John Isherwood

It's gone quiet here - presumably the recent vociferous posters have, like me, received an update from Samantha? .... and as an added bonus, the balance of my order for two kits has now arrived. Keep up the good work, Samantha!! Regards, John Isherwood.

No, I'm afraid not. Sorry, John Isherwood.

See Sheet BL171 at https://www.cctrans.org.uk/products.htm . Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers.

In your position, I would not hesitate to cancel the Paypal case - Samantha has already offered me - and at least one other member - a refund for an item ordered that is not immediately available. " I have a personal email address that is connected to my mobile it's sammythurgood@msn.com .... if anyone would like a refund please contact me on my personal email and I will sort it out". I am sure that if you use the personal e-mail address above to request a refund, it will be forthcoming. Alternatively, if you request an update from the same e-mail address, I would expect you to receive a reply. Regards, John Isherwood.

True, but the world is far from perfect! Now and again, life fails to live up to our expectations. Provided that the inconvenience / disappointment is not the result of a malicious act, we have to accept that. Regards, John Isherwood.

Probably not - but then Falcon Brassworks is not an Amazon / Ebay operation. The kits are available, subject to a level of patience on the part of the customer which reflects the time that Samantha can devote to supplying our needs. Those that cannot accept that minor inconvenience should seek to fulfil their needs for Jidenco / Falcon Brassworks products via Amazon / Ebay. Regards, John Isherwood.

Probably not a priority at this time - given Samantha's other commitments. Regards, John Isherwood.

I did send Samantha a personal e-mail, drawing her attention to the disquiet here and offering any assistance that I could give. Whatever, we now seem to be back on track - but let's not expect box-shifter service from a one-person, part-time operation. Regards, John Isherwood.

Oh ye of little faith - now you can get back to things of real import, safe in the knowledge that Samantha has not :- a] disappeared off the face of the earth; b] run off with the takings of Falcon Brassworks; c] found the feedback from RMweb so hard to take that she has chucked in the whole undertaking. It doesn't take much - the cost of a reasonably-priced etched brass kit - to cause a crisis, does it ?!? Regards, John Isherwood.

First find your white inkjet ink. Received wisdom at the Alps and Alpsdecal groups is that Alps technology was the ONLY way to do white printing in the domestic environment / price range. Regards, John Isherwood.

Comet do one too. Regards, John Isherwood.

Alps / Oki printers cannot produce rub-down transfers - only waterslide ones. Regards, John Isherwood.

"Personally I have waited nearly four months, patience no problem, all I want is the courtesy of a update as what is happening with order. If it takes longer to receive the goods no problem. It takes seconds to type a email, no one is that busy not to able to do that !! If you want to have a business then it should be done professionally, no matter what you are selling". "The issues mentioned have been ongoing for a number of years, I sympathise but would wonder that maybe the owner(s) should think about selling the range on to one that can give it some more time or to take it fully into Dart castings. Re the part in bold. If there are more customers in the same position as timbowilts in post 60, then it's likely that payment companies will withdraw the facility to process if the incidence of refund becomes a regular occurrence. Personally I think that the receipt of payment should illicit a reply from any trader when the timescales for supply have become extended. Taking the money without any contact is venturing into CC territory". When I placed an order for two kits, and one was not at the time available, I was offered the choice of waiting a few weeks or having a refund for the value of the outstanding kit - I chose the former. I agree that it is good practice to keep customers informed of progress - or otherwise - with their orders. I merely express a personal preference of having the range available - eventually, rather than losing it due to Paypal withdrawing their payment facilities. I know that this situation is far from ideal - but I, for one, have contacted Samantha to offer any assistance that I can in improving things. Perhaps if more of us took a positive approach we might all benefit in the long run. Regards, John Isherwood.

I too am happy to order on an as-and-when basis, if that's what it takes. I really would council members not to order if you want the item(s) yesterday - it won't happen. All that you are likely to achieve is to persuade Samantha to 'throw in the towel' if you keep nagging for updates. Those of us with a little patience will be more than a little peeved if you force this product range out of existence. Regards, John Isherwood.

Guess which coach was for the officers? Regards, John Isherwood.

