Jack P

The 'Class similarity' with the N15 and S15 could be avoided by doing the "Chonker" H15's? Surely (at least from the front) they couldn't be confused for any other maunsell/ex-LSWR 4-6-0's!

Clearly in the haste of my excitement I missed this. Thanks Martin, the price makes these even more appealing.

Hi John, Looking forward to seeing this progress. Those smaller SECR coaches are super interesting.

That's extremely ingenious, thank you for sharing!

A little late to this topic, but extremely impressed and excited with the progress so far. @Wayne Kinney i'm holding out for your jan/feb price announcement more-so than any of the RTR boys!

Shouldn't this be in the 2021 new releases frothing thread? Happy New Year, safe tidings to you and all those on the other side of the werld.

It's just frothing for the sake of it, but i'd be rather pleased if a U, K, or Q showed itself this year. They frequently show up at the top of SR modellers wish-lists!

Happy New Year Mike, Thanks for all the interesting posts throughout the year. That SR DE looks fantastic. I'll certainly be interested in at-least one when they go up!

Any tips? Or was it as simple as drilling a hole and filling a hook? Lord knows why that was omitted..

Eastern and central would be the most preferable, but I'm constantly tossing up where i'm going to model, so I suppose a general overview of all three sections would be handy! Thanks @pete_mcfarlane another book i've known about for a while but haven't yet picked up!

That's really handy, as i've just purchased a 43xx. Thanks so much for all the replies so far folks. Can anyone begin to shed some light on the specific locomotive classes one might have seen at various locations?

Hey Phil, Apologies if I wasn't clear, I mean specifically 1947, but any really any time between 1945-1947 would do me fine!

I've clearly not hawked this around enough. Thanks to @RThompsonfor the excellent parts. Replacement cab, Ashpan, front steps and draincocks.

Oh for goodness sake. Haha, this is the cumulative effect of a late night and an early morning!! I'll keep you in mind if I come across any photos pre 1700's

7301 arrived yesterday, as a surprise christmas present from my partner. She's had the wheel rims painted black, and a coat of high gloss, ready for weathering. For anyone wondering, the 'etched' plates are more like 'printed' plates, not a big deal, but if you're ordering from overseas it might be worth keeping this in mind. Another oddity is the tender.. Can you see what's missing? There's no pocket on the tender for the coupling hook! Again not a big deal, I'll add one, just a bit strange. I don't want to sound like i'm complaining, because that truly isn't the case. I'm extremely impressed with the Loco, my first GWR interloper. The tender is appropriately weighty, the drawbar connection and DCC socket mechanisms are fantastic. Very pleased. If the Manor is much the same, I might find myself with one of those too!

Hi guys, As the title would suggest, i'm on the hunt for info on Parcels traffic on the Southern. I've found a few photos post-1948, but I want to try and understand if (apart from the liveries) there would be any major difference. What would a regular rake comprise of, how many wagons/vans etc. Any information around this subject is greatly appreciated. Links and book suggestions also. Thanks in advance!

Hi guys, As the title suggests, I'm on the hunt for some info on what non-Southern locos might have regularly been seen on southern metals. Specifically in the Post-War Pre-BR period. I know there's a list on SEMG, but I can't tell if they are Post 1948. I appreciate the southern was a large place, so I mean generally, but if anyone has more specific information about locos that would've been seen on the Central/Eastern section, it's much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Hi all, I'm normally southern focused, however I have a few projects on the go which require some LNER specific information. I'm looking to understand what numbers the D.245 full brakes and D.120 pigeon vans would've had in 1947 (specifically, i'm not sure when renumbering, if any took place) Thanks in advance!

My year in wrap up involves a lot of repainting/weathering RTR stock, mixed in amongst are some other activities, detailed below Donor sides onto a RTR coach, to create an R1 Maunsell Tourist Open, seen here in 1947 condition with 2nd class markings Built my first etched brass kit; 1/3 vehicles needed to go with my Ransom and Rapier crane. An SECR J from an ex Chivers fineline kit An LBSCR I3 from the updated Finecast kit, this is still waiting for a more appropriate looking smokebox door to be printed. My first etched bras loco kit, a PDK W, also my first attempt at Walschaerts valve gear and Alan Gibson driving wheels I finished the tender of my Oil Burning N15 As i've already posted, my original cab conversion of a Hornby West Country. Most recently i've been following the Mike Trice method to replicate 'Teak' And built this D120 Pigeon van, which was the whole reason I wanted to learn the 'teaking' process Finally, I made a start, and some progress on my H1 Sleeve valve project 'Hartland point', still much to do. Not quite at the level of some of those on here, but i'm making progress!

Thanks so much for the helpful advice lads, and to Robin for facilitating the discussion on his thread. Indeed you have, I was searching for kitbuilds/scratchbuilds of Hawksworth counties when I stumbled upon your blog, all very inspirational! Thank you, I've decided to use 5076 as a donor, I do quite like the name gladiator though! I've done battle with a fair few Southern Locos that are also missing a fair amount of glue. I appreciate the heads up and will take care! Another question if you all don't mind, as you're far more knowledgeable than me, is there any record of specific Castles that commonly strayed onto southern territory in 1947?

Apologies for butting in here, but (due to 'a nod to brent' being based in 1947) I garner so much useful information - I almost feel like I should be paying! What do I need to do to Hornby's 5076 "Drysllwyn Castle" to bring it to 1947 condition, is it as simple as swapping the shirtbutton crest for G (crest) W, and painting over all the red lining below the footplate, or is the model actually wrong for 1947 condition. I'd love to get my hands on 5075 "Wellington", because it's name after the City I live in, and it's got a Hawksworth tender, but they don't seem to come up often. When I compared the two, the only difference seems to be the aforementioned lining. Thanks in advance for any/wall answers! JP

I've always thought the key to weathering a loco to a realistic standard was a focus more on the variation in tone and texture, than the actual colours themselves. A great example is black locomotives. Both of these modified Hornby models have been full repainted, both using the same shade of matt black, the glossy/satin parts have simply had a varnish applied. Neither is 'fully' weathered, being turned My photography skills are pretty lacking, so it might not be as easy to see the effect on my modified Hornby West Country, but the entire loco had the main colours blocked in, and then was gloss varnished for transfers, after which the dirty areas were gone over with a matt paint. Lots of excellent stuff posted in here over the last few days!

I've been practicing mate, given that you're close enough to feasibly pay me a visit if I mess up!

Having been tasked with 'teaking' @Jesse Sim's Ex GN Milk brake, I thought I should get some more practice in (see the milk brake HERE) Experimenting with different consistencies of the oil mix, and the top one has had 2 coats applied. I also decided to was time to start cobbling together these Pigeon vans, which were the whole reason I wanted to learn this livery application in the first place. Knocked this one up in a few hours last night. Replaced the overly thick footboards and steps with some plastikard replacements. Also added brake linkages and a 'belt' to the dynamo. Unsure if these vans need the brake hangar guides? I also need to order some LNER transfers, as, surprisingly I don't have any!

'Teaking', it's something I've wanted to try for a while. Not being a dedicated LNER fan means I'm unlikely to need to repaint multiple coaches, but I do have some 4 wheel pigeon vans to build and paint, and I was concerned they would be too starkly different from the Hornby offering. So, following the Mike Trice method, I decided to give it a go; These photos were taken immediately after applying the oils. The colour has lightened a little since then. It's not perfect yet, but I'm very happy with the results!