Atlas Editions class 81 and Lima coach projects (1:87 scale)

[47137]

Mine has B4 bogies :-)

 

There are reasons for this, the main one being this is what you get from Lima. The Playcraft representation of a BR1 is too short, and I don't know the best equivalent to a Commonwealth. Probably something from one of the USA manufacturers.

 

The Lima Mk1s have clearly underscale window apertures, so I'd like to see this as a cheap and cheerful project. It will look bearable in a train of other Lima Mk1s, or more likely on my layout in a freight working. But it will look very odd beside a Mk1 coach with "scale" sides.

 

Flush glazing would help but is a lot of work. My opinion is the Lima Mk1s aren't worth it because of the wrong window sizes. I looked into flush glazing some Mk2s a while ago, but one of the major suppliers politely declined a commission to cut the pieces. His argument was, there will be too much variation between the different apertures. In truth, I suspect he felt being seen to support H0 would be perceived as as a weakening of his commitment to 4mm.

 

So - perhaps tackle one of the later versions of the Mk2 with one-piece windows (Mk 2d onwards), with laser-cut glazing and glued-on window frames to hide the edges of the glazing. My own enthusiasm is limited because I have little use for main line coaches on my layout, although of course a rake behind the class 81 would look good on a suitable track. It's really a project which needs a small group of modellers, each prepared to contribute to the cost of cutting the parts and willing to try a coach of their own. Compare notes afterwards and decide whether to do more. I can "do" the CAD bit.

 

A photo of the end of an ex-BG Newspaper van would be good so I can suss out what to trim off. Found one.

 

- Richard.

Edited December 19, 2018 by 47137

[Andrew F]

Ah, Ok, I suppose SE finecast don't do flushglaze for HO stuff. It would be nice to see a rake of HO Lima mk2's with flush windows; I opted for the SE ones with my OO Lima mk2's and I think they look good. The trick was to paint the thickness of the plastic out with a light to mid brown instead of using black which stands out. Another option for you is to snip out the upper window light frames and use hand cut glazing, replacing the upper frame parts with micro strip (I chickened out of this) but it would take about a week of spare time and be mind numbing. The BG would be easier to do this way but then would maybe look out of place.

 

One massive bonus for your 81 is that you can use all kinds of HO international ferry stock

[47137]

I will write to SE Finecast in the New Year. They do a set for the Hornby R157 DMU, this has H0 scale windows so the principle seems to be suitable for the Lima Mk2s. There are only three different kinds of window to be done. I suspect the stumbling block will be the size of order needed, but I can only ask.

 

- Richard.

[HSB]

I will write to SE Finecast in the New Year. They do a set for the Hornby R157 DMU, this has H0 scale windows so the principle seems to be suitable for the Lima Mk2s. There are only three different kinds of window to be done. I suspect the stumbling block will be the size of order needed, but I can only ask. - Richard.

I asked them at an exhibition many years ago but they weren't interested at the time.

 

Here's a picture of a Lima BSK I converted into a courier van a few years ago. The bogies were modified so it sits at the right height and I flush-glazed the windows by tediously cutting out individual bits of glazing material.

 

Edited December 23, 2018 by HSB

[HSB]

Nobody seems to have mentioned that Worsley Works offer brass sides for H0 Mk 1s which can be ordered sized to fit on the Lima coaches.

 

http://www.worsleyworks.co.uk

Edited December 23, 2018 by HSB

[47137]

I asked them at an exhibition many years ago but they weren't interested at the time.

 

Here's a picture of a Lima BSK I converted into a courier van a few years ago. The bogies were modified so it sits at the right height and I flush-glazed the windows by tediously cutting out individual bits of glazing material.

 

DSCF0067.JPG

It's a good-looking model, the lowering onto the bogies makes the Lima models look so much better. I was looking at a photo of a courier van the other day as an interesting model to try. I haven't got the patience to cut out pieces of glazing, tho' I suppose for my BG this is about as straightforward as it ever can be.

