Wright writes.....

[BMacdermott]

13 hours ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

Increasingly people prefer to indulge in wish lists or polls, rather than making the effort to create what they want.

 

Hello Jol 

 

Some statistical evidence would be welcome.

 

Brian

[Compound2632]

It is possible - pleasurable even - to do both!

[BMacdermott]

Hello everyone

 

Spurred on by Jol's comment above, I took at look at the Forums page. This is what I found...

 

Products & Trade Area (mainly RTR makers): 661,000 posts

Cake Box Challenge: 6,000 posts

Layout & Workbench Content: 813,000 posts

Scale Specific: 163,000 posts

Skills & Knowledge Centre: 467,000 posts

Modelling, Musings & Miscellany: 243,000 posts

Modeller Blogs: 455,000 posts

 

In broad terms, that's over 2 million mainly 'modelling' posts compared to the 661,000 of the mainly RTR ones.

 

The 00 Wishlist Poll runs in alternate years with The Quirky Poll. 

 

I know of maybe two polls that have been open for a while, run by Neal Ball on GWR subjects. At the request of two RMweb thread leaders, I and some members of The Poll Team ran some specific Mini-Polls for them in 2021.

 

Brian

 

 

[Jol Wilkinson]

8 minutes ago, BMacdermott said:

 

Hello Jol 

 

Some statistical evidence would be welcome.

 

Brian

Brian,

 

surely you have the answer to that in the number of members who partake in your annual poll?

 

On a subjective level, it does appear that people very quickly express their desires in new product topics, where the announced model is wanted in different variation a, liveries or numbers and rolling stock to match it is wanted. The Accuracraft J67/68/69 ‘Buckjumper’,  topic is just one example.

 

There is a tremendous amount of prototype knowledge shown on RMweb, possibly one benefit the internet, which highlights the variation that  any particular model could be produced in. Perhaps that is what also drives wishes/demands for variations, etc.

 

Your more recent post showing the various numbers of posts in the different RMweb sections is a good example of statistics  hiding reality. A look at Motors and Drive systems shows an almost total concentration on fixing problems with RTR products. So is that relevant to RTR  items or modelling? The latter, in my view, is where someone creates something though building a kit, kit bashing, modifying (not just repairing) a RTR  item, scratch building, etc. Likewise Modelling Musing and Miscellany, whilst the name includes modelling, often includes topics which are not actually related to making models, so again not a realistic comparison. It includes Obituaries and of course, your annual poll about what people would like the RTR manufacturers to produce. What is it that is said about statistics?

 

Jol

[Clive Mortimore]

14 hours ago, john new said:

Fully concur with “the can do” approach. I use a different approach to weathering than most people which I am happy these days to demonstrate, my early examples were poorly done, but they have lasted to prove the longevity of the finish. (The crane for example was done in the mid-1990s.)  My eye and feel for the subject is improving with each one I do and I hope to tempt people to have a go.

 

 

Hi John

 

How has that 1/4 ton Rover got so dirty just driving around the dockyard? 

 

[BMacdermott]

Hello Jol

 

I am fully aware of 'statistics' and 'non-statistics' and you will notice that I used the adverbs 'broadly' and 'mainly' in my notes to (hopefully) highlight the fact that I wasn't actually presenting statistics per se.

 

The point is taken that some forum topics will 'hide' some matters, but - equally - there are many RTR threads where people discuss models they have made. A quick look at Modelling & Musings shows a high number of modelling posts in relation to others. 

 

The 00 Wishlist Poll 2022 had 1695 voters - down from the roughly 2500 that we had traditionally attracted (possibly due in part to us not sending out loads of Press Releases due to home time constraints). The lower number of voters did not seem to affect the overall results as they have stayed broadly (that word again!) in context over the years, given that items come out and others go in.

 

The Quirky Poll has been fairly consistent at just under 500 voters.

 

Brian

 

 

 

 

[Ncl]

On 20/05/2023 at 23:13, billbedford said:

 

Have you checked these transfers against a green background? Your eye can play funny tricks on us when it comes to colours.

Yeah, sorry they are miles different.

[john new]

38 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Hi John

 

How has that 1/4 ton Rover got so dirty just driving around the dockyard? 

 

In and out of one of the the quarries.  The Provost did regular round the Island trips chasing miscreants. Even several unsurfaced tracks in what was the FOST zone for the old Thursday war. From memory that is the one I did to potentially sit in Mick Bonwick’s Easton; the station yard was gravelled. I did a printable Provost head board based on an on-line image.

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by john new
Badly typed.

[polybear]

1 hour ago, BMacdermott said:

The 00 Wishlist Poll runs in alternate years with The Quirky Poll. 

 

I know of maybe two polls that have been open for a while, run by Neal Ball on GWR subjects. At the request of two RMweb thread leaders, I and some members of The Poll Team ran some specific Mini-Polls for them in 2021.

 

Brian

 

 

 

2 hours ago, BMacdermott said:

 

Hello Jol 

 

Some statistical evidence would be welcome.

