Hi Craig

While I haven't go the kit (and never will have i'm afraid) at first glance the instructions look great :icon_thumbsup2:

(If not a little bit familiar in format that is! :icon_e_biggrin: )

Cheers

Jim

Craig, those instructions are the dog's. As far as I can see they leave nothing to chance - very thorough. As Jim said,

Chris

The instructions look excellent, as does the chassis overall, a very fine piece of work. I can't see that I'd have any trouble with them. One small point, which is really one of detail. The Bachmann version of these wagons do have the flange (ferrule if you will) on the end of the buffer guide casing, and you only lose this if you want to spring your buffers and thus remove the heads. Not everyone springs their buffers.

While I'm unlikely to be buying a chassis - springing a 9' wb chassis is one of those things where life might be too short most of the time (and in EM this isn't essential ) - I have been very impressed with the design work.

Adam

Hi Adam

Essential no but desirable yes. You certainly don't need to spring a 9ft wheelbase in P4 either but I don't consider the springing on Craig's kit to be its main selling point anyway. You only have to look at it to see what is.

Cheers

Jim

(If not a little bit familiar in format that is! :icon_e_biggrin: )

Jim

This one completely passed me by unless its a reference to the Microsoft house stylee?

Not everyone spings their buffers.

 

While I'm unlikely to be buying a chassis - springing a 9' wb chassis is one of those things where life might be too short most of the time (and in EM this isn't essential ) - I have been very impressed with the design work.

 

Adam

Now I could be pedantic about spings but I won't . Tbh i'm hoping Colin at Alan Gibson can turn me some ferrules to fit to my bulk of wagons and until then i've left the Bachmann ones in place. With the buffers doing work though and relatively long trains I want them to work.

Well you might find the levers etches useful sometime if not the full chassis.

Its a pity I don't get notified about new comments here .

LOL

Its just a coincidence - it's very similar to how I do my instructions! Great minds or something!

Cheers

Jim

The appearance of these is very good, the best etched representation of push rod brakegear I've seen (includuing Dave Bradwell) and I like the design touches very much, and yes, I would certainly use the levers, guides, etc. as they're very much more convincing than Masokits for example.

Do you perhaps mean dogmatic (over the top) rather than pedantic (unnecessarily precise)? I'm a pragmatic kind of modeller however, and the detail is excellent, and is clearly designed with swift construction in mind (which is great), but the Bachmann brakegear is fine and with kit builds, ABS bits, when fettled up with new safety loops and etched levers are very quick and look just as good, particularly in the company of 30 or so others running round a layout.* I would also observe that you don't need to spring every buffer to make a difference to train performance, but having some does help. Do an RCH or similar 12' underframe to the same standard and you've got a sale. Or three.

Adam

* From various bits of film I've seen, short wheelbase mineral wagons didn't run all that smoothly in any case. Coaches and bogie stock are a different matter, and there the effort made to have a rake run smoothly is worth it every time.

Sorry, I was meaning pedantic about your spelling (spings). You are correct though in that only one set of sprung buffers makes the difference but i'm not trying one ended stock for that. ABS brake gear is indeed fine once fettled but I don't have a stock of it do it was worth me folding up some etched ones instead. The tumblers may vex a few but frankly you could leave them off for the amount you see of them. The ability to tweak brake to wheel fit is the important bit for me.

LMS 17' 6" underframe first then 12' although I was thinking BR type more than RCH but once I have the basic design and the w-irons off the long underframe it should be quick for some Felix Pole types.

I was happy Dave Bradwell liked them although Geoff Kent agrees with you that its slightly too detailed

They sound excellent so are you selling them to all and sundry (please) and if so how much is it per etch?

I will do once I have the lever and guard etch done to go with them, price will depend on what the etchers charge for that etch and my further test bits.

Some guys had been following my project for a while so got the first of the main frets at Scaleforum. Hopefully now the instructions are out i'll get feedback on a couple of builds outside of the Manchester club.

Top stuff those instructions Craig

And you can never have enough detail.

I do like the "tweakable" brakes - very tasty...

Sorry, I was meaning pedantic about your spelling (spings). You are correct though in that only one set of sprung buffers makes the difference but i'm not trying one ended stock for that. ABS brake gear is indeed fine once fettled but I don't have a stock of it do it was worth me folding up some etched ones instead. The tumblers may vex a few but frankly you could leave them off for the amount you see of them. The ability to tweak brake to wheel fit is the important bit for me.

 

LMS 17' 6" underframe first then 12' although I was thinking BR type more than RCH but once I have the basic design and the w-irons off the long underframe it should be quick for some Felix Pole types.

 

I was happy Dave Bradwell liked them although Geoff Kent agrees with you that its slightly too detailed

Heh heh, that'll teach me for trying to proof read (I kid you not) and type on a forum at the same time... I can't say I'd have spell-checked, but I might have noticed the typo' and edited accordingly! I don't know about too detailed (have you seen the underframe of my 73?), I can't see anything that looks especially vulnerable or over-complicated, but I know I can build a 9' wb wagon that stays on the track and looks the part and I know what bits will do the job, and dad's known Adrian Sawin for years so I'm familiar with the bits and have always used 'em. The 12' possibilities sound very good, I'll look forward to them.

Adam

Adam

Craig - is the PDF file attached to your blog here the latest version, as I've gotten a bit confused as to which one is the most recent. Thanks. (I'm only sorry that I haven't yet had time to start one of the etches I picked up at S4um).

This is the same version as the last I sent you I think (0.9.2). Hopefully i'll have lever etch tests back next week as I sent them off while I was in Ireland.