I long ago decided that I wouldn't buy any more old style Athearn 'blue box' models. It's not that they're intrinsically bad, as such, it's just that there are a lot of better products around these days. Whilst these older models might eclipse the entire Hornby UK wagon range, they're very definitely entry level kits as far as US products go. A bit on the chunky side, but cheap enough to be a useful introduction to US modelling without being a deterrent.
Unfortunately I bought some by accident back in 1997, as a returnee to US modelling I'd spotted a new (to me) name in a magazine advert and ordered a dozen or so kits to see what they were like. As it turned out they were custom repaints of Athearn cars and have sat on the shelf ever since.
However, I recently fancied building some wagons, but wanted a change from my normal Parkside fix, so the Athearn pile was dusted off for a few evenings' entertainment. Being pre-painted and pre-lettered, there's not an awful lot to these kits, in fact it takes longer to replace the wheels, couplers and steel weights than it does to build the actual car itself. The models shown have just had the coupler pockets upgraded - as supplied they're not especially reliable, with a metal clip that inevitably falls off even if you manage to get it to stay put in the first place.
Actually, there's a place for these older kits on my layout in the short term. It's a relatively hostile environment whilst under construction, and a carelessly placed claw hammer can remove a lot of stirrup steps and grab irons from a passing train as I've found to my cost.
The US 'switching plank' layout-withing-a-layout, tacked onto my main layout in front of the fiddle yard/return loop area, has grown steadily. It now snakes under my photostage/workbench before turning through 180 degrees (behind the photographer) and ending up in another fiddle yard. This other fiddle yard is actually platform 3 of my UK layout where a crossover has been added to facilitate running round. To my mind this is a very effective shared use of space - I don't know why this solution didn't dawn on me earlier.
The wooden framework supporting the photostage was originally intended to be the base for a detachable shunting plank, something to be taken down into the warmth on cold winter nights. However, I'm gradually removing the frame and opening out this area as the plan has evolved somewhat. Changing the shunting area to a longer, thinner configuration and lowering it by six inches has enabled it to share the main fiddle yard (cheaper and quicker) whilst a dedicated test track has catered for downstairs requirements for some time now.
Initial thoughts are that this section will be something of a 'rat hole' with the industrial trackage being dwarfed by buildings which will also hide the rails from other areas of the layout. A friend suggested a diamond crossing and an interchange just behind the first car in the Kato SD70MACs' train and this is something I'm considering. I'm not entirely convinced, but a couple of Peco offcuts mark a possible location while I think about it. The return loops behind the train will ultimately be hidden and are not part of this schema.
This area may or may not evolve over the bank holiday weekend. Normally I'm quite productive at such times, opting not to join the national picnics on motorway hard-shoulders, but I must confess I've been playing trains a lot of late. This switching area has seen me doing a lot of operation using car cards and waybills, something I've not done seriously for eight years or more and thus a refreshing change.
Also refreshing are the first signs of UK N gauge being taken seriously by manufacturers. Dapol's diminutive Class 73 (seen here sheltering beneath a Kato AC4400CW in 3.5mm scale) is very Class 73 shaped indeed. With the odd exception, the lack of basically correct bodyshapes in the 4mm field has seen me fiddling more and more with UK N in the last six months. 73s, 170s and 158s are taking over the office here, along with cartons of track and assorted coaches and wagons, whilst the 'innovatively' shaped Hornby 31s have gone back in their boxes.
All isn't rosy in N gauge land, of course. The recent V2 is a major step backwards with it's 1960s retro toy train styling and is unlikely to appeal to anyone beyond the die-hard remainder of the N gauge market. But I don't have to buy a V2, what appeals to me is the possibility of a new wave of UK N products that might just appeal to more discerning buyers who would previously have laughed all the way home if you'd suggested they take the typically crude N gauge blobs seriously.
But if the rumours are anything more than just spin, Dapol have been a touch underwhelmed by the sales of their Class 73 so far. This is hardly suprising when you consider they've initially released the model in all of the obscure and one-off liveries. Expecting volume sales from niche one-offs is unreasonable at this stage. Where is the bread and butter corporate blue?
I hope Dapol hang in there long enough to see what the real market for these models actually is. I don't think the existing N gauge sector will constitute much of the potential market, ultimately. Better quality models will sell to people who previously wouldn't have entertained the idea of N, whether they be modelling in different scales (like myself) or returning to the hobby. It's no good Dapol surveying the existing N gauge sector to find out what the old guard want - the real market is 'out there' somewhere. It'll take a while for word to get out...
... by which time let's hope someone has had the b*lls to tackle the issue of those monumentally awful legacy couplers that still plague the N gauge market to this day. They really do the models no favours at all.
Bach in the 4mm world, I eventually got the lid off my Bachmann Class 66. The problematic screw was locked solid, and I should have returned the faulty model for exchange. However, I was let down badly by a supplier who sold all of his second batch despite knowing I was waiting for a replacement, so I decided it was make or break time. I applied ever increasing amounts of force until, eventually, the screw itself sheared off. The main thread is still embedded in the body and nothing will shift it.
Fortunately the loss of one screw isn't critical. The body is also held on by six clips, three at each end forming part of the glazing. I've at last been able to get the Bachmann shed into revenue earning service and performance under DCC is excellent, the Lenz Gold decoder I chose proving to be an ideal match.
If you've got a problem with the screws on your Class 66 then take it back for replacement - don't apply ever increasing force until something breaks. This perfectly illustrates the importance of buying from a dealer who you can trust not to fob you off with excuses about nobody else having the problem - this issue with these screws has been widely reported.
Finally, I've been throwing out a large number of junkers lately, in an effort to tidy up a little. Obviously anything that could raise a worthwhile price has been sold, and other items cannibalised for spares where possible. But ultimately I was left with the dregs that could only go in the wheelie bin and, in many cases, should have gone that way years ago. Quite why I kept all the donor Mainline bodyshells from long-dead Peak projects, I don't know. When I was young (and was going to live forever) I used to make one Peak out of two, with twin power bogies, flusher grilles and raised noses. The remaining carcass is of no value at all.
Of course, when I foolishly let this slip online there was an outcry from the shallower end of the gene pool. How could a real railway modeller possibly throw anything away? One raving moron was particularly obnoxious about it. An Icelandic gentleman, I believe, from Reknaw. A very backward community...
Currently On My Stereo: John Fogerty - Blue Moon Swamp