Insert screwdriver under steel weight and wiggle gently. With care, the weight should part company with the chassis.
Oh b*gg*r!
Apart from that little accident, last night's modelling time managed to stretch to 3 Bachmann minerals with Smiths Instanter couplings and Gibson wheels fitted...
...a Hornby Seacow with Smiths Instanters fitted...
and another 4 Bachmann minerals with yet more Instanters. I ran out of wheels once again - models shops should be open on Saturday night when there's s*d all on the TV.
A quick look back through these pages shows I was having a similar mad coupler/wheel frenzy this time last year, it must be a guilt thing as I see yet another year coming to an end with the mineral wagon mountain not looking any smaller.
Currently On My Stereo: Blackmore's Night - Under A Violet Moon
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Bachmann's recent Class 57/3 is too modern for any period I'm currently interested in modelling, but I couldn't resist a look as the loco is an indicator of what I can expect from the forthcoming Class 47.
Generally I'm much encouraged. The model is much more 47/57-shaped than Heljan's famously overweight 'TubbyDuff' released back in 2001.
Grille and fan detail is commendably fine, even if the ultimate delicacy of the prototype remains tantalisingly out of reach. Certainly the Bachmann mesh exceeds the quality of some aftermarket parts that modellers have happily stuck to their models over the years. The large, silver, cantrail grilles, by comparison, look slightly less convincing, lacking the very open nature of the real thing. But overall, Bachmann have taken a very large step forward since the days of the dire 'Fishnet Fanny' arrangement.
The bogies remain probably Bachmann's weakest area, even if they are better than the efforts under the Deltic and Class 37. Undernourished, as always, and with sink marks giving that 'pressed from liquorice' look, they don't capture the bulk of the prototype as well as the Heljan mouldings. Although an attempt has been made to recess some of the detail such as the brake-blocks, items such as the springs bear precious little resemblance to the real thing. Improving the standard of the bogies would lift most Bachmann diesels into another league.
These (and other) niggles notwithstanding, the Class 57 is hugely better than much of Bachmann's diesel range. The company has come a long way since the woeful Deltic, for my money the all-time low point of modern D&E RTR. With it's spindly bogies leaving a huge gap beneath the comical nose, the cheesey 'Fishnet Fanny' parts and the rather cynical printed-on panels, you'd be forgiven for thinking the crude and toy-like Deltic came from another manufacturer. Lima perhaps.
Although models should always be compared to their prototype, it's difficuly to resist putting the Bachmann and Heljan products head-to-head, if only to illustrate some of the effects dimensional errors can have. Most people aren't going to see the extra Xmm width of the Heljan TubbyDuff, but rather the knock-on effects of that error. For me, the obvious clues are the exagerated taper of the cab-sides, the bulbous roofline, and the high-forehead look to the cab. The TubbyDuff appears bloated whilst the Bachmann release looks much better.
While not without it's own selection of errors (look at how flattened the cab-roof air-intake is compared to the real thing) the Bachmann mouldings will be the basis for all of my future Class 47 and Class 57 plans.
Internally, the loco has drive to all axles (much better than the Deltic and Class 37) but pick-up from only 8 of the 12 wheels. Bright LED lighting is fitted, albeit with the bizarre 'day/night' fuel tank switch as introduced on the Class 66, and is DCC-Ready. The model even has a void of the correct shape to take a decoder such as the (strongly recommended) Lenz Gold, although curiously Bachmann's own rebadged Lenz 1014 won't fit. Unscrew and discard the buff-coloured plastic cover, and line the hole with insulating tape, thin card or paper before fitting the decoder.
The supplied instructions are a little vague and inaccurate. I removed the four screws indicated but the body wouldn't part company with the chassis, I eventually removed two extra silver screws (one under each cab) before having any success. Even with the body off, I wasn't sure I'd done it right as the short cable-runs didn't allow much room to work without putting strain on the cable joints. I was convinced the cab interiors and lights were designed to stay with the chassis, but as they're stuck firmly into the body I guess I'm wrong - the instruction sheet offers no clues. Pin 1 isn't marked, despite claims to the contrary, and I had difficulty refitting the body, presumably due to the untidy cables getting trapped where they didn't belong.
