DC Kits class 71 - rescued from the old forum
Entry posted by pete_mcfarlane
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DC Kits Class 71
by pete_mcfarlane
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??? posted on Sun Nov 18, 2007 12:42 am
Finished my Class 71 this evening. I bought it at the Derby show in April 2006, so this must be one of my quickest builds ever 
Apologies for the slightly ropey pictures but I'm still working out how to take photos of models with my ancient digital camera.
It's a DC kits resin body and whitemetal bogies. This is a really good kit - quite basic in places but generally accurate with plenty of scope for adding detail.
I replaced the underframe gear as I wasn't too happy with the brass etching supplied. I also detailed the bogies to add as much of the piping as possible along with the steps and fitted cab interiors.
The bogies themseleves are cast metail with a small DS10 type motor:
I know DC kits have moved away from this design, but the quality of the sideframe castings is first class and a lot better than the resin ones that come with the class 74. The bogies ran fairly well from the start and only needed a bit of tweaking to get smooth performance. It also has the correct spoken wheels.
I've only got a short bit of test track, but it doesn't seem that powerful. Mine is only going to move a few parcels vans, but a full length Golden Arrow is probably out.
I've tried to represent the slightly tatty and faded look that these locos had in their later years. I suspect that not having much work, they didn't accumulate much mileage and so weren't overhauled and painted that often. The grilles were very fine mouldings so I painted them first with a thin coat of Dark grey, and then masked them off with Humbrol Maskol. This preserved the sharpness, as they didn't get clogged up with the body colour.
The body colours were mixed with a fair ammount of white to make them look faded, and the blue was selectively rubbed with car body rubbing compund an a cotton wool stick to give the streaky look. The inspiration for this is a photo of a completely knackered looking Class 74 in "Southern EMUs in colour".
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Comment posted by Phil on Sun Nov 18, 2007 3:27 am
Fantastic job Pete, well done.
I can just imagine that on the Eastbourne papers with a few SR CCTs and a BR GUV. Nice !!
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Comment posted by Adam on Sun Nov 18, 2007 11:15 am
An impressive job that.
The bogies are definitely my favourite element - Are they the correct wheelbase on the 71? Those supplied with the 74 exasperated me to the extent that I cut the spring/bearing mouldings of them and scratchbuilt the rest, likewise with the rest of the underframe. The improvement is really obvious, as it is with this model.
I like the fact that you've taken the time to put in the traction motor cables on the sideframes which are so distinctive on the real thing (and the 73 an 74 too for that matter). These are a bit of a fiddle to do but worth every minute I think.
Is that 2x DS10s or just the one?!!
Adam
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Comment posted by lapford34102 on Sun Nov 18, 2007 12:16 pm
Hi,
That is very nice
Edit - did you use the kit glazing or do your own - I've a 74 to finish.......
Cheers
Stu
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??? posted on Sun Nov 18, 2007 1:01 pm
Thanks for the nice comments.
The 71 has the correct wheelbase, as presumably it's a bespoke motor bogie for this kit. Unlike the 74 which has a Black Beetle 2mm too short (I dont think they do them long enough).
I got halfway through scratchbuilding some new bogie sideframes for my 74 along the lines you've outlined, but then I got sidetracked by something else... The bogies are by far the weakest part of the 74 kit
Only 1. There is (or was - I've not seen these kits on their stand for a while) an option to buy a second motor and gears.
Both 
I didn't like the vacuum formed glazing provided that much as it suffered from the usual curved effect around the corners that you get with this type of glazing. I glazed the side windows with clear plastic cut to shape and held in place with Crystal Clear floor polish. I chickened out of doing the front windows as they are an awful shape, and the front glazing supplied wasn't that bad.
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Comment posted by 10800 on Sun Nov 18, 2007 1:06 pm
Very nice Pete - what's the pantograph like? Did it come with the kit or did you source it separately? (Any photos with the pan up?).
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Comment posted by Adam on Sun Nov 18, 2007 1:13 pm
Thanks for the answers - Mine has the bogies from a Bachmann Warship and a big Mashima can motor, so that isn't an issue.
You might find this thread useful:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?
Adamp=16777&highlight=#16777
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??? posted on Sun Nov 18, 2007 1:33 pm
It's a sommerfeldt pantograph, which is not 100% accurate as it has a single contract strip rather than 2 like the prototype, and different cross bracing. None of this really shows when its down (the alternative would be to run the loco without a pantograph as sometimes happened).
I suspect that nobody does a correct one. It came with the kit. In fact the kit comes with everything you need to build a basic OO gauge model except glue, paint and solder.
Mine is stuck down so no photos of mine with it up I'm afraid 
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Comment posted by 10800 on Sun Nov 18, 2007 1:39 pm
I think you're right Pete, which is a shame (unless Judith Edge or No Nonsense are up for it). Camberhurst (see link below) will need a couple of these (and a couple of Boosters) and it would be nice to consider a DCC-controlled motorised pan for entering and exiting the goods yard.
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Comment posted by Supaned on Sun Nov 18, 2007 8:13 pm
Pete ,
Thanks for posting the pics - fantastic finish on the HA, I really like the knackered appearance , if my DC 74 comes up half as good I'll be happy.
I especially like the additional bogie detailing.
Rod:
First time I've read of your layout idea , but I really like the thought of 70s and 71s - not something you see too often (Hull MRS excepted!).
The DCC pantograph idea is great , there should be ample room in the bodyshells to fit this.
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