As with previous years, numerous photos have been bouncing around the internet following Bachmann's recent trade-only event. The Class 57 looks promising, certainly better than Bachmann's typical standard to my eyes, and the expected Class 47 also made an appearance. Snapshots of work-in-progress models in display cases should always be treated with caution, of course, but many of us have now seen the 57 on display at shows and started to form opinions. For my money it has a far better shape than the Heljan offering, and if it has proper all-wheel drive that will be another selling point. While the 47 seems to have a lot of careless detail errors at this stage, a better basic shape already makes it a contender for me - highly likely to replace my TubbyDuffs.
The Mark 2 coaches, on the other hand, are less encouraging. Despite rumours that Bachmann were aware of the window errors and intended to correct them, the models are unchanged. Unfortunately, if I'm going to have to file off the lumpy, raised frames and correct the quarterlights with some hypothetical aftermarket parts, I might as well start with the Hornby antiques I've already got. This is not looking good - were the Mark 1s just a flash in the pan?
Also worrying was the N gauge 'Peak' in the Graham Farish range. Not only has it inherited the shrunken nose errors from it's big sister, but the Mad Trencher has returned with some pretty awful panel lines across the nose and around the doors. Now, this may be a little unfair as when N stock disappears into the landscape the errors are more easily overlooked than with larger scales. But in other countries you can buy N products that will stand close scrutiny, so why not over here? Better products are vital if N is to shrug off it's poor cousin image, and while the Peak certainly looks better than the Farish blobs of decades past, it doesn't stand up well on the world stage.
No doubt the model will be greeted blindly and euphorically by existing N gauge users, but what use is that? For UK N to thrive it needs to convince other, more discerning buyers to choose it over other scales and other nationalities. These potential UK N gauge enthusiasts won't be comparing releases to old Farish offerings, but to more modern products sitting enticingly on dealers' shelves right now. These aren't the kind of people who merely want a new MGR hopper to match their old ones, but the sort who demand something better. They may well have rejected N in the past because of third rate products and they're going to need to see first rate modern equivalents to take it seriously again. I doubt if they'll even hear the NeverHadItSoGood mutterings, yet alone believe them.
Currently On My Stereo: Radiohead - OK Computer
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A typical weekend selection of line-up shots, taken on a sunny summer morning at Birmingham's Saltley depot. The date is 01/06/85 - 20 years ago. It's sobering to think that although this seems like only yesterday to me, a similar 20 year leap before these photos were taken would drop me into the tail-end of the steam era!
At the time, almost everything was still in corporate blue livery (still what the best-dressed loco should wear, for my money) and the collection of classes was mouth-watering. Yet I frequently couldn't be bothered with the complexities of the weekend bus/train/foot journey to Saltley as things seemed too samey, just too dull at the time. Unsuprisingly, now most of these machines are razor blades, I don't see it in quite the same way.
The class 58s were unpopular interlopers with me at the time, painted in a strange livery and looking like they'd been delivered from MFI as a flatpack. Now even these faithful companions are gone. Was it really 20 years ago?
Note that these photographs are not of a very high standard. They were taken when I was 'between cameras' using poor quality equipment on loan from a friend.
Currently On My Stereo: Magnum - On a Storyteller's Night
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More US motive power has arrived. Left to right are another Kato AC4400CW (you can never have enough AC power) a Proto 2000 SD60M and an Athearn SD60 - I'm gradually getting my US modelling out of the becalmed 1970s and into the unfamiliar waters of more recent times.
Now I need to fit DCC decoders and Kadee couplers...
Currently On My Stereo: Magnum - Vigilante
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N gauge modellers seem to have all the good news these days, and the first pictures of the Dogfish on Dapol's website do nothing to alter this trend. First impressions include the open chassis of the prototype being visible and some commendable end platform detail considering the scale, but also a rather chunky rim to the hopper and very flat solebars, springs and axleboxes. I'm keen to see what this one looks like in the flesh rather than cruel, larger than life photos - release is planned for Warley this year.
Currently On My Stereo: Pink Floyd - The Final Cut
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A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, someone wise beyond their years coined the phrase 'rivet counter' and the universe was never quite the same again. Conjuring up vivid images of some myopic individual with his nose shoved firmly against the side of a loco, it perfectly described the obsessive enthusiast, the kind of grumpy old git who would quibble over the minutest details without taking a step back to appreciate the bigger picture. Unfortunately, as many have remarked, the term has been hijacked somewhat in recent years and used in a totally different context - a great shame in my view.
Language is a continuously evolving thing, certainly, and I don't expect things to stand still. The classic and oft-quoted example is the word 'gay' normally meaning something quite different in modern times. Yet the term 'rivet counter' hasn't evolved at all, it's almost been kidnapped and held to ransom. A handful of establishment figures (if being a big fish in your own very small pond can be taken to be establishment) started to use it as an insult directed at anyone who dared to criticise anything at all, but most specifically those of us who were concerned that whole locos were the wrong shape. Those of us who were looking at the big picture rather than the rivets, in other words!
The difference between a whole loco and a rivet is about as big as it gets in this context, yet before long the more sheep-like disciples of these spin-doctors were singing to the same tune and 'rivet counter' has never been the same since. Much of the ensuing kerfuffle was driven, unsuprisingly, by the ranters and haters, those who can't accept that the tastes of others might be different. Some knuckle-dragging genetic throwback spitting 'rivet counter' with the same venom as he would 'nigger' or 'queer' is hardly an example of evolution as far as I'm concerned. Quite the opposite.
So, can we have 'rivet counter' back? Unlikely, I'm afraid, even if we pay the ransom. It's been scarred for life by the whole unpleasant experience and will never be quite the same again. The best we can hope for is a return to some kind of natural evolution, a 'rivet counter' for the 21st century. Where are the modern 'rivet counters' then? Where are those obsessed by the details and oblivious to the bigger picture? Look around and it shouldn't be that difficult to spot them. Next time the monthly rags are flocking to enumerate the twiddly little bits on the latest Hornby release whilst ignoring the shape errors in the whole body, think awhile about what you're seeing. When you next chance upon a collector website where some grumpy old gits are bleating on about the presence of an electrification flash on a steam loco as if it's a life-or-death issue, take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Rivet counter counting has never been this easy.
They're raising the baa every month, and it's not a pleasant sound...
Currently On My Stereo: Pink Floyd - Animals
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