Although I had no real difficulties that my normal range of expletives couldn't handle, Mehano's recent Class 66 offers an object lesson in how to do the job properly, even if Mehano is a brand I wouldn't normally consider to be of 'continental quality' - whatever that might be.
Note how much tidier everything is compared to Bachmann's rat's nest. All wires have a defined path, cast into the metal of the chassis block, and obvious items such as the speaker and the decoder have a designed-in place to live. Undo the 4 screws exactly as per the instructions and the body slides off easily, no detail-threatening force is required.
Even the wires to the lights have a place to run, cut into the corners of the chassis. Note how the decoder sits in a cardboard tray - you don't have to be hi-tec to be well thought-out. Better design is an asset not just for DCC novices, but also for any form of maintenance, modification or upgrade. Some manufacturers just make it so much easier for you that it's difficult not to be a repeat customer.
Currently On My Stereo: Queen - Jazz
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While certainly a nicely detailed model straight from the box, Hornby's Seacow is layout-hostile if you use any couplings other than the supplied tension-locks. Even my standard fall-back option (Smiths Instanter) proved difficult as the plastic bar that spings the buffers prevents easy insertion of the coupling hook.
In the end I snipped off most of the hook's stem and slotted the remainder, then bent the two short prongs in opposite directions so the coupling was effectively a T-shape. I surgically removed the chunk of black plastic nearest the buffer beam that holds the spring-bar in place, but left the furthest one intact. Then I slotted the bufferbeam from underneath with the end of a razor saw in my usual fashion, and widened/bevelled the back of the slot to take the hook. After all this unwanted faffing around, the coupling was glued in from underneath, effectively using it's tail to replace the chunk of black plastic removed.
This method retains the functionality of the Hornby buffers if you don't go too mad with the glue, but is somewhat fiddly as care is needed working next to so many fragile parts - I doubt if I'll do many wagons this way.
Currently On My Stereo: Van Halen - Balance
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Although I've modelled in both 4mm and 3.5mm scales for many years, it's not that often that I get to see a direct size comparison. The Bachmann and Mehano Sheds offer a relatively rare opportunity - the HO model looks tiny next to the OO equivalent.
The EuroShed is equipped with a fully-yinging sound decoder, which is due to be transplanted so that the Bachmann model can lead a full and active life. Always carry a donor card.
The top-down view perhaps demonstrates the size differential to best advantage...
While this one just looks plain silly.
Currently On My Stereo: Fish - Ying
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A page on correcting defective electrics in Kato's SD40-2 has been added to the DCC section, although strictly speaking it's equally applicable to DC if you're that way inclined. Not every SD40-2 suffers from these problems, I'm told, but all of mine were real cows. The material was originally produced for Nigel Burkin's MRM magazine but never quite made it. I've eventually gotten around to reworking things for the internet and have included it here
If anyone from Virgin wants the Voyagers looking at, just give me a bell and I'll meet you on the sea wall...
Currently On My Stereo: Fish - Yang
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The absence of NEM coupler sockets on Hornby's new Seacow is as perplexing as it is annoying. My intention was to fit the excellent Roco close-couplers within a rake of these vehicles, and finish off with a Kadee at either end. Unfortunately, what should have been a fifteen minute plug'n'play job for a whole rake has suddenly become very difficult, arguably impossible and certainly not worth the effort.
There are many ways to provide a NEM socket on a model, as a study of different products will show. Ideally, to perform to it's full potential, the Roco close-coupler needs a NEM socket that's able to pivot and extend on curves, indeed Hornby's previous Gresley coaches had this feature. NEM sockets can also be fitted directly to the chassis (Bachmann 16 tonners) or the bogies (Bachmann JGA) where space or other factors dictate. Hornby has implemented none of these on the Seacow.
Space is a little tight on the Seacow, admittedly, but have a look at Bachmann's JGA to see one way of tackling this. There's a millimeter or so extra to play with on the JGA, but more than that has been wasted on the plastic moulding behind the NEM socket. Hold a Kadee Number 18 under the Seacow and you can see it will fit without the coupler's tail fouling the outermost axles.