Nice train - I too have the open Roadrailer, which always seemed to be at the end of the rake and carried, I understand, the compressor used to operate the changeover mechanism from road to rail use. Regards, John Isherwood. PS for ...incredibility..., read ...incredulity... . Sorry, I'm in Mr. Picky mode !!

I do indeed. Sheet BL20 at https://www.cctrans.org.uk/products.htm . Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers.

Yep - I've spent the afternoon finishing the construction of my Impetus PWM652. However, when someone obnoxious comes along - albeit infrequently - a brief diversion can be warranted in the interests of restoring the equilibrium of the group. Regards, John Isherwood.

Ohh - it's all about you, and one-up-manship, isn't it !! I'm not going to waste much more time on you - other than to suggest that you're not really going to fit in here, are you? Perhaps your exile to Spain was a solution to a similar problem in the past? I won't go so far as to call you a troll, but you do seem intent upon causing disquiet whilst lauding your own achievements(?); I would suggest that other members may choose to ignore your posts from now on. Regards, John Isherwood.

71000 (I won't honour you with your self-conferred title), What I have gathered from your postings is :- you have a large layout; you have a lot of coaches; you use RTR bogies on everything; you think that proprietary couplings are superior to Tony's home-brewed ones; you don't like concertina corridor connections; you seem to think that Tony has a problem - which Tony has told you he has not; you are convinced that your experience of running long trains on a large layout is superior to Tony's; you want us all to know how big a layout you have and the vast size of your stocklist. Anyone in the UK modelling fraternity will know of Tony's vast store of model railway knowledge, and of his lifetime contribution to disseminating information and advice through the modelling press and on-line; the respect that he is given is well-deserved. For your part, I'm not aware that I have come across you before, nor have I knowingly had the benefit of your advice before. Perhaps you would care to open a new thread, in which you could acquaint us with your curriculum vitae as it concerns model railways? In the meantime, please refrain from trying to teach your granny to suck eggs !! Regards, John Isherwood. PS. I write this because I know Tony to be too much of a gentleman to do so himself; I, as you may gather, am not.

A white elephant in the context that any new build loco constructed exactly to the original spec. is unlikely to meet modern regulations; be more expensive to construct; and / or be as efficient in operation as one that incorporated modern manufacturing and operational techniques. Thus, in one way or another, it would be financially desirable to build to current regulations and constructional / operational best practice. I would agree that a restored locomotive should be rebuilt to as near as is possible to a particular period in its operational life - though not necessarily to its condition as withdrawn. Regards, John Isherwood.

Nice model. As a matter of interest, these cranes were designed such that the hook, when fully raised, would fit into the end of the jib, thus preventing any movement of the hook when in transit. The crane body (or 'crab') could be locked in line with the chassis, so that any low or medium height open wagon could be used as a jib runner; the jib and hook made no contact with the runner wagon. Regards, John Isherwood.

I don't know why, but the words 'granny', 'suck' and 'eggs' spring to mind !! Regards, John Isherwood.

I think that we're going round in circles here. For the avoidance of any doubt about my position, I am not confusing a new-build steam loco that complies with current standards with an 'historically accurate' one - I am saying that the latter could not operate economically under current regulations. When you are spending the kind of money that it takes to new-build, commercial interests will ALWAYS apply - unless someone with very deep pockets is willing to fund a white elephant. You can care about, and hopefully be satisfied with, the historical accuracy of a model, (provided that the point in history which is depicted is declared), and the manufacturer can be bothered / afford to get the research, toolmaking and decoration correct. Historical accuracy in new build operational locos is not achievable, and criticising the groups who put so much money and effort into making these new builds a reality will not change that fact. To be absolutely frank, new build locos do nothing for me - somehow they don't seem to have that authenticity of the genuine article; (even if the latter have historically inaccurate fittings and / or liveries). That being the case, we are quite close in our preferences; but I will defend to the last the right of individuals and groups to produce new builds if that is how they choose to spend their time and money. Regards, John Isherwood.

Many, many years ago I hacked one of the Lima continental models into an ex-LMS Stonebridge Park hopper - if I can lay hands on it I'll post a photo in due course. Regards, John Isherwood.