murphaph

That played with 085 going for 600GBP in the end is just madness. The buy it now price on the 111 is actually "reasonable" compared to it!

Currently at 380GBP this "play worn" 085. That really is silly money for a loco that isn't even in BNIB condition: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/147282572613 085 was the first 071 I was able to get my hands on when I got back into the hobby. It was still available years after release, brand new from Mark's Models. Now they are highly sought after with silly price tags!

Brilliant George! Well deserved. I hope to see it someday in person.

Nobody wants a 21mm.....horse

Glad he was genuine. Enjoy your purchases folks

The only Heljan stuff I have are the IRM tank wagons and they certainly look the part. I never realised they were so vilified tbh.

To be honest I would expect the crowd here to "get it", even if many on RmWeb don't. IRM was obviously a product of the internet itself. How many model shops existed in Ireland when the ballast was produced? Maybe ten premises on the whole island, if even that? Buying "from your local model shop" was never really an option for most of Ireland. Small Irish towns and cities never had model shops. You had a long way to go to reach one, even if you lived in Dublin it was a trek into town to the Modeller's Den or whatever. Most of them in the cities were long gone by the time IRM set up shop(ify). It was always going to be predominantly online or not at all really.

That IRM-Heljan co-branding thing escalated quickly lol. Nevermind that O Gauge 121, when are you doing them in TT? In all seriousness, good luck with the new venture

Has anyone sent him any money?

Love the two tone horn. Something a bit different on an Irish layout.

Agreed. Fabulous skills.

That's bizarre that an experienced factory would balls the packaging up like that, though it's not tven the first time we've seen it. The 121s also came in some well intentioned but poorly executed foam cushioning that caused them to be shunted out the side. The 201s also managed to get propelled through the ends of their blisters fairly often. The models are only as good as the packaging they are shipped in at the end of the day. Poor show. Obviously the emergency brake had to be pulled on these for the moment. Thanks for the update. They look lovely in the close up.

I'm really bending rule one to justify these but I don't think I'm going to be disappointed

I hope it's all above board and nobody has been infected with anything but be aware of the increasing use of AI to create personalised scams. AI can harvest information from anywhere you have been online and even trick you into thinking you know the sender. I'd almost be surprised if forums weren't a target for such AI generated scams. Hopefully nothing in it this time but be careful out there folks and it's almost never a good idea to open an attachment from someone you don't know.

It was probably a virus attachment he was offering to send people when they PM'd him. That's why I asked him to just post a list up. I think the mods took the safe option and removed the thread.