RichardBenn

I was thinking I would probably try and etch a chassis - I need enough of these to make it worthwhile! Richard

Do you have any plans to make these available as kits, for those of us who have a similar desire but lack the hardware? 🤩 Richard

Surprisingly, it does export to .eps. Looking at their web site I see the cheapest offering is now called "Essentials". No idea if this is functionally equivalent to my copy which dates from 2014.

The cut down "Home" version of Corel Draw does not export to these formats, but is otherwise very capable for etch drawing (provided it is not used commercially). Richard

I'm just getting to this stage on my layout now so I would be interested to know what the particular uses are. I can't quite work them out from the drawing in a previous post. I recognise most of the connectors but are the blocks on the left Earth bonding blocks? The wire loops in the choc block connectors to allow for soldering droppers is inspired

You probably don't want to hear this but the SR changed to the small style of lettering in c1936 and this is probably more appropriate to the ply SR vans as they weren't introduced until c1945. Only the even planked vans were built whilst the large lettering was current. Sorry :-) Richard

A little word of caution about these as it looks like there may be variations out there. I bought a set but the light wasn't working (no output from the battery pack). Amazon's returns policy is strange as there is no option to exchange a faulty item - all you can do is return it for a refund and purchase another, so that's what I did. The replacement turned up this morning and as well as being a different shade of blue (!) the loupes are completely different. I hadn't yet sent the original back so I opened it up and compared the two. The original has loupes 35mm long and 32.5mm diameter but the replacement is 25mm long and 27mm diameter. The original came with a protective cover over the lenses whereas the replacement did not. They are both marked the same "2.5x-420" but the originals gave significantly greater magnification. I also found the wider diameter of the originals easier when setting the distance between loupes and they gave a bigger area in focus.The original is significantly heavier without the light, but by the time that is clipped on the difference is hardly noticeable. Suffice to say i did a bit of mix n' matching I haven't yet used these in anger but I think they will be really useful so thanks Tim for letting us know about these. They also look like a lightweight alternative to lugging the magnifying lamp to area group meetings. Richard

Just to let you all know that I am now the proud owner of a beautiful set of 31.5mm gauges from Debs, so thanks for pointing me in her direction. She told me that she has all her gauges in stock. Richard

Thanks. I've sent a PM so fingers crossed.... Richard

Hi, I'm new to 0 and about to build a first trial turnout using 31.5mm. I have the Roxey gauges but are there any roller gauges available? Thanks. Richard

If you are in the UK, then find your nearest Area Group. All modelling, but 2FS in particular, is about finding the way that works for you and unfortunately, this only comes with experience. Why do you think there are so many methods for building track? :-) What I can almost say for certain is that your next turnout will be a huge improvement on your first. As Jim says, don't use the three point gauge - it can give useful widening on very sharp curves but only use it on turnouts if you really understand exactly where you need to use it. Every failure is a gift in that it gives you a huge opportunity to learn and improve. And I've had more gifts than most in this regard. Richard

I too used 14.2mm axles but rather than file them I just fitted them, then gave the axleboxes a squeeze. Replacing the chunky axleguard tie bar with plastic strip is a worthwhile improvement as well. Richard

I tried Redutex a few years ago and found the brick sizes to be grossly overscale - in excess of 3mm : foot if I recall correctly. They may have altered it since. I hope so as the texture and colour were really good. Richard

I guess you will be considering traction tyres as part of this process. If these are deemed necessary can we also have plain alternative wheelsets (as paid for "spares" if necessary) for those of us whose layouts are straight and flat :-) Richard

My Revolution Class B tanks have arrived. :-) The N-Gauge wheelsets supplied are indeed 14.0 mm over pin-points but the good news is that, due to a bit of sloppiness and the different shaped coning, our 14.2mm axles fit perfectly. The brake shoes on my test example were now very close to the wheels and in some cases either required tweaking or filing/paring - not easy as they are so fine. Apart from renumbering the duplicates (the numbers are very prominent), weathering and fitting DGs there is not much scope for improvement. They are definitely the most detailed N Gauge RTR wagons I have seen. I've just put in a large order for custom wheelsets - hope it's not too hot for the elves in the workshop at the moment. Richard

This might sound weird (and it goes against what you said above about being able to write down the tooling for a few years) but if you destroyed the tooling after the initial run it might actually prompt more orders from (a) people who would like one but will wait for a possible second run where there is less financial risk and (b) people who will see it as an investment, because with no future runs the value is only going to go up. It would be a true limited edition, one-chance-only opportunity. Just a thought.... P.S. I agree with what others have said about a stripped down version. No bells and whistles for me, just an accurate looking model, but if it ends up having traction tyres can we have a non-tyred set (or the ability to order one) as well? :-)