 

Brian

 

Perhaps what would be interesting is how many people would respond to a 00 RTR Wishlist Poll and how many to a 00 Loco/Rolling Stock Kit Wishlist Poll

[Ncl]

35 minutes ago, Ncl said:

Yeah, sorry they are miles different.

 They need to be 3.5mm high...

 

 

[MJI]

6 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good morning John,

 

I entirely agree with your last sentence (and the rest).

 

I've bought metal kits at swap-meets for very little.

 

Often, as well, improved models of RTR origin cost less than those untouched and still in their boxes.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

Worked on and repainted a lot less than mass produced so called limited editions.

 

I may have denied a Lima collector a couple of 47s.

 

They will be detailed up and appreciated.

[APOLLO]

On 20/05/2023 at 21:36, Tony Wright said:

A lovely painting job Ian,

 

Entirely-natural.

 

It did seem a waste of your splendid work to strip it and then repaint it, but, in that guise, it had served its purpose (by the way, in 1967, as first-preserved, SIR NIGEL carried the number 4498). And that purpose was?

 

 

 

When Shap first appeared at Warley, it was to commemorate steam's last fling over the summit in 1967. In April of that year, in as-first-preserved condition, 4498 ran from Crewe to Carlisle on a railtour (I photographed it at Crewe). Graham Nicholas asked me if I'd build a model of her (him?) so as to 'replicate' (or as part of the 'show') that event (with a steep gradient, a loco with plenty of 'grunt' was required). So, I did, and you painted her (at very short notice) to enable that to happen. 

 

Dad got up early to photograph Sir Nigel on a running in turn (Preston to Crewe) back then. Here she (he ?) is at Wigan North Western platform 1.

 

 

Brit15

[Tony Wright]

 

 

Another splendid monthly day running LB with the usual band of merry operators...........

 

Not many visiting locos, but these two proved of interest.

 

 

An old K's Duke (though not with K's mechanics), bought by Sandra Orpen at the Orpington Show for a mere £35.00! It ran well.

 

 

A scratch-built B2 of some antiquity (builder unknown), repainted by Geoff Haynes and weathered by Geoff West. 

 

Sandra bought this off Geoff and will convert it to EM Gauge to run on Retford. 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Tony Wright
corrected to hide my ignorance of GWR 4-4-0s

[polybear]

10 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

 

Jesse Sim built this Plate wagon, then painted/weathered it.

 

 

Hi Tony & @Jesse Sim,

Can you tell me the origins of this kit please?  Thanks

Regards,

Brian

[Jesse Sim]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Hi Tony & @Jesse Sim,

Can you tell me the origins of this kit please?  Thanks

Regards,

Brian

Hey Brian,

 

It’s a PMK kit    

[St Enodoc]

8 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

 

An old K's Earl (though not with K's mechanics), bought by Sandra Orpen at the Orpington Show for a mere £35.00! It ran well.

You've demoted the poor old fellow, Tony - he's a Duke.

[polybear]

7 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

Hey Brian,

 

It’s a PMK kit    

 

Many thanks Jesse 🙃

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

You've demoted the poor old fellow, Tony - he's a Duke.

Thanks John,

 

Sandra did tell me what it was, but then, as usual, I got muddled, and forgot! I've now corrected it.

 

My knowledge of GWR motive power is patchy at best, even though I saw hundreds of examples at Chester, Wrexham, Shrewsbury and Crewe, though never an outside-framed 4-4-0 (other than CITY OF TRURO on a railtour). Duke, Earl, Bulldog, Dukedog, Bird...... Are they some of the types? Are there others?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Tony Wright
to add something

[Sayajirao]

14 hours ago, APOLLO said:

 

Dad got up early to photograph Sir Nigel on a running in turn (Preston to Crewe) back then. Here she (he ?) is at Wigan North Western platform 1.

 

 

Brit15

I’ve followed this thread for a number of years but never contributed as my modelling activities are stalled for various reasons - mainly classic bike restorations and heritage railway activities.

Here is Triggers broom 56 years later residing at Bishops Lydeard for the summer season of South West LSL main line excursions.

Tongue in cheek, the Sir Nigel/he/she conundrum fits in well with the current PC debate, maybe male named locos should now be Them?

[rodent279]

1 hour ago, Sayajirao said:

I’ve followed this thread for a number of years but never contributed as my modelling activities are stalled for various reasons - mainly classic bike restorations and heritage railway activities.

Here is Triggers broom 56 years later residing at Bishops Lydeard for the summer season of South West LSL main line excursions.

Tongue in cheek, the Sir Nigel/he/she conundrum fits in well with the current PC debate, maybe male named locos should now be Them?

It.

[MJI]

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Thanks John,

 

Sandra did tell me what it was, but then, as usual, I got muddled, and forgot! I've now corrected it.

 

My knowledge of GWR motive power is patchy at best, even though I saw hundreds of examples at Chester, Wrexham, Shrewsbury and Crewe, though never an outside-framed 4-4-0 (other than CITY OF TRURO on a railtour). Duke, Earl, Bulldog, Dukedog, Bird...... Are they some of the types? Are there others?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

They are VERY confusing, easiest to label as CIty or Truro or NOT City of Truro.