Having given up on the NEM idea, my next thought was to fit Smiths Instanters, but this isn't an easy option either - the springing for the buffers runs the whole width of the wagon. Sprung buffers are nice-to-haves, rather than life-or-death features, so I'll probably go with the Instanters and discard the springing or even replace the rather under-nourished buffers completely. There are any number of possible work-arounds and I'll think on it for a while, but in the short term the inability to easily run these wagons with anything other than tension-locks is a definite problem. I've got a big enough 'to-do' pile without adding more to it.
Be careful when flipping these models onto their backs, by the way, as the wealth of fine detailing is worth looking after. My sample is resting on one of the ever-useful Lenz decoder boxes.
On the other hand, Bachmann's 'Mucky Duck' has the required NEM sockets at either end, and at pretty much the correct height too - give or take a little bit of slop.
Ironically, I don't want to fit NEM compatible couplers to my Ivatt, as screw couplings will suit my needs better with this particular loco. But that's how it's supposed to be - the choice should be the customer's and the manufacturer's job is to facilitate this. So ten out of ten to Bachmann in this instance, and a big fat zero for Hornby.
Currently On My Stereo: Fish - Raingods With Zippos
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Due to my partner's medical emergency knocking our domestic schedule for six, I've had precious little contact with the world of model railways for the best part of a fortnight. Indeed, the previous entry on this page took 4 days to complete, despite it's brevity! Things are beginning to settle down, however, now Fiona is back at home recuperating, and I managed a brief shopping trip today - what better way to ease gently back into the civilised world?
First into the goodie-bag was the new Hornby Seacow, something of a landmark release for me as Hornby have never managed to produce a wagon of their own that I thought was worth spending any significant money on. The Seacow is the exception, fortunately, and I can see myself buying train-quantities of these once some of the other promised catalogue items appear in the shops.
There are a number of little niggles (none of my intended prototypes have a handrail shaped like the right-most specimen in the above photo, for example) and the lack of a NEM socket is especially annoying as I'd intended to fit Kadee couplers. But the overall look is very Seacow-like, and a far cry from the weak efforts that were the HAA and Coalfish. I sincerely hope that Hornby build on this success, preferably with a model of the more common rivetted type of Seacow - and not using the old Lima moulds, thank you very much.
Bachmann's 'Mucky Duck' is something I've been eagerly awaiting in RTR form, as ugly prototypes often give rise to characterful models and the Ivatt is one of my favourite uglies. The model is very nice indeed, Bachmann as always making a much better job of a steam loco than they generally do diesels.
Daylight under the boiler is somewhat diminished in order to accomodate the drive train, but curiously there are a couple of extra areas under the smokebox due to poorly fitting parts - nothing that should be visible during normal operation, though. None of the add-on parts were fitted for the photos, as the loose-fitting cab-doors kept falling off and the locating pins on the other parts were too large for their holes. Given that the quality of these mouldings wasn't that good, I decided to investigate alternatives rather than drill-out the holes to use what was supplied.
The moulded coal is particularly poor, so this is best levered out to expose the tender's interior or replaced entirely. Overall detailing is good, although it won't turn the head of anyone used to overseas models. I'm not trying to be overly-critical here, but feel I should counter some of the hyperbole in the monthlies' adverts, whoops, I mean reviews. The Ivatt isn't the bestest, most super-detailedest model in the history of the world (squared) but it is a damned good release at the price. It has a few rough edges, such as the moulded-on smokebox door handle, and is generally a bit chunkier than some of my 15 year-old (plus) Euro-Kettles. But the Euro-Kettles can't be snapped up for £60.50, so all-in-all I'm a happy bunny. I could use a few more products of this calibre - good, solid, value-for-money buys designed for sensible price-points in the market. Equally, I could do without b*ll*cks reviews trying to convince me that a product is anything other than what it is.
Tomorrow, if I can find time, I'll hopefully be fitting a decoder and couplers...
Currently On My Stereo: Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream
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Roco's recently released DB BR0310 in 'Steel Blue' livery is certainly an eye-catching model, if not exactly my normal cup of tea. As well as common European features such as the close-coupled tender and drive on both the tender and the coupled wheels, the loco also comes with two interchangable tender tops. One has the usual moulded plastic coal, and the other (pictured) has individual pieces of a very coal-like substance fixed in place.
