RedRich

Good man Fran. Looking good, nice tidy soldering. Keep the updates coming. Rich,

It's what comes off of the production line that matters and the finished wagon will look sweet Pat. Richies mat is R&D pre production, production, post production and finish all in one. No doubt yours will be the same soon Pat. The Dapol Deltic is looking good Richrua. Rich,

You made the right choice with the background Stephen. Anything other than sky would detract from the magnificent viaduct and the rolling stock crossing it. Stick a few pics of the Enterprise set on it if you have time. I think it would make a nice avatar. Rich,

Huge respect Nelson. Young folks your age are the future of the hobby, we are in safe hand's. That's an excellent example of weathering and what makes it more remarkable is the fact the wagon is scratch built. I really enjoy watching your workbench and you are a very modest young man to go with the talent. Rich,

The layout was for the 150th Anniversary and was built by a few lad's working for IE. The other layout is a private layout and that's why it doesn't appear on here, on any other Railway Modelling groups, or in the print media or any other media. Rich,

I can say that the owner of that layout did not post those pics on the Yuku group. It was probably one of the group owners many aliases even though he used the chaps name. I don't know if he knows those pics of his layout were put on that group. I don't think he would be to happy if he knew as he is a man that wouldn't want that kind of exposure about his work. Rich,

I'll second that Pat. Very sad news a great actor. Rich,

The best of luck Eamonn. Rich,

If a loco could talk it would say nah don't like it. Give it a livery it deserves, not something you would see on the walls of a junior infants class room. Rich,

Nice pic Ben from a nice angle. Most pics are taken from above or at platform height so it is nice to see one from below track level. Rich,

Lovely work Nelson. The Parkside wagons are great. There was a great piece in one of the recent Scalefour news mags about the company. There were lot's of photos of tooling and how the tooling is designed and built. Also the injection moulding process and how the finished piece looks. To think that the fire could have destroyed it all doesn't warrant thinking about. The wagons you have built are still the main kit built wagons to be seen on P4 layouts, and I think that is a great testament to their quality. Rich,

The mans work as always is stunning. Also great to see an update Stephen. For an interior excluding the lever frames I'd have a look at the Ratio interior kit as a starter. Rich,

Also should have said that Des is right, the junction signal looks spot on. Rich,

She look's sweet Eamonn. The fumes from the super glue tend to cause the clouding on the glazing. A little tip I picked along the way was to dip the glazing in Johnson's Klear prior to gluing with Cyano. When the glazing is in place and the Cyano has cured, wipe the glazing again with clear and the cloudiness should disappear. Rich,

I'm really looking forward to this. My great Grandfather was a driver on the line. Rich,

I mentioned in post 47 that I had purchased 5 MM MK11 Aircons. I felt that as a buying customer I had an opinion. There are a couple of things to look at here. The 141-181 locos were manufactured by Bachmann for MM. This enabled PM to get a foot in the door and led to the first all new and newly branded MM product in the Craven coaches. There is no doubt that the 141-181 class locos and Craven coaches are at the very top end of market. I believe these models were produced in the same factory and the quality in both models show this. The 071 112 locos were also produced in the same factory and again the quality shows this. The 201's I believe were produced in a different factory by a different manufacturer. I firmly believe that if they were produced in the same factory as the previous models they would have had full flush glazed windows. There were also some mistakes with the underframe gear on the 201 models that would not have made it into production if they were produced by the same company as the earlier models. The MK11 Aircons have their faults as has been attested to in this thread. There are little clues that point to the MK11's being produced by a different factory from the earlier models also. The B4 Bogies are overscale by a good bit. Place a Craven or Bachmann B4 next to an Aircon MK11 and it is plain to see. If they were produced at the original factory they would have used the same bogie as the Cravens as they would not have had to develop a new one. Daves post is very valid as I am sure that PM must feel really let down over the quality issues. It begs the Question will he even produce any more MK11's in the later liveries, let alone any new loco models if they are to be manufactured with this company. I imagine that you would want a man on the floor in these factories on a regular if not daily basis to make sure everything is done right, and as we all know this is not possible. I wanted a MK11 Aircon at the same level of accuracy and finish as the Cravens, it hasn't happened. I can or will have to live with the window problem as there isn't much you can do about it. An 071 and Aircons even into the IE period was always one of my favorite trains and that's why I eventually decided to support MM with this model. It's a shame , but there you are. Rich,

