A popular sub-hobby amongst model railway enthusiasts, and I'm certainly not immune to it's attractions, is a quick game of "I think the manufacturers should produce a model of such-and-such" - a round of which I've recently been roped into online.
Now what I'd really like to see (and I'd trade even my collection of TV21 annuals for this) is a decent RTR track system. Although it'll never be as accurate as P4 or EM, the UK's OO gauge is what the mass-market is stuck with, for better or for worse - and let's face it, it could be an awful lot better. It'd be nice if we could have something with 4mm scale sleepers and spacing, rather than 3.5mm cast-offs. It'd be nice if we could have selection of larger radius pointwork without dog-legs in them. It'd be nice if it was all designed to go together in typical layout formations, so, for example, a fiddle-yard coming off a double track curve would use space efficiently yet still flow nicely, rather than looking like a bag of broken chisels...
"Stop right there!" I was told, that's not in the spirit of the game. Go away and think of a loco, and it'd better be a pacific unless you bring a note from your mother!
Well, I avoided the temptation to suggest any diesels or electrics, not because I don't think manufacturers are listening, but because I'm worried that one in particular is. I've seen enough bent and mis-shapen horrors for one lifetime, thank you very much. I looked instead to the boiler-bunny end of the market, where the manufacturers have a far better track record and the simpler shapes seem well within the capabilities of even the most challenged.
The most obvious gap in the market, from where I'm sitting, is the ex-LMS Jubilee. There never has been even a half-decent RTR model of this ubiquitous loco (don't even think about the Mainline offering!) plus the chassis would have a fair bit of commonality with the sibling Stanier rebuilds of the Scots and Pats. I'm sure a Jubilee to the standard of Hornby's 8F would shift serious units - it'd certainly find a home on any transition-era layout I'm ever likely to come up with.
Apologies for the poor quality of this shot of 5714 "Revenge", by the way, but it's the only one I've got of a loco in LMS livery with a Fowler tender.
Driven more by the heart than the mind, the kettle I personally would most like to see as a RTR offering would be the ex-LNWR Super D, a type that was swarming all over the Black Country during the twilight of steam. If I had to pick a "signature" loco for the geographical area that interests me, this work-horse 0-8-0 would be the only contender...
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Somewhere in the depths of my computer lives a list, a list of "must build that one day" locos. It's a big list, a bl**dy big list in fact, and shows no signs of getting smaller any time soon. One of the locos on the list (about half way down, if memory serves) is 56019, as seen here in near-showroom condition. I've always liked this one, purely because it's bright and shiny, (Eek! I'm turning into a collector!) but it doesn't really fit into any of my planned scenarios or layouts - so it's just a pipe dream.
One of the obstacles in producing a proper, operational, Class 56 out of the old Dapol/Mainline/Hornby stager is the lacklustre pancake drive - complete with traction tyres, at least for the first few laps of the test track. Nigel Burkin has been doing some experimentation with the Hornby Class 50 power bogie that's well worth a look...
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Well, this was a pleasant start to the weekend indeed! Leading modern traction magazine "Rail Express" includes issue 1 of pull-out D&E modelling supplement - 24 very encouraging pages. Note that this is part of the magazine proper, not a disposable item sealed in a barf bag, so you can have a look and check the quality before you buy. Suffice to say I bought...
Many of us bemoan the poor state of our hobby's magazines on a regular basis (it's pretty much a standard topic of conversation over a pint if you're not the sort who 'does' football or the weather) and not without justification. I have many hobbies (model railways is nowhere near to being my main interest) and none is so poorly served in the periodical department. To summarise, we have:
On the D&E front, the only real escape from the illusory matrix of the establishment comics for a good while now has been those much-thumbed modelling pages at the back of "Rail Express" every month, so it's good to see them stepping things up a notch or two. I don't know where all this will lead, of course, but I think it's worth taking the red pill to find out how deep the rabbit-hole goes...
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Most of us from time-to-time have one of those "why on earth did I start that?" moments, and this is my latest - a batch of a dozen or so Cambrian PO wagons that I've recently unearthed and dusted off. It's not that I've anything against Cambrian kits in general, just that what was supposed to be a quick, impulse-driven project has turned out to be anything but.
