Hroth

The only problem with £2.50 servos is that they tend to chatter when under power at rest. I've been toying with the idea of shutting off power to servos using a relay after they've done the job and switching them back on when next required (under Arduino control, naturally). Being naturally indolent, its an experiment I've yet to try, though all the bits are to hand... (Yep, I've an interlocked electronic signal box in mind, using a Mega board...)

Nice! Leave 'em in primer and you could have a "Ghost Train" set.....

The only way to salvage a solid Mazak casting with Zinc pest is to ditch it. Cutting off the affected parts only means you're left with a lump of metal that has the same metallurgical content as the currently affected bits - there's no guarantee that the rest isn't going to start disintegrating sooner rather than later. Perhaps the only way forward is to keep the mechanicals and try to replicate the style of a lima chassis in brass.... Its just a shaped box, sized to fit the body, not as complicated as a steam loco chassis! I've a full-fat 31, which is not in the pest-infected list, yet. If anything does happen to it, I'll probably give that route a go.

You know, I miss the fun and excitement of real D&P. Even though much of the workflow was to time and temperature, there was still a large element of craft involved in producing an outstanding print. Producing exposure test strips and estimating paper grade (too muddy? Move up a grade!), burning and dodging was all part of the thrill of seeing what you pre-visualised appear!

If you ordered from "Shiny Hardware", then it should arrive a day after they confirmed dispatch. I got a litre of isopropyl alcohol (essential for track and electrical contact cleaning!) from them recently and I was very impressed by how soon it arrived!

Oh, bad luck......

Proper cameras...... When I was going through my "Bigger is Better" photographic phase, which luckily coincided with the growth of professional digital imaging and the decline of film, I managed to acquire some real battleships before the "old, rare" shysters on ebay priced them out of my pocket and before retro came in... For groin-strain inducing hardware consider the Kiev 60, a Russian copy of a Pentacon 6 6x6cm camera in the style of a 35mm SLR which weighs a ton (ok, about 2.2Kg) with its standard lens and prismatic viewfinder, or the magisterial MPP Mk VIII 5x4 inch technical camera, which tips the scales at 3.3 Kg with a Schineider-Kreuznach Xenar f4.5/150mm lens in a Synchro Compur shutter speeded to 1/400s. Fantastic image quality with such a good lens and huge film area, but far too slow to set up and use! I ditched the Kiev because it was very unreliable, though the images that it produced were good, and got a Mamyia C3 TLR, another porker but it had a film transport that could be relied on! To go with the MPP I also got a Manfrotto 055 tripod which is equally heavy...... My most useful medium format acquisition was again a Bronica ETRSi which was very inexpensive when I got it, together with wide angle (65mm) and portrait (150mm) lenses and the 80mm standard lens. WIth the metering prisim viewfinder, the wind-on handgrip and a bag full of magazines, it is a quick and easy camera to use and produces amazing images. Since I got them, prices have gone through the roof... Nowadays I point and shoot with a Canon G11 compact camera, its too much faff carting a heavy bag of lenses about, and the tripod is far lighter than that old Manfrotto too!

I had one of those Tri-ang Puff-Puffs! It had a crank inside that drove rubber bellows that made a "realistic puffing sound". Now I realise where they got the idea for the sandpaper tender device from.... It should also have a little bell hanging off the bracket in front of the cab. Give a child something like that nowadays and they'd look at you funny!

Yes, its extremely important that the prospective buyers attention is drawn to fatal flaws like mazak rot, failure to disclose should result in a full refund of everything paid for the model. However, if you're looking for a particular model/livery, you should do a bit of research; the major mazak rot victims are well documented here and the model numbers are well known, as well as cases involving "lesser" components like bogie and tender chassis which are susceptible whilst the rest of the loco is sound. Caveat Emptor! as they say....

Its GOT to be done.....

The thing about warships is that the old ones were full of valuable scrap, in far larger quantities than a locomotive! Where to keep them and the expense of maintaining them is a major issue. Also, you wouldn't want an obsolete vessel to fall into the hands of potential foes, even with all the gubbins ripped out, the armoured hull would still be extremely useful. We've still got a few lying about, but how they survived is a matter of fame, luck or location. For example, there's M.33, a WW1 Monitor or floating battery thats on show at the Portsmouth Dockyard, next to HMS Victory. HMS Warrior lies a bit further along.... And there's HMS Belfast on the Thames. HMS Monitor M.33 https://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/660/media/images/70186000/jpg/_70186883_70186879.jpg

Nearer than you might think. Its probably a replacement for the Kingswear - Dartmouth service... (look for the GWR rowing boat, waiting for latecomers!) Bathing costume, waterwings, towel, OUT!!!

