Airfix

[Robin Brasher]

Not being able to afford Hornby Dublo or Tri-ang stations or rolling stock I enjoyed building the Airfix trackside and locomotive and rolling stock models. My railbus went to the railway in the sky a long time ago but the picture shows a friend's railbus that he bought at a toy fair. It came out in 1962 and cost 3 shillings. An advertisement showed a well constructed model that was difficult to distinguish from the prototype which was behind the model at a station.

 

[PM47079]

I still like building the line side kits..

[GoingUnderground]

I just used to enjoy making the Airfix kits, primarily the buildings. My first kits were the Lines Bros Frog range of aircraft, so moving on to Airfix for lineside buildings and equipment was a natural progression. I steered clear of the wagon kits, but I do have an unfinished Schools "Harrow" somewhere. I also had a less than successful stab at motorising the tender on "City of Truro".

[NCB]

I made one of those when it first came out. Didn't do too good a paint job on it; might even have painted it GWR chocolate & cream. Think there was a motorising kit for it which i didn't use. Fascinating that it's still available, a bit over £8.

 

I've a memory of a journey on one, exiting from Swindon in the Gloucester direction. But I can't work out why I'd have been on it! Felt very strange manoeuvering over pointwork, with those big overhangs.

[Coppercap]

I made one of those when it first came out. Didn't do too good a paint job on it; might even have painted it GWR chocolate & cream. Think there was a motorising kit for it which i didn't use. Fascinating that it's still available, a bit over £8.

 

I've a memory of a journey on one, exiting from Swindon in the Gloucester direction. But I can't work out why I'd have been on it! Felt very strange manoeuvering over pointwork, with those big overhangs.

 

You sure it was one of those? The Airfix model is of the AEC/Park Royal vehicles, which worked on the Midland and Scottish regions, not on the Western region. It was more likely an AC Cars railbus you travelled on, as these worked on the Western (and one on the Scottish region).   

Edited January 15, 2019 by Coppercap

[NCB]

You sure it was one of those? The Airfix model is of the AEC/Park Royal vehicles, which worked on the Midland and Scottish regions, not on the Western region. It was more likely an AC Cars railbus you travelled on, as these worked on the Western (and one on the Scottish region).   

 

You might be right. Travelling a number of times on the Swindon Gloucester line it was common to see one parked in the Tetbury bay at Kemble, but difficult to get a good look at. Being not that interested in diesels at the time I assumed it was the same sort of thing as the Airfix model.

 

I've a vague idea that the ride I had in one was due to the regular connection for the Gloucester line failing, but replacing a regular DMU with one of these would have been a bit extreme. I can remember having to stand.

 

Nigel

[hayfield]

I just used to enjoy making the Airfix kits, primarily the buildings. My first kits were the Lines Bros Frog range of aircraft, so moving on to Airfix for lineside buildings and equipment was a natural progression. I steered clear of the wagon kits, but I do have an unfinished Schools "Harrow" somewhere. I also had a less than successful stab at motorising the tender on "City of Truro".

 

 

The first one I motorised used the Harrow Model shop whitemetal kit, nice and heavy and works very well.

 

A second one I made used a DS10 motor, + motor mount on a set of Romford wheels running in brass pinpoint axles, other than being a bit light worked fine

 

I then motorised a MTK Wagonbasher much the same as the second, but the floor was made from PCB board and etched W irons

 

Now we have High Level kits "Pacemaker" motor unit. I have one to go into a MTH Bristol railbus

 

So with these kits so common no reason not to build one

[sncf231e]

I use the Kitmaster motorised wagon to power my Airfix and Kitmaster locomotives:

 

 

Regards

Fred

[Il Grifone]

I use the Kitmaster motorised wagon to power my Airfix and Kitmaster locomotives:

 

 

Regards

Fred

 

Mine didn't work very well. The chassis got dumped when it fell apart, but I do have the bogie sold for motorising a BSK. There are lugs in the side mouldings for mounting it. The body of mine ended up on an Airfix meat van underframe. It seems identical to the Dublo one apart from the headstocks.  It even has the pointless panel for the number and loading weight  that Dublo added for some strange reason. It's tricky to remove cleanly.

 

I must have built all the Trackside series when they were sold in 'Woolworths'. Some have even survived!

as for Kitmaster (off topic but relevant), Imotorised the L&Y Pug with the Perfecta kit. The result would pull 3 Dublo wagons (just) and the expensive (22/6d IIRC) Romford Terrier motor overheated. The chassis less motor (disappeared over the years) sits in one of the various boxes and gets pulled out looked at and replaced from time to time. (Without the worm rebuilding it will be difficult.)....

