KRModels announce a GT3 Model

[locoman462]

 

12 hours ago, gary_lner said:

Goos evening locoman I had a dig through and ive managed to find the post you were talking about.

https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/product/2279/

 

Hope that helps

 

Regards Gary 

Thanks Gary, I think that i'll order a set just in case none are supplied with GT3.

Regards,

Peter - locoman462

[locoman462]

1 hour ago, cctransuk said:

 

The 'hub caps', which are resin castings, were supplied with the etched chassis kit, (intended for for the Golden Arrow GT3 kit), produced by Ian Macdonald of this parish.

 

John Isherwood.

Thanks for the info John.

Regards,

Peter-locoman462

[cctransuk]

31 minutes ago, locoman462 said:

Thanks for the info John.

Regards,

Peter-locoman462

 

These 'hub caps'. which I cannot guarantee will be obtainable, need to be fixed to the coupling rods - NOT the crankpins; they should not rotate with the pins, but remain static as part of the rods.

 

The 'hub caps' have a recess in the rear to provide clearance for the crankpin to rotate.

 

Fitting the 'hub caps' to the rods is fraught with opportunities to 'b*gger things up'; a tiny smear of superglue or epoxy resin needs to be applied around the edge of the 'hub cap', once it is in place on the rod, to secure it.

 

 

Too much adhesive and you have a static model! You have been warned!

 

As to obtaining the 'hub caps'; if Ian cannot oblige then they would be dead easy to produce for anyone with a 3D printer.

 

John Isherwood.

Edited May 31, 2020 by cctransuk

[cctransuk]

2 hours ago, locoman462 said:

Thanks for the info John.

Regards,

Peter-locoman462

 

My information concerning the source of the 'hub caps' was incorrect - it was NOT Ian Macdonald.

 

I will make further enquiries and report back.

 

John Isherwood.

[locoman462]

2 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

These 'hub caps'. which I cannot guarantee will be obtainable, need to be fixed to the coupling rods - NOT the crankpins; they should not rotate with the pins, but remain static as part of the rods.

 

The 'hub caps' have a recess in the rear to provide clearance for the crankpin to rotate.

 

Fitting the 'hub caps' to the rods is fraught with opportunities to 'b*gger things up'; a tiny smear of superglue or epoxy resin needs to be applied around the edge of the 'hub cap', once it is in place on the rod, to secure it.

 

 

Too much adhesive and you have a static model! You have been warned!

 

As to obtaining the 'hub caps'; if Ian cannot oblige then they would be dead easy to produce for anyone with a 3D printer.

 

John Isherwood.

Need for caution duly noted.

Thank you.

[Colin_McLeod]

4 hours ago, cctransuk said:

These 'hub caps'. which I cannot guarantee will be obtainable

 

My order from Modelu was accepted. They also gave a discount off my next order as an incentive.

 

https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/

[cctransuk]

12 minutes ago, Colin_McLeod said:

 

My order from Modelu was accepted. They also gave a discount off my next order as an incentive.

 

https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/

 

Excellent.

 

Be aware that, if used as intended, the 'hub cap' is attached to the extended crankpin of a kit-built model - that way, there is less danger of getting adhesive into the crankpin / coupling rod interface, but the 'hub cap' rotates with the crankpin.

 

As the RTR model will not come with extended crankpins, you will need to plug the central hole in the 'hub cap'; (I used styrene rod); and make good the dome of the cap.

 

Having done that, you come to the perilous stage of attaching the 'hub caps' to the rods!

 

Good luck.

 

John Isherwood.

[KR Models]

Please be aware that if you fit after market hubcaps and you glue the crank pins, your warranty is void.

[chris p bacon]

For a Locomotive costing several hundred pounds and with them being such a visible part of the motion they ought to be included.

 

I assume it's cost that's kept them off, as the factory are more than capable of designing and fitting them.

[Darius43]

39 minutes ago, chris p bacon said:

I assume it's cost that's kept them off, as the factory are more than capable of designing and fitting them.

 

And you have been in touch with the factory and they have told you this?

 

Or is this just another assumption on your part so that you can make another snarky post.

 

Darius

[chris p bacon]

6 minutes ago, Darius43 said:

And you have been in touch with the factory

 

Yes, I have had dealings with them over another matter. I am well aware of what they are capable of, and how they cost projects.

