Moccasin

Thanks yes, point taken - I was thinking more about the small paper leaflet that comes with the dongle. I’m sure I’m not the only one who found the type used too small to read easily. A QR code printed on the leaflet could take you to the support pages with the more detailed info (and at bigger font!). It’s been a while now, so if it’s already there I apologise!

The point about the leaflet content is a good one. I’d also add that it’s very small text and I can’t remember if there’s a link to the online version, but if not then a QR code linking to the online version might be a worthwhile addition for those with poor eyesight!

That gives me until Thursday for mine to be despatched and be able to give them a run around the table over the weekend. Otherwise, it’ll be a few weeks before I get the opportunity. I guess I wasn’t expecting them until May, so haven’t lost much if that happens!

Usually they’re pretty good once they have them, so fingers crossed for tomorrow. No word on mine yet.

Possibly it’s a credit card requirement to warn customers of an impending transaction that isn’t required for the different PayPal process. My pre-orders still showing as pending so will just sit back and wait.

It’s weird how some have had dispatch emails and others (like me) haven’t even been informed the items have arrived. I wonder if an advance supply has been sent from China before the rest of the batch. I would have thought the initial email would be automatic as soon as stock is processed, so that makes me wonder if only some pre-orders can be fulfilled initially. Or, as I said earlier, there’s some favouritism going on! 😀

Favouritism. 😀

Ah cool. Mine still pending but that gives me hope that they might even turn up by Friday.

Hopefully a 37/4 in large logo blue with an Eastfield Scottie terrier will be a swift addition. It’s an all time classic livery for the class 37s and just having two versions seems a waste of the investment. Maybe it’s an upcoming special announcement.

The website really is a mess! So much for it being down to them preparing for the announcement. We just have to be patient. Not our collective strength!

Given the state of the website, we can’t be completely sure they ARE in stock!

Yes me too. Some topics in other forums are interesting.

That’s very true. Online stock replenishment from the warehouse seems to occur a few times for those items showing “last few” or first going out of stock, before items stay out of stock. Also the pre-orders represented by negative numbers will of course only be those through the website and not other retailers. Batch sizes seem to vary but I think are generally 500 plus if the white labels on the product boxes are an indicator.

I can lose myself in maps for hours. Geography kept me sane during my A-levels - for an engineering degree, it’s usually maths/physics/chemistry. A combination of love for engineering, transport and geography led me into transport planning as a career. I love https://railmaponline.com and would encourage anyone who enjoys it to buy the guy a coffee through the donation link for his efforts.

Thanks all for advice and encouragement. It really is very much appreciated. I’m sorry that I seem undecided and am blowing hot and cold all the time. I’m sure many of you wish I’d just get on and build something (me included). After first posting this topic, I went for a walk and realised that I’m just not going to be able to build the sort/size of layout I want in my current situation (space/ finance/ skill level/ motivation/ work pressure/ spare time). Doing something bijou/bonsai/svelte with what I already have, namely the small baseboard, in readiness for the J50 seems like my best and most logical course of action. It’s just not an era that really interests me or that I know much about, so I have to dig in and find some enthusiasm for it.

Thanks all. Lots to think about. My problem is space despite having a decent sized house. That and being unable to make decisions and justifying the cost of buying all the other stuff I’d need when I have debts to pay off. Time to knock the idea on the head for a while and stick with occasional operating sessions on the table for the rare occasions when I’m in the mood.

Maybe Accurascale can turn to creating 1:120 figures of Father Ted explaining scale to Father Dougal? Possibly with some cows added in?