These models are more challenging, shall we say, than many competitors, but a reasonable model can result if you're willing to put the hours in. The bodyside dimensions don't match the floor, which always annoys me, the internal planking is represented by raised lines and the underframe is a bin-and-replace job. However, these special-run kits (marketed by R.D. Whyborn) were very nicely printed with local (Midlands) liveries, so I quite fancied putting them together for a boiler-bunny shunting plank project I've got on the go at the moment. Making a decent wagon out of these rudimentary parts is something I've done many times before, but unfortunately I'd since forgotten how labour intensive some of these 4mm kits actually are when compared to their 7mm cousins - not quite what I intended to get into at this point in time. On top of this I'm out of all the relevant buffers, W-irons, springs and axleboxes as I largely model D&E era stuff these days - not only isn't this the quick glue and touch-up job I thought I'd started, but I need to spend some money as well. B*gg*r!
Of course, I could just put them away in a box somewhere and start something else instead. But I'm always doing that, which is why I thought I'd start a nice, little, self-contained project like this in the first place...
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Cluck, cluck. Gibber, gibber. My old man's a mushroom...
Electricity and model railway enthusiasts don't seem to mix, or so you'd think if you'd studied the monthly comics at your leisure over the last few decades. On the one hand you've got the twelve-part "Making Simple Two-Rail Wiring Infinitely Complex" articles written by pipe-smoking, cardigan-wearing boffins, seemingly incapable of contemplating a circuit that doesn't include a Scammell-load of War Ministry surplus relays. On the other hand, it appears, you have Joseph E Punter cowering behind his thrift shop sofa, occasionally peering mistrustfully over the antimacassars at the H&M Safety Minor throbbing menacingly on the table - humming, arcing and generally interfering with the BBC World Service. An uneasy stalemate ("fortunately Hampton Throbwell was wired by the Professor Phlogiston, the club's tame particle physicist") at the best of times, but then DCC puts in an appearance and the whole world allegedly goes ga-ga, underpants on it's head and editorial pencils firmly up it's nose.
For me, the thing about DCC (or one thing, anyway) is it does what it says on the tin with little or no fuss. It's fairly plug'n'play (certainly more so than traditional wiring) and as a consumer I don't need to know how it works any more than I need to understand the innards of the TV remote control. A complete contrast to the picture presented in most magazine articles I've read, where it's still very firmly in the mad scientist camp. Aided by his trusty assistant Igor, ("yeth, mathter") the deranged DCC enthusiast cavorts in front of banks of equipment in his mountain-top castle while the electrical storm rages all around. You just know he's kitted out in a white lab coat with a slide-rule in the top pocket, and wearing one of those light-on-the-head thingies favoured by gynaecologists ("you can thee all the way to her tonthilth, mathter") as he scampers round, throwing Big Switches.
One of this month's comics contains some appallingly inaccurate bilge about DCC, regurgitating most of the common myths that make it look complicated, including some particular unfavourites of mine:
I find the inclusion of such blatant misinformation irresponsible in the extreme. Anything with the wow-factor and repeat purchasability of DCC has got to be good for the hobby as a whole and retailers' tills especially - why try and make something so simple seem so forbidding? It's an attitude that is particularly perplexing when sitting, as it does, alongside the blindly-buy-whatever-the-trade-offers policy adopted by most magazines. Fortunately, for every article that gives you the impression that you need to be a computer whizz-kid to use DCC, there are hundreds of people who've bought things like the Lenz Compact and are up and running without knowing they were supposed to find it difficult. Whilst the boffins are building decoder testers, playing with complex-looking software with speed-curve graphs and plugging car headlight bulbs into their layout wiring (I kid you not!) the world is moving on. We'll be upstairs playing trains, if you want us...
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Crivens! I am sorely vexed! Which numb-nuts came up with the 40-watt pearler of an idea to seal magazines into barf bags so you can't see what you're buying? I've just braved the teaming lunchtime hoards in drizzly Telford in order to pick up as much M&S coffee as can be comfortably loaded into a small car (about a week's supply at my rate of consumption) and thought I'd pick up a railway modelling mag whilst out rubbing shoulders with the hoi-polloi.