What Richie has done with the out of the box model has made a big improvement. It's the enjoyable part of the hobby to be able to add your own touches to a model. The man knows what I think of his work, so enough said. Rich,

I agree with the above that our MK11's are more akin to the BR MK11e-f coaches. There are smaller single fan units on the BSO MK11e's and the box housing the fan is smaller than ours. Also worth mentioning is the fact that the roof hatches on a MK11f are bigger than the MK11c-d-e coaches. One standout feature of the MM coaches is the underframe of the EGV, it looks stunning. As for the windows you have to live with it, and I can. Rich,

The only way to judge them is in natural light outside. It will give a much more accurate representation then photos taken indoors. I remember the Supertrain livery that was used on the coaches when they started their working life. There was of course a different shade of Supertrain livery on the as delivered locos from La Grange but is wasn't as radically different from the coaches as the photos of the models show. Eoins photo of his 071 has an almost salmon hue to the colour, no doubt down to the fact that the lighting is poor where the pic was taken. If this is the case then it's impossible to judge the coaches in those pics. As has been said reserve judgement until you see them in the flesh. Rich,

May he rest in peace. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family J. Rich,

Stephen as Fran has said it was the EGV which suffered worst from the warping. It could be that there is no interior in the EGV (except the generator rooms and Guards area) whereas the Standards suffer little warping or enough to cause concern. The Restaurant suffers from some warping in the kitchen area of the coach. The warping can be sorted out by adding bulkheads or fillets of plastic card in the coach. The bulkheads or fillets won't be seen when the roof is re-attached. The warping could also be down to when the models are released from the mould and are still to hot. Rich,

Welcome to the group and thanks for sharing. I love anything garden modelling related. I'm off now to have a look at the link Broithe posted. Rich,

Stephen I respect your opinion. I made mention of the windows in my post. I wasn't howling or complaining, I was referring to an area of the model which let it down when compared to the prototype and other areas of the model which look fine. I still bought an EGV, Restaurant, and 3 Standards regardless of the issue with the windows. I am always willing to support manufacturers who bring something new to the table, and have always done that. I think that a picture is always the best way to put across an opinion that is being discussed. It would have been just as easy to get the issue right as it was to get it wrong. However it wasn't right. It won't make a difference for 95% of the forum who will still support MM and I am one of those 95% that have supported MM in this venture. There is nothing wrong with a bit of healthy topical debating once it is civilized and that all concerned in the topic are allowed to offer their opinion. Rich,

I can understand the comparisons with European prices and the current exchange rate, also the rising manufacturing costs in China. As has been put forward the extra cost can be squared out over a period of time if some spare change can be saved. I always compare the relevant model to the prototype it is modelled on and not other manufacturers products and their costs. I have bought five MM MK11's in the IE livery and intend to add a Composite and Super Standard when they are released in that livery. I have ponied up and made my choice and I say that gives me a right to comment on what I consider the pros and cons of the MM MK11's. There are lot's of after market products available to tart up the as bought model and take it up a notch or two to give it a lot of kudos. The one disappointment that I have always had about the MM MK11's is that the windows are positioned higher on the bodyside when compared to the prototype. The top of the window surround should be just over nine inches below the gutter strip. I worked for a time for IE and had the good luck of seeing the MK11's every day and it stood out to me when I first saw pics of the models. Bowing sides on the EGV can be sorted out with some work. In fairness MM made sure that the hinges on the corridor side of the EGV were corrected for the Galway EGV and should not go without mention. My own personal feeling is, these models aren't jaw dropping or perfect. No matter what PM has done for the hobby, and what he has done has been immense. These models are like a lot of school reports, good but could have been better. The saving grace for me is, I have 18 MM locos, and 10 MM Craven coaches that I am extremely happy with. Thank God we live in a democracy where freedom to express our own opinions is a right for every person, and this group also follows that. Everyone has an opinion and should be allowed to express that opinion, more so if they have bought the actual model. Rich,

James Rodriguez plays for one of, if not the biggest supported club teams in the world. It stands to reason that Real fans would vote for a club player in a FIFA Award. As great as all three goals were I thought that Tim Cahills goal in the World Cup against the Dutch was a better goal then any of them. To beat a keeper from that angle with power and accuracy is one of the hardest goals to try and score. There is something about shots that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounce into the goal that hold a lot of peoples fascination and I'm sure that it led to a lot of people voting for the Rodriguez goal. Rich,