markjj

A bit of a long shot but does anyone have any photos of the rear of Ais Gill Signal box. If not as it actually was situated photos of it in it's new situation at Butterly GF. I'm trying to see how the walkway at the rear attaches to the box and if there is another entrance.

I hope you are going to market them. It looks superb !

Without binding most Heljan stuff will. I have run a class 60 round Peco curves quite happily. Couplings are another issue though as most diesels overhang far more than little tank locos or shunters. You will need to add another link at least or wind the coupling out as far as they will go without dropping then off the threaded part. You may still get a few occasions where the loco will flip the wagons off if the buffers lock up.

The Slaters tender is not as finely detailed underneath as the Finney or MM1/JLTRT tenders. If I remember right it has more etched parts and less castings. As others have said Slaters does have the cast corners and the sides are all pre-formed but you do have to punch the rivets out if you need a riveted tender option.

I thought it might have been you that has something in the pipeline Phil I know you did a lovely single road one

It could be. I remember seeing a post on Facebook I think it was that said it was in development. I'm sure there are a lot of other similar ones in the pipeline from others to. I know Intentio do some lovely kits one of theres is based on Peterborough I believe. I'm guessing the Heljan one is done so that it can be used for continental railways as well and many of them are OHLE now.

145mm the measurements are on the Tower models site I hope this helps. http://www.tower-models.com I'm sure someone is doing laser kits based on bits of Hitchin have you tried looking at all the laser kit sites?

To be honest John the line between RTR and kit buying/building is getting shorter. But RTR hasn't quite got it yet but it's very close now. RTR still lacks some of the finer detail of decent kits but it's getting better all the time. I guess it's something they have to let slip to keep the costs down to make selling them at a price people will pay for them viable. Most RTR looks pretty damn good from normal viewing distance now it's only if you look close and in detail you notice things.

The chassis differs slightly but as far as I'm aware the body is the same as it always was. Pheonix might send you some info if you contact them. Some suppliers will email a copy of the instructions to see what's in the kit etc.

The MM kit is still available and nothing will beat it for detail and accuracy. The MM kit is available in its earlier straight tank form from the Churchward Models range now sold by Pheonix precision paints.

I like 0-gauge because I can do it without my glasses in most cases lol. I love the real look couplings I did try it in 4mm but they look so overescale by comparison. The new wheels are not properly released yet I believe but hopefully will be soon. I got 3 sets when I brought 3 wagon kits from MMP last year so I'm hoping for more eventually so fingers crossed they might come out soon. They add a nice bit of extra weight to a wagon to being all metal.

I have been there to John and in and out and back again many times. I dont think I ever used Exactoscale wheels though just Maygib and Gibson plus a few Romford ones. I believe the Markits are the Romford range I know they were the only ones that came with the square boss. There was one other that had a flat on that slid up and down the axle at will... Those Slaters wheels are in the price list at £12 for 2 axles and 4 wheels but not on the website yet. They also do coach wheels in plain disc or 4 hole (BR Mark 1) style with correct profile steel wheels if you like building coaches. I worked in a company where just about everything got glued together with DP490 (like black araldite) most things were made in carbon fibre though. It didn't stop them sticking everything else down with it though lol.....

It's often Peco wheels that cause problems with running though as the tyre moves slightly causing a wobble. Unless the tyre drops off it often goes unnoticed. 7mm wheels are usually fitted to a stepped axle which self gauges if pushed on properly. 4mm wheels are on a plain bar axle and the gauge is set for either standard 00 or EM gauge or they put a different tyres wheel on for P4 suitably gauged. There is nothing fixing them or stopping them moving. It's the same with most 4mm loco wheels apart from Romford as they have a nut contraption securing them. Slaters are doing some new wheels that have correct profiles backs and proper shaped axles I don't think they are out yet but MMP did have them to try a while ago. This is a photo of them and one of a Slaters wheel with a key. My photos do not do them proper justice the axle looks much better in real life. Note the Slaters obligatory rust lol...

This is what happens to Peco wheels if you wash them in hot water Slaters dont but they rust instead lol....

Peco are usually highly chrome finish plus they are not bonded onto the tyre. They are also a hard plastic where as Slaters are a black glass filled nylon. If you look at a Slaters wheel it has a point on the rim where the glass filled nylon keys into the wheel. Peco wheels dont like extreme temperatures try leaving them in a loft for a year or two attached to a wagon and the tyres often come off. It also happens if you wash a wagon in very hot water with the wheels attached. I believe Peartree do wheels to replace the 3 hole disc wheels on Dapol wagons. They dont do spoked ones though.

Parkside wheels have always been Slaters wheels at least for the last 10 years or so. I used to live a few streets away from their factory in Scotland before it got sold to Peco and have been on a factory tour before it finally closed. I'm sure when Parkside got sold to Peco the agreement was to keep on using Slaters wheels. I have only brought a couple of wagons since Peco started making the kits and they still are Slaters as far as I can tell. Peco wheels are a totally different to Slaters. The 4mm range wheels were I believe either Maygib or Gibson depending on what was available when.

Drill tiny holes and use brass rivets or small bits of wire.

Ask Dave Sharp at MOK if he will sell you his castings. Other than that try DJH I cant think of any other 9f kits on the market....

Luckily the national lottery still runs lol...

A conflat L was another wagon kit that has been tossed around for years there is no doubt a thread on here discussing its values and virtues lol... The conflat carried containers that often held paint and other liquids I believe and I stand corrected with various manufacturers names on them. Hornby did them some 30-40 years ago it was one of the most highly detailed wagons they did at the time..

Like all things the RTR manufacturer's need to follow up with all the options it's all down to doing the homework. I can remember the DJH 03 kits coming out about 10 years ago and people wanting to find the converted conflats that where used to make the shunters trip the signalling systems in use at the time.

I have tried it all ways but to no avail I just hope I win the lottery tonight and I can flood one or the other with the orders they are looking for..... All the best Mark j

Lots of things were promised but the RTR market has killed them. All I'm saying is they now have to step up to the mark and fill what was to come but now never may be..... I knew several kit suppliers as friends but know how RTR has changed their view on things. Just look and see what was and what's gone.....

Slaters did the brake van, the box van, and most of the minerals were covered along with any of the wagons so far produced. Big problem many people cannot and will not build kits. Look at what has come so far it's all available. I'm not looking for RTR I'm just saying it's what needed for those that cant make kits. A lot of kits need an engineering degree to build them. My days are filled with the likes of MMP and MOK kits plus the odd Finney or Finney 7 as it now is and ex JLTRT/MMP kits. A lot of these are killed off by RTR so the place now needs to be filled by stuff gone and what now will never come because kit producers will not do kits anymore. I doubt any RTR manufacturer will produce new wagons that dont fit on existing chassis so all we will get is re-runs with new numbers and evolutionary paint changes......

It would also be good if they did the LMS type brake van and some longer wheelbase mineral wagons, plate wagons,Tube wagons and box Van's. I'm sure they would all sell for them and increase the possibilities for 0-gauge. Another winner would be more modern image wagons especially those that run with the Class 66's as without stock to go with them they will just end up as shelf queens and paper weights. We can all dream and live in hope though lol......