Unfortunately the obvious hot-off-the-press contender was sealed in a barf-bag (not without merit, on occasions, I will admit) which made it's perusal somewhat difficult. As the premises of WH Spliffs (purveyors of quality papers to the gentry) were mightily wedged, and I was laden with carriers full of raw caffeine, I couldn't be *rsed to find an assistant to ask if I could have a peek inside one of the offending baggies, so I bought a rival publication instead - at the end of the day they had the marketing edge. No doubt the shrink-wrapped periodical concerned isn't unduly worried by the lack of my patronage this time around. I would imagine sales are fairly buoyant at the moment, being sucked along by the hobby in the same way that platform rubbish follows a speeding express train. Plenty of time to worry about whether they maximised their share of the growing market in years to come, I shouldn't wonder...
Our hobby is something of a broad church, which means that, at best, a fair proportion of any monthly rag isn't going to hit the spot for most potential customers. At worst, with the unhealthy anti-D&E bias of the regular comics over here (contrast them with their overseas equivalents to see what I mean) an awful lot of the average magazine is of no value to many of us whatsoever - we need to see what we're buying to see if it's worthwhile. In this instance the 'word on the street' was that the magazine concerned was to be avoided like the plague, allegedly containing some particularly inane drivel about the Heljan Hymek being inferior to recent Bachmann releases - as I couldn't inspect the magazine to make my own mind up I didn't risk a purchase. I'm not about to pay 3 quid to read such clueless b*ll*cks when I can do it on the internet for free.
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Unbiased Al-Freebie Information Minister, Muhammed Saeed al-Shergar:
We have watched with shock and awe as Western rascals gather like the jackal dogs they surely are to criticise yet another product from their betters! Already our Western correspondents have written in unedited to support this worthy Western Western! "How dare the whingers moan about a product that's not even released?" writes one, "I think it looks superb! Congratulations on an excellent ministry!" "How can these extremists undermine the very fabric of civilisation without seeing the completely stunning model in the flesh?" writes another, "I'll definitely be buying loads! Congratulations on an excellent ministry, Bob, keep up the good work!"
Vagabonds of the Western World should note that there has never been a better time to give manufacturers your money in exchange for whatever they offer you! Don't listen to the lies of infidels who, even as I speak, are laying down their photographs and surrendering in their thousands! "I cannot believe the rivet counters are saying the windows are wrong!" writes one of our expert contributors, "I saw these locos on a daily basis in Scotland during the sixties whist engaged in a mission of national security - there were definitely two at each end! I hope Heljan get the numbers right, though, these locos never carried the 'D' prefix and the last 15 were delivered with TOPS numbering! Brilliant ministry, Bob! Superb!"
Imperialist warmongers are lying! The distinctive ends of these magnificent machines are captured perfectly and match all known drawings from normal viewing distances! There are no Westerns of Mass Distortion...
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A brace of Mk 3 DLVs, DVTs, call them what you will - the less interesting end of a WCML train from the era when at least one end actually was still interesting. The outer two vehicles are Hurst Models resin kits whilst the inner example is one of the cheeky Hornby imposters - nothing more than a Mk 4 vehicle dressed up in a bogus paint scheme.
With my plans for a Y2K layout having been put on a back-burner some while ago, pending availability of decent motive power, this brace of vehicles ended up being built ahead of their time by Nigel Burkin who, I think, fancied having a go at some but couldn't justify any on his planned layouts. I know Nigel was a little unhappy about the trials and tribulations he had with the paint finish on these, but they look the business on the layout - the flatter fluorescent lighting is much more forgiving than the harsh winter sun. The yellow wire seen flapping around loose inside the cab will be dealt with at some point - the vehicles have full LED lighting installed but still need DCC decoders fitting.