 

I can't help wondering whether a dental-size vacuum forming machine would be just the job for DIY glazing. Buy one, use it for a few years, then either sell it on or start some kind of cottage industry. I guess I'd have to make three different windows in a sheet of thick brass or aluminium.

 

- Richard.

[47137]

Nobody seems to have mentioned that Worsley Works offer brass sides for H0 Mk 1s which can be ordered sized to fit on the Lima coaches.

 

http://www.worsleyworks.co.uk

I fear you are reading their web site, not trying to actually deal with them. When I tried, they could not offer delivery dates, nor supply any of their coach sides except the ones left behind unsold. They had no sides for brake vehicles in stock.

 

I'm happier to muddle along with the Lima models for the time being. I have put my BG together today, I'm not too happy with the paint job (troubles) but I should be quite proud of the model holding itself together with the original Lima clips - no extra screws. It runs nicely too, and as a 57 foot vehicle it looks much happier on my layout than a 64 foot one.

 

- Richard.

 

 

[HSB]

I fear you are reading their web site, not trying to actually deal with them. When I tried, they could not offer delivery dates, nor supply any of their coach sides except the ones left behind unsold. They had no sides for brake vehicles in stock.

 

 

I have some parts I got a few years ago but haven't tried recently.

[47137]

I have some parts I got a few years ago but haven't tried recently.

I have a pair of their sides for a Mk1 corridor composite and to be fair, the parts are of good quality and do seem to be the right size for the Lima coaches. A dealer gave them to me, she wasn't sure what they were and somehow when we met up at a show she remembered she had them. They are flat and will need curving to make the 28 foot radius, but at the moment I don't especially want a corridor composite for my layout.

 

I like the idea of making a courier van from a brake second - I think it would look good as a tool van for a civil engineer's train (I have no idea whether the prototypes did this) and indeed for moving specialised or accompanied cargo around the layout.

 

I also have the two offcuts of body shells from the BG project and as Bernard has said in an earlier post, these would make into an open second, this would be a more useful model for me than the composite.

 

- Richard.

Edited December 26, 2018 by 47137

[Titan]

Mine has B4 bogies :-)

 

There are reasons for this, the main one being this is what you get from Lima. The Playcraft representation of a BR1 is too short, and I don't know the best equivalent to a Commonwealth. 

 

Would the trix commonwealth bogies be any good? They are under scale for 00, and possibly over scale for HO

but they might be close enough?

[47137]

Would the trix commonwealth bogies be any good? They are under scale for 00, and possibly over scale for HO

but they might be close enough?

 

I have been measuring the bogies I have:

 

The Playcraft BR1s have a wheelbase of 26.2 mm, about 3.6 mm underscale for a 8' 6" wheelbase

The Lima B4s have a wheelbase of 26.6 mm, about 3.2 mm underscale

 

It is very odd how the Lima B4s look about right to me while the Playcraft BR1s look wrong, and I can only guess it is because I have put smaller wheels (10.5 mm) on the B4s.

 

The bogies on the Fleischmann Bulleid coaches have a wheelbase of 28 mm and if the plastic accepts solvents (I haven't tried) they might convert to something looking like a BR1 with a bit of surgery.The overall proportions don't look too different to those of a BR1. I'm a bit reluctant to spoil a Fleischmann coach though, even if it is a "spare".

 

In the meantime, I've never had a Trix coach but their Commonwealth bogies have got to be worth a try, so I have ordered a pair up as spares. I suppose, success will depend on whether they were underscale for the intended 1:80 scale.

 

- Richard.

[47137]

Well it was worth a try. The Trix Commonwealth bogies are true 1:80 scale parts, and so about 2 mm over scale length for 1:87 and 5 mm longer than the Lima BR4s. The Trix bogies will fit the Lima underframe for a static display model, but they are too long to turn in the space available.

 

I am wondering, acquisition of a single Trix brake coach might let me run my Hornby Peckett (very small prototype) on a "preservation" working, whilst not looking terribly out of place with the 1:87 trains nearby.

 

Meanwhile, I've put a write up of the BG on my blog, with some more photos.

 

- Richard.