 

Much easier to understand the GWR 4-6-0 locos (I like Halls and Castles).

[sandra]

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Thanks John,

 

Sandra did tell me what it was, but then, as usual, I got muddled, and forgot! I've now corrected it.

 

My knowledge of GWR motive power is patchy at best, even though I saw hundreds of examples at Chester, Wrexham, Shrewsbury and Crewe, though never an outside-framed 4-4-0 (other than CITY OF TRURO on a railtour). Duke, Earl, Bulldog, Dukedog, Bird...... Are they some of the types? Are there others?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Hello Tony, 

 

Thanks for the LB running day yesterday, I really enjoyed it and thank Mo for the lovely lunch.

 

GWR outside frame locomotives are a bit of a minefield. There are basically two types of passenger 4-4-0s, ones with 5’ 8” wheels and those with 6’ 8” wheels. The principle 5’ 8” engines were the Dukes and the Bulldogs. The Dukes had parallel boilers and curved frames and the Bulldogs had taper boilers and straight frames apart from the early ones which had taper boilers and curved frames. The Dukedog were of course an amalgamation of Duke boiler and Bulldog frames. The Dukedogs were named after Earls but apparently the noble gentlemen objected to their names being carried on such small elderly looking locomotives and so the names were transferred to the Castle class. So a Dukedog is the same as an Earl. A Bird is a Bulldog wither deeper frames as all these outside framers were prone to frame cracking.

 

I realise that I have waffled on long enough but I would mention that the 6’ 8” engines were the Badminton’s, Atbaras, Cities, Flowers and the Armstrong. In reality the history of these locomotives is more complicated but it would take a book to describe them all and I haven’t mentioned the other outside framers the 3521 class, the Barnums. The Krugers, or the Aberdares.

 

I do have a soft spot for these locomotives and I’ve fancied building a model on which they could run. I think they’re more interesting that later GWR locomotives which do all rather look the same. I do like the fact that locomotives with outside frames are still with us in the form of the 08s, although I’m not sure how many are now left.

 

Sandra

[dibateg]

Yes - I do like a bit of 'heroic' weathering, nearly everything on the layout is weathered  - apart from new stuff which will be done in due course. Weathering, just brings the models to life.

My first 7mm WD ( built - a long time ago ) - it's since been re-wheeled, that awful chunky beading on the tender was replaced with something finer and a cab roof ventilator added. Further weathering blended all that back in.

 

Oh yes - the Little Engines O1 - I did build that one. I remember the chassis is anything but rigid, equalising beams on the leading two axles, motor axle fixed and spring rear drivers?

 

Regards

Tony

 

[Tony Wright]

3 hours ago, dibateg said:

Yes - I do like a bit of 'heroic' weathering, nearly everything on the layout is weathered  - apart from new stuff which will be done in due course. Weathering, just brings the models to life.

My first 7mm WD ( built - a long time ago ) - it's since been re-wheeled, that awful chunky beading on the tender was replaced with something finer and a cab roof ventilator added. Further weathering blended all that back in.

 

Oh yes - the Little Engines O1 - I did build that one. I remember the chassis is anything but rigid, equalising beams on the leading two axles, motor axle fixed and spring rear drivers?

 

Regards

Tony

 

Good afternoon Tony,

 

I remember photographing that lovely 'Dub-Dee' on Woden Road at WMRC's erstwhile clubroom in the same place, many years ago; on film, so I can't post the shot on here.

 

I don't own the OO O1 now; I can't remember to whom it was eventually sold (if you recall I had at least two big boxes of your 4mm stuff here for a while). I'm glad I bought some of your other locos, however.

 

Locos such as these..........

 

 

 

Your DJH A1. Built originally for Leighford, it saw service on Stoke Summit and Charwelton, and now on Little Bytham.

 

It's one of the most-natural models of an A1 I've ever seen. 

 

 

Speaking of 'heroically-filthy'!

 

 

Your pair of Austerities.

 

 

Your Anchorage K3.

 

 

And what can be done with a Bachmann K3 (I added more detail). 

 

 

 

A brace of B1s.

 

 

And your delightful DJH (well, it started as DJH) B16/1.

 

Which is........

 

 

Very realistic indeed!

 

 

Here it is in a very early Bytham view alongside my very old Nu-Cast B16/3. 

 

 

The pair of Pro-Scale V2s, now 'liberated' from DCC!

 

And, not only your locos............

 

 

This train (with one carriage of mine in it) is all your work (I built the loco, which Geoff Haynes painted/weathered). 

 

I cannot imagine a greater aid to 'realism' than weathering.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Tony Wright

[30368]

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

I cannot imagine a greater aid to 'realism' than weathering.

 

Totally agree Tony. Even ex works loco's had (at least) grubby footprints on the running plate and water stains on the smokebox etc..

 

Hope you don't mind Tony, my DJH economy build B16/1 (£50 for the kit and seconhand wheels + £70 for motor/gearbox) look was improved no end after weathering. Covers up all my errors...

 

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B