That's a really good point and something I hadn't considered. Mine are the early batch (black livery) but I don't think the tooling has been changed for the more recent Dutch liveried ones. With 6mm wheels the buffers come out around 7.5mm which is a bit too high. The yearbook says buffer height should be a scale 3' 6" so 7.0 or 7.2mm depending on how you view a 1:148 model. That difference is not too bad on paper but measuring some of my stock at random I see most has a buffer height of around 6.5mm so the Mermaid looks silly next to them. I think I will order some 5.25mm wheels to see if they look better....

At our recent Area Group meeting, I mentioned to our Products Officer that I had taken up the Chief Shopkeeper's kind offer of supplying custom wheelsets with combinations of wheel/axle length other than those stocked by the shops. Nigel suggested that this thread would be a good place to share my findings, so here goes: Farish SR Pill Box Brake Van 6mm 3 hole wheels on 14.2mm axles. Fitted perfectly. An excellent model with very little extra detailing required beyond the bits in the bag, though the plank lines are a little chunky. Farish BR Pipe Wagon. 6mm 3 hole wheels on 14.2mm axles. Fitted but needed a little extra clearance to run freely, achieved using the expedient method of squeezing the axle boxes with the axles in place. The underframe is not bad by RTR standards. I removed the tie bars between the axleguards which were horrendously chunky and replaced them with plastic strip (though I feel I should tip my hat to Farish for having a go at including it, unlike on their standard BR vans). DJM Mermaid 6mm 3 hole wheels on 13.7mm axles. Fitted perfectly. A decent model although the tipping mechanism is a bit chunky and I'm not entirely convinced by the wheelbase dimensions. The moulded chains on the ends are pretty awful and should be replaced by real chain (note that it should cross over before being fixed to the underframe). Farish BR CCT 7mm disc wheels on 14.2mm axles. Required an axlebox squeeze to get the wheels running freely. There is an excellent Association replacement underframe but I have a lot of these to convert so I prefer to work with what is there and add the missing detail. Farish BR Presflo Requires 6mm 3 hole wheels on 14.8mm axles. Best achieved by a few strokes of a file on the ends of some 15.2mm axles. [Edit - 14.8mm axles are available from the shop - Doh!] I have not converted these as yet as I need to work out exactly how much extra detailing is required. The ladder looks chunky and some prominent handrails appear to be missing. The underframe looks fairly detailed but more homework to do on this... Revolution Class B Tank. I am awaiting delivery but I am hopeful that the 6mm 3 hole wheels on 13.7mm axles will work. More information in due course. [Edit - 14.2mm axles fit perfectly (see post #36)] Hopefully anyone else with similar information to share will add it to this thread.

Be nice to the man - he may be planning to shrink the Class 15 down with 2fs wheels Richard

Yes, pictures please but could you also give details of the capacitors and where you obtained them? Many Thanks Richard

I think it might be 11BA. The OD is about 1.15mm and they are about 1.75mm long. HTH Richard

Thanks for the replies - nice to know it's not just me. I've used a Sharpie for other metal blackening (such as the visible bits of phosphor bronze on power bogies) but I wasn't sure whether it would look too "solid" on wheels. i will give it a go next time. I do like the effect of blackened wheels. The only thing that looks nicer is blackened wheels after you have removed the rust that has appeared overnight which gives the effect that they are subtly weathered by brake dust. :-)

Both types. They've cleaned up fine and this morning there are no signs of it coming back. Thinking about it, I was surprised at how quickly it worked compared to the Dapol wheels so i suspect it needed more than a quick swish in water. Next time I'll dunk them for a while. Is water the best way to neutralise this stuff? Thanks. Richard.

Last night I blackened the faces of some Association Drop-In DMU wheels by applying Casey Super Blue using a cotton bud, then giving them a quick swish in water to rinse off the chemical and placing them on a piece of kitchen towel to dry. This morning they are covered in a light rust coloured powder. It looks like the powder will rub off, but what did I do wrong? Too much Super Blue? Not enough rinsing? Wrong type of metal? These are the first drop in wheels I've blackened this way, but I've previously done turned wheels from several Dapol diesels with no ill effects. Richard

Hi Dave, Could you clarify if the BR models have the single or double chimney? Many thanks. Richard