Horsetan

Horses walk in a specific way, so the correct order in which each hoof contacts the ground still needs to be reproduced. And if you want the model horse to trot, that's a whole different arrangement.

I think it will take developments in nanotechnology to filter through to modelling before we can have moving figures, working horses and other animals, bicycles, etc.

I wonder if 68633 or no.87 might become a future variant....?

That would make them unavailable to thè general public. Not necessarily a good idea - remember what happened to the Phoenix range of coach kits when they were taken over by the SRG a couple of decades ago. They were so disorganised that the kits were never really available again, and the range is now dead.

Also the only one offering etches for the NCC "W" and "WT"

If you paid in advance for two etches, surely the transaction should be completed, regardless of whether control has now passed to whichever society it is? I don't know if I should see if that Diagram U autotrailer is (still) available.

No updates to his website, so it looks like he may still be trading.

What tube are you using as axle sleeves?

I think they were all built with just the double horizontal handrails. At some point, they were all equipped with two vertical and two right-angled frames on the smokebox doors. These were meant solely for the purpose of mounting ceremonial shields, most notably for the tour of the Papal Nuncio and other Vatican officials, when the engines bore shields carrying the Vatican flag and emblems. There are photographs of all three 800s lined up on shed at Cork carrying these shields. Subsequently, photos of 801 and 802 in their subsequent years of service show them still carrying these mounting frames; it may be safe to say that, during their CIE period, they were never removed until the engines were finally cut-up. When 800 herself was set aside at Thurles, photos show that the frames had been removed from her smokebox door, and she thus had reverted to the original setup of the double horizontal door rails. I don't remember IRM specifically stating which of their 800 class models will have mounting frames as standard, or whether the frames will be provided as separate parts for you to fit, but I think it may be surmised that 801 and 802 in late CIE livery will have them.

I'm only surprised that the adjustable headcode lighting hasn't previously been tried as a retrofit kit for Hornby and other kit-based Light Pacifics. With DCC (and RC) technology now sufficiently tiny, headcodes you can change for the various Southern routes should be a selling point.

I don't think ITG have anywhere else that can store them. Their place in Carrick-on-Suir is oversubscribed as it is. The semi-wrecked stock makes a suitably intimidating backdrop for films; you may have seen the somewhat violent Calm With Horses

If you look at the seller's other items, virtually all of it is way overpriced. He's notorious for it. Seller's name is Greg Diffen - I seem to recall he was born in Australia and emigrated here many many years ago. Australians are famously hard-nosed capitalists - see Macquarie Bank which drained all the money out of Thames Water over the course of seven years' ownership of the utility, and also loaded it with massive debt which has now grown to such a degree that Thames Water is effectively insolvent. His eBay ID "gostude" is derived from his other hobby which is collecting Studebaker cars - at one point he was a very big noise in the Studebaker Owners Club UK. It is entirely possible that the price gouging on model railway items is to help pay for his Studebaker habit. This is Mr. Diffen

Errm...yeah....nah.

Probably more towards the end of the year.

Sid Stubbs wrote a particularly fascinating article in MRJ (no.42, I think) on how worm gears could be made reversible, by increasing the pitch angle and number of starts, effectively turning them into crossed helicals. Unfortunately I discovered him too late, but crossed helical gearboxes are available to this day from Slaters and other specialists. They are very efficient transmissions.