 

City of Truro (as City of Bristol) was motorised in EM with a K's tender drive unit under a Tri-ang  LOI tender - no real reason the kit tender would have done just as well.

 

The less said about the Prairie tank on a Tri-ang chassis the better.

 

One day I'll finish the Railbus powerd by a Bachmann chassis (from 'Underground Ernie's' Inspection Vehicle). It's stalled for lack of 12mm wheels to fit 1.5mm axles. I'll have to make/buy some bushes....

[Arun Sharma]

. An advertisement showed a well constructed model that was difficult to distinguish from the prototype which was behind the model at a station.

 

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Perhaps the original "Just Like The Real Thing" advert I seem to recall!

[PhilJ W]

The Airfix rolling stock was pretty good, except for the wheels which were easily replaced.

[Il Grifone]

There was so much slop that I never managed to get the axles to fit together square (unlike Kitmaster which always fitted well). It's strange as the rest of the kit was a good fit, but the wheel profile was awful anyway, so it didn't matter. Fitting pinpoint bearings is essential anyway. The kit cost 2/- plus 1/4d for decent wheels and 1/6d for Peco couplings*, so the end result wasn't all that economical. Dublo (or Tri-ang) wheels and couplings would have been a bit cheaper, but not a lot. (Dublo wheelsets were 6d each and I've seen the couplings quoted as 6d but I don't know whether this was each or a pair.) The Airfix coupling was obviously based on the American X2f (as supplied by Ratio in their first plastic kits), but not compatible with it (or anything else**).

 

* The pin supplied in the kit for fitting these was too large in diameter and the coupling needed to be reamed out. It fits the Dublo version better. There are four pins under the headstock as stops for the Peco coupling or for mounting the Tri-ang Mk III tension lock. Unfortunately they are in the wrong place for the former and too high for the latter.

 

** they will couple with Peco if the 'horn' is cut off but it's not 100% satisfactory.

[Fat Controller]

Somewhere, I have a 'Model Railway Constructor' from the mid-1960s, where someone (Alan Williams?) used the ends of one of these as part of an AM10 multiple unit.

[kevinlms]

There was so much slop that I never managed to get the axles to fit together square (unlike Kitmaster which always fitted well). It's strange as the rest of the kit was a good fit, but the wheel profile was awful anyway, so it didn't matter. Fitting pinpoint bearings is essential anyway. The kit cost 2/- plus 1/4d for decent wheels and 1/6d for Peco couplings*, so the end result wasn't all that economical. Dublo (or Tri-ang) wheels and couplings would have been a bit cheaper, but not a lot. (Dublo wheelsets were 6d each and I've seen the couplings quoted as 6d but I don't know whether this was each or a pair.) The Airfix coupling was obviously based on the American X2f (as supplied by Ratio in their first plastic kits), but not compatible with it (or anything else**).

 

* The pin supplied in the kit for fitting these was too large in diameter and the coupling needed to be reamed out. It fits the Dublo version better. There are four pins under the headstock as stops for the Peco coupling or for mounting the Tri-ang Mk III tension lock. Unfortunately they are in the wrong place for the former and too high for the latter.

 

** they will couple with Peco if the 'horn' is cut off but it's not 100% satisfactory.

Here is Ratio's version as it appeared in 'News Special' in Railway Modeller July 1959.

 

I suspect that the sole reason for Airfix and Ratio made their own couplers, was to avoid nasty things, such as royalties.

[hmrspaul]

The Airfix rolling stock was pretty good, except for the wheels which were easily replaced.

Better than "pretty good" when compared to Hornby Dublo and Tri-ang products of the early 1960s. And we still have some of the H/D models being sold despite their inappropriate sizes. I've mentioned before that when we measured a Prestwin we joked - we've seen this before when we laid underneath it! Not something that could be said of many models of the period. Yes, the wheels were dreadful!

 

Paul

[PhilJ W]

Better than "pretty good" when compared to Hornby Dublo and Tri-ang products of the early 1960s. And we still have some of the H/D models being sold despite their inappropriate sizes. I've mentioned before that when we measured a Prestwin we joked - we've seen this before when we laid underneath it! Not something that could be said of many models of the period. Yes, the wheels were dreadful!

 

Paul

The only complaint I heard about the wagons themselves was the hinges on the cattle wagon and meat van being too obvious. The answer was to cut them off and glue the doors shut.

[sagaguy]

Mine didn't work very well. The chassis got dumped when it fell apart, but I do have the bogie sold for motorising a BSK. There are lugs in the side mouldings for mounting it. The body of mine ended up on an Airfix meat van underframe. It seems identical to the Dublo one apart from the headstocks.  It even has the pointless panel for the number and loading weight  that Dublo added for some strange reason. It's tricky to remove cleanly.