And in the spirit of things seasidy, apropos of nothing to do with trains, Castle Aching or sense, may I offer this delightful view of a trio of Continental bathing belles! The one on the right appears to be experiencing a costume malfunction....

It came of in me hands! Honest!!! or Captain Ahab embarks on a retraining scheme rather than pursuing The Great White Whale after the leg nibbling incident.......

Sad to see a little aircraft threatened so nastily by the Men In Malachite.......

Racehorse names are ok as far as they go, but I get nervous when I see Hornbys Bachmanns "Trimbush"* and "Pearl Diver"** in close proximity***.... As for "Dark Star", who wants an engine that'll get chatty at entirely the wrong moment? * Doncaster Cup, 1947 ** The Derby, 1947 *** eg in Hattons listing...

Well, I did specify DUNKABLE biscuits. Anyone turning up with Rich Tea (with or without a teaspoon) gets what they deserve!

Its not the Gresleyites you have to watch out for, its the Thompsonians who give more grief, them and their allies, the Raven Clan...... However if you would rather have a decent cuppa with dunkable biscuits and polite, sensible, conversation, then I can recommend nothing better than the Sons of Churchward! edit for spelin....

I found something this weekend that puts the accuracy of the Oxford DG in context..... It was in a little booklet in the Project Book series from 1973, called "Build A Model Railway". Its not a bad book, its full of ideas for the novice and even includes a brief description of building a Ks locomotive kit. There is also a section on modifying RTR models and an example given of modifying a Triang 3F tender loco to produce a Dean Goods, with the aid of an Airfix City of Truro kit... Now, I've suitable parts left over from the Dapol CoT kits I used for my Dean 4-6-0 project, I suppose I could get a cheap Triang 3F from ebay.....

Nahhhhh.... Dead easy. Its like dipping sheep, you just push its head under with the back of a yard brush! If you're really picky, you can also account for the volume of the brush head... And the portion of shaft that was submerged too......

And then it'll be someone elses problem.......

I agree with both of you, its all marketing driven and looks to the highest margin to get a nice return for the next quarter balance sheet. But once all the well-heeled returnees fall off their perches, then what? Unless interest has been piqued in the young, or in those returners who would like to have something a bit more interesting (and NEW, not pre-used) and can't justify expensive stuff, then they're not going to shift anything. The other thing is, production-wise, its win-win if they put some things they're making already into a pack. It saves the buyer the problem of getting it separately and the problem of limited stocks of separate models. And perhaps, just perhaps, someone from Hornby might see this....

Those, together with the 2P 4-4-0 and the 4F 0-6-0, all locos that sit uneasily in the main range and are eminently suited for Railroad train packing too. A 61xx and a couple of B set coaches, an N2 or 4F and some goods wagons, and for "big" passenger expresses, the 2P or a Shire and couple of basic corridor coaches. All aspirational stuff for a railway minded child. Get some into Argos at competitive prices.... Argos currently list the dire Junior play train (ready to order soon) for £40 and an "Intercity Express" set branded low detail 395 (aka the Blue Rapier set) for £99. If they can offer the 395 including a 3rd rad oval with siding and controller for that, they could do a decent train pack for 20 quid less and get buyers.

And its a recognisable locomotive, unlike the generic 0-4-0 locos that infest the starter sets. With 4 still existing and 1450 actually operational and the star guest at Warley this year it would be a very attractive loco to squirrel away for a Christmas gift for a deserving child! I think Hornby are missing a trick here. Apart from train sets, currently ALL the Hornby train packs are of high end models at high end prices. There's nothing to "expand" starter sets (I've just had a look at the Hornby web site). There used to be a diesel shunter pack with the old Jinty chassis 08 plus a few miscellaneous wagons and the ubiquitous 101 0-4-0 with more wagons, hardly exciting upgrades! But a decent, intelligent. Railroad train pack programme could be a winner. They've the recent iteration of the Jinty, pack that with a couple of wagons and a brakevan and you'd have a representative local goods pack. Put the 14xx with an autocoach and its a branch line passenger train pack. Revive some of the old Triang play sets (the Mail Coach set, Working Ore Hopper set and the Working Log Tipper set all come to mind) and play value is enhanced too. All Hornby need then do is keep clear of the dodgy liveries and the even dodgier names that adorn their baseline 0-4-0s! Oh well...........