 

[Colin_McLeod]

51 minutes ago, chris p bacon said:

For a Locomotive costing several hundred pounds and with them being such a visible part of the motion they ought to be included.

 

I assume it's cost that's kept them off, as the factory are more than capable of designing and fitting them.

 

9 minutes ago, Darius43 said:

 

And you have been in touch with the factory and they have told you this?

 

Or is this just another assumption on your part so that you can make another snarky post.

 

Darius

 

As my previous posts will demonstrate I have been supportive of this project but in this case I do agree with crisp p bacon that such a visible aspect of the locomotive should have been modelled.

 

Not a snarky post but my genuine opinion.

[KR Models]

We can make and supply the hub caps, but we cannot fit them because if we did we run the risk of locking up the crank pins and ceasing function to the model. The factory has told us that they cant do this without damaging or severely hindering the function of the model.

 

But as stated above, if you attempt this and glue the crank pins shut, that will void warranty and we will not replace the model.

 

As for Chris P Bacon contacting our factory, we are pretty confident he hasn't as we haven't given away who our factory is as they wish to remain confidential.

[adb968008]

3 hours ago, KR Models said:

 

 

As for Chris P Bacon contacting our factory, we are pretty confident he hasn't as we haven't given away who our factory is as they wish to remain confidential.

I cant speak for Chris, but its a small industry, and the factory shops, assembly lines, wheel press, etching and motor shops of China are well known... Shinedew, Biomode, Regalway, Dongguan Shenzhen mould, SKMode etc etc. they are well known, even some of its individual characters operating them  have even been known to frequent these pages.

 

The days of “trade secret” are stuck back in the 1980’s i’m afraid. Fortunately they are savvy to ignoring chequebook wavers, and NDAs exist for good reason. Though some of their websites and portals, weibo etc can give away clues.

 

it wouldnt take much to figure it out, if one really cared /be bothered to, though what an individual gains from it at a personal level is negligible. Personally though ive found it useful for identifying spare parts (western suppliers can change faster than the OEM).

Edited June 2, 2020 by adb968008

[Bernard Lamb]

10 hours ago, KR Models said:

We can make and supply the hub caps, but we cannot fit them because if we did we run the risk of locking up the crank pins and ceasing function to the model. The factory has told us that they cant do this without damaging or severely hindering the function of the model.

 

But as stated above, if you attempt this and glue the crank pins shut, that will void warranty and we will not replace the model.

 

As for Chris P Bacon contacting our factory, we are pretty confident he hasn't as we haven't given away who our factory is as they wish to remain confidential.

So, you design a model in such a way, that a very important and highly visible feature is available, but cannot be fitted by the average punter.  Nothing personal. Just me wearing my QA hat.

A better grasp of English humour might also come in handy. The comment that the last part of your post refers to did make me smile.

Bernard

[phil gollin]

.

 

ALL manufacturers make compromises to allow their models to be usable.

 

ALL the people who thinks fitting "wheel hubs" should set up a postal service to supply and fit these hubs with a guarantee that the model will work afterwards.

 

It's easy according to people here and so easy !

 

.

[Colin_McLeod]

1 hour ago, phil gollin said:

 

ALL the people who thinks fitting "wheel hubs" should set up a postal service to supply and fit these hubs with a guarantee that the model will work afterwards.

 

It's easy according to people here and so easy !

 

 

I must be missing something but I don't see any post saying that "It's easy"  or even saying "so easy".

 

Posters recognise the difficulty for modellers fitting the wheel hubs but it should not be beyond the skills of a factory to devise a means of modelling this feature.

[cctransuk]

1 hour ago, phil gollin said:

.

 

ALL manufacturers make compromises to allow their models to be usable.

 

ALL the people who thinks fitting "wheel hubs" should set up a postal service to supply and fit these hubs with a guarantee that the model will work afterwards.

 

It's easy according to people here and so easy !

 

.

 

There is compromise - and there is incomplete reproduction.

 

No-one has said that the issue can easily be resolved by glueing bearing covers in place - I have fitted the ModleU 'hub caps' to etched rods - but resolved it can be.