 

I must have built all the Trackside series when they were sold in 'Woolworths'. Some have even survived!

as for Kitmaster (off topic but relevant), Imotorised the L&Y Pug with the Perfecta kit. The result would pull 3 Dublo wagons (just) and the expensive (22/6d IIRC) Romford Terrier motor overheated. The chassis less motor (disappeared over the years) sits in one of the various boxes and gets pulled out looked at and replaced from time to time. (Without the worm rebuilding it will be difficult.)....

 

City of Truro (as City of Bristol) was motorised in EM with a K's tender drive unit under a Tri-ang  LOI tender - no real reason the kit tender would have done just as well.

 

The less said about the Prairie tank on a Tri-ang chassis the better.

 

One day I'll finish the Railbus powerd by a Bachmann chassis (from 'Underground Ernie's' Inspection Vehicle). It's stalled for lack of 12mm wheels to fit 1.5mm axles. I'll have to make/buy some bushes....

I had one of these motor bogies in the early 60s.For some reason,it would stop running,dead as a door knocker & no amount ot tinkering would solve it & then it would suddenly burst into life again.I never did find the problem.It was also out of gauge,i had to recess the back of the wheels to get it to run through Peco streamline & Formoway points.

 

                          Ray.

Edited January 17, 2019 by sagaguy

[roythebus]

I got one of the Railbuses when they first came out. the only way I could motorise it was to use a Triang  "Polly" chassis! but then I was only 11 at the time! Fat forward a few years, and I afforded an Eames motorising kit which I still have under a rather battered later railbus body. there's a second Eames motorising kit under an unfinished body. since the Heljan one came out, I've given up on the Airfix conversions! If anyone wants the motorising kits, let me know.

 

The Airfix wagons were 2/0 when they came out, my aunty Em bought me some for my birthday. Since then I've built quite a few and still have loads ins service on my layout.

 

I seem to remember it may have been Chris Leigh who used railbus ends to convert Kitmaster coaches to Clacton electric sets in the 1961 or 62 Model Railway constructor, though it may well have been Alan Williams as I think he was on the staff at the time. The Model Railway Club library has all the back issues of the MRContructor with the article in.

 

when i worked at the York Way shop in 1968 Mike Sheppard made some very nice chassis to motorise the 9F.

[Il Grifone]

I had one of these motor bogies in the early 60s.For some reason,it would stop running,dead as a door knocker & no amount ot tinkering would solve it & then it would suddenly burst into life again.I never did find the problem.It was also out of gauge,i had to recess the back of the wheels to get it to run through Peco streamline & Formoway points.

 

                          Ray.

 

It was definitely not one of the better designs. The magnet assembly will rock fore and aft ( ) and the plastic axles and sintered iron wheels also leave something to be desired. IIRC the van cost 40/-, so it wasn't exactly a bargain price... Tri-ang's bogie was altogether a more workmanlike design.

[PhilJ W]

What we have to remember was that compared to what the likes of Triang and Hornby had to offer the Airfix wagons (and Kitmaster coaches) were way ahead in detail and accuracy.

['CHARD]

The motorised van is the sort of thing I have nightmares about.  I've never heard of it until today and just thinking about it makes me feel uneasy.  

[hayfield]

The motorised van is the sort of thing I have nightmares about.  I've never heard of it until today and just thinking about it makes me feel uneasy.  

 

 

A better version is now available and several layouts I have seen has had one working

[PatB]

What we have to remember was that compared to what the likes of Triang and Hornby had to offer the Airfix wagons (and Kitmaster coaches) were way ahead in detail and accuracy.

 

It's only relatively recently that we've had a similarly dimensionally accurate r-t-r 16T mineral, and when did  another reasonable 20T brake van turn up? Or a decent presflo? And all have been significantly more expensive (though less skill dependent and time consuming) than Airfix's offerings of decades earlier design.

[Il Grifone]

They are still the only versions of the cattle truck* amd meat van AFAIK. If only they had not tried to be clever and make the doors open (likewise Dublo and Tri-ang of course). Only the mineral wagon doors actually worked properly. The brake gear is really the weak point of the kits, but can be improved with a bit of work.

 

* The Dublo one is a different diagram, but seriously compromised dimensionally.

[PatB]

They are still the only versions of the cattle truck* amd meat van AFAIK. If only they had not tried to be clever and make the doors open (likewise Dublo and Tri-ang of course). Only the mineral wagon doors actually worked properly. The brake gear is really the weak point of the kits, but