John Isherwood

I have to say that I have been extremely impressed by the three-year-old, three litre Jaguar XF-S that I purchased a year ago; (decision based on the fact that a new, now under-powered replacement for my previous Vauxhall Insignia would have cost the same price). I was rather dreading the fuel consumption, but have been pleasantly surprised to find that it is less than with the old Insignia. Jaguar for me every time now! John Isherwood.

I have just noticed something in the official photo of the completed wagon (above); the upper end doors are unpainted, except the hinges - which are black. The body sides, upper end doors and roof of the TCV were fibreglass panels, which had a slightly brownish cream colour at that time. Fibreglass panels were translucent when unpainted, and were often used for diesel locomotive rooves in order to admit light into the engine-room. In the case of the TCV, the roof had eight 'windows' - four on each side and offset from the opposite side. These 'windows' are recorded as being translucent, so probably simply unpainted areas of the fibreglass panelling. The official photo appears to have the whole of the upper end doors as unpainted fibreglass, with only the hinges painted black. (I had initially perceived this appearance to reflected highlights, but then realised that the contrast with the hinges was too great) It would make sense for the end doors to be translucent, thus admitting light to the interior when closed. If this was indeed the case, it has implications for the liveries of the forthcoming models ........! John Isherwood.

I have just noticed something in the official photo of the completed wagon (above); the upper end doors are unpainted, except the hinges - which are black. The body sides, upper end doors and roof of the TCV were fibreglass panels, which had a slightly brownish cream colour at that time. Fibreglass panels were translucent when unpainted, and were often used for diesel locomotive rooves in order to admit light into the engine-room. In the case of the TCV, the roof had eight 'windows' - four on each side and offset from the opposite side. These 'windows' are recorded as being translucent, so probably simply unpainted areas of the fibreglass panelling. The official photo appears to have the whole of the upper end doors as unpainted fibreglass, with only the hinges painted black. (I had initially perceived this appearance to reflected highlights, but then realised that the contrast with the hinges was too great) It would make sense for the end doors to be translucent, thus admitting light to the interior when closed. If this was indeed the case, it has implications for the liveries of the forthcoming models ........! John Isherwood.

Hmm! They look fairly thick on that painted sample. I've yet to see separate plastic handrails on any model that look convincing. CJI.

I have an AL1 body - acquired from Dapol when they were testing the Trix moulds - that is halfway through being married to a modified Hornby Class 86 chassis. The nuptials have been on hold for longer than I care to remember! One day .........! CJI.

Indubitably!! Do you perceive that the orange on black is somehow more 'bold' than the orange on green? CJI.

Definitely orange - the apparent difference is due to the relative contrast with the background colour, and the fact that the boiler lining is in a better position to reflect sunlight. I'm afraid that the red cylinder lining on a green loco looks VERY odd! CJI.

Given the two potential sources, waiting an extra year was not a consideration for me. CJI.

Agreed - but at least we are spared the worst of the fairground, whip up the crowd approach. John Isherwood.

An excellent feature of Hornby Dublo 'proper' engineering! ..... and then there was the adjustable, magnetic shunt on the Standard 2-6-4T - apparently intended to assist slow running for shunting purposes. My only quibble with my Dublo locos was with the Ringfield Stanier 2-8-0; this emitted a painful screeching, and lost power, after a short period of running. I strongly suspect that the clearance between the ring magnet and the motor windings was so tight that, when the windings heated and expanded, they rubbed on the inside of the magnet. If so, an example of HD design clearances being TOO precise. I eventually remotored the model with a Pittman motor - which sorted the problem once and for all! John Isherwood.

First one - an investment, which has been denied; second one is exactly the attitude that I suggested - which equates to pure selfishness and spite! CJI.

I simply don't understand this limited issue thing, unless one is buying as an 'investment'. ...... unless the thinking is that "I've got one on pre-order; (no guarantee nowadays); and you haven't, 'cos they've sold out". What other reason could there be to be annoyed that more will be produced to satisfy demand? CJI.

Yes, I winced several times when reading the newsletter - when will they understand that all that 'mateyness' doesn't wash here in the UK? It grates on me, to the extent that it has the opposite effect to that intended. Nothing seems to change at KRM - if it looks OK to us, sod the more discerning customer! I just hope that they manage to get DHP1 somewhere reasonably close ..... ! CJI.

Etched. CJI.

Crikey - the average user must have a very short attention span!! 😉 CJI.

I can't give chapter and verse, but I definitely saw WR TOADs in bauxite. As to whether they were fitted or just piped, I could not say - but I'd guess that they had a means of activating the vacuum brakes. No doubt the 'Bible' would answer the question, but I'm too busy at present to look into the matter. CJI. CJI.

Parking time allowance ?!? Down here in the Duchy, you pay from the minute you enter - unless you have someone with you who can take advantage of the free two hours parking at the retail complex opposite! CJI.

Too many people, with too much money, chasing too little cachet! Got a lot in common with 🦊hunting, I suppose! 😂 CJI.

Anyone who buys model trains as an 'investment' takes the same risk as with any other type of investment. Availability can go up and down - and with it, the 'value' of the 'investment'. Me? I don't gamble! CJI.

Do you think that this is a post-Covid thing? Both my wife and I are suffering these exact same symptoms. I simply cannot motivate myself to get back to modelling and, with a finite length of life remaining, it is beginning to concern me that a lot of potentially productive water is passing under the bridge! CJI.

..... or building the Peco turntable and well, and powering it with a cheapo, ultra-low speed gearbox motor off Aliexpress. At scale rotational speed, alignment does NOT require stepper motors and position-monitoring electronics. We are way down the 'Cos we can' road of persuading us that railway modelling is only possible with a new, expensive gimmick at least once per month. We'll include it, charge you for it (even if you don't want it), and pretend it makes little or no difference to the price! Not for me - there's a huge amount of S/H stuff around, now that models are being rendered as superceded on a yearly basis. CJI.

Why on earth did the LNER letter their catering cars so low on the bodyside? There looks to be plenty of room in the waist panel. The lack of panelling on the Thompson car makes the lettering position look even more odd! CJI.

It has been suggested, either here or in the parallel Heljan thread, that the Southern Pride kit for the Newton Chambers wagon is over-height. So, having just acquired a couple of these kits, I digitally assembled the components over a 4mm. scale drawing and, sure enough, the etch for the well section is 4mm. too deep. Below is the digitally assembled kit AFTER I had removed 4mm. from the sides of the well etch component; it will be seen that the kit produces a very accurate model after this modification has been made. John Isherwood.

It has been suggested, either here or in the parallel Efe NC wagon thread, that the Southern Pride kit for the Newton Chambers wagon is over-height. So, having just acquired a couple of these kits, I digitally assembled the components over a 4mm. scale drawing and, sure enough, the etch for the well section is 4mm. too deep. Below is the digitally assembled kit AFTER I had removed 4mm. from the sides of the well etch component; it will be seen that the kit produces a very accurate model after this modification has been made. John Isherwood.

When was that - 1999? CJI.