Friday Update: Twelve Five Twenty-three…

Well a big week, the first of you should be receiving your DCC sound fitted Victory as last weekend Steve and I checked and installed all of the Zimo decoders supplied with our custom sound project…

Thank you to everyone for your patience with this, we hope it has been worth the wait. A component crisis and then discontinued chips delayed matters some what, but we’ve crossed the line now. There will be a small number for purchase separately, if demand is high we will look to offer these again.

Whilst in Bexhill there was a chance for a massive stock take, both literally and metaphorically at Light Railway Stores. As a result I’ve discontinued a number of kits, and indeed the whole 6point5 range. This has never been a strong seller anyhow, but in addition Steve and I reflected that the original intent was to produce limited run kits, something new pretty regularly and keeping things fresh. With very low ‘tooling up’ costs our production suits this approach, it also suits my energy levels which are kept topped up by new products.

With that in mind, from now most kits will run to no more than 3 small batches, so if you like the look of something I produce, my advice would be to get one whilst it’s fresh! Coming next we have the two new wagons and the Huwood Hudswell. Following shortly after I’ve a few long standing Planet Industrials kits to release, and then it will be on to new stuff.

This week has been busy sorting things that over spilled or piled up whilst I was away, so commission progress is slow. These two kits have been assembled for a customer in Australia, and look really lovely. I do love the proportions of this new version of my first kit. Here we have the Narrow Planet cabbed version and the EuroNG tender version, both fitted with the Bachmann Percy chassis that I’ve hard wired decoders into, which tuck neatly into one of the side tanks. Primer soon, once the other pair (of Fourdees George are ready for paint). 

I visited the Kent and East Sussex last weekend, more on that in a seperate post soon, but I did spot this at Bodiam and I remembered that rake of Huxford wagons I produced for a customer a few years ago!

Back home I’ve enjoyed a few evenings weathering up the new arrivals on Paxton Road. These are ‘in progress shots’, I hope to add a post about them completed as they ‘roll off the bench’ once airbrushed (hopefully not literally). The Realtrack PCA are wonderful, and the PiChem decals I had made look great in place on the tank sides. The intent is these carry an industrial powder, a bit like the Albright and Wilson tanks, and whatever it is, it eats and stains the paint work as the residue mixes with rain water and runs down the side… the cement tank has a paler grey streaking, not entirely prototypical, pretty unusual but not unheard of so perhaps a little cliché but I like it, and the weathering will have a paler dustier hue.

The third Sonic VEA has had a bit of dirt and life applied too, and now this short rake of 3 vans are ready for military service - or perhaps use in Whisky traffic? Although I’ve no firm evidence I’ve heard that one variant of the fleet were fitted with locks and alarms, and I’ve seen them in trains on the Dufftown line where there was a bonded Whisky warehouse, perhaps these locked examples are on bonded traffic? Their diminutive size makes them a good choice on the layout, and they’ve a lovely character. The contrast between red and brown is neat and these models are just as wonderful as the Realtrack PCA and Revolution tank wagons.

This weekend I’m hoping to spend a few hours with modelling friend James this weekend, who is visiting to ride the Llangollen Railway, the weather looks like we’ll have a good trip. I might get some modelling done on Lochdubh, as well which would be lovely. I hope you have a good weekend wherever you are, until next time, more soon…

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