Andrew F

Beer mats and old socks. Blimey!

Will the master not 'steal' the loco back in the old master/slave method? I think it was <Loco> 3 <Enter L>

A really nice finish you get on the loco's and stock Dave. The way the light reflects off them gives them life and a bit of texture on the dirty bits really pays off. Excellent work.

Just like Hornby did.

I like the illusion that the layout could be a hundred feet long or just someones photographs in the Lothian area in the eighties. Genius!!

Thanks for that Ken. I must have mixed loco's up at some point. Motherwell wouldn't have painted the roof from black to light grey. Cheers Andy

Does anyone know if large logo 37026 Shapfell had a white/grey roof at some point ? I ask as I'd started painting a model of this loco some time back and painted the roof white but I can't find or remember any evidence to support this on the net. I know Motherwell's LL 37's had black rooves but there were early exceptions such as 183. Cheers Andy

I'd rather have the 611 and wait for the manual then have the 611 wait for the manual.

Do you mean there doesn't appear enough of a gap between the top of the windows and the roof or the windows appear too high or something? This is clear if you do the lining on a blue and grey coach. I think I concluded that the window heights were similar to other Pullmans but the Hornby model was not quite right. These conversions will always be a bit of a compromise as there are so many differences between the 51's and Hornby's model. Cheers Andy

Nice work with the Pegasus bar car Ian. Could you find a Gresley buffet interior for the bar? They look similar from what I've seen on the net (doubtful I'd get to see it for real) I prefer the MJT bogies to the Hornby; they just seem more hefty and have better depth but I guess it's down to using that cam system. I've just assembled mine with Genesis sides and Hornby tops/mounting and cam. The Genesis sides are pretty crude though but they do the job and worked out at 2 pounds a coach. The total weight is something worth considering as well. From your earlier post I gleaned that MJT do curtains and when I looked I saw they were also white metal castings. Have you got these yet? How do you think they will sit with the Replica glazing and will the coaches be too heavy? The 71 is a nice piece of kit isn't it?

A Heljan 26/33 chassis may be a cheap, reliable, plentiful and powerful option Jsp. The bogie mounting points can be drilled and the bogies moved quite easily if they're not spot on. Cheers Andy

Aerosols are rubbish Derek. You should find airbrushing Railmatch enamels pretty trouble free. I thin it with white spirit about 20% spirit and it dries pretty quick if very flat but this means it doesn't fill fine details in. It does need a few coats though as it's so flat but I always T-cut it to gloss later; maybe a couple of days after final coat as it is a soft paint. If you're varnishing after you won't need as much paint on the loco I suppose. As far as authentic colour is concerned, I'm not sure. I think the Br blue is a little greenish and keep meaning to get Precision paint but can't get hold of it locally and don't like paying a fortune in postage. Cheers Andy

I kind of like it Pete. It's the 60's imposing itself on the tasteful 20's. A livery more suited to modern air conditioned coaches. BR soon realised it looked wrong and painted them in the standard livery which doesn't really suit them either. The Golden Arrow logo's are particularly nasty; a wild western theme that dogged the late 60's and early 70's along with side burns, keg beer, brutalism and coloured acrylic seaside fun, ie perfect! Reverse BR livery reminds me of the SRN4 BR Hovercraft too; probably why I like it. It could all be combined in model form. Andy

Great work Ian. I was waiting to see when this project would return. I'm doing the same to a rake of Hornby Pullman's and plan to do the Nightcap bar too but in reverse livery...and use the HMRS transers on sheet 15. I think your standard blue/grey coach was the only model I could find on the net and I used the Replica Mk1 window pane idea from that. I've used the old Mopak transfers for the 'Golden arrow' in the centre of the Blue/Grey coaches. There's a thick carrier film that my varnish has failed to cover. I may have the lettering for one more coach if you are just doing one; I'll have a look. Strangely in the coach numbers in that set, no zero's were included; the only digit that each coach possessed. The etched G/A / Fleche coach plaques are huge too. I'm on the look out for Hornby boards. The MJT Gresley bogies look well. Will you be retaining the lights for the table lamps? I'm using a lot of licence with my interiors and keeping them single seats down each side. I'm pretty sure they were converted to 2 + 1 when they repainted they blue and grey. Cheers Andy