Use of the inaccurate Hornby models as 'place holders' until more appropriate replacements could be built seemed the sensible option to me. A layout isn't built overnight, and a measure of pragmatism is needed in order to get things up and running as quickly as possible - the Hornby items have done their jobs and can now be discarded. It should be noted, however, that the outgoing items are completely inaccurate - just because I personally chose to live with them doesn't alter that fact and the next person in line will no doubt have a different approach to the problem. A sublety that seems to have escaped one or two reviewers in some of the more 'fact free' magazines in recent times...
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Being an urban sort of chap, the one thing that represents the very quintessence of the British landscape for me is the cooling tower. That's not to say I've ever wanted to buy a house next to a stand of these near-extinct structures, (such things are fine as long as they're in somebody else's back yard,) but they'll always be towards the top of my list of things that would really 'set the scene' on a model railway layout. Unfortunately their size mitigates against their inclusion, especially on a loft layout, but I can still dream.
The above photo has been the wallpaper on my PC for about the last week now, simply because it captures the very soul of our railway landscape so well for me. I'm thankful that the unknown photographer spent a moment documenting this scene so I could enjoy it all these years down the line, especially as it dates from an era when most photographers were even more pre-occupied with locomotives than they are now.
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Watt? Do you need a license to be that dim? The first in an occasional series of light-hearted awards for, shall we say, particularly energy-efficient thinking in the world of model railways.
Today's 40 watt pearl of wisdom comes a well-known 'dark place' noted for it's Chinese-pandering to manufacturers, and concerns, predictably, "extreme modellers" such as myself who unreasonably persist in expecting their expensive Ready-To-Run toys to be roughly the same shape as the prototype they allegedly depict. What makes this particular example of such oft-parrotised dross worthy of a good bayonetting over and above the markedly stiff competition? Simply that this correspondent has managed to screw so many of the standard cliches into such a small space - a terrific effort and a deserving winner.
As well as not being able to "believe some of the criticism" from "some rather narrow minded quarters of the hobby" about the "marvellous" new toys with which he is "absolutely delighted" this chap is keen to point out that now "must surely be the best time to be an 00 gauge modeller!" - top stuff that must surely gladden the heart of any magazine editor hoping to receive the traditional box of freebies rather than an unwelcome letter from some legal representatives. Unfortunately his logic as to why D&E modellers are "narrow minded" for expecting products of at least similar quality to those available to steam modellers seems to have been mischievously edited out - but I'm sure it was water-tight.
The crowning glory of the winning entry, however, was the splendid assertion that the opinion of anyone begging to differ would be "largely unfounded and really quite ridiculous" simply because "the majority of us run the models on 16.5mm gauge track and on curves of considerably less than scale realistic radius." Did somebody mention narrow-minded?
You'd think that if you'd waited the best part of a fortnight for your turn with the family brain-cell, you'd try and put it to better use. It's probably politically unsound to suggest that such folk shouldn't be allowed to reproduce, but, in the interests of the gene-pool, it might be better if they were no longer allowed to do so with members of their own family...
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Something of a turn up for the book, as it were, is this web site featuring Nicholas Whittaker's book Platform Souls - available to read online. I read the traditional paper version some years ago and can thoroughly recommend it - in fact I've wasted far too much time today re-reading it electronically. A welcome alternative to Eastenders and Coronation Street any night, if you ask me.
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A bit of a cheat, this one, as the above photo is ten months old, but quite a few people have been asking about how the model photos on here are produced. As (apart from procrastinating) all I've done of late is build a few wagons and some 7mm trackwork, I figured this snap might be of more interest than yet another shot of a half-built van.
Basically I use a couple of Elinchrom 500 flash-heads, plonk the model on a few sheets of expanded polystyrene or white contiboard (whatever's closest to hand) and then snap away with a Canon D30 digital SLR camera fitted with a cheap and nasty 35-80mm zoom lens. There is more than enough light produced from the flash-heads to make hand-held photography a doddle, which is just as well as I loathe tripods. Although one of the flash units is fitted with a brolly reflector in the photo, I rarely use these in real life. They're too cumbersome in the loft and don't fit between the roof timbers, so I normally sellotape a white handkerchief over one head to soften the light. The other head is used 'raw' in order to give a glint effect.
