SRman

That's true when the paint was fresh, but the train red tended to weather differently. In model form, the train red appears quite a lot darker than bus red, but in reality it seemed to lighten a bit over time.

Something that occurs to me is that seeing as the bodies are plastic, it may be easy to drill out the marker lghts that you want to light up and allow the interior lighting to show through. A small amount of Krystal Klear, Glue n Glaze, or even PVA which dries clear could be used to create a lens in the hole. Until the models actually come out, I can't guarantee this would work. Looking at existing EFE models, the driver's cab partition may prevent the light reaching the marker lights, but a little fibre optic could be an answer. We'll have to wait and see how feasible this is. Shouldn't be too long, now.

The earlier releases of the green Heljan Hymeks did not have the buffer beam cowlings painted yellow-green as they should have been (apart from D7000 in its earliest days), so your model may simply have been one of these. I have one such model and had to paint the cowlings myself, using (I think) Precision yellow-green, which was a good match for the Heljan colour. Unfortunately, that doesn't help you with the paint match, but may explain why you need it in the first place.

On the subject of naming cats, two of our previous moggies named themselves. In both cases we tried various names on them with little or no response, then someone called out a name on the television and the cats' heads whipped around. So that's how Lucy and Toby got their names. Lucy was barred from my layout after she got in one day and demolished several Ratio signals (always rather delicate), and ate half of a plastic motorcycle (the highly detailed front half!) and the school mistress from the Merit set. Toby, on the other hand was very, very good with the models and was allowed to stay in the train room while I was building it and even when running trains. He would get very concerned if they stopped running. Our current pair of rescue terrorists cats are a little over three years old and still too destructive to go anywhere near the trains, although they love trying to join me in there when they realise I am in the train room. They both know how to open the sliding door too, so I have to keep a careful eye on the opening.

Wouldn't be allowed now anyway - the kids would have to be wrapped in cotton wool and the bus fenced off so they could only look at it.

I have said this myself in the past. I have noted bent handrails and wrinkled panelling on steam, electric and diesel locomotives and units (remember the slab-sided Hastings DEMUs?). Any attempt to model these things accurately not only looks wrong, but actually makes it look like a badly made model, even though the builder may know better.

Hattie and Sykes, who I showed earlier, were rescue cats, as were quite a few others here. The first photo shows them as we first saw them in the refuge in 2017. They were the only cats that day that responded to us, with the rest having been (I think) "peopled out". Hattie and Sykes purred loudly and reached out paws to us, and snuggled in when picked up. The second photo shows them on the first day home, about a week later. Both settled on my lap. Sykes is no longer a lap cat, but likes his cuddles in the early hours of the morning when we are in bed, whereas Hattie continues to cuddle wherever and whenever we want her to.

You may also find similar suggestions for 'shared' sounds on the YouChoos website. I wanted sound for a Hornby 700 class 0-6-0, and the suggestions for that were eitehr the Drummond M7 or the Drummond T9. I chose the T9 sounds, and with advice from John (of YouChoos), adjusted the chuff rate to match the wheel revolutions of the 700 while running it on the rolling road.

After Lucy, we were given a semi-feral kitten who caused me a lot of blood loss. He eventually settled down to be a very affectionate boy, who was also very good with the model railway and was allowed in as he always tried to help. He was not at all destructive. Any stalled locomotive got a gentle push to get it going again. The first few photos show Toby assisting with a test strip of track when my present layout was only just starting construction. The subsequent series shows him assisting with test running a folded figure-8 layout I had repaired and restored for some friends down the road from us, for their grandchildren. Hogwarts Castle derailed on a high speed test (well, kids are going to run things flat out, aren't they!), so Toby came over to investigate then prodded it to try to get it to go again.

We had one of our previous cats, the much-loved Lucy, for just under 17 years. She also was not allowed on the layout, having destroyed several Ratio signals, and eaten half of a plastic motorcycle plus the Merit school mistress. She was very much a "people" cat, and greeted visitors at the door, and sat in the middles of meetings with lots of grumpy old men around demanding attention (model railway and model bus meetings). p.s. That was Lucy demanding attention, not the Grumpy Old Men, although some of us ... I mean, THEM ... also demand attention!

Our current pair of terrorists are Hattie and Sykes (identical twins named after the comedy duo!). They are not allowed anywhere near the trains as they are too destructive. IMG_20171101_182504 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Years ago when I fitted Howes' sound into a Bachmann Standard class 5, I was given three options for the whistle: BR standard, LMR/LMS type, or Southern Arthur type. Apparenty, BR fitted these 'regional' whistles to some locos in the class. Some of the 5MTs also got Arthur names from around 1960 as the N15s were withdrawn. Anyway, I chose the N15 whistle as being appropriate for 73082, Camelot.

