Jump to content
 

Airfix/Dapol/Kitmaster engine shed


Recommended Posts

  • RMweb Gold
7 hours ago, DavidCBroad said:
21 hours ago, The Johnster said:

 

You could always use the Airfix Church as a basis for a shed as the Rev Awdrey did on one of his layouts. 

If it's good enough for the Rev., it should be good enough for me, and I remember back in the day someone somewhere commenting that, in South Wales, engine sheds looked like chapels and chapels looked like engine sheds.  I used the Airfix church as a loco shed on a 009 layout many years ago.  

 

A hillwalking chum of mine worked for a time as a loco fitter at Nantgarw colliery/coke ovens, where he gained the nickname of 'Tommy Horizontal' due to his habit of 'resting his eyes' on nights.  This idyll came to an end after he'd done a job on one of the Hunslets and left it with a low fire, in reverse gear, and with the handbrake off, then retired to the cabin.  There is the ponderous inevitability of a Greek tragedy over the ensuing events; steam pressure rose until the loco moved backwards and thrust it's bunker through the rear wall of the shed in an attempt to make a break for the border; somebody passing at the time had the presence of mind to climb up into her cab and stop her.  Tommy was famously not woken up by the noise, and of course that was the end of his NCB career.  

 

The loco's bunker was now full of bricks and much fun was had at his expense on the subject of attempting to fire a Hunslet with bricks when there was perfectly good coal available...

 

Perhaps I could use this incident as the reason for the partial destruction of my putative shed.  I have a sort of vision of a destroyed roof with the clerestory still on it, supported by angle iron or wooden frame, which would preclude fire as reason for the destruction.  Mining subsidence could be another reason for it.  

 

All this correspondence has gone a long way to changing my mind about having a loco shed on the NCB loco spur.  The main specification is that I am able to see my W4, which in any case will be spending most of it's time between jobs outside the shed and only disappear inside overnight.  Thus I sort of don't want the wall on the side facing me.  The Airfix shed (I am of a generation that thinks of these kits as Airfix) is suitable for this is as it has doors that open and close; the front and rear walls will of course be modelled as intact.  I like the idea of modelling the base part of the West Wall, perhaps with a window arch still standing...

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

This is my attempt to flatten warped sides. I have sandwiched one side between a sheet of glass and a sheet of aluminium. Now if the sun will come out for a few hours I will find out if this works. It has been raining here all week.

 

NOTE : I have tried soaking it in hot water then reshaping it but that does not help much.

Flattening_styrene_plastic.jpg

  • Informative/Useful 1
  • Friendly/supportive 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, Dungrange said:

 

I'm not sure that's a big issue - I find a lot of buildings sold as 00 to be bit under scale.  Unfortunately, I can't see dimensions of the building on the website: I'm not really interested in the dimensions of the box!!!

 

 

There does appear to be a UK stockist listed on their website (albeit they don't have stock at the moment) - http://www.creativemodels.co.uk/buildings_172_buildings-c-1_219_218.html?oscsid=k25lppkiv84uh35dmfj5ib9825

 

Hi all,

Well their castle sure beats the hell out of the old Airfix Sherwood forest castle I used to use. Does any one know what the cost of these buildings are.

Edited by cypherman
Link to post
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, cypherman said:

Hi all,

Well their castle sure beats the hell out of the old Airfix Sherwood forest castle I used to use. Does any one know what the cost of these buildings are.

 

The Medieval Castle is on that site that I linked to at £32.99.  Having looked at few on Amazon as well, they seem to be much the same cost as buildings from other sources.  I think it's probably the roofs that would make many of them not that suitable for use as British buildings.

Link to post
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, cypherman said:

Hi all,

Well their castle sure beats the hell out of the old Airfix Sherwood forest castle I used to use.

 

Ha ha! I was looking at the castles as well. And the figures.

