The Backyard Tidmouth

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Looking good Da-lag. I see you have one of those Trackmaster automatic Turntable the one like Ucwepn has. That one is not that easy to find here in the States.

Thanks. I was surprised that seemed to be the only thing that caught your attention. He just happened to be the reason why I wanted it; I found his reviews when I was still collecting, so seeing an official powered turntable impressed me so much I decided to get the Fisher Price version despite having the original set. Mine still works including the rollers, but most of my engines that fit on it are TOMY and I forgot they were too weak when I tested it. I rewatched Ucwepn's review and even Thomas and James needed help from him. Another problem is how the stop/go tabs malfunction, so I'll have to see what's wrong when I'll clean it out. Hopefully it's not something other than dirt. If I won't find anything obvious and it still won't work, I shall open a separate thread to seek help.

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I didn't know that about the Plarail engines and the auto Turntable. I did also notice that you have the auto Helicopter set, the one with the Quonset hut (I forget the official name). That set is not easy to find.

Yes; You'd think the TOMY and early TrackMaster engines would be mechanically unchanged since they shared the same moulds, but apparently the TM ones had additional improvements. The problem lies in the pressure on the rollers and not the traction tyres, so I might have to find out how to get the driving wheels to press down harder (or make the rollers more sensitive).

I had a feeling the Harold Cargo Delivery wasn't a common or popular destination. Strangely enough, I actually recall wanting it simply because I thought Percy would be included since he was on the box along with the trucks (which did come with it). The fact they didn't show the rest of him and he was nowhere else to be seen or mentioned didn't stop 6/7 year old me from being convinced otherwise. Only a few years later, I found out there was also a complete set that 'did' have Percy (and a mail coach) and what I had was a separate release of the destination by itself. I did eventually get him thanks to the Ultimate Set, which also gave me a big portion of my other items. Looking back on it now, I'm not quite as fond of it compared to my other destinations and parts (mainly due to its overall size and shape and how it's too complex to be taken apart). My best memory of it was when we would have the big Harold hang from the ceiling and "fly" over my layouts with this song in the background. I restored his paint and the controls have become a bit unresponsive. Not to mention, the motor and gearing are designed to make an awful racket to supposedly emulate the sound he would make. Due to the way it looks without Harold attached, I've had the idea to repurpose the hangar as an observatory. I'm also hoping to use its shape as a reference for roof parts for custom Knapford sections.

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Wow...is this (see video below) the 'noise' you are referring to? Maybe this is why there aren't too many to be found out there. Parents got so fed up with that racket that in the middle of the night the set mysteriously disappeared only to reappear in the local landfill.

I had to look up the Harold song you loved so much as a child. I can see why a 6/7 year old would love it.

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10048680/20/1

[Ucwepn]

When the turntable was shiny and new (and not full of dust) just about everything could turn it, as you can imagine I had allot of offscreen play before and after videos and also many takes sometimes to get the turntable shots.

Nice collection DalaG

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Ucwepn, that round table of yours was the only one I had seen like that for many years. I always liked you Round Table Tests in your videos. I sure would have loved to see a Plarail Auto Round Table that worked like that.

I sure would have loved to see a Plarail Auto Round Table that worked like that.

Actually, there happens to be one that can fit two cars and a power unit and is both automatic 'and' manual (and can even release the train by itself when it reaches the desired direction). You started a thread about it when it was revealed: https://blueplastictracks.com/showthread.php?tid=1786

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LOL...not the same thing .............that monster is 4 times bigger than the Trackmaster auto Round Table and that beast is just a Layout gimmick, something I would have expected from Revolution. No, I was referring to Plarail making an auto round table like the Trackmaster one.

Since the last update, a rechargeable floodlight (as interior lighting), three solar powered exterior lights (with motion sensors) and a desk have all been acquired for the shed. Two of the exterior lights were fitted two weeks ago, and the desk was bought and assembled yesterday. Just like the cabinet from earlier, it turned out to be a perfect fit and should be expanded once things could be tidied up on the inside. We still have yet to work out how the floodlight should be installed at a reachable height.