DJ Dangerous

One thing to be conscious of, and I haven't seen it mentioned, is age-suitability. What we talk about here tend to models rather than toys. Very delicate, and I know that one or two of the forum dads don't feel that the likes of IRM or Murphy Models stock is really suitable for their pre-teens. Drop one of these locos, and boom, you need somebody like @murphaph to fly down to you, collect all of the bits, and get them back together again. Here's how that goes. If your son is very young, it might be worth considering something cheaper / more durable, and maybe adding transfers to it. There's also LEGO. You can build your own Irish stock from LEGO, and in my opinion, it's frikkin' awesome! So, consider your son's age, 4, 14, 24 or 44, before opening your wallet.

Ah, come on, no need to be facetious about it, that's just mean. Anyhow, everybody knows that €12 for vanilla rubbish is a ripoff when you can just make the sounds with your mouth.

Great to see Maryville back in action: There had been a hiatus in YT uploads for a year or two, and the videos had been sorely missed.

LokSound decoders on offer at Hatton's today: https://www.hattons.co.uk/directory/versiondetails/article?id=1476 May not be of interest to the Vitriolic Vanilla Vagabonds but might be of use to some members.

Oh come on! You wouldn't go for another lined green one???

Great stuff!

Great that the thread is back to modelling... Those fishy puns were a load of carp...

Ah crap, there goes the farm, more A's!

Uffff! Major punch in the ribs for iRM and Paddy Murphy there, knocking their prices and their quality in one fell swoop! Try Brian Collins, RB Models, Marks Models, Rails of Sheffield, and obviously IRM themselves for LokPilots. I'm sure that @BosKonay can advise us as to whether IRM will be offering more LokPilots for the A Class or not. I'd say the likelihood is yes, but that's only speculation on my part.

Speaking of... Hornby LNWR vs. Hatton's SE&CR Genesis coach. First impressions, the Hornby body fidelity and the printing is not quite as good as the Hatton's Genesis range, the couplings and buffers droop a little, and I'm not a fan of the battery powered lighting. Overall, the Hatton's Genesis are definitely a superior range, and very competitively priced. Still, for €20 odd on Black Friday, the Hornby yoke was worth it.

Good old Marks Models... Never change, guys, never change!

Are those Bulleid open bodeis on the original triangulated underframes or on newer underframes?

Lovely scenes, @ttc0169, both the night time shots and Lakeview Freight Yard. @Arran's new boxes are sublime. How did you find the Shapeways stuff to work with? I'm interested in a few bits and pieces but don't know what to expect.

Think that's you and I together in the first pic, Miss Ear-Licker. Definitely wouldn't get away with that nowadays, the always-offended crowd would be all over Twitter in a flash.

The lower level weathering in particular is photo realistic, can almost hear her rumbling along when looking at that.

These look lovely! Am I right in saying that the Permanent Way variants ran in the eighties? So they'd be right at home with a Super Train 121 or A? Are the plastic stanchions removable on the model, or fixed in place? @leslie10646, will you be running more bread boxes and beer tubs to go with these?

El Hierro (a bit feint in the photos), La Gomera and La Palma, from left to right. When all three are visible from this low (I'm probably only 200m or 250m above sea level) we're in for some bad weather!

Biggest tip I can suggest is be extra patient. IRM's wagon packs are excellent value, and every Black Friday, they hit us with something even better. Everything will be re-run eventually, whether locos, wagons or coaches. Going even more buget, there is a thread on British locos that can be disguised as Irish locos here: https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/11073-british-locos-and-stock-that-can-be-disguised-as-irish Hatton's quite frequently have open wagons, closed vans, containers, Mk1 coaches, Mk2 coaches etc very cheap. The other day, they had brand new Mk3 coaches for £15 GBP each. All of the above would be ideal candidates for re-painting. Bachmann N Class Moguls show up in SR livery and BR black livery for £50 to £80 at Hatton's from time to time. De-badge with a cocktail stick and you have a relatively Irish loco. And, as you say, @leslie10646's wagons are brilliant value for what you get! I guess there's going to be a trade-off between budget and realism, almost on a linear scale at the centre, so the budget you want to keep to will determine how realistic you can go. @Sean posted a thread on budget Irish modelling, back in 2019 or 2020, prior to his workbench thread, but I can't find it at a glance. One could also look for non-runners to repair, as in this thread: https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/12359-wanted-non-runners/

Winter blues.

I know a man who knows a man... Roll on April! These will sell on eBay for twice the price the moment people start seeing them in the flesh. Looking your way, Evan and Billy!