 

 

 

For clarity I was more thinking of the postage system being a bit dodgy rather than the manufacturer or payments. But found them on Amazon with free postage as long as you spend £20 (that includes all eligible items). So I virtually got a free Airfix kit as I would have had to pay something like £4 P&P.

 

Amazon themselves are now OOS. Might be worth keeping an eye on the page if you want one as I paid £15.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Miniart-Scale-Workshop-Plastic-Model/dp/B009R3SCB0/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=MiniArt+workshop&qid=1600450477&sr=8-5

 

 

Jason

Edited by Steamport Southport
Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Ramblin Rich said:

Totally :offtopic: But had a look through the Miniart website and found these

https://miniart-models.com/products/72010/

...which is what my old mum used to call people whose name she'd forgotten... :pardon:

 

That or thingummybob, you know, her/him who lived opposite auntie al........

 

Those look rather over-engineered for a battlefield, and the stakes in the foreground are of NO USE AT ALL for stopping kniggets on 'orseback!, They'd barely tickle their fetlocks!!!

 

 

 

Edited by Hroth
Insertion of wilfully missing letters...
Link to post
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, brian777999 said:

This is my attempt to flatten warped sides. I have sandwiched one side between a sheet of glass and a sheet of aluminium. Now if the sun will come out for a few hours I will find out if this works. It has been raining here all week.

 

NOTE : I have tried soaking it in hot water then reshaping it but that does not help much.

Flattening_styrene_plastic.jpg

Building some Dapol kits 15 years ago for my Daughter's Thomas layout, I found that the most effective way of building them acceptably square and straight was to add bracing with plasticard floors, ceilings, corner gussets and miscellaneous struts as required. Built as per Dapol's intentions they were all distinctly wavy and wobbly. Braced up, they were amply robust for the tender mercies of small children. 

 

I still reckon they're a serious bargain for bashing fodder though, with 60 years of inspiration available via the model press, too. 

  • Like 2
  • Agree 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Update : putting the plastic sides in the sun (sandwiched between the glass and an aluminium plate) seems to have worked. The sun was out today so I was able to make a good attempt at flattening out the warping. The end result is not perfect but still better than using hot water.

 

I will also follows PatB's recommendations and use internal bracing and struts when I build it

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

The  Dapol window frames (glazing bars)  seem far too heavy for me, so I'd open out the window apertures with a fine file.  I always think of the kits as a 'building aid', where the kit gives you the basic shell, and it's up to the modeller to alter it to suit,  

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

On 18/09/2020 at 03:17, Steamport Southport said:
On 18/09/2020 at 02:58, kevinlms said:

For chronological "exactitude", should it not be

 

Airfix/Dapol kit, as this product was never a Kitmaster one!

It is now!

 

The packaging has Kitmaster on it.

 

Kitmaster these days is just a name that Dapol uses for the range of kits they acquired from Airfix.  In that sense it's similar to Hornby's RailRoad range (although that range has rather more diverse origins).  As kevinlms says, the scenic items in Dapol's Kitmaster range were not part of the original Rosebud Kitmaster products acquired by (and largely discarded/damaged/lost by) Airfix:

 

http://www.kitmaster.org.uk/StockList.htm

 

I do remember building the Airfix version of the Ariel Arrow kit way back in the 1970s...

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
26 minutes ago, sandwich station said:

 

Depends on if they are supposed to be metal or wood. 

 

Yes, quite true.  I've built loads of these when I was a kid. I never felt that it conforms to my expectation.  So, what's wrong with it? The window bars are vastly  overscale, so you can thin them down to make them less obtrusive. Or, you can replace them with a different style or make of window. 

 

I'd guess the RM Web collective could write reams about the faults of the humble Airfix Engine shed. What's not always apparent, is the steps taken to raise up the standard. 

 

Cheers,

Ian.  