About 12 months ago, I bought one of the Scalemodel Scenery modular baseboards (layout in a box 1100 x 220mm). This seems to have been a mistake for various reasons and I’m struggling to see how I can use it/expand it in the way I want and am thinking of jumping to something totally different before my patience and enthusiasm disappears entirely. My woodworking skills aren’t up to much and my toolbox is somewhat sparse, so will likely buy a more adaptable baseboard kit for future expansion. I’m thinking of starting with 1200mm x 900mm (4ft x 3ft) which I can expand to 1800mm or 2400m (both 900mm wide) someday. The alternatives like Grainge and Hodder and White Rose all seem to use plywood with very deep sections (100mm deep) which seems excessive when the old frame standard was usually 50mm (2inch) - such depth will make it hard to store away. I appreciate that this is because you need that depth for strength and a ply frame is still lightweight, but despite having a 2.5 bed house, spare space is very much at a premium - both for using the layout and for storing it. I know some/many will scoff at my ineptitude at basic skills, but buying something purpose built that has pre-drilled holes for wiring and joining boards and is unlikely to fall apart if I pick it up, would make more sense, while buying the right tools will likely cost more than the kits. Does anyone have any suggestions for alternative baseboard kit suppliers for something that has a shallower depth? Thanks in advance for patient and understanding replies.

Interesting, thanks! 2Fs more popular than 2Es and Blue/Grey more so than InterCity (I do like a nice spreadsheet by the way!)

I was chatting with a friend earlier and it got me thinking about what inspires me about modelling and what I’m trying to achieve/recreate. I know everyone is different and thought this might make for an interesting thread and might help to further inspire me and others. Some may be inspired by a memory (theirs or a relative’s), others by a scene in a book or photograph and others just a whole sort of general mishmash of experience and interest. For me, it was my train spotting trips (we’re all friends here, right?) across the Pennines to Manchester and the wonders of 1980s era Piccadilly electrics on the WCML and cross country expresses. For someone who was brought up on Peaks and 47s on trans-pennine services through Mirfield and Dewsbury, or HSTs and 47s/45s at Wakefield Westgate, the sounds and mental image of a Class 86 or 87 ticking away at the Piccadilly buffer stops remain vivid. I’ve decided that a must-have on my layout will be a terminus station to model the locomotive arriving on a service and then another coupling up at the other end to take the service back out again. It’s an operation that is a left over from steam and has now pretty much disappeared except at heritage railways, now that push-pull is the commonest form of any remaining locomotive haulage. I did though enjoy seeing the Scottish 47s on push-pull services out of Waverley and, to my mind, the Scotrail livery is one of the best variations of the BR era and was delighted to see, by pure chance, the heritage Scotrail DBSO set being hauled into Carlisle by a Deltic last year. I hope all of the above come in/back to the Hornby ranges at some point. So who’s going to bare their railway soul next? (I’ve run out of reactions today, so please assume all contributions below are appreciated)

I was thinking more of the intercity Mk1s really. There was I think a BR Intercity Mk1 charter rake that was used on steam specials, but I might be mis-remembering.

I hope they do come back as I always found their contribution helpful. The TT120 announcement last week was the first since October 2022 and only one brand new tooling was announced (the J50). The wagons are Arnold models, while the 37 is still up to 18 months away and was originally announced in 2022, since when OO has had two annual announcements with new toolings on top of the backlog of pre-orders. …and back to topic (I should point out that none of the TT120 regulars originally brought it up!)

You say coincidence but I think it’s just more evidence that TT120 was meant to be…

The blue/grey and Intercity Mk1s will hopefully appear soon before too long too. From memory, they’ve both also regularly appeared on steam hauled excursions…

Thinking about the Intercity Mk2 coaches, they don’t really have much suitable traction coming any time soon. So I was wondering how popular these would be? I know the 50s will have hauled them on the GWML, but that’s about the only suitable locomotive due any time soon. If the 47s had been coming soon, then that would have added to their use, but they don’t seem imminent within at least 12 months. Would Hornby’s efforts be better spent elsewhere? Do we think that an unannounced model is in the pipeline, or are the coaches just another casualty of changing timescales? Edit - I know that they’re not due for another 9 months or so, but that doesn’t affect lack of traction