Mine have taller noses and Extreme etching fan assemblies. I've moved all the side windows to the right positions They run Ok with DCC decoders in. Chris, yes pivoting spring loaded pony trucks with inside bearings. I'll try and gets some pictures up. Cheers Andy

Thanks for the Revel varnish tip. It's obvious you're an old hand at the home cut glazing...no scummy white bits of plastic around the edge. I've used watered down R/C canopy glue to fix them; even fills in the odd gap and the excess can be rubbed off when dry but they've never quite been as neat as yours. Fed up? yes, me too and I've lost count how many carefully crafted panes have gone astray but as you know, you can really motor when you've got the hang of it. The last 26's and 33's I've used Shawplan Laserglaze but even this took a lot of time (about half the time of home cut) in fettling to get a perfect fit and if you've painted the loco there is the thickness of paint to consider. I used Ultrascales on a Lima 27 and weighted it to modern standards and it grips ok with no protest from the motor but I think those Lima motors were more robust than the Hornby Ringfield. If I'd done a fine job like that 25 I'd ditch the Ringer and have Bachmann power and wheels; that way you don't have to worry about making extra pick-ups, adding weight, replacing contaminated traction tyres or losing the plating off the pick-up wheels which happens eventually and then they run awful.

Your version looks much better to me. One of the main attractions is the flush glazing; very very neat. What did you use to fix the panes in?, there's no evidence of glue. You don't think there's a lot of difference in the front window roof curve but to me it stands out a mile; the Hornby 25 putting the other to shame. I'd definately do something about the steam roller wheels though, even if the cheapest option is gutting a Bachy for the drive and wheels. Really nice work. Cheers Andy

Anyone who can't see the light-heartedness in that, is surely looking for trouble in an empty house.

It is 'the Pond' that I modelled Mal, changing the Lime green for a period red/maroon and then boarding it up. I didn't realise they'd closed Waterworld; it's ages since I've been to Leith and Edinburgh....far too long. Alasdair. The DMU blinds were printed off the computer. It's a while back since I did them but I'm pretty sure I got them from RMweb so a 'DMU destination blind' search should hopefully work; I'll have a look. The station platform building is based on 3 locations but the main outer style is taken from St Andrews and the interior plan is based around Leuchers Jct. Oakwood Press 146 (The St Andrews Railway) and 139(Edinburgh and Southside Junction Railway) were a big help on the railway side of things. Hopefully I'll get round to another update as the layout is more or less finished with street and building lighting, then I'll go back and answer anyones questions I've not answered; sorry about that. I've been modelling the Southern region for the last year shock horror. Cheers Andy

...reckon so. Thanks for the link; I'd not seen those other photo's before. Cheers Andy

Does anyone know what colour the seats and interior were in the blue 2-bil? Cheers Andy

Wish I'd known about the BR ones going cheap. I've just got two SR ones today to repaint blue and it seems like it won't be just a simple paint job. I didn't know about the different buffer beams for starters. What other differences are there between the SR and BR (livery aside) and does anyone know where the BR buffers can be obtained? One of my SR pair actually has the BR oval buffers and beam on the trailer and the SR ones on the driver and that white detail part above the bogie centre is missing. The chassis detail is bent and badly fitted too. Pretty poor for new models. Andy

Another one from the Rails Hall of mirrors vault

.....but gave the money back of course.

Has anyone had all the glazing out of one of these and if so, does it come out easily enough to re-use? They're cheap enough to buy for re-paints and mucking about with. Cheers Andy