Author: Mick Bayliss

GWR Dean Bulldog class 4-4-0 no. 3453 Skylark

Mick Bayliss My loco collection

GWR Dean Bulldog class 4-4-0 no. 3453 Skylark. Built to a professional standard from the Martin Finney kit with much extra detailing including fully working inside motion. Plated on the underside “Built by R.J.Merry (Birmingham)” and “Painted by Alan Brackenborough”, giving cast iron provenance. Bob Merry I have known for almost as long as I have been modelling. He and Morgan Lewis took me under their wing, taught me about quality and we became friends. I have had one of Morgan’s models https://www.7mmloco.co.uk/?s=sherwood+forester&submit=Search for many years. Now I have one of Bob’s as well. Top quality paintwork. Top quality Alan Harris wheels, top quality ABC gear and motor unit, top quality plates by Severn Mill, and my preferred American method of current collection. Another stunning GWR model, one of many that are being sold by Footplate, from the collection of John Glaze.

LMS (ex L&YR) Aspinal 2P class 2-4-2T no. 10650.

Mick Bayliss Model for sale, My loco collection
LMS (ex L&YR) Aspinal 2P class 2-4-2T no. 10650.
LMS (ex L&YR) Aspinal 2P class 2-4-2T no. 10650. A recent purchase from auction and a lovely model with DCC control and sound, professionally built from the Lanky kit by Heather Kavanagh (see website), with superb fully working inside motion and Joy valve gear, Slaters wheels, wiper pickups and a top quality ABC motor and gear unit. Her brass nameplate “Built by Heatherkay.co.uk” is affixed to the underside as provenance.

GWR Collett King class 4-6-0 no. 6026 King John

Mick Bayliss My loco collection

GWR Collett King class 4-6-0 no. 6026 King John. I visited Richard at Footplate in Nantwich yesterday to collect a model of a Hall class, but came away with a King. I’m hoping that Rich doesn’t mind me using a couple of his images to create this posting. It will only be on a temporary basis until the weather improves and I can get some decent images myself to do justice to this stunning model. Undoubtedly built from scratch by Peter Roles in January 2007. The model collects current on the American principle. This is achieved by using insulated driving wheels on one side of the loco and insulated wheels on the opposite side of the tender. The locomotive and tender are coupled together by an insulated draw-bar. A fly-lead connected to the motor, plugs into a socket in the tender chassis. Plated on the underside “Built by R.J.Merry (Birmingham)” and also “Built by Peter Roles”. Cast iron provenance and two magical names of superb quality model makers. I am not sure why this model had to be finished by Peter Roles, but, far from it, the quality has not diminished. As always superbly painted by Alan Brackenborough in the unpopular, (why? It is part of the history of the GWR) shirtbutton livery. Top quality Alan Harris wheels, top quality ABC gear and motor unit, top quality plates by Severn Mill. One of many models of this quality that are being sold by Footplate, from the collection of John Glaze.

GWR Churchward Saint class 4-6-0 no. 2908 Lady of Quality

Mick Bayliss Model for sale, My loco collection

GWR Churchward Saint class 4-6-0 no. 2908 Lady of Quality. Built from the DJH Piercy kit, with a chain drive gear unit, Slaters wheels and plunger pickups to the driving wheels and (belt and braces) wiper pickups to the tender wheels. Since the kit was released some years ago I had admired the good looks of the loco and quality of the kit, so when a part built kit appeared on Ebay at a reasonable price I bought it, tender ready built, Severnmill “Lady of Quality” nameplates included. I have now recently had Bob Walker, of the Poachers group, to complete the build for me, and what a good job he has made of it. Superb painting by Warren Haywood adds the finishing touch. The full size Lady of Quality circa 1935, was one of the early Saints with lever reverse and stepped frames at the cab end. Bob has modified the standard kit to incorporate these unusual features superbly.

Midland Railway Deeley class 4P 4-4-0 no. 1035

Mick Bayliss My loco collection

Midland Railway Deeley class 4P 4-4-0 no. 1035. A recent Ebay find. Built from scratch with superb fully working inside motion. No provenance as to the builder but he certainly knew how to make a good model. I had it running at the recent Poachers running session and it performed without fault with my rake of five of Bernard Miller’s Midland bogie coaches. However, the livery is not perfect. The lining on the wheels is worn in places, the cylinders have lost their lining transfers and the numbers on the tender are dull. The crimson lake of the livery is a lovely deep colour and is smooth with no imperfections, (again no provenance of the painter). With more TLC and as time permits this impressive model has the potential to rise to another level of quality.

Unusually, this is a model of one of the few Midland Compounds that were built with shallow frames. Henry Fowler didn’t like those and had them all rebuilt with the deeper frames of the LMS compounds. Most models of this class are built from kits, which as far as I know, all have the deeper frames.