I can only apologise for the mess in the boxroom pictured, but as it's not used for living space it's an obvious place where lights and stands can be left set up - packing everything away is a hassle that doesn't encourage this lazy b*gg*r to take many photos! Under normal circumstances this is the 'engine room' which houses various bits of hi-fi, a web-server or two and the odd printer. The rough plaster on the wall is where a rat's nest of cables for computers and hi-fi disappears off around the house - after about 6 years I really should decorate over this, but wallpaper isn't as much fun as trains...
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One of the many fine RTR steam locos available currently is Hornby's 8F, a model that, as well as having a host of fine detail, actually manages to capture the shape and sit of the prototype. Those wanting that little bit extra can build on the sound foundation provided by Hornby and the latest issue of Model Railway Journal features a superb example by Tim Shackleton using the Brassmasters detailing kit - well worth a read.
Of course, this kind of talk is liable to be a tad depressing for the dedicated D&E enthusiast, even without considering other options available in the form of kits, so it's as well to remember that not everything is a bed of roses in boiler-bunny land...
I don't pretend to know much about matters GWR (they all look the 'king same to me) but I have been casting an inexperienced eye in that direction of late, mainly looking for green kettley-things to sit alongside proper diesel-hydraulics. Amongst the many fine, new generation steam releases from Hornby in recent times (I don't think even Bulleid himself had quite that many Pacifics) there has been at least one turkey - the GWR King. Despite what at least one misinformation minister in the monthly comics tried to claim, this is NOT a new generation model but a re-hash of the old one that GWR buffs have come to know and loathe over the years. So, whilst it has at long last received a motor in the loco and been spruced up with some extra detailing, it still retains a lot of the old faults. As it doesn't look much like a King to a novice like me, I can fully understand why more knowledgable folk tend to start muttering about bargepoles.
Beyond being at least a generation behind other current releases from the same manufacturer, my sample is a truly dreadful runner, with, amongst other things, wobbly wheels, sticking motion and a pony truck with a life of it's own that bounces ahead of the loco like a kid in a go-kart. Not a loco to enhance and detail, but one to replace with a kit-built example if you really must have a King. At least this is an option for steam enthusiasts - where does the D&E modeller wanting a 37-shaped Class 37 turn?
Naturally I've not suddenly become sympathetic to the plight of the poor GWR modeller, there's a healthy dose of self-interest at work here. The complete absence of useful RTR models of any of the GWR main line 4-6-0 classes is purely a concern because it means there's nothing to sit alongside diesel-hydraulics in a Western Region layout scenario - rest assured I'm not mad enough (yet) to actually want to build anything GWR from kits in 4mm. This is the same stumbling block found across the D&E board - lack of compatible stock of comparable quality. We've got a healthy number of modern wagons with no motive power to pull them, for example, and the only two quality locos released so far (the Class 50 and the Hymek) have only a tiny chronological overlap. I've found that extending my layout-planning back to the transition era hasn't exactly helped matters, at least if I want to stick with a main line theme. Eastern region, despite a reasonably healthy selection of locos (especially if Hornby's forthcoming A1, A3 & A4 models are at the 8F end of the market,) is seriously compromised by the lack of a decent Deltic - the signature locomotive without a doubt. Things WCML would need a Class 40 and, call me Mr Cautious, I'm not banking on the promised Bachmann offering being even vaguely English-Electric shaped. Western Region is still-born for reasons highlighted above, but somebody suggested Southern, hmmmmm....
It's becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the siren call of the kettle world, I must admit, and I think I need to make a determined effort to avoid coming out of the closet as a total boiler-bunny. One thing that's regretfully attractive is the definite difference in attitudes and products. While obviously most people are happy to paddle around in the anything-goes end of the pool, the market is mature enough to support a good range of high-quality kits for the more discerning buyer, not to mention a better standard of RTR - basic consumer choices, in other words. Contrast this with the sad state of affairs in the D&E camp - a generally dreadful selection of RTR offerings with virtually no kit alternatives. Worse still is the increasing "accept what we're given" attitude that's creeping in of late, with many hobbyists starting to sound like they want to work for a magazine and, in one or two extreme cases, deliberately falsifying data to play down faults.