I was disappointed to note that none of the detail parts had broken off, putting the Roco offering at a considerable disadvantage when compared to recent Hornby pacifics. Part of the fun, as any real modeller knows, is being able to point at your model and say "I repaired that myself" with smug satisfaction.
At slightly over £250 for a DC loco, this isn't something for the faint-hearted. Certainly the cost of DC for medium or large layouts will be prohibitive for most, and I can see no real benefits in converting small layouts either. When you can get two of the forthcoming Peco DCC-equipped Colletts in N gauge for that price, it's clear that neither DC nor HO will catch on until the price falls considerably. At least I think that's what I read on the internet...
Currently On My Stereo: Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun
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Nigel Burkin's replacement as editor of 'Modern Railway Modelling' magazine marks the end of an era, albeit an indecently short one. Not being party to the publisher's affairs, one can only speculate, but it's difficult not to see the heavy hand of the accountant at work in the all-too familiar fashion - cutting costs to keep yesterday's product-line afloat until the life-raft of individual retirement makes the unpleasant chore of investing in future revenue generation Somebody Else's Problem.
While it will doubtlessly be cheaper to produce future MRMs with in-house personnel instead of paying for Nigel's specialist expertise, I can't help thinking that the magazine market is already over-supplied in the cheap and inexpert department. One only has to contrast the review of Bachmann's Class 40 in the first issue of MRM with the equivalent in the same publisher's November 2004 'British Railway Modelling' to see that the two magazines are like chalk and cheese. Similarly, MRM's issue 3 in-depth analysis of the Hornby 31 is the very antithesis of BRM's May 2005 whitewash. The BRM piece attracted widespread criticism at the time over some fairly basic blunders, yet rather than printing a correction the next issue made matters worse by trying to defend the mistakes in an editorial! In contrast, the MRM spread offered not just an uncommonly accurate evaluation of the product, dealing constructively with it's various issues, but also pretty solid features on decoder fitting, coupler alternatives and wheelswaps for the wider gauges. I'd call this a landmark in reviewing, a tremendously strong selling point and a competitive advantage that it would be foolish to throw away lightly. The key factor is expertise.
Although starved of D&E content over the years, I'm still enthusiastic about steam - probably more so now than ever. The reason I've bought MRM but discarded BRM is not that BRM is concerned largely with yesterday's traction but that much of it is written with yesterday's mindset. I'm not going to pay money for inaccurate and insubstantial reviews that toady to manufacturers, or infrequent DCC coverage that builds urban myth faster than a user-base. I'm not going to buy any old rubbish just because it's got diesels in it. Sorry Warners, I don't want an in-house diesel mag written like BRM, but I would like a steam mag written like MRM - you could sell me two products rather than none.
A magazine is very much a reflection of it's editor, someone who has vision of how the finished product should look and where it's supposed to be going. Nigel's editorial direction has been close to what I want from a magazine and, I'd suggest, the excellent sales show it has struck a chord with many other modellers disenfranchised by the increasingly out-of-touch UK press. It's a direction refreshingly different to that historically favoured by UK publishers, closer to overseas magazines that have moved with the times. Nigel isn't, of course, the only person capable of doing this job, but it's vital to attract and keep such new blood, and this is clearly not happening.
For a regrettably short five issues, I've enjoyed a much more balanced and representative selection of articles covering the D&E modelling world. I've particularly been impressed with the 'added value' approach evidenced by the Class 31 review, and the recognition that US or European prototypes are more pertinent to many of today's modellers than Welsh narrow gauge or tinplate collecting. Every single modeller I know has at least one overseas interest as well as (or even instead of) UK, so this a major plus point. The absence of 'Larry the Lamp-hut Lamb' style filler and the dirty-turps and guitar-strings articles from wannabe authors with nothing really to communicate was the icing on the cake, leaving me with more pages I wanted to read than all three monthlies rolled into one. Above all, I was relieved to find the real magazine was vastly superior to the frankly awful supplement that preceded it to test the water. That was little more than BRM fortified with added diesel - the key difference, again, being expertise.
