John Isherwood

Looks like it's not only Hornby that are sacrificing appearance to gimmickry! That great black lump hanging beneath the tension-lock coupling is, frankly, a carbuncle. Still, what price authentic appearance when we can push yet another expensive function button? Let's hope that there is a 'dumbed-down' version, without all the costly bells and whistles. CJI.

Support is the essential in this operation. A block of wood with a concave surface, approximating to the correct profile of the roof, will serve as an anvil. A length of wooden dowel with the end sanded to a half sphere can be used as form tool - applied to the inside of the roof with very light taps of a small hammer. Slow and steady should produce the desired results. CJI.

The example that I quoted was from the principal railway publishing house of the time - and the error in the drawing would have smitten in the eye anyone who had ever seen a locomotive with steam-era coupling rods! CJI.

A certain landscape format, comb-bound book of diesel and electric loco drawings contains a drawing of GT3 (!!). The centres of the con-rod bearings are shown coincident with the wheel-centres; ie. zero crank throw!! How the h*ll did that get published? CJI.

I certainly do! CJI.

Like it or not, all fossil fuel technology is now defunct - unless we, as a species, intend to become defunct! CJI.

Even more accurately, measure the length of the chassis over headstocks, and check it against the quoted dimension on the drawing. CJI.

........ and therein lies the nub of the problem - all knowledge is NOT available on the internet! There is a perception that research involves a simple Google search. I do not KNOW the history of the BLOATER, but I have on my bookshelves all the information that I need in order to check the model's authenticity. Of course, a comprehensive library of railway books comes at a price - which most present-day modellers seem unwilling to pay. There is a perception that knowledge should come free-of-charge. It is inconceivable to me that anyone should attempt to review a model without the relevant reference books to hand - it is arrogant in the extreme to do so. Still, when anyone can make a video with their smartphone, and publish it under the guise of a 'review' - and make money as a result - it's hardly surprising that there is so much misinformation and rubbish on the internet! BLOATERs "obscure"? Not to anyone with even a basic knowledge of the GWR. CJI.

I have just made my first purchase from Temu! https://share.temu.com/7SubEZqi9RA You may recall that I successfully experimented with Aliexpress variable voltage regulator boards as controllers for model railways, so I thought that the Temu controllers might have a similar application. The minimum order for Temu is £10, so I ordered five items. The input for the circuit boards must be DC (polarity critical), so I've ordered some 3A bridge rectifiers. Once again, I will be building walkabout controllers, so I have also ordered some small ABS instrument boxes. Very promptly, the circuit boards have arrived from Temu and the boxes, ordered yesterday, arrived today. I just await the bridge rectifiers before commencing assembly and test of the first controller. The Temu boards are very comprehensive, including a control knob and a wired-in, separate reversing / centre-off switch. I will report further shortly. John Isherwood.

I know for a fact that the GWR built some dedicated match wagons, and I would not be surprised to learn that other railways did so also. CJI.

Too coarse for sand - though it could be as-raised sand and gravel. From a modelling perspective, there would be little to distinguish between the two. CJI.

The broach will self-centre in the worn frame holes. Bushes : Product RM4 at Wizard Models. CJI.

I'd say someone has poured some readimix concrete into the translator wagons to increase their stability. CJI.

What I really should have recommended are cutting broaches; see : - https://maddisonsofdurham.co.uk/jewellers-tools/files-jewellers-tools/cutting-broaches/set-of-6-cutting-broaches-2-40mm-6-20mm/ The one that you would use would probably be the third smallest - you just 'twiddle' the broach in the hole until the bush JUST presses in. You are effectively restoring the axle holes to their original size. If the bushes as supplied are a tad tight on the axles, the bush holes can be lightly 'twiddled,' to ease the fit - but don't overdo it! The 1/8" bushes can be obtained from such as Wizard Models, Peter's Spares et al. CJI.

Before messing around with the motor / gearbox, buy a set of six 1/8" frame bushes, and a taper broach suitable for an 1/8" hole. Strip out the rods, wheels, axles and gear. Using the taper reamer, open up the frame holes until the frame bushes will JUST press in. Reassemble - job done! (If the bushes make the overall width too great, file down the projecting parts). CJI.

I can't get my head round someone having the brass neck to review a product about which they so clearly have no background knowledge. How can he assess whether models are authentic without such knowledge? Still, he seems to be popular with those who similarly have no knowledge of prototype railways! CJI.

If I had to build any more of these kits, (and I'm in no hurry!), I would build a jig of a flat plate, with a rectangle of strip whose inner dimensions matched the rim of the hopper. Brass would be ideal, but wood would work. The hopper could then be assembled within this frame, keeping it square and true. Again, the chassis would be assembled separately, keeping it square and true also. The most difficult bit was, and would still be, assembly of the two sub-assemblies! Force is NOT required - warping and twisting would inevitably result. Personally, I would NOT use solvent adhesive to combine the hopper and chassis; the softening could undo the care put into keeping the two parts square. A little filing to achieve best fit, then lock together with a minimum of cyanoacetate glue. Just my two penn'orth! CJI.

I retract the above - I have to say that the colour looks to be original. CJI.

My recollection of the BTF film 'Single Line Working' is that it was filmed in B&W. If you have a colour version, it is almost certainly an AI 'colouration' - which are notoriously unreliable. CJI.

My post amended as per your lurid suggestion! 😛 CJI

One word - Milliput ! (Fine White for preference). CJI.

Parkside assumed that you have a minimum of three hands! 😄 CJI.

Ahh - but think about the breathless groans of "Ohhh, Rrrrrrene"!! from the waitresses! 😍🥰 CJI.

.... which, of course, excepted the S&DJR, which used a totally different, though simpler, lamp code ! CJI.

Looks good - so far! I would now bore the internal diameter, but only halfway in, so that you can still use the spigot. When this has been done, tidy up with scrapers in the lathe - as far as you dare - the bell / bore transition. Then part off by completing the internal bore drilling. Carry out the annealing process - making sure that you allow the item to cool naturally. As to forming the bell, the proper way to do it is to perpendicularly drill a piece of brass or steel with a diameter the same as the smokebox; drill size to match the ID of the chimney. Insert a stub of brass or steel, with a diameter the same as the chimney bore, into the hole just drilled, and place the chimney, bell end down, onto the stub. Carefully squeeze the assembly in a vice - the stub will keep the chimney perpendicular. Stop when the front and rear flares to the smokebox look OK. It should now be possible to press the softened brass side flares down onto the smokebox former, using a piece of round brass rod or steel - a drill shank is ideal. Tidy up with a piece of wet and dry cloth whilst rotating the chimney in the lathe, on a tapered mandrel. John Isherwood.