As a friend of mine said recently (it should be noted at this point that I'm the only person I know still trying to model D&E in 4mm scale) "you get the models you deserve." We must have been pretty evil in previous lives to deserve those Deltics and 37s.
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Unbiased Al-Freebie Information Minister, Muhammed Saeed al-Shergar:
There are no problems with the circuit board in that superb new loco! It would be wrong to say you need to plug the decoder in back-to-front to get it to work! As Allah is my witness, I say to you that there is no danger of short-circuit, fire, or explosion in your tinder-dry western lofts! Infidel lies! I have detailed facts before me that quite clearly show the heathen Mr & Mrs Foster of Walsall did not die in the raging inferno that didn't consume their war-mongering lair. Neither did their barbarian children Colin (8) Sophie (6) or their capitalist mercenary hamster, Hammy!
See for yourself! There's only a slight problem with the silk-screen printing being reversed, and those are the facts! Also, any concerned imperialist consumers who ring the infidel helpline will be sent a replacement circuit board completely free-of-charge - and that one will be absolutely perfect too!
You western rivet-counters should commit suicide on the gates of these manufacturers! Buy these products now and grovel in your worthlessness! I spit on your father's grave!
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Unbiased Al-Freebie Information Minister, Muhammed Saeed al-Shergar:
The glorious Deltic is correct down to the minutest detail! It matches my brother-in-law's sketches to within a third of a millimeter! The steeply-sloping nose is better able to deflect western capitalist armour-piercing rounds! The raised-up windows enable our glorious warrior-drivers to more easily see the infidels being crushed beneath it's mighty wheels!
Everything is under control! There are no Deltics with a different shape! There are certainly no photographs of Deltics with a different shape! And even if there were, every single one of them would be lying western propaganda carefully taken from a different viewpoint using capitalist perspective techniques! But there aren't any! Reports of 28 missing vertical bars in the cantrail grilles are imperialist lies! There will be no problems painting the green livery around the bodyside details - no Deltics ever received green livery!
You've never had it so good, Western dog! Buy some now! I spit on your mother's grave!
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Buenos nochas, mein froinds. Not many updates of late, there is unrest in the forest - still! I've spent most of Christmas and New Year popping ideas into the mental microwave to see if they'll go ping. Alongside this I've been dusting off various US items and having a play, upgrading some of the decoders in the process as many were originally fitted back in the dawn of DCC.
One thing that has become apparent, unfortunately, is the fact that I'm not quite as enthusiastic about US modelling as I could be. This isn't because of any shortfall in the product or prototype departments - there's a wonderful array of high quality/low cost models out there to tempt the enthusiast - the problem is more one of attitude. For the greater part of my modelling life I've been involved with either LNWR/MR in P4 or US in HO and I guess they've become a little stale for me. Switching focus to producing a large UK D&E layout in OO a few years ago gave me an unheard of adrenalin rush that, combined with renewed enthusiasm for the prototype brought on by digital photography, got me modelling more than ever before. And, as getting modelling is the name of the game, I don't particularly want to lose this impetus, so I'm still mulling over various ideas. This doesn't mean that I won't be returning to US modelling, just that I haven't taken the plunge over Christmas to the extent that I'd expected to. I think I'm almost ready to commit to being indecisive.
One digression of late has been a period spent scanning various pre-electrification images of the West Coast Main Line. Having remarked to a variety of people that a model of either Lichfield or Tamworth would make a satisfying layout if you had the space (the linear nature of my loft precludes such things, regretfully) I was somewhat suprised when one of my friends piped up that he was already working on such a project. While he's a confirmed boiler-bunny, the plan is still of interest to D&E types as Class 40s will be required in quantity alongside the begrimed kettles - fascinating stuff.
I mention this here because, whilst swapping ideas and photos, I was reminded yet again of how D&E modellers get a poor deal in this country. My friend is planning to move from a small EM layout to a large OO one, seduced by the goodly number of WCML locos currently available from the likes of Hornby - Black 5s, 8Fs and both types of Stanier Pacific are currently available off the shelf to a very high standard. Gaps in the roster can be easily filled with a bit of ingenuity using older models and commercially available chassis kits. Although these models are by no means perfect, not one of them has the kind of fundamental errors found on diesels such as Bachmann's Class 37 or Deltic - most discrepancies can be dealt with by the modeller, often using the many detail parts available for exactly that purpose.