MRM inevitably attracted it's share of criticism, as no magazine can meet everyone's needs even without factoring in all of the personal agendas. Unsuprisingly, much of it was of the penetrating "D&E enthusiasts shouldn't have their own magazine" or "US content shouldn't be allowed" variety. Similarly, some established authors were dismayed to find they didn't automatically receive a free mealticket to get their standard fare included in a different style of magazine. One of the zaniest, however, was the 'Blue/Green Era is Best' lobby, incensed that parts of the mag had been wasted on modern stuff that's clearly only suitable for silly train spotters. As a life-long fan of all things blue myself, it's pretty scary to find I'm accidentally part of a clique pouring scorn on those with younger passions, as out-of-touch as the steam buffs seemed when I was a teenager.
When a magazine's target market has fragmented to this extent, and includes a ready-made set of boring old farts, it's clearly taken far too long to arrive. Perhaps we need another one already, "Pretty Modern Railway Modelling, But Not As Modern As That Other Lot Who We Don't Really Talk To These Days - Splitters!" There might even be enough space left on the cover for the barcode.
Currently On My Stereo: Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow
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I see the neo-rivet counters on Merde-Mag are bleating again. It would seem that, having waxed lyrical about the emperor's new toys for so long, a certain degree of dismay is setting in because the twiddly bits that were 'raising the bar' and 'weveneverhaditsogood' last week are now falling off onto the carpet. I can see that would be upsetting when you're trying to force a Power Ranger figure through the R2349 opening cab door so he can shelter from the hail of R343 Battlespace missiles. What the world needs this week, if I'm following developments correctly, is a generic, pull-along tank engine with rubber wheels. And if it can transform into a Blue Pullman or a Donald Duck night-light with just the flick of a well-practised wrist, then so much the better.
European manufacturers have been making models with twiddly bits for decades and they're not particularly prone to spontaneous disintegration. Isn't it pretty obvious that if the more recent Hornby 'grown-ups' releases fall apart it just means that Hornby need to learn how to build them properly, like everybody else does? Surely the Back-to-Basics lobby doesn't need to spitefully prevent others from enjoying highly-detailed models, but can just pick something simpler from the Hornby catalogue and get on with their lives? That's why Hornby still produce a varied range of such products (with or without faces on the front) and normal people buy them without having a paddy. I would have thought even single-celled organisms could work that one out, although such opinion might be divided.
A variation on the old computer help-desk joke springs to mind. Have you still got the original packaging? Well replace everything carefully, take the box back to the shop, and tell them you're just too stupid to own a train set...
Currently On My Stereo: Steve Hackett - Spectral Mornings
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Bachmann's much anticipated 'Mucky Duck' has arrived in the shops, albeit not in the BR versions that I'm waiting for. Worth a look if the LMS era is your thing, though.
Currently On My Stereo: Steve Hackett - Please Don't Touch
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Bachmann's model of the humble 16 ton mineral wagon is a lifesaver as far as I'm concerned. The prototype was by far the most numerous wagon on the system, with around a quarter of a million produced, and is thus a must-have for probably the majority of layouts - yet prior to Bachmann's release there had been no credible RTR model available in 4mm scale. Whilst kit-builders had been well served by the famous Airfix 'two-bob' kit and Parkside's more recent equivalents, I'd never quite managed to find the time to build them in the quantity I really wanted. A mere 50 years after the prototype emerged, Bachmann's product at last enabled me to tackle my fleet-building backlog.
The model has been available in a variety of formats, including the most common Diagram 1/108 configuration pictured, and comes with both an accurately dimensioned body and chassis, unlike previous 'freelance' offerings from the trade. Some variations are neglected (clasp brakes!) but with so many bases covered out-of-the-box, a tremendous amount of time is liberated for use on these others - not to mention the thousands of other things needed for a model railway.
Over the last 5 years I've bought 3-figure quantities of these wagons, and haven't quite kept up with pressing the new arrivals into service. At the very least I replace the couplings with Smiths Instanters (the provided NEM socket is at the wrong height for Kadees) and the wheels with Gibson's. I'd managed the couplings when the above photo was taken, but hadn't got around to the wheels as I'd spotted an error I'd not noticed before...
