Peter Stiles

Nice work. Good idea about the varnish. I've used embossed plasticard on these buildings - basically treating them as a shell that can be decorated as you wish. For the platforms, I use filler on the gaps between sections, sandpaper smooth. Then completely paint - undercoat of Matt black, then over spraying from above with a dark grey (mechanicus standard grey from GW) Then a large bunch of dry-brushing with a large brush with a lighter grey, then edge in an even lighter grey (something duck egg blue works for me) which can then have a overbrush/highlight of white. Paint the access hatches with a dark tinny colour then drydrush with gunmetal. Whoosh-ting! Nice platforms.

Cavalelax announced 1.5 years ago (and isn’t there yet) Accurascale have been working on their for three years but only just announced... Who came first? (Who's in first base?)

I assumed it was spam and I blocked it. Receiving unsolicited text messages with "minimised" URLs makes me scared!

It's not an easy retro fit. There's the synchronization wheel on the gearing/axels to start with, then there's the physical space for the atomiser equipment. They have said they won't release fit-yourself kits and once you realise the complexity you can understand why.

I have used print-your-own decal papers, and the biggest problem I had was the thickness of the final decal. With sufficient varnish to ensure the ink doesn't bleed in the water they ended up a very visible film. Using on 1/22 scale I got away with it, but on 1/76 the decal was obliterating surface detail I wanted to keep. I could have been using the Wrong Paper, but after this, my experience is that'll I'll happily buy transfers if I need something that doesn't come with the kit.

I'm sure your printer has white ink, but most don't, you know...

Different warehouses or not - they often ship multiple packages to you in the same day. And charge postage on each individual but...

Hmm.. or maybe you could paint over them?

Yeah, I use a variety of things, but not the stickers. I've used brick-paper and embossed plasticard. I've used strips of tiles on roofs, but I do like to pick the older printed-on type buildings up on e-bay when I can, they have a certain "something" It's possible the clock isn't original...

I must admit I use a rather random numbering facility. But what I do is to print off a small label and attach it to the bottom of the loco or tender with the dcc address on it, and then (horror of horrors!) I even stick a label on the box. I know I've just devalued the loco (well the box) and I'll never be able to sell it second hand... And: I keep a record of the number assigned in my Stock Spreadsheet. Must be something I learned from the Missus, Accountant that she was...

I seem to recall that the 8-pin DCC socket/adaptor had moved to "deprecated" status in the standards and Hornby getting stick for continuing with the 8 pin layout..

I'll second/third the "my membership expired today and I try to renew my membership but when I clicked on add to basket it won’t let me" :(

I'm looking forward to seeing the first modified Hornby carriage showing the historic wheelbase.. not sure I'm brave enough to take my razor-saw to these coaches.

Yes, once you have a few "xmas" wagons with the resin weight the poor Santas Express loco can't cope. I've tried sawing the bottom off the resin "presents" but its a VERY tough resin, so I've given in and I'm using a 0-4-0 peckett (one of the green ones) now.

The original post was about the Bundles, which are made from off-the-shelf stock, and so have always had lit Pullman coaches in

Short video of the HST

T scale is fun if you want to do Landscape modelling.. However it's not a scale that lends to lots of shunting as the couplings on the models I have won't easily uncouple, and the points are clunky... But being able to run a full-length HST on a coffee table is wonderful!

It would be really nice to be able to see, on the website, what stock items have "just arrived". And, no the "New In" section doesn't count because it often shows "available to pre order" or even "unavailable" against the items shown... Most people's websites are -eager- to show you what items have "just arrived" and it's really annoying to only find out that something Hornby has come into stock when I read someone something on A Forum Somewhere...

And has a 21 pin DCC socket and space for a sugar-cube. A HM7000 fits nicely in, albeit I didn't try to include a stay-alive.

Is it possible that a replacment a lá X8809DM 0-6-0 Motor and Retainer would be a sensible idea?

If Hornby get the twitch to do a Royal Train version, could we also have a decent set of matching mk3s? With the correct double-doors on His Maj's carriage? And have them looking slightly less plasticy please... We've had much better mk3s recently, so it would be good for KC3 to get a decent treatment; especially in light of his strong support for Steam:)

I use a pair of bluntish side cutters to hold a TT fishplate with. I've not cut one accidentally in half as yet, but then I've only had to manhandle a couple so far..

Mine seemed perfect and has now run in happily round my roundy roundy - so time to fit the TXS tonight with a following wind. Realised I hadn't even read the certificate and I've got number 28. That's the smallest certificate number in my collection.

"Playtrains starter bundle" has been discounted... from £42 to £74.. That's not normally how discounts work? I'd assume a fault in the website's data?

But in Bargain Hunters land, anything other than the mutated locos could be easily brought back to normality with a knife and a paint brush. So there are some bargains to be had there if you want to do some work on them...