To my eyes, the least convincing of the current generation kettle models is Hornby's latest Q1 - the compromises in the front profile make it look peculiar from the front in much the same way as the inaccurate windows do on the same manufacturer's Class 50. Think about it - their best diesel model is on par with their poorest current generation steam release. To rub salt into the wound, the compromises on the Q1 are unavoidable in OO whilst the errors on the Class 50 are just plain sloppiness. The more things change, the more they stay the same...
The happier lot of my boiler-bunny counterpart has been nagging away at the back of my mind of late - the ease with which my friend can utilise worthwhile RTR offerings makes his project achievable for an individual. There should be enough time left for building the layout and plugging the gaps. This is a marked contrast to my situation where I'm struggling to find any main line scenario I can model convincingly. Once you eliminate nought-out-of-ten charicatures like the Bachmann Deltic there isn't a lot left - a few useful locos and a healthy selection of rolling stock that doesn't match them.
With this in mind I've been considering the Western Region again, but this time during the transition era - before they said a farewell to Kings. Sliding the time frame back to include steam would give me a wider range of options when it came to covering the motive power situation. It's true that GWR prototypes have been neglected by the RTR boys in recent years (and about time, too!) but there are always kits - something that can't be said as easily for diesels.
The wonderful Diesel-Hydraulics are a major plus point here, not only do I love 'em to bits but they're reasonably well supported by the trade. The Heljan Hymek is easily the most accurate diesel to date, the Warship is the least inaccurate amongst Bachmann's range and we've got a sporting chance with the forthcoming Heljan Western. That's about as good as it gets in 4mm circles at the moment. The down side is I'm not a great fan of the Gee Double Ooh-Ah down in milk-churn land - all those kettles look the bl**dy same to me. They look like milk-churns in fact...
So I'm still struggling with the question of balance. Firstly trying to weigh up the balance of stock needed to model a busy mainline location somewhere in the D&E era. Secondly trying to balance the pros and cons of flawed items of rolling stock. Which are just too hideous for words, no matter how much I deploy hatchet, axe and saw? Which can I live with as acceptable compromises in the interest of the bigger picture, despite knowing the errors are there? The balance between heart and mind.
Apollo was astonished, Dionysus thought me mad...
Currently On My Stereo: Rush - Hemispheres.
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Despite the advent of a good few ugly sisters on the diesel front over the last few years, electric locos remain very much the Cinderella of the D&E modelling world - suprising when you consider just how much of the nation's rail services are electrified. While there are a few locos available they all, unfortunately, suffer from aged pancake motors and need extensive re-work before entering service - the Heljan Hymek and the Bachmann Warship are good donors of chassis components, having bogie wheelbases that are just a whisker out.
Curious, then, that the Hornby Class 86 is a much more accurate model than any of Bachmann's recent releases...
The other sadly neglected area is that of multiple units, especially of the electric variety. Fortunately many kit manufacturers have stepped into the breach (the class 304 pictured above is available from DC Kits, for example,) but that doesn't alter the fact that there's a colossal void in the market if you don't fancy your chances at kit-building.
On the face of it, things seem to be rather more adequately covered on the steam front, as long as you're not foolish enough to hanker after things pre-grouping. Certainly things are healthier in the locomotive department, especially if you're after the bigger mainline machines such as the Stanier Pacific above. Both Hornby and Bachmann have been far more prolific in the steam arena in recent times and, whilst a perfect model is a rare thing indeed, the overall standard is much higher than for D&E models. You'll certainly have your work cut out if you're looking for errors as serious as fundamental shape flaws of things such as the Bachmann Class 37.
Look beyond the loco, however, and even kettle buffs are not especially well served - the legacy of the loco collector/train set market. Good news, then, that both Hornby and Bachmann have announced production of new coach ranges...
(Link for this specific entry...)
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