LNER (ex GNR) Ivatt class D2 4-4-0 no. 4390

Mick Bayliss My loco collection

LNER (ex Great Northern Railway) Ivatt class D2 4-4-0 no. 4390. Going back around 30 years to my early days of 7mm modelling, I joined the East Midlands O gauge group. In those days and with thanks to Nelson Keen and Les Hargreaves, we had test track running sessions at Silverdale in Nottingham (we still do), Nuthall and Willington Power Station. One member that I remember well, because he always ran lovely models, was a chap by the name of Tony Evans (now sadly deceased, I’m sure) and one of those models was an LNER D2. I am now lucky enough to own that model. Built from scratch with superb inside motion by Peter Everton, (his builders plate “Peter Everton Wickersley Made in England” is on the underside as provenance) and undoubtedly painted by Alan Brackenborough. “J.A.Evans” is also painted on the underside of the loco and tender. A top quality model with cast iron provenance and personal history to boot. It has been around the houses quite a bit, two other owners at least as I know of, but she is still in superb condition with no build defects and just a small paint defect, virtually unnoticeable on top of the running plate left side.

BR (ex LMS) Stanier class 5MT 4-6-0 no. 45353

Mick Bayliss Locos now sold

BR (ex LMS) Stanier class 5MT 4-6-0 no. 45353. Very well built from the Javelin kit with Staters wheels and an ABC motor and gear unit and wiper pickups. Accurately painted in the livery that many black 5’s went into after nationisation of the British railways in the late 1940’s early 50’s and before the lovely LNWR style lining was applied on first repaint. Beautifully and skillfully weathered. No provenance of builder/painter/weatherer is known unfortunately. The O gauge finescale fraternity owe David Andrews for a great many quality locomotive kits. Many people wouldn’t realize that he designed the models that formed the original Gladiator range of kits and was joined by Alan Bullock, who later developed the Javelin range, the kits in which were also designed by David. At about the same time David sold the Gladiator range to Geoff Stratford, who continued to develop that range before selling it to the present owners Trisha and Dave Hill. David then concentrated on designing his new range of “David Andrews Locomotive kits”, until his retirement some years ago.

BR (ex LMS) rebuilt Royal Scot class 4-6-0 no. 46160 Queen Victoria’s Rifleman

Mick Bayliss Locos now sold
BR (ex LMS) rebuilt Royal Scot class 4-6-0 no. 46160 Queen Victoria’s Rifleman
BR (ex LMS) Royal Scot class 4-6-0 no. 46160 Queen Victoria’s Rifleman. I was offered this model, together with a Britannia, both in a part built/unfinished condition that was in need of a lot of clean up work, (there must be hundreds of similar build attempts sitting in cupboards or wardrobes around the country), at a very reasonable monetary cost. My challenge was to get them both completed to a working condition and to a standard fit to offer on this website. Here is the Royal Scot, (the Britannia awaits his turn on the back burner for now). Built from the (in my opinion) difficult but very well detailed College Models kit, with Slaters wheels. I have fitted an ABC motor and gear unit and current collection by plunger pickups bringing the model to a good working condition. The amount of detail on this model, all soldered, is superb, eg look at the AWS conduit clipped along the edge of the running plate and the detail of the sanders. Both areas where most modellers economise on the level of detail. Now completed with a Warren Haywood superb quality paint and weathering finish, the model is available to be offered at a price that reflects its original cost to me.

BR (ex War Department) Stanier class 8F 2-8-0 no. 48774

Mick Bayliss Model for sale, My loco collection

BR (ex War Department) Stanier class 8F 2-8-0 no. 48774. A top quality model in all departments. Kit – David Andrews. Build quality – superb. Motor/gears – ABC. Power collection – American method. Paint quality – superb with red inside frames. Weathering quality – astonishing. Good looks – judge for yourself. Performance – very good. If I had the ability to produce this model myself (I wish) I wouldn’t have done it any differently. Bought from an auction (risky) and I cannot fault it. Even the slightly drunken lamp irons at the front are now standing to attention. Strange how I need to see photographs before spotting slight anomalies like that.

LNER Gresley A4 class 4-6-2 no. 7 Sir Nigel Gresley

Mick Bayliss Loco commissions, Locos now sold

LNER Gresley A4 class 4-6-2 no. 7 Sir Nigel Gresley.

This is the second of my A4 restoration projects. “Kingfisher” is already elsewhere in these pages and another, (with skirts), is on the back burner awaiting its turn. I bought the three original models (all from Martin Finney kits) around the same time and they were in varying degrees of condition. One (Lord Farringdon) had been dropped and the resin body shell was seriously broken, but otherwise good and to scale 7 standards. I then found in an auction in Huddersfield a job lot of A4 parts. Again all Martin Finney. Two resin bodies and two tenders (both corridor type) included in the job lot. So I then had the parts to get on with “Project three Streaks”.

As I said earlier Sir Nigel here is the second and has turned out very well. It was originally “Merlin”. Bought from auction, in well built, but care worn condition, with a slightly damaged tender. An existing client of mine heard about my three streaks project and asked if one of them could be made into an LNER garter blue without skirts, and this is the result. Now with a new identity and a Huddersfield tender. Paintwork is by Warren Haywood. At a cost to him of roughly 50% of a Finney7 professional build and paint, I’m hopeful that my client will be as pleased with it as I am.