Jack P

Oops, it's been a while since i've posted. It seems coming into the silly season and summer here in NZ means my priorities are pulled in different directions. New bike, getting the car serviced, Christmas presents etc etc. This is a rather large update, so maybe make yourself a tea and settle in! Rather sadly my grandmother passed away on the 7th of November, she had been battling with heart failure and while it is immensely sad, the old addage of, "she's in a better place now" certainly applies. I even have a model related project in the works to honour her memory. More on that later though. My Grandmother grew up in the london suburbs and travelled to school behind steam every day. Was taken to the countryside during the blitz behind steam, and eventually relocated and started a family in Woking. My dad and his brothers have vivid memories of playing near the main line, and being deathly scared of the live rail - a Southern connection if there ever was one! A little further afield than the Southern is the cutlery photographed below, gifted to me by 'her'. Can anyone help with identification and valuation? I thought some of the LNER stuff looked a little Art Deco in style. Any information is good information though! In the same vein, I thought I would post a photo of some NZR heritage, A Crown Lynn NZR saucer (of a cup and saucer set), I am unsure of the vintage but I think, possibly the early 50's. For anyone interested there is some further information here: https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/topic/1148 I've recently bought a few more from our local auction site (trademe) and we have a few for saucers in storage, along with a few cups. They are a very interesting part of our/my railway history. Plus, my one might be the most often used one in the country - it's the plate the cat eats off!! Next up, our local model rail show, Rail-Ex. Now it's certainly no Warley, but it's the biggest show in the lower north island. The first photo of this update is me outside the hall. This year I went with one thing in mind - NZR rail! (any surprises there?) The first thing that caught my attention was this massive 7 1/4 inch gauge Streamlined NZR J Class sitting in the middle of the hall. 'Gloria' - in all her, err, glory. Here's some more info on the streamlined J's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NZR_J_class_(1939). A quick summary below; Built in 1939 the 4-8-4 Mountain class were built by the North Brtish works as a capable mixed traffic engine, designed to run on the secondary lines and be more powerful than the AB class 2-6-0's. they were equipped with some interesting and modern features, like roller bearing axles and twin Westinghouse brake pumps. 3 of them lasted until the end of steam on 26 October 1971, and 3 have been preserved. I have recently been in talks with a kit supplier who is due to release this in S-Scale (HO/OO equivalent) in the new year. Now for what is really a niche industry, the prices of these kits are an interesting talking point. I see/hear lots of complaints about the cost of RTR locos in the UK, and sure, they are on the increase, with the newly announced SECR D due to cost £250. Precious little (read: nothing) is available ready to run for NZR S-scale. There is an expanding range of kits, but they seem to put RTR British stuff into perspective as good value! Most coach kits are around £60, and most wagon kits around £30, the loco kits sort of range from £150-£700 depending on what it is (tank engine - Garratt). Now this seems expensive on first glance, but these kits come with everything needed except hand tools and paint. So for the loco kits, you get wheels, a self quartering wheel jig, motor, gearbox, nickle silver frames and white-metal castings. I think when you take this into consideration they are actually quite good value. The coach kits also come with compensated bogies, etched plates and transfers! Now, this is where it gets mental. I recently watched a kit-built 4-8-4 loco go up for auction on Trade-me (like a local ebay), it sold on sunday night for the astronomical price of $2011 - approx £1000. Of course I've gone and bought some kits, which are due to arrive any day now! NZR modelling here I come! I was also gifted some EM gauge wheels at Rail-ex.. which I have a plan for, eventually. Back to models - there was this quaint little early 1900's scene Some extremely well crafted scenery, all kit built, scratchbuilt etc. Looks fantastic! Then there's this, for the life of me I can't remember the name of the builder, but it's the product of 15 years work. All scratch-built, except for a few kits/modified RTR items. Even the loco wheels have been turned. I took precious little in the way of photos of this, but the shay loco ambling around the track had working inside valve gear. This was my favourite, there was a photo on the board behind of the prototype, apparently folks here had a bit of a thing for cutting up cars/trucks and throwing them on locomotive chassis'. Here's some NZR 9mm, (O gauge equivalent). An NZR AB class (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NZR_AB_class) on a small piece of scenic rolling road. On the far side of the hall was this gigantic 9mm layout, with a fantastic assortment of stock, everything was DCC sound/lights and being controlled with a wireless hand controller system, all very exciting! Very impressive - I only wish I had taken some more photos! Now for some of my own medicore attempts: SR cattle wagons have been repainted and the transfer application has begun! I have two of the earlier maunsell diagram ones that are in line for a repaint, but I might wait until the SECr box vans arrive and do them at the same time. DONE! My SECR bolsters are finished. Chains, shackles and stanchions added. I did have an issue with one of the AG wheelsets - a tyre delaminated from the wheel centre as it had shrunk and become very warped, no bother, plenty of spares. That's all for now. apologies that this has gone slightly off topic from specifically 'Southern Railway Modelling', if the NZR stuff gets more serious I might start a different thread! As usual, comments, criticism, discussion, random tangents are all welcome, (and if you got this far) thanks for reading! Still looking apparently....

