Wishful thinking

[tunneroner61]

like Bob G I've done a few kits in the past.

Class 24 - Silver Fox. Bought as a bad paint job so stripped and repainted and detailed, on 25 chassis. I rather like it.
Hymeks - Peco. Got two of them. They differ from each other in the number of parts and construction. One is on a heavyweight Rivarossi chassis. OK but no challenge to the Dapol model
Class 46 - P&D Marsh. Motorised mine with a GF 33 block and 40 bogies. Goes OK.
Class 47 - white metal kit on Lifelike chassis. realised it was 2mm so sold it on. Can't remember manufacturer.
Class 50 - Anbrico. Another botched paint job in erroneous green. Stripped and repainted. Looks the part but like Bob not impressed with the chassis.
Western - MTK. Yuk. Bought when I was new to N and didn't know better back in 1980!!! Still got it as a museum piece.
Class 56 - P&D Marsh. On GF 47 chassis. The fronts looked totally wrong - windows too low, lights in wrong place etc. So a rework with filler and plasticard. Side grilles are a bit heavy but it looks better than the GF model that inevitably came out as soon as I finished it.

Happy days
Norman

[martyn]

I've also kit built quite a lot in my time, mainly because there was no RTR version when I built them;

Cl37-Langley on a modified Rivarossi chassis. Never did get it to run properly.
Cl04-Beaver/Minitrix-still got this, dcc'd, still runs! Height compromise to get motor in cab.
Cl46-P+D Marsh; mine was bought as RTR through them. Don't know who actually built it; chassis was a lengthened Likelike American loco, which sagged badly at the joint after time passed. I later rebuilt it with a cl40 chassis-I wrote an article in the 'Journal'. Still useable.
Cl47-likewise, RTR through P+D Marsh. Also Lifelike chassis. The body was actually quite good.
B1s, Langley/Farish
N2 and N7-likewise. The two tanks still run dcc'd. I've just finished building one of Stevie dc's N2s, and what a superb model.
D16 'Claud'-BH Enterprises
Cl24-Langley/Farish. These ran on narrowed cl 25 chassis, again I wrote an article for the Journal
Cl15-two Kingdom kits, one Parkwood, Farish chassis
Cl16-Parkwood/Farish
B2-Langley/Farish. Must finish this one day, I've only had it over ten years! Will probably get Union Mills tender drive, if it does get finished.
K3-Foxhunter/Farish/Union Mills tender drive
J39-Foxhunter/Farish; has the small Group Standard tender as opposed to the current Farish J39 which has the large tender
Austerity 'Consolidation'-Foxhunter/Farish
A5-?/Farish
Cl 27-Taylor/Farish
Cl104-Ntrains/Electra/but on latest Farish dcc 101 chassis
Kerr/Farish Fairburn tank
J17-modified 'Claud' boiler and cab, Farish 4F chassis
J70-BHE/farish DMU motor bogie. Dcc'd and also fitted with B+Bs.
Ransomes 49T breakdown crane

I've also built a fair number of Ultima coach kits, both LMS, SR and LNER; Etched Pixels coaches and NPCCS; Society Horse boxes; MTK coaches; Fleetline BYs; and a fair number of wagon kits, including Foxhunter, Society, BHE, and others. Some of the kits were built and adapted into other vehicles, but many are now superseded by RTR.

I'd still like some ex LNER steam locos, including the J67/69 (I'm still convinced that Farish's was J67-look at the safety valves) and Derby lightweight twins and cravens DMUs.

Martyn

Later: forgot the Langley BR  4MT mogul.

[Bob G]

N2 and N7-likewise. The two tanks still run dcc'd. I've just finished building one of Stevie dc's N2s, and what a superb model.
D16 'Claud'-BH Enterprises
Cl15-two Kingdom kits, one Parkwood, Farish chassis
Cl16-Parkwood/Farish
J39-Foxhunter/Farish; has the small Group Standard tender as opposed to the current Farish J39 which has the large tender
Austerity 'Consolidation'-Foxhunter/Farish
A5-?/Farish
Cl104-Ntrains/Electra/but on latest Farish dcc 101 chassis
J17-modified 'Claud' boiler and cab, Farish 4F chassis
Ransomes 49T breakdown crane

I've also built a fair number of Ultima coach kits, both LMS, SR and LNER; Etched Pixels coaches and NPCCS; Society Horse boxes; MTK coaches; Fleetline BYs; and a fair number of wagon kits, including Foxhunter, Society, BHE, and others. Some of the kits were built and adapted into other vehicles, but many are now superseded by RTR.

Sorry Martyn
Theses dont count because the OP said replaced by RTR versions.
I didn't include all my Parkwood class 15/16 or prototype 10800 models, for instance, or all my ex MTK DMUs/EMUs now produced by BHE.

But if you want nice sharp versions of Derby lightweights or Cravens DMUs just look to Shapeways...

Best
Bob

[EtchedPixels]

Class 46 - P&D Marsh. Motorised mine with a GF 33 block and 40 bogies. Goes OK.

