no idea why it wasn't, but I apologise for the error. However, I won't apologise for suggesting that anyone take part in a democratic process that millions have fought and died to support. Indeed I'd expect someone to be more upset if I suggested that they disrespected those people, and didn't vote.

If it were a few pence, I suspect most people would. The premium is more likely to be a three-figure sum from those who've told me, and know about these things.

Handy Hint: I'm sure Continental Modeller would prefer the content in text form rather than an image or PDF they have to re-type to put in the diary section of the magazine. I know whan I get these things, I do.

No. You've learnt your lesson going and looking at the Facebook page. RMweb looks positively calm compared to that lot!

Sorry, that's unfair. People on this forum have generally been very supportive. Now, if you look at Facebook, your description fits perfectly with many suggesting that it serves them right for manufacturering in China, and ranting you should never buy something from Dapol marked made in China. Here, there has been some discussion about how it could happen and some general chat about outsourcing. Please refrain from such inflammatory language.

This was the state of play back in December, so I'm inclined to think they have samples by now.

This is the problem with Dapol. The O gauge locos are very reasonably priced, and sooooo appealing. I have a Jinty, but the 08 really appeals. I have to remind myself I don't need it, as I have a Bachmann version wit detailing kit in the stash. But the little voice in my head says bad things...

It's all here - https://pages.ebay.co.uk/authenticity-guarantee-seller/ Get over yourself. If you think the company will splash millions on looking at every listing, then sending the goods to an expert to check authenticity, because some bloke on a forum challenged them, you are living in cloud cuckoo land. As I've linked above, there is a procedure for high-value goods, but that doesn't include Hornby Dublo or any other toy train. And if it did, we can only imagine the howls of protest as the delivery of said toys was held up, and the buyer landed with a bill for the authentication. Returning to the OP, has anyone worked out how much you would save buying a dodgy Dapol loco? A quick look at the prices suggests that by the time your postman has extracted the import duty from you on the doorstep (and you have headed to Facebook to have your tantrum about being taxed, whilst also moaning that your roads have potholes), the saving isn't really worth the effort. Now I know we are in a hobby where people scrabble around to save pennies, uninterested in the "big picture" damage they have already done to model shops etc., but I really don't see it's worth the trouble. It's not like Dapol stuff isn't pretty keenly priced anyway.

The ULF transmitter is at Rugby, which is why, according to someone who did know these things, it is the number 2 target for the Soviets.

Ahh yes. Because this will only happen if you "outsource" your products. When I went to Hornby for the press announcements in December, chatting to the man in charge of the breakfast area, I mentioned where I was heading. He then regaled me with tales of models leaving via the back door at Margate. Apparently, lots of people acquired their toy trains this way. So, it happens in Blightly, and even when you own the factory.

Please do not paste links to eBay sales in this topic. Dapol has enough on their plate trying to stem the flow of these products, without people here making it easier.

Chatting to the 3mm Society at York, TT120 has seen a marked interest in people taking out membership with them.

Can't argue that it's not that joined up - I'd have launched with a Pannier, B set and some wagons - but with the gestation period of most models being greater than two years, the origins of this date back a lot further than 9am today. So to say the current company has no-one who knows anything about trains is unfair. That's the only point I'm making. I've met the designers, and they know their stuff. Now, how much say they have over releases I don't know, but I suspect it's more than 18 months ago.

I think Hornby's designers would take great exception to that statement.

Spot on. I tend to ask people, "How many of your children are you willing to sacrifice so their boss can make more money?"