Many thanks!

That's an excellent photo, and it's cleared up a couple of queries I had about the brake gear (having lost the instructions many moons ago!). The stanchions' tuck-unders are one of those things that I knew in the back of my mind, but then promptly forgot to do anything about at least I can still add them without too much trouble.....

Good to see the Masokits demystified   I have to say those parts you've made so far look rather neat.

Once built, I suppose the next question is whether all your wagons should have brake gear to the same specifications! I used to think consistency was all important, but I sometimes wonder if that well-known golden rule actually overestimates human perception.

Hi Mikkel,

you're absolutely right, of course, about being consistent, although I think there is room for a little variation in "standards" providing its no too much.

You can see in the photo where I've pared away the moulded safety stirrups from the kit brake gear. In the recent past I've done this and added etched brass replacements to give some semblance of the spidery effect of the real thing, and that had been my plan here until I got carried away.

Whether I'll carry on down the etched brass (eg Masokits) route depends on whether I make a reasonable job of this and how long it takes me! It is supposed to be a hobby, after all, not a form of penance 

I'm really rather eager to get some paint on it (don't tell anyone but it's going to be red!), but I need to curb my enthusiasm until I've at least got the stanchions sorted out and the axleguards in place. And the bonnet vents, too, of course.

Cheers for now!

Mark

19 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

although I think there is room for a little variation in "standards" providing its no too much.

Yes, completely agree. It would be interesting to do one of those 'eye tracking heatmaps' when people view a layout and the stock. I.e. what do the eyes acutally look at and for, and in what sequence. What parts of a layout forms our first impression of it, and do we notice variation in e.g. the standards of stock?

19 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

You can see in the photo where I've pared away the moulded safety stirrups from the kit brake gear. In the recent past I've done this and added etched brass replacements to give some semblance of the spidery effect of the real thing, and that had been my plan here until I got carried away.

That spidery effect is one thing I've noticed that does make a big difference to the impression of a wagon. I always admire it when people achieve it.

7 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Yes, completely agree. It would be interesting to do one of those 'eye tracking heatmaps' when people view a layout and the stock. I.e. what do the eyes acutally look at and for, and in what sequence. What parts of a layout forms our first impression of it, and do we notice variation in e.g. the standards of stock?

An interesting thought - I think you'd have to have some idea of the demographic as well, i.e. whether the viewer was a modeller or not.

7 hours ago, Mikkel said:

That spidery effect is one thing I've noticed that does make a big difference to the impression of a wagon. I always admire it when people achieve it.

Sadly, I won't be able to do any more before the weekend (working away ), and having looked again at your DC1-braked O5, I've ordered a Bill Bedford etch to see whether its any easier to assemble (it looks like it might be) and what differences there are visually.

Which brings me back to the trade-off between time taken to build and accuracy. At the end of the day, if I can end up with something that's a clean and tidy job that looks the part, I'd far rather that than have a scruffy mess made from absolutely accurate parts!

The worry (for me) concerning the Masokits brake gear etch is that its all individual parts, which would be fine for a deft person, but not so good for someone like me who's all fingers and thumbs, so if the BB etch turns out all right, and your O5 looks the cat's pyjamas, then I'll happily trade up and go with that!

Cheers,

Mark

You'll be able to make a direct comparison then, it will be interesting to hear your thoughts. I did find the Bedford etch a bit fiddly too though, but then I haven't tried a Masokits version.

The BB brake gear etch arrived in time for the weekend.

Its quite nicely detailed, and I like the way in which the brake shoes and pushrods fold up - much, much easier that the individual parts on the Masokits fret.

But, and this is quite a big "but", the angles of the pushrods doesn't match those in photographs. The lower pushrods (right-hand end) are almost always nearly horizontal, whereas both sets on the BB fret are resolutely parallel. I say resolutely, as I tried a little gentle bending to see if the pushrods could be persuaded into a more prototypical alignment. Unfortunately, they just ended up doing an impression of a banana. Which is why there's no photograph.....

The parts are eminently suitable for my lever braked wagons, so the surviving three sets will find a use. But it seems such a shame that an otherwise well-designed fret like this has such a fundamental error.

All of which leaves me still looking for a good yet fairly simple DC1 brake gear, and the V5 making very little progress.

3 hours ago, Miss Prism said:

 

Fair comment, although there does seem to be some variation in the angles of DCI pushrods. The first key dimension is from bottom of solebar to brakeshaft axis. Here's what I was suggesting many years ago to Coopercraft (before it went tits up):

 

 

 

 

Many thanks for this, Miss P, I'd seen the post in the CooperCraft thread a while ago, but it's a valuable reminder.

I'm looking into the possibility of getting some DC1 brake gear etches, so if it moves forward, perhaps I could ask if you'd cast your expert eye over the artwork?

Mark, I have had a closer look at the rear of the pushrods on my own 4-planker which uses the Bill Bedford kit (I built it two years ago). It looks like I addressed the issue by cutting a nick in the pushrod etch and tweaking it slightly to a more appropriate aligment (the fix is hidden by the vee). I had forgotten all about this, sorry about that!