Jack P

Hello again collective southern mind, I'm working with someone to design and build a J class kit, and we have managed to get the body dimensions sorted. I am currently stuck for Chassis dimensions though. Would anyone be privy to some drawings or possibly dimensions for the chassis - or alternatively where would I be able to find some, books/websites etc Thanks in advance!

Nah no worries buddy, I change my mind enough about where i'm modelling. I think it's just that the majority of my fleet is LSWR because the manufacturers have produced many variations of LSWR locos (certainly more than the other 2). I feel like a rough approximation would be sufficient anyways, after all I am modelling a faux-prototypical location!

I appreciate the resurgence of this thread and the added information! I'm actually more interested in modelling the LBSC and the SECR more than the LSWR and my time period is the middle of 1947.

Hey Tony, I absolutely agree that inconsistency is key (as odd as that sounds). However I guess for myself. I find myself in a position where i've used multiple different styles to obtain different finishes and different mediums as I experimented. I've not settled on what i'm comfortable using and what I think produces the finish closest to what i'm trying to achieve. The issue I have is that I look back at some of what i've done and I think I can do better now (the relentless march of progress strikes again) Much as i'm sure I'll look back at the N15x in a few years and think I could do it better again! In summary: What I'm aiming for is a consistent style of inconsistency. That being said, nothing is worse than the manufacturers 'tide mark' weathered finish! I appreciate your comments Tony, I think you're being particularly nice though (possibly the time of year?)

Either one would certainly be eyebrow raising!

I'm not saying that it does, so much as it's one less thing to worry about to some extent - it must've been nice for Hornby to already have the tender tooling they're using for the SR olive green Lord Nelson.

I use this stuff, in this bottle, I think most of their products are similar. I bought it originally for automotive use, cleaning engine bays, de-greasing parts etc but it works really well for lots of things - I actually used it for stripping paint off a model too and it worked perfectly!

It would be nice to see something like a W or a Z. I wonder if maybe they'll look at going with something like the Q instead though, as they already have the tooling for the tender? I'm crossing my fingers for more livery options for the Lord Nelson and the Original condition Merchant navy (read: Malachite and post war condition) I'm sure there have been rumours flying around of the SECR D having been measured previously, and with the success of the H class in full SECR livery it's more likely now than ever (i think). It would surely be a welcome announcement, especially with the Birdcage stock on the market (and surely only set to be discounted further than they have been). Malachite H2 would be n- oops, wrong thread...

I'm so torn, although my logic is that If I spray it with a gloss/satin, i'll be able to get the metallic-y shine and then I can use some matt black and other colours to add tonal variations - it does look really good though, I'm very happy with the outcome, and thank you for your kind words! Why? Honestly It's progress, would you believe it, but the more I keep doing things the more I think I refine my skills, so looking back at the first loco that re-ignited my passion for the Hobby (the S15) I keep thinking how I would do it differently if I could start again. Maybe some slight modifications and a change of number to better suit my theoretical location. Another issue that arises from progressing is that if I line my locos up they all have different styles of finishes, which Is probably correct but in reality when I look at the quality of your modelling, so much of it actually boils down to consistency - they all follow a similar build, painting, finishing and weathering practice. Which ties everything in nicely! I also made the move from acrylic to enamel, and the matt effect of enamel is far more intense than the matt effect I managed to achieve with acrylic! I do appreciate your comments though Dave - hopefully i've explained my reasoning!

Another quick update on the H2 - Fitted the rest of the buffer-beam details, and added the number. Needs a coat of either gloss or satin varnish and then weathering to finish it off!

Living in NZ has its perks £79 + £12 p&p and it's under the threshold for customs to pick up, which works out to be approx $170NZD on my front porch - then a quick call to Bachmann and £7 inc p&p for a detail bag - I'm happy! I do agree with you about the finish, something isn't quite the same, maybe the quality of the plastic? It ended up being repainted anyways so I wasn't too worried:

Same vein as last time, a video of what i've been doing. This time the Bachmann H2, which is nearly finished, she needs the bufferbeam number and then the vac pipe added and the crew is currently drying, ready to go in.

