Airfix Kits

Thanks for the info.

I have owned OO guage kit for years (mainly Hornby with some Lima and the odd Mainline coach and wagon thrown in) so I am aware of the short-comings of OO guage. I recall that, strictly speaking, P4 is the correct track guage, it being 18.83mm which is 4'8.5" scaled down in 1:76. EM at 18.5mm is therefore slightly narrower than scale, but I don't know if P4 track ever really took off as a product you could buy off the shelf.

BTW were you ever aware of the web-site 'Electric Nose'? It used to intersperse the daily travails of its owner in the world of railway modelling with no-holds-barred reviews of all the rolling stock he bought, regularly sticking it to the magazines for bigging up stuff he basically thought was crap. It made a very entertaining read but sadly no longer exists.

Fortunately it appears the site has been archived. Here is one example of the site-owner's outpourings - on Lima, oddly enough.

Thanks Jon.

I got quite a good magazine comparing all the current ready to run O, OO and N gauge stock from Hornby, Bachmann, Heljian, Graham Farrish, etc. called 'Model Rail Extra'.

Sometimes they seem to invent a problem with a model so they have something to say about it, but it is a good guide, and does criticise some models that do deserve it.

Having got back into rail modelling after a break of 30 years the difference in the quality, and levels of detail is quite remarkable.

I am just finishing wiring up my track, and will for a few weeks have a running layout, but it will then be packed away as this room will become a nursery, and it will have to wait for the garage to be rebuilt as a double to house it and my computers. That will have the advantage of having a waterproof roof, which the current garage most definitely lacks.

I have just got my first etched brass kit, a coach to start one something simpler than a steam engine. I did a conversion on a DMU with a brass kit, and really enjoyed it, so I think the building of the models is probably the most appealing part of the hobby for me. I will see though, bunt fingers from holing small part to be soldered may change that view in the next few months.

quote:

Originally posted by JonR:
Thanks for the info.

I have owned OO guage kit for years (mainly Hornby with some Lima and the odd Mainline coach and wagon thrown in) so I am aware of the short-comings of OO guage. I recall that, strictly speaking, P4 is the correct track guage, it being 18.83mm which is 4'8.5" scaled down in 1:76. EM at 18.5mm is therefore slightly narrower than scale, but I don't know if P4 track ever really took off as a product you could buy off the shelf.

EM stands for Eighteen Millimetre which was the original gauge, they have since gone to 18.2mm.

P4 is indeed 18.83mm and is probably more popular now than it has ever been in its roughly 35 year lifespan.



This is a shot from the P4 layout that my club, Wirral Finescale Railway Modellers own and exhibit. It has its last 2 appearances this year before ending its exhibition life.

Impressive, Richard. Is that a re-wheeled Lima 73?

This thread is turning into RMWeb.

steve (1)

quote:

This thread is turning into RMWeb

Perhaps I should ask the moderator to change the thread name? What do you think of "Airfix Kits and Model Trains"?

While on the topic of model rail, and things like Rm web.

What rail forums have people found to be worth joining? I am becoming a bit dissatisfied with my local society, mostly as they do not have, and con not be persuaded to use a forum.

I looked at one forum, and it was full of 'rivet counters' going on about how high some detail should be, and it seemed to me that it was where it was so that the model could turn a corner on a 'normal' layout, and not be some static precision representation.

SO which model rail forums are helpful and cover different levels on modelling without those who do not see that it is a hobby with different levels, and not just a place for saying 'I could have done better then Hornby'.

Indeed it is, converted by my club mate Tim Rogers who has won a few prizes with it. I was trying to show some of my stock and layout but none of my pictures are in a location accessible by this board. If you look in RMweb there is a section devoted to WFRM layouts and projects. Mine is called Knottingley Wagon Repair Depot and is a model of a real place and period.

I was also trying to post a picture of a P4 Track Company turnout as they are the equivalent of an Airfix kit for trackwork. I've built 8 of them and they really are superb.