Bachmann 2005

And the idiocy that is eBay....

I'd disagree, I've had quite a few good deals from ebay, if anyone is silly enough to pay over the odds (regardless of what the item is) then it's their own fault. Badger.

BFK is Brake First Corridor not composite (C=composite in carriage designations, K=corridor hence SK for corridor seconds). The point I was making was that Bachmann have a BSO and a BFK listed and then a coach which is apparently both a BSO and a BFK .

Mike Parkes snipped-for-privacy@mphgate.removetoreply demon.co.uk

As I said, the idiocy that is eBay....

"Mike Parkes" wrote The point I was making was that Bachmann have a BSO and a BFK listed and then a coach which is apparently both a BSO and a BFK .

Mike, I guess they made a mistake... Anyway, my Xmas present has been switched on since I posted this AM, so now on Broadband. Will have a look in a short while...

Andy

Too true but as the liveries are the same it does beg the question of what coach it is as it presumably is neither a BFK or a BSO

Mike Parkes snipped-for-privacy@mphgate.removetoreply demon.co.uk

Depends how you rate over the odds?

Take me, oh please some one take me, opps, wrong group!

Anyway, i was after a W/C named "Weymouth" a few months ago. By using the Uk model shop directory I eventually found 4, and baught 3 of them. I paid about £74 each plus P&P, about shop average so I was happy. Thing is, from probably hundreds of shops, i only found 4 for sale in the UK. The model sold out most places over a year ago. So, if I had to resort to swapmeets, how much would i have spent going to each swapmeet to look around before I found one? £10 per swapmeet in petrol and entrance fee sound about average? That only would have meant a couple of swapmeets and in theory I would have spent £95, given I would probably have had to pay nearly new prices for a good condition 2nd hand one if the dealer knows how hard they are to find. One today from rails of Sheffield sold for £91 and the winning bidder was repared to go higher, the guy got a bargain if you ask me?

Makes me wonder if I should carry on the re-naming ceremonies that was going on in the train room before I came down for a cuppa of take a digital photo and write for sale, £100!!

Piemanlarger

Yes there is. If he has anything like my level of skill at painting he is guaranteed to ruin a perfectly good model :o) Bachmann have done an extremely good job of replicating the grime found on a typical BR steam engine which someone like me couldn't hope to duplicate at home.

Collector's club members have paid an annual subscription fee for the privilege of joining and so are entitled to a modest discount on the resale price of models not available to outsiders in the same way as Bachmann accredited dealers are entitled to a trade discount. The problem with some club models is that Bachmann is demanding the full RRP which is a bit above what anyone is willing to pay for them on the open market. Thus it has become a lottery. A member might make an outright killing or else lose a small part of his investment. As far as I can tell no one is interested in Hornby's club offers and there is very little point in being a member.

(kim)

I'd be interested to se this model as so far every Weathered loco hornby and bachman have produced has had litlle more than a spray with brownish or blackish paint as it wizzzed past on the production line, nothing like a typical dirty british loco from any of the photos I have. The best one is where they spray the sides and leave the top of the boiler clean, the place that gets dirty first!

simon

"kim" wrote

Well there's a solution to the problem, and that is to withdraw from the club. I never quite understood the logic of people paying a fee to allow them to buy something when alternatives are available.

John.

Bachmann's club still represents good value for money, there are other benefits besides the right to buy club models. Hornby's club is pathetic by comparison and it's likely that when my subscription expires I will not bother to renew it.

(kim)

"piemanlarger" wrote

Hornby have NO idea when it comes to weathering - I've not seen a single example which looks realistic and your latter point is absolutely true. I've even heard some 'c*ck & bull story' about the top of steam locos never getting dirty - clearly someone has never looked down on one!

I'll not even mention their feeble attempts at weathering diesels, bearing in mind that much of the muck on a typical diesel is caused by oil leakage and water runs, not by running locos through mud baths.

Bachmann make a much better job of it, but it's still far from authentic.

Personally I like my stuff not to be weathered, much preferring to do it myself. I'm dreading seeing Hornby's weathering attempts with their new blue class 31 - which is not going to be immediately available without weathering. I so desperately want a couple of these, but not if the weathering is crap. I'm not optimistic!

John.

A friend (who drives diesels in France) saw the recent 'weathered' 37 with me and commented 'It looks as if the engine has exploded'. Certainly most of the R-T-R weathering I've seen is embarrassingly bad, and appears to have been by someone who's never seen even a photo of a real vehicle in non-ex-works condition. Brian

I weather all my equipment and on locos and passenger cars, I prefer to start with a clean satin finish. That way, I can weather as little or as much as I want and, on moderately weather locos, parts where the crew pass while working look as though they've been rubbed clean by passing clothing etc. There's also that slight "undershine" that shows the loco was once clean.

On coaches, there's the shine but it's muted by weathering from the roof down by rain, coal smoke and diesel exhaust, from the bottom up by brakeshoe dust and spray from ballast and on the ends by a combination of all the above.

For black steam locos, I think the worst thing you can do is to paint the whole loco in uniform "weathered" black.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

"kim" wrote

Yes, I seem to recall instances where the Hornby Collectors' Club models were much more expensive than the standard production versions available from any retailer. A 'Dean Goods' 0-6-0 springs to mind.

John.

Bachmann make a much better job of it, but it's still far from authentic.

I will hold final judgement when I seen the Br green Grange from hornby. The wethered example at warley did look the best yet, but I still think the top of the loco was not blackish? Hope they pick up on this fact soon?

I was not around early enough in the 60's to see dirty steam locos, but I have baught lots of books with colour photos to guide me in the weathering of my various models. One thing you do notice is that the dirt /weathered look on the real thing is never uniform. Its a pity Bachmann / Hornby cant afford to employ a second person on the chinease production line to pick up the wethered brown loco and then spray wethered black as well, afyer all they are probably only paying a cople of bags of rice a day for the cheap labour!

Still, gves me something to do!

Simon

I assume you're joking but just in case IIRC that China is still a communist country so pay and working conditions are set by the Chinese government and not the companies they work for. Although low by western standards I'm told this compares favourably with other parts of the Chinese economy.

(kim)

"kim" wrote

I was under the impression that the Bachmann factory was not state owned, and consequently they and similar organisations would be in a position to pay just as much or as little as they could get away with.

There is most definitely elements of free enterprise in China.

John.