The most common version of the Diagram 1/108 mineral has Morton brake-gear, consisting of brakes and push-rods on one side of the wagon only. There are brake-levers on both sides of the wagon, and the one on the 'no-brakes' side is connected to the 'brakes' side by a long rod passing under the centre of the wagon. Don't worry if this means nothing to you, it's correctly modelled by Bachmann, even down to the way the brake-lever on the brakes side connects via a cam arrangement. The spotting-feature is that on as-built wagons, if the end-door is to your left then the brakes and the cam should be on the side in front of you.
Unfortunately, although Bachmann have got this right, I seem to have rather a large number where the factory has assembled the correctly-designed parts incorrectly. I've only noticed this today, and fortunately it's a c*ck-up that affects only a percentage of my fleet, but I need to re-work those affected. I need to swap the brakes around on the chassis, I can't just turn the whole chassis around as the cam would then be on the wrong side!
Note that this is not the same thing as rebodied wagons where many were actually rebuilt with the body mounted on the chassis the wrong way around. Even on these examples, the relationship of all parts within the chassis is correct - my problem samples have some 'same side' chassis parts on opposite sides, and turning the chassis around won't fix that!
Bachmann actually produce examples of the rebodied wagons, which is good news for those who model later years when they were increasingly common. Rebodied wagons (as in the above photo) are typified by the lack of a top-flap above the side-door, and a rounded edge to the bottom of the sides, rather than the original lip. All of these features are correctly represented by Bachmann, which is welcome news for us wagon fans.
Currently On My Stereo: Steve Hackett - The Tokyo Tapes
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I've been stocking up on Bachmann RTR wagons this week. Unless your activities are confined to a simple shunting plank or as passenger-only terminus, you'll need a lot of wagons - it's just one of those things. Rather than go out and spend huge amounts of money in one go, I try and buy at least one wagon (RTR or kit) every time I'm in a model shop. They soon mount up and you've got train-length quantities before you know it.
Bachmann's latest run of the POA kind of snuck out without me noticing - I really should pay more attention in class. The rib-spacing and end detailing are different, representing an alternative batch of wagons - product reference 37-554 is pictured above.
Drop one of the originals (product reference 37-551) on top and you can see the difference - handy for injecting a little variety into trains. The chassis remains uncorrected, unfortunately.
Also purchased were one of the MTA opens (38-050) and...
...a TTA (37-579) - I don't have nearly enough tank wagons and will need to start tackling this before long.
Finally, I picked up a few examples of Bachmann's Southern Railway vans to have a look at, including the even-planked version (38-071)...
...the '2+2' plank version (38-081)...
and the plywood type (38-075). Die-hard wagon kit-builders (of which I am unashamedly an example) may well wish to continue putting Ratio kits together, but the new Bachmann products now offer a viable alternative in the RTR arena. It's important to remember that the vast majority of the market aren't wagon kit obsessives!
In fact, I have no doubt at all that I'll be buying quite a few more examples of these new models. I need a lot of vans, and they've never been well-represented by the RTR trade.
Because of this, I seem to have spent most of my life building vans (such as the excellent Parkside examples pictured) and still need loads more. There are only so many hours in the day and just one train of vans represents a huge investment of time. On top of this, there are so many other tasks involved in building a model railway (especially if you dabble in multiple scales, eras, locations or even countries) that I welcome as much assistance as I can get from the RTR boys.
Of course, it doesn't help if your early efforts are unspeakably awful. I don't know exactly when I put this Airfix example together, but it can't be far off notching up three decades of existence. What I was thinking of when I sloshed dirty turps all over it, I don't know. The roof seems to be armour plate and you could drive a bus through the gaps between the springs and the solebars. This is a relic from my early days in P4 when I was a kid - I guess I was having fun at the time, but it's b*gg*r all use to me these days.
What I'd give for a selection of BR standard vans from Bachmann, or the promised-but-dropped Vanwide...
Currently On My Stereo: Genesis - Foxtrot
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