Jub45565

Ah, thanks Jason - mine is an R6909A. I hadn't realised they were quite so new!

Sorry, I appreciate this post is 9 years old - & the reference material I'm about to quote has been released in the mean time... but if I understand it correctly: In David Larkin's Acquired wagons of British Railways volume 1 - both the D1919 (page 72) & D2036 (page 75) have shallow ballast boxes, & the notes for D2036 say the buckets were wider than on the D1919. D2068 (page 77), with the deeper ballast box, says 'there were the wide duckets' - so I take this to mean that the Hornby body can do either the D2036 or D2068. My Hornby & Bill Bedford combination is shortly to hit the workbench, hence working out my options.

Agreed - mine is in the queue to continue as is too! It did cause a pause - and thus other things taking over the workbench instead - while I mulled it over.

I'm not surprised it isnt far Martin - but as usual with the eye it is more the ratio of front and rear cutouts than the absolute dimensions that screams. Nice models Pete - though to be picky the Hornby brake should have its duckets removed for the diagram it relates to. They are on little pegs so easy enough to do, but I appreciate then needs a repaint/colour match so the path of least resistance is certainly the route you've taken! Nice looking print of the loco too.

Compare the photos of the cab side (posted by David/PenrithBeacon above) with the prototype - the doors are far nearer central in the overall opening than they are on the prototype - the doors are much further back. I'm not sure what this means/how it affects the rest of the geometry, as I say I noticed it too late in my build to do anything about it. Drawings are in the LMS Journal Preview edition, so it should be possible to work out where it is wrong. I'll try and make time to have a look and report back.

Nor has mine been! I initially lost momentum with it when I noticed that the cab opening is wrong, by which point I'd built too much to correct it. However I then commissioned Justin at Rumney Models to design a rear bogie for it - on the back of MR 1P bogie which worked very well (https://website.rumneymodels.co.uk/steam-locomotive-chassis X29 at the bottom of the page - also suitable for the 2-6-4 tanks) so have built this and am just waiting for some time to bring the rest of it back onto the workbench. However, I'm kicking off a joint project for the Scalefour society Jubilee layout competition, and this doesn't fit the theme so unlikely to be a priority very soon. However I have made more of an effort to close out projects in the last couple of years, and will get back to it before starting too many more.

The current 8F has quite a bloated firebox to allow for the gearbox etc - so the better starting point for an 8F is the old body, as used in the (current unavailable direct) Comet kit. https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/locomotive/lms-stanier-8f-2-8-0-kit-lk5/

Interesting - is any more known about when they entered the concrete pool? Was this all in later life, or may it have been at build/by the late 50s?

It certainly did. I need to get back on with mine. https://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=135&t=6856&start=75#top

Rumney models do alternative brake gear for the Bachmann model (as well as full replacement trusses if you want to go the whole hog) https://website.rumneymodels.co.uk/bogie-bolster-wagon-kits

I did a cost comparison of the D1666s which have crossed my workbench recently (the Cambrian one hasn't quite left, the 4 Rapido ones were much quicker wins): Rapido: £27.95 No inner rivets. Nice door catches and chains + Brassmasters coupling links diff 0 + Rumney coupling hook (B95) diff 0 + wheels. Diff 0 No transfers required. Internal rivets ignored for now, use as loaded wagons. Door barrow plank chamfer filed out. Cambrian: Kit £9.90 Craig Welsh underframe £7.00(? I think, currently out of stock from the Scalefour stores) Rumney Axleboxes £3.50 Lanarkshire buffers £5.20 pre drilled Wizard buffer heads £2.10 (£6.30 for 12) CCT transfers £0.25 (£10/40) £27.95 + Brassmasters coupling links (as Rapido) + Rumney coupling hooks (as Rapido) + wheels. (as Rapido) + 0.1mm tinned copper for door pin chains (as John Hayes 4mm coal wagon book, and Rumney Models gunpowder van instructions). Minimal cost for the length used. General overview of the body – Cambrian is better in the internal rivet detail and including the door top plank chamfer. Rapido is better with the door pin chains. I'm building mine to P4, but thought the overall cost comparison (being identical, aside from recent sales) might be of wider interest.

Yes, true - can't disagree that they should be able to do what the info says!

The FR has very sharp curves as the prototype goes, 2 chains which scales at 1'8" or 20" (while the WHR 1923 used a minimum 3 chains or scale 2'7") - so expecting things to go round 9" without issues is not surprisingly asking for trouble. If you want a model that looks something like the prototype then it won't be able to handle those curves. If you want it to go round sharp corners (sic) then you could try removing the pony trucks.

How good does the valve spindle guide look? I currently have a couple of Dave Bradwell's 9F castings, as all other options both RTR and kit have looked pathetic for the latter LMS and BR type. The 9F isn't quite the right length for class 2s, though shouldn't be too hard to make suit - but if the Hornby one is good then trying to get hold of some cylinder blocks would be the way to go.

Thanks for covering your mods to date Dave. It's coming together well!