I've struggled with both matt and glossy clear finishes. The best stuff i've used through my airbrush so far is Humbrol Clear (the stuff in the large glass jar). If I'm using an aerosol, the Tamiya 100ml Spray cans are fantastic, (pretty potent though). I'd imagine you can get both in Aus.

I don't suppose anyone can tell me how long 2644 stayed in olive green for?

Aha - As you know it's well outside my era, I just wanted an excuse to run them!

Emailed rails to check on something else and mentioned the vans at the time. They said the SR ones were due into stock shortly.

Exactly! If I'd been a bit more pro-active and bought filler primer I think it would've helped significantly. I'll keep everyone updated on the J1 progress, as well as an I3 body, which Javier of this parish has designed to go on the new(er) NS Wills I3 chassis. I believe so, there is no reason we wouldn't want the general public to have access to these, But I did suggest that we hold off on the K class re-tool until announcements have been made in January. I don't know anything, but if there is an alphabetical LBSC announcement we can focus our efforts elsewhere. With the J1 we are working on the chassis being 3D printed too, which means that it's up to the purchaser to obtain, wheels, axles, motor, gearbox, and the motion. Next on the list is an H16 designed to fit on a slightly tweaked S15 chassis. The idea of the comparison will be to see the pros and cons of both adapting a RTR chassis and using a 3D printed one. A big element of this is cost - is it cheaper to buy a full loco and steal the chassis, while selling or retaining the other bits as spares, or to buy your own parts and build the running chassis yourself. any input on this from readers would be great!

I see what you mean. I managed to get the part off - but I thought I better leave it, nothing worse than botching something up when it's not yours! She has a few little touches left to go, but on the whole the project is complete! It's not perfect, but I would argue nothing really ever is, my mate is happy, and that's what's important! Hopefully without sounding too much like a broken record, this has been a lot of fun - a change is really as good as a rest! Two photos of her in the full Golden arrow regalia, at the head of a rake of 12 wheel Pullman coaches. To finish off, here's one of them moving photos I've also got one step closer to finishing this: Don't scrutinize it too hard, there is a very long list of things that aren't right - not least of which are the tender wheels, which make it sit lower than the loco. But this was designed freehand without any proper technical drawings, and printed mainly in (I think) SLS, with the cab and some other details done in SLA. It certainly has the dimensions of a K though. An LBSC J class which has been done to a much finer standard is actually being pieced together and sent off to a local RMWeb 3D printing expert, which should be exciting. That's all for now!