I still have my Marsh peak built with the white metal bogies. It's great because it's heavy and unlike the BachFarr one it can do stupid sharp curves so is great for microlayouts.

Also kit built 03/04/14/24 and 25/1 that have come out RTR, 26, 27 and 33 likewise. I even own a TPM class 31 which was a nice model if slightly out of scale to fit the chassis. Also a kit built Deltic prototype. I sort of have a terrible white metal HST, but the previous owner sawed it up and turned it into an equally bad class 89 !

Some of the kit built stuff is still needed despite promises or kickstarter attempts - 17/21/29 and some is still just better - like the TPM class 87, or as good and better running (TPM 60 on lifelike chassis).

I also acquired a boxload of old white metal kettle kits which I've mostly built for the fun of it. I was going to start sticking some of the built ones up for sale but that may have to wait till summer 8(. Some of those have now appeared RTR like the pannier (I have a kit built one on the minitrix 0-6-0 chassis) but a lot of them have not.

[martyn]

Hi Bob.

Forgot the 'replaced by RTR.'

And I appreciate that you have had to edit my list, but the Claud is now Union Mills,  the Foxhunter J39 came in two versions, one of which is now RTR : Austerity now by Farish :and nearly all the Ultima coach kits are now RTR (mainly Stainers, but also some others), and the Ransomes crane by Osbournes.

Also, some of the Foxhunter, Society, Parkwood, and other makes of wagons are now RTR, and the Society horseboxes.

In fact, not long after Farish started new designs, as opposed to refurbished Poole designs, I had a theory that they trying to compete with the kits being produced at the time!

I'll try and keep closer to the OP next time.

When Dave/Southerngooner and I used to provide some of the rolling stock for Steve Wright's 'Linford Junction' about 25 years ago, we had quite a lot of stock, both locos, coaches, and wagons that was unusual because it was kit built, and not, at that time, common, on layouts. For instance, Dave built a prototype Deltic: but many of these have now been replaced by RTR and hence are not now so unusual on an exhibition layout

Martyn

[Bob G]

I'll try and keep closer to the OP next time.

Martyn

Please don't. I hate people who think the OP's thread is immutable and I wasn't very good editing either!

I still have my Marsh peak built with the white metal bogies. It's great because it's heavy and unlike the BachFarr one it can do stupid sharp curves so is great for microlayouts.

That's a scary thought - a Peak on a micro layout.

One think I do note is that everyone has had similar experiences of good and bad kits. I wonder if they would have been withdrawn sooner if we had social media when the MTK Western was released, for example...

Bob

[EtchedPixels]

In fact, not long after Farish started new designs, as opposed to refurbished Poole designs, I had a theory that they trying to compete with the kits being produced at the time!

Same with the N Gauge Society.

However if you think about it the RTR folks went with for the highest volume best return stuff and the kit makers tended to produce a mix of things that were most demanded and things that they personally wanted. It was kind of inevitable that the RTR vendors duplicated kits, and that has been going on since long before Bachmann.

I don't worry too much. The SECR set was a bit of a surprise but I don't see Bachmann doing lots of pregrouping or filling in all the unusual coaches. In fact if anything I'd expect their focus to slowly shift more modern simply because peak nostalgia moves. Right now it's end of BR Maroon but it'll soon be BR Blue. When I was a kid heritage railway stock was always big four colours (although often not big four stock), now it's mostly steam era BR colours. It will be interesting to see what happens - BR blue modelling as peak nostalgia is one thing but real steam has a magic that's a bit different to a Deltic.

Alan

[EtchedPixels]

I'll try and keep closer to the OP next time.

Martyn

Please don't. I hate people who think the OP's thread is immutable and I wasn't very good editing either!

I still have my Marsh peak built with the white metal bogies. It's great because it's heavy and unlike the BachFarr one it can do stupid sharp curves so is great for microlayouts.

That's a scary thought - a Peak on a micro layout.

I plead prototype for anything

(Roskear Branch)

[Dorsetmike]

@Bob G  I didn't limit myself to items I'd built which have later appeared RTR, only the 14xx -> M7 hack and T9 have appeared RTR, the rest A12, K10, & Nelson are still awaited and the Urie/Maunsell 4-6-0 variations are still only variations on Langley and BHE kits.

[Bob G]

@Bob G  I didn't limit myself to items I'd built which have later appeared RTR, only the 14xx -> M7 hack and T9 have appeared RTR, the rest A12, K10, & Nelson are still awaited and the Urie/Maunsell 4-6-0 variations are still only variations on Langley and BHE kits.

Sorry Mike.
That's how I read the first sentence. But like everyone else and his virus it transmuted into something else by the end of  the post.

Never mind.
Sorry if I sounded a bit of a bully.
Bob

[The Q]

It's not just Locomotives,

Some years ago I got the kit and other bits to build an EM gauge coal wagon, like the 4 the family owned at one time..
just nearing finishing when..

Wessex wagons produced one, between me and my Dad we bought quite a few of the run of about 100, and they were sent round the world to various family members.

Perhaps I should get the bits to make one in N,...