Noel

Only Sandwiches and no curtains. Do IR know the meaning of business travel?

Some more black'n'tans

Supertrain EGV arrived today from Marks sale. The model has some small flaws but not as bad as I had feared nor some of the rumours suggested. €46 in the sale made it attractive, however had it cost €56 I might not have been as content. Looks ok behind IE/IR Mk2d's. I understand some IR/IE tippex rakes ran with ST livery EGVs for a period before they were all repainted. The colour is 100% identical to the IE/IR livery. The roof ends are very slightly separating from the body but easily tacked down with super glue. The black lining is straight but the edges are not sharp and have very slightly fuzzy edges. The black band wrapping around the coach ends narrows slightly instead of remaining parallel with the black bands on the edges. But these are not obvious and survive the 3ft viewing rule. I have to decide now to either leave it as is, or spray tip-pex white lines on it which will eliminate the fuzzy black edges.

Hi Dave. I have one of those awful CIE hymeks and the pair of the hornby CIE mk2a coaches that came with it. The two coaches are about to become donors for respraying/weathering training (i.e. not risking my MM mk2's). The Lima CIE class 33 which was released within a few years of the Hornby set was a far superior model and at least painted a sensible colour instead of the garish "ice pop" orange plastic used on the hornby's. The CIE roundel logo is a piece of sticky paper stuck on like a price label. Can't believe many would pay €245 for such toy rubbish.

The maintenance regimes on such air craft are very rigorous, and subject to continuous replacement of components, X-ray scans of vital components, etc. I'd rather fly in an 'older' well maintained aircraft, than a 'newer' one that is not well maintained. That's why four engines is better than two on multi-engine aircraft. Less asymmetric induced yaw on loss of power on one engine. One wonders how much of the original airframe and engines would be original 75yo parts.

Sorry for confusion, I meant to say typical Irish MM stock, rather than the Mir kit. The current prices for MM locos and coaches on ebay seem OTT.

Do ebay sellers not realise their current prices on ebay for Irish stock is way above the market value and RRP here? It's just not going to sell at those daft prices.

Thanks Guys. Really appreciate the sound advice. I some cases I just need to change the last digit which may make it easier, or not! The 'B' of the side numbering on the black 141s (e.g. B165, B188) straddles a vertical groove recess which would make the letter narrower when such a small transfer is pulled into the groove by the softening agent when it dries, so I guess it might be best for me to leave the factory painted 'B' in place and change the digits after.

Thanks Guys for all the answers. I have started a separate thread in Q&A to avoid cluttering up the "Sale" thread here. I've pasted your helpful answers into the new thread: New Thread: http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/4655-How-to-renumber-a-black-MM-141?p=71041#post71041 Thanks again Noel

I thought I'd better start a separate thread on this topic rather than clutter the 'Marks Models Sale' thread. Dear Moderators if you would like to detach or remove the answers already posted to the Marks thread and append here that fine by me. I have added them to the bottom of this post. Question: What is the recommended and most successful method of renumbering MM model locos? Transfers Paint/spray over stencil Hand painting I didn't see any black livery B141, B142, etc transfers on SSM's site. Answers below so far. Thanks Guys. This is the bit that confuses me. Thanks. Will transfers not have a background 'halo' effect over the black body (i.e. shinny semi gloss look)? Thanks guys. Ok it looks like transfers is the only practical option for DIY renumbering. Two Questions (see image below)? How does one get the transfers to follow non flat surfaces on the loco body shell (e.g. cover a vertical groove which would shorten the width of a letter or number)? How does one get the transfer to look the same finish as the matt body shell? Does one have to paint a gloss varnish layer under the transfer, or gloss the whole body, then put transfer on when dry, and then respray area or whole body matt varnish?

Thanks Guys. I'm just not sure which is the most successful or preferred DIY method: "Hand paint, paint with stencil, or transfers?" especially with early black livery 141s (e.g. B141). I didn't see any transfers on SSMs web site for the black baby GMs with the 'B' prefix. The factory numbering looks like paint rather than transfers.

How does one put the replacement numbers on? Hand paint, spray paint with stencil, or use transfers? If the last two where can they be sourced?

Great work and super scenic craftsmanship. It is inspiring. Which method are you planning to use for track ballasting?

Hi Kevin, Yes understand and fair point, I am aware of lighting differences and the effect white balance can have on colour in digital images, but trust me on this, the yellow on those two locos are quite different colours. Noel

Hi RS. Yes, I thought the all grey livery might benefit from a bit of weathering to help the walkways and side rails stand out a little more from the body colour. Would be very interested to see the weathering on those two if you had a sharper image (i.e. the photo above is out of focus). Thanks. Noel

A variation on Dave's fix is I leave the last sleepers connected but shave off the chairs and leave a little indent so the thickness of the fishplate doesn't push the rail up. I'm a bit fussy about constant sleeper distances at rail joins. I hate gaps.

The only mod I'd like to make is take the yellow flash on the front down a shade. IR painted two shades, a rich deep yellow flash and the bright dayglo yellow as on this model. The latter may be safer, but the former is a better visual colour match for the grey body. Deeper yellow Bright yellow

Ah interesting, never even noticed that. Doesn't bother me. It more than passes the 'duck test'. Despite the difference, for my own personal taste, the cab ends actually enhance the visual look of the model version with the grab rails (ie above and below the headlight). I've never even travelled behind one of the grey 071s, nor even seen one up close, but I just love that battle ship grey livery as a one off model. Imagine it hauling some of the military model stock that sold between 1964 and 1970 (ie WW2 25th anniversary merchandise).

I know, I know, but I just could not resist having one. There is something militaristic and utilitarian about that battleship grey livery. My excuse is it is allowed haul RPSI specials with Cravens and a filthy mk1 GSV.

Well the 141/181s were IMHO the best model locos from the MM stable, and there is still undoubted demand, but not as much as there might be for 121s and A class in the short term. The 141/181s might sell better if re-run in two or three years time. All the tooling and design is already in place. Personally I'd prefer if Bachmann were employed by MM for any possible re-run. I don't know what motor drive is in the 141/181s but it seems smoother and quieter than the non-Bachmann 071/201s. I'm happy to wait either way.

Cost €95 last year. The sterling exchange rate change has since made it quite expensive in Euro. Its a Zimo chip. Having said that it is truely fabulous to drive. Just personal taste but I prefer Zimo's 'RealDrive' throttle and braking control to the more direct style of drive on the LokSound chip. Both excellent, I just prefer the Zimo.

I too have sinned The prices were too good to resist. I wasn't planning to buy 7078 until later this year . . . but it arrived promptly 24hr after order.

I did too. It is sublime.

An interesting read. Thanks for posting.

That coach looks superb. A class job.