Link to post
Share on other sites

The old Kitmaster/Airfix/Dapol kits can be made into excellent models,this is a Dapol BoB body on a modified Dublo Chassis.I suppose the tooling may need refurbishing after all these years,however,the mouldings on this model are really good probably being up to 60 years old.

 

                                 Ray.

20200917_173419.jpg

  • Like 3
  • Craftsmanship/clever 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, ejstubbs said:

 

Kitmaster these days is just a name that Dapol uses for the range of kits they acquired from Airfix.  In that sense it's similar to Hornby's RailRoad range (although that range has rather more diverse origins).  As kevinlms says, the scenic items in Dapol's Kitmaster range were not part of the original Rosebud Kitmaster products acquired by (and largely discarded/damaged/lost by) Airfix:

 

http://www.kitmaster.org.uk/StockList.htm

 

I do remember building the Airfix version of the Ariel Arrow kit way back in the 1970s...

 

Ah. But the statement was it was never Kitmaster.

 

It might be pedantry, but they are Kitmaster as Dapol own the rights to the name.

 

A bit like saying that Star Wars is a Disney movie. It wasn't but it is now as Disney own it.

  • Agree 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

What I did pop into this thread for was that Minart kit has just turned up. On a Sunday.

 

First impressions are it's tiny. Approximately 130mm x 85mm for the base. I think you'll struggle fitting a Pannier in one.

 

Extra dimensions for the doors. Door width 40mm, door side height 42mm, door centre height 50mm. I think you would just about squeeze a Bachmann 57xx through it.

 

Ignoring the roof as I might replace the roof anyway for something a bit more industrial and British such as asbestos sheeting. Otherwise it looks good. No flash, very crisply moulded. Good quality plastic.

 

There is even alternative doors. So if you wanted to build it with a sliding door as a goods shed.

 

 

Must get a camera. If I can get access to one I'll put some pictures up.

 

 

Jason

Edited by Steamport Southport
  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

It was because I've been buying all these small cute industrial engines, but they would look out of place with virtually everything else I have. So a small generic industrial layout is what I'm thinking.

 

My plan is to use it as a diesel shed with an AIrfix one (or two) for the steam shed. Nothing serious, the more clichés the better. Even looking at the Airfix water tower as well.

 

 

Jason

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, tomparryharry said:

The  Dapol window frames (glazing bars)  seem far too heavy for me, so I'd open out the window apertures with a fine file.  I always think of the kits as a 'building aid', where the kit gives you the basic shell, and it's up to the modeller to alter it to suit,  

 

 

I did this with the locking room windows of the signal cabin kit and they looked infinitely better. I'm not sure if I'd trust my filing to be consistent enough for the much larger engine shed windows. These days, having access to a laser cutter, I'd probably cut new ones. 

  • Like 2
  • Friendly/supportive 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
6 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

It was because I've been buying all these small cute industrial engines, but they would look out of place with virtually everything else I have. So a small generic industrial layout is what I'm thinking.

 

My plan is to use it as a diesel shed with an AIrfix one (or two) for the steam shed. Nothing serious, the more clichés the better. Even looking at the Airfix water tower as well.

 

 

Jason

 

Funnily enough, I also have a water tower 'in stock'.  The tank is a bit thin on working details, but nothing a few bits of Plastruct won't rectify.    

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Here is my result so far : two engine sheds will be joined together to make one longer goods shed. I removed some of the back walls from each kit and these will be glued together soon. Now vehicles can pass straight through and I have added internal loading platforms. I used the special roof/end pieces as extra bracing in the roofs. I think I will have to add some more beams in the ceiling because I want to put four LED's in there and I will need something to hang them off. It will be a bit tricky hiding all the wires. (Any suggestions are welcome.) I am waiting for some fine weather to start airbrushing and painting ; still a lot more work to go yet. The platform and ramp is also by Dapol.

 

 

DSCN0015.JPG

DSCN0019.JPG

DSCN0021.JPG

DSCN0023.JPG

  • Like 8
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...