The other thing I remember with the Bulleid pacifics (only vaguely, though) was the distinctive clanking noises as they coasted through Petts Wood at speed.

Normally, I would disagree with the suggestion of using Bulleid Pacifc sounds on a Q1, but in the case of the TTS sounds, I agree totally that they don't sound like a three cylinder locomotive. When I bought the BR unrebuilt MN it came with TTS sound fitted, which I really wasn't particularly after (I just wanted that locomotive in that livery). I decided it did not sound at all like a Bulleid Pacific should, and promptly pulled the TTS decoder out, and stuck it into a two cylinder BR standard 4-6-0, where it actually doesn't sound too bad, to my mind. As you say, we can't synchronise the sounds to the wheel revolutions, but it's close enough that I can live wth it, seeing as I hadn't bought the TTS decoder separately with any purpose in mind. As The Johnster indicated, Bulleid Pacifics had a softer sound. To me it was almost a squishy/mushy sort of sound (maybe not a good description) with, of course, the six beats per revolution. Certainly not a bark. On the other hand, Terriers had a distinctive bark, almost literally.

Merchant Navy 35015 Blue - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr Yes, that is a Blood and Custard coach behind the loco, although the blood has gone a little dark! This locomotive may have the purists howling a bit: a Merchant Navy with home-mixed blue and LNER lining, made from two Airfix Battle of Britain bodies on a Hornby Dublo/Wrenn chassis with the external valve gear removed. The tender has brass sheet sides and fairing added to the original HD/Wrenn tender body. Like John, I still like the combination of BR Express Steam Blue with the B&C coaches. The blue sat particularly nicely on the Bulleid locos, I think.

It's looking promising, Rick. I would suggest the answer to your measurement error is to make the slabs match the post spacing. For concrete texture on my old layout I used the textured mounting card that picture framers use to surround the picture and fill the gap to the frame itself. I was able to get some that was alreay concrete coloured, but any colour would suffice if you paint it.

You're not a Yorkshireman, are you Mike???

The wages costs are cumulative through the supply industries as well, so we're not just talking about the workers in the factories assembling our models, we're talking the costs of handling the raw materials, storing and delivering them, then transporting the products to wherever they are shipped from. But yes, there are plenty of other factors too. I agree with your point about the relatve costs of living. Their wages reflect lower costs of living, but are still a significant contributor to the increases we are seeing. The point is that the rises in prices we are seeing are not proportional to our own countries' increases in wages (referring to at least Britain, Australia and New Zealand), but are somewhat greater. The higher prices mean I have had to question whether I can justify spending on some of these newer models. I have pre-ordered an underground set, but am seriously questioning whether I will be buying a Bachmann 4 BEP unit, for example. However, by not buying a 4 BEP, will I be contributing to a downturn in future viability of Southern EMUs? If many other potential buyers feel the same way, we may see certain long demanded models suddenly becoming shelf decorations in the shops. If the margins are not there, the manufacturers may have to reduce their outputs of new models too. It's a worry.

I think the one thing that didn't go up in equal proportion to everything else was the workers' wages in China, which have gone up quite significantly. That's where the disproportionate increases are coming from. I hope I am not making any judgements on this, either negative or positive - it just 'is'.

It looks gorgeous. It is one of those models where I want one, but have absolutely no use for one. Love that early NER livery, and the model looks so full of character. I really hope it is a huge success for Rails. The models and liveries look superb.

Some further work on the last of the Christmas coaches: I am mostly happy with the way it is going, but the reindeer need more work. The one on this side is not too bad, but the one on the other side started off looking like a labrador with antlers. I have improved it, bit both need further work. It's not brilliant, but from viewing distances I think it can pass muster. Christmas in July has passed, but the whole train, with some added figures, will be complete for December this year. While I had it in pieces, I took the opportunity to paint the interior as well, although it can barely be seen. P_20200805_224802_vHDR_Auto by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I don't see any EMUs there! Must be a figment of your imagination. Actually, a resin Bulleid style2 HAP unit I was working on at the time. It has progressed further since that photo was taken.

I have posted this photo elsewhere, but it may be relevant here. It shows two Heljan Hymeks (one detailed with mesh roof grille) and a detailed Triang version with two motor bogies of the original cast metal type (i.e. pre-ringfield). As an experiment I chose to finish the Triang one in a might-have-been maroon livery. The Triang cabs are fractionally too short, which shows in the slightly too-narrow side windows, but overall it really isn't a bad model, but definitely lacks the more refined running of the Heljan mechanisms (as adb968008 says above). Hymeks in Triplicate - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

LT Signal Box Fitting an Interior - 11 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Class 111 - Rolls Royce engined Met-Cam unit, mechanically very similar to the 110 in the foreground.