Not sure if anyone else does something similar, I've taken to stripping my airbrush down and leaving it in a bath of diluted Simple Green overnight usually around once a month, possibly more often if it sees heavy use. The benefit of simple green is that it doesn't destroy the rubber O-rings like other cleaners might (if you left them for such a long period) and you'd be amazed at the amount of gunk that builds up where you can't see or reach. I did actually buy a rather large collection of (1000 for $10 from ebay) O-rings primarily for automotive use, but there are some in there that are perfectly sized to replace the ones in the airbrush. I've kept the original ones anyways, and have only replaced them once but I felt it was worth doing while I was going to the effort of cleaning.

Before I jump into this, I used HMRS years ago when I first entered the hobby and have consistently been using them for the last year, this is by no means a slate to them, as I believe they do this hobby a service. This is also in no way a promotion for any company, brand, or type of product. I have however found that the quality seems to be rather lacklustre, I present to you my repaint of the LSWR Gate stock as an example. The 'Third' Transfers are from Fox, and the 'Southern' Transfers are from HMRS as you can see the Fox transfers are crisp, and well produced. The HMRS transfer however are blotchy and do not have the same defined edges. Did I get a bad batch? I've had a look at some other transfers I have on other HMRS sheets and they suffer from the same problem, is it just this particular sheet, have other people experienced the same problems, or have I just had a bad batch of transfers? If it's of any use, these are Methfix transfers. The Guard transfer on the far right is from HMRS too but is of far better print quality than the 'Southern' but still not quite as good as the 'Third' Also does anyone have any tips for improving them on my own?

Can confirm, as I was the one who bought the other one, Will arrive, will run, is genuine but doesn't come with the box, manual or detailing bag. Very confused as to how this person has ended up with these, and why they're selling them for nearly 100 quid under RRP, makes me think that maybe a worker took some home? Edit: I've just seen it's listed as "Bachrnann"

A quick update: The N15x tender got paint today, so I thought i'd take a video of it instead of photos, Excuse the music. Still plenty more to do, but it's starting to look like an actual loco!

Absolutely agree. I'm looking forward (not) to retrofitting sprung buffers to my SECR Birdcage stock when it arrives, so that it will work with my chosen coupling method (3-link and screw couplings). in many instances it does surprise and disappoint me when modern tooled locos/stock doesn't come with sprung buffers, the E4/H2 just as examples. I can understand why you could see them as being a novelty when you use the NEM pocket and one of the more traditional coupling systems that fit them, it does still frustrate me when people suggest they are completely un-needed and should be removed though..

The finished product is absolutely fantastic!

Could anyone shed some insight on the 6 coach birdcage sets? As seen here: https://mikemorant.smugmug.com/Trains-Railways-British-Isles/SR-and-BRS/SECR-tender-engines/i-Xwvd2Jc/A Where they the 60ft variety or were they the shorter ones? There's also a few Birdcages i've seen pictures of that look much shorter with corridor connections on the end - whats the go with them?

That being said though, I wouldn't be half surprised if it was Rails that ended up doing it - having partnered with Locomotion of the NRM

I heard that the SECR D at the NRM had been scanned, by Hornby Maybe(?) a little while ago.. I'm not sure if that was a rumour, but I wouldn't be too surprised, seeing how popular the SECR liveried H and C class have been..

I did my research this time! She slots in nicely, I've got my fingers crossed that there will still be a malachite release. I did consider painting it green, I didn't fancy lining out another loco - which leads me nicely to this: I've finished off the boiler bands, I still need to do the lining on the other Cab-side and Smoke deflectors and the rest of the splashers, then figure out how to attach the nameplates. Not much really, but progress nonetheless! I'm also in a unique position, I've acquired x3 2.5m x 60cm boards.. which i'm not sure what to do with yet - suggestions?

I've got this Bachman Lord Nelson tender for that very reason - a 'neverwas' in this livery but will make an interesting model!

Hey Phil, 1947 is the specific year i'm after, more specifically, the last 6 months! Whatever info you've got would be appreciated - and thank you for your kind comments 'darling' haha

I managed to get out to the club last night, and despite the sweltering temperatures, I pressed on and managed to get a few photos, and even run some things. First up is the Restaurant Car and Open Third: Still not 100% sure about the lettering layout, something doesn't seem right, but for now it will do, need to get it numbered appropriately too Here's a recently acquired Hornby cattle wagon, with screw link couplings added and some light weathering And here's a shot of an S15 simmering in a siding, this has been a bit of a mix and match of weathering styles, and will probably receive a repaint and renumber quite soon And the recently finished H class sitting in the same siding looking a little grubby Finally the H2 setting off - this will be finished soon, when the replacement detail bag arrives from Bachmann