gobbler Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Hi all out there in rmwebland I have a Hornby B12, it's a good runner, but, it looks pants! What can I do to make it look better? Also any help or advice on making the handrails that go round the boilers would be beneficial to my own knowledge banks. Cheers in advance Scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulG Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Hi all out there in rmwebland I have a Hornby B12, it's a good runner, but, it looks pants! What can I do to make it look better? Also any help or advice on making the handrails that go round the boilers would be beneficial to my own knowledge banks. Cheers in advance Scott Hi Scott. Are you talking of the old Hornby B12 or the new model? If it's the old model I tried to make it look something approaching the real thing and gave up as it was beyond my skills; virtually "scratch building"! Footplate is wrong, boiler wrong, cab ifi, tender too high and so on. There was an article in a model magazine, probably MRC. I waited 40 plus years and purchased the new B12! Paul 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbler Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 For the boiler-curve handrails, I would not necessarily try to form them all in one go; do the two lengths separately, and leave enough space to add the curved front handrail hiding the join in the handrail knob. To form the curved handrail, bend the wire over a battery, kink it a little either side so it flattens back out after the curve, and then 'stretch' it over the diameter of the boiler to suit. I hope this makes sense. For detailing generally I'd add lamp irons if they're not present (split pins and staples seem to be popular), weather it, add a crew, a drop-plate (you can make this from either textured brass sheet or a bicycle puncture repair kit patch; the latter is good because it flexes!), replace the tender wheels with metal ones, add a real coal load, a cab sheet rolled up at the back of the cab roof, glaze the cab if it needs it (Krystal Klear is a good tool for this, or just cut out bits of clear stiff plastic, such as that from new shirts), and tools (Hornby used to sell these as spares). Depending on your time period, built-up ash around the front of the smokebox might also look half-decent. These should all be reasonably cheap and uninvasive ways of detailing, I hope they help! - Alexandra Thanks for your hints and tips Alexandra. Some good ideas there, never thought of splitting the handrail, I've been struggling trying to do it in one hit for my N7 0-6-2. Was looking at replacing the handrail and smokebox dart as well. Scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbler Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 Hi Scott. Are you talking of the old Hornby B12 or the new model? If it's the old model I tried to make it look something approaching the real thing and gave up as it was beyond my skills; virtually "scratch building"! Footplate is wrong, boiler wrong, cab ifi, tender too high and so on. There was an article in a model magazine, probably MRC. I waited 40 plus years and purchased the new B12! Paul Paul, Yep the old one. Not 100% bothered with the inaccuracies, just wanted to be more aesthetically pleasing rather than a lump of injected plastic running on wheels. As above I was thinking about handrails and smokebox dart. Just wondered what else I could do Cheers Scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Later production models of the 'old' B12 have separate handrails and can be little dearer than the earlier ones with moulded handrails. For those that don't have the older model these may be an easier way to a 'detailed' B12. The wheels and livery are far superior to the older production too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tomlinson Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Paul, Yep the old one. Not 100% bothered with the inaccuracies, just wanted to be more aesthetically pleasing rather than a lump of injected plastic running on wheels. As above I was thinking about handrails and smokebox dart. Just wondered what else I could do Cheers Scott Probably a good attitude to take. When the new Hornby variant came out, someone on here did a photo comparison of new and old side by side. Whilst there are differences they aren't anything like as dreadful as folklore would have had us all believe. John. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilwell Park Posted February 3, 2018 Share Posted February 3, 2018 Try to get one of the China made bodies from EBAY, they already have wire handrails, which can be a right pain to do well. The worst feature of the old B12 is the chimney, get a turned brass one from precision paints. Makes a world of difference. Roger Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thane of Fife Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 How inaccurate is the old Hornby B12. I have a spare Kays O4 boiler, which with a little shortening would match a B12/1 boiler. I was wondering if it were possible to to fit this boiler to a Hornby B12/3 footplate make a B12/1 loco? Any ideas? Malcolm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barclay Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 (edited) I hope my friend Harry won't mind me posting this photo of his old-style Hornby B12, which he detailed and converted to EM. It's still too short of course but I think he's done a remarkable job of disguising that fact and I hope it provides some inspiration, and shows that some of these old-school models still have life left in them! Edited October 10, 2019 by Barclay 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 On 01/02/2018 at 21:43, PaulG said: ... tender too high ... It surely is, but the tank and bunker moulding is remarkably good, and sawing out the moulded 'coal' and creating a bunker, and replacing the handrails, makes a much improved model of it. You can add a brake standard but need to make sure this won't foul on the loco footplate extension. Now, dealing with the 2mm overheight, characteristic of all Triang. Happily this is very easy, in outline what you do is saw off the top of the underframe immediately above the spring hangers, then cement on a new footplate in 20 thou plasticard, and cement the body onto that. On 09/10/2019 at 09:42, Thane of Fife said: ...I have a spare Kays O4 boiler, which with a little shortening would match a B12/1 boiler. I was wondering if it were possible to to fit this boiler to a Hornby B12/3 footplate make a B12/1 loco? Would definitely not fit over the original XO4 motor. What motors do the later productions have, are they any more compact? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denbridge Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 On 02/02/2018 at 07:22, gobbler said: Paul, Yep the old one. Not 100% bothered with the inaccuracies, just wanted to be more aesthetically pleasing rather than a lump of injected plastic running on wheels. As above I was thinking about handrails and smokebox dart. Just wondered what else I could do Cheers Scott As well as the mentioned faults, the old Model is also way too short. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticbasher Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 Funnily enough the older model (which started life as the Triang model) looks to me like what I "believe" a B12 should look like. Whereas the real thing (and the super detail Hornby model) don't..!!! I still remember my parents taking me to a toy shop a few days before my birthday sometime in about 1980 and telling me I could have any loco up to a certain price in their display case. I very quickly chose a second hand B12 in lined BR black. Loved the shape of them ever since. It's such a shame the real B12's were so inaccurate. Someone really should get out an angle grinder and MIG welder to sort out the jarring visual discrepancies on the real B12 to make it look a little more like the Triang / Hornby model.... 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 Something that helped a lot the one time I've done handrails (without a convenient centre knob to hide a join) was to bend up a trial run/template in copper wire. It's too soft to actually use, but it let's you get the bends right in a more forgiving material. In 7mm I used the earth core out of some heavy mains cable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cypherman Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 Hi all, One way you can make it look better is to buy the newer engines body secondhand and use that. This is the version I mean. more detail but not really upto the latest version. But better than the old one. This one has separate wire handrails to start with. I got the body and tender for this engine for £15.00 and it went straight on the original chassis I had for it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 I got one of those blue ones from a stall at Ally Pally a few years ago. Cost was under a tenner for a brand new loco, sold as a non-runner - it needed a replacement gearwheel which I had in stock! Compared to the original one from early days, the difference is quite outstanding. I have great respect for the X04 motor, love them, but the new Chinese motor is good and better geared. The wire hand rails and paint finish are excellent. Shame about the inaccuracies though, but I've kept mine as an honorary "shed pet" which has been preserved (in an incorrect livery too). The older one has been pensioned off for the newer release (actually 2) for the normal use. One thing I did with the old one, was saw the chimney through horizontally with a junior hacksaw, then stick it back on. The lower height improved it. But there are many inaccuracies in particular the boiler diameter is too small, and the length is short. I certainly would not have one of those in normal use today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNWR18901910 Posted November 13, 2019 Share Posted November 13, 2019 I have made an LNWR 19-inch Express Goods 4-6-0 using that complete with LNWR fittings and tender. I am welcome to share pictures of it with anyone if they like. I am currently working on an LMS Belpaire boiler and firebox version of it (which should have been completed by now if the damn LNWR Whale tender I require from Bachmann spares that my local dealer has ordered from Bachmann ever arrives). 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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