Plenty of BR blue for you then! What did/should Yard Master entail in that era (Aside from carriage cleaning)? Do you remember which ones you saw by chance, and where? It's certainly a very nice model. I would have one for myself if it wasn't way outside my era. I know rule 1 etc etc, but being able to do this sort of stuff for friends is great because it means I get my hands on locos I usually wouldn't otherwise. Someone local to me asked if I might have a look at his Garratt! I can't figure out what you mean about the chimney, do you mean replacing it entirely? If so where would I go about sourcing the replacement from? Appreciate the comments and 'likes' guys, feel free to chime in if you have advice (or don't)! JP

I've been working on something decidedly different from what is usually seen here. As part of my move to DCC, there was some trading for a large amount of decoders. Part of said trade was an Identity change for 'Thomas Hardy' to one of the 'Lane' allocated Brits. The glue around the nameplate has since been tidied up. I've also added the two middle lamp irons (on the deflector braces) and the larger front lamp irons, they aren't 100% correct, but they are closer to the prototype than not being there at all. Still waiting on the etched shedplate to arrive. Trying out a technique to try and represent the cladding on the outside steam pipes. Tamiya filler putty and Tamiya thin cement mixed together and stippled on produces this nice textured effect. It is almost lost under a coat of paint, but it looks better than the smooth pipes I think. The Tender has been glossed - so has the body, but I don't have any photos. The loco will be turned out in full Golden Arrow regalia, very lightly weathered. From what I understand, the two Brits were kept in immaculate condition while they where shedded at 73A. I have also been working on a few other 'normal' things. A page or so back I posted some photos of a rather dire looking C class, which after some attention has gone from looking like this: To this: Certainly not finished, but we are on the home stretch. Only placed together here, nothing has yet been screwed down. The S15 that has been languishing for a while, awaiting a repaint, has now had it. I've decided to put an order in to SEF for one of their 6 wheel tenders to go behind this. It's something different and also appropriate for the central section - Perfect! Seen here with another Black 4-6-0. That's all for now!

I appreciate everyone's responses so far - I think my confusion stems from the fact that in photos some of the Tenders behind S15's look like the straight sided 3500gal bodies, on 4000gal frames. If I've interpreted correctly, they actually all had slope sided (4000gal) tenders, when they were allocated them to run on the central section. EXCEPT for "833-837 [which] were given 4000 gallon tenders from N15s 763-767" - which would've been straight sided? Or am I more confused than before? I suppose if it makes the question easier, do I want a Hornby Schools Tender or a Hornby N15 (6 wheel) tender, to go behind a 6 wheel S15?

Hi guys, I am just wanting to check, the tenders that the central section S15's were fitted with, were these the same as the central section N15's, or were they a different diagram? TIA

I thought I recognized the Lamb, but now i'm not sure. Must just look like other lambs I know.

Looks very crisp, looking forward to seeing it completed.

As the title states, i'm after a TTS sound decoder for an S15, ideally one with the small securing bracket, but i'm not too fussed. Thanks in advance.

Short update. I've fully taken the DCC plunge - as part of a trade for a fair few decoders, was this TTS sound chip for the LN And my Malachite green 2-HAL

You should (if you can) make your way over here one day. Perfect if you want a Christmas outside in shorts and a t-shirt, stood around the BBQ. No no, plenty of time to revel in the smell

I don't know if I can take anymore surprises! (I can, I definitely can) Thanks @AY Mod for posting that video. It's great to see the passionate people that are part of the teams bringing us these fantastic new models. It will be interesting to see what comes from Warley, and the 'all important' January announcements.

As said, it is working now, thank you kindly for making this available.

Appears to be private

They seem to be hold outs on the Malachite green too!

I vaguely remember this being discussed in another thread. Th counter point was that if they release all of the 'colourful' and 'pretty' liveries first, they are more likely to sell to people who want one just 'coz. After that they can release the work-a-day liveries that are slightly less exciting to look at e.g wartime black.

Probably already been done to death on other 'duplicate' threads but if other parties are/were interested (and Hornby is one of them) and they're already far enough into development then they might still, and we'll have another Terrier situation on our hands.

Hornby could go ahead and do an E, wouldn't that work nicely

Did I miss the boat for pre-orders on this, or are they yet to be announced?

Fantastic - I've already put a pre-order in