 

It has to be accepted that a glued solution would probably not suit the mass market. Factory fitting would be too slow, with a likelihood of an unacceptable failure rate, and the long-term problem of detached items would also mitigate against this solution.

 

However, I would not have thought it beyond the whit of (the famously ingenious Chinese) man to devise a clip-fit cap, with clip lugs matching recesses in the rod.

 

 

If suitable clip-fit 'hub caps' were supplied with the model, but not fitted, the purchaser could decide if their absence was acceptable or not and, if necessary, press the items into place on the rods. I would simply add that it would be advisable to provide a few spares!

 

Frankly, this solution would not be impracticable for factory assembly, and the difference that it would make to the authentic appearance of the model woulds be immense!

 

Over to KRModels.

 

John Isherwood.

[96701]

Having looked at Hornby's latest Princess model that has rightly had rave reviews, that has visible hexagon heads on the coupling rods, but not as obvious because the hexagon heads are the same colour as the rods, so maybe the ones fitted to GT3 stand out more because the rods are darker. Rather than risk gumming the works up with hub caps, I might be more tempted to add a touch of paint to the tops of the hexagon heads as a first step. 

[chris p bacon]

15 hours ago, KR Models said:

As for Chris P Bacon contacting our factory, we are pretty confident he hasn't as we haven't given away who our factory is as they wish to remain confidential.

 

I did not at any time state that I had contacted the factory producing the GT3 and spoken to them about it,  (although I know which it is)  I merely said it is within their capabilities to design and fit the relevant part and that I assumed that cost had probably been the reason for not including it in the finished model. 

 

If you trumpet production of an "Awesome Model" then a customer is going to expect some of the very visual parts that set it apart from other models.

 

12 hours ago, adb968008 said:

I cant speak for Chris, but its a small industry, and the factory shops, assembly lines, wheel press, etching and motor shops of China are well known... Shinedew, Biomode, Regalway, Dongguan Shenzhen mould, SKMode etc etc. they are well known, even some of its individual characters operating them  have even been known to frequent these pages.

 

The days of “trade secret” are stuck back in the 1980’s i’m afraid. Fortunately they are savvy to ignoring chequebook wavers, and NDAs exist for good reason. Though some of their websites and portals, weibo etc can give away clues.

 

 

Design and production is a very small world when you get down to it.

 

 

Edited June 3, 2020 by chris p bacon
More info

[cctransuk]

43 minutes ago, 96701 said:

Having looked at Hornby's latest Princess model that has rightly had rave reviews, that has visible hexagon heads on the coupling rods, but not as obvious because the hexagon heads are the same colour as the rods, so maybe the ones fitted to GT3 stand out more because the rods are darker. Rather than risk gumming the works up with hub caps, I might be more tempted to add a touch of paint to the tops of the hexagon heads as a first step. 

 

The difference here, though, is that GT3 had huge crankpin bearing areas to the rods, with very unusual domed covers to the the bearings, which covers were integral parts of the rod and did not rotate as a crankpin does. On first sight, these massive bearings to the rods were a very distinctive feature.

 

Rotating hexagonal-headed crankpins are just not going to cut the mustard.

 

John Isherwood.

[96701]

1 hour ago, cctransuk said:

 

Rotating hexagonal-headed crankpins are just not going to cut the mustard.

 

 

In your opinion.

[cctransuk]

43 minutes ago, 96701 said:

 

In your opinion.

 

Judging by the above, I'm not alone.

 

Depends upon your modelling standards, I suppose.

 

John Isherwood.

[Hilux5972]

On 03/06/2020 at 05:29, chris p bacon said:

 

Yes, I have had dealings with them over another matter. I am well aware of what they are capable of, and how they cost projects.

 

I’m curious as to why you took such great pains to find out which factory is producing it? 

[chris p bacon]

9 minutes ago, Hilux5972 said:

I’m curious as to why you took such great pains to find out which factory is producing it? 

 

I will re-post my answer from the 3rd for you.

 

On 03/06/2020 at 11:20, chris p bacon said:

 

I did not at any time state that I had contacted the factory producing the GT3 and spoken to them about it,  (although I know which it is)  I merely said it is within their capabilities to design and fit the relevant part and that I assumed that cost had probably been the reason for not including it in the finished model. 

 

Design and production is a very small world when you get down to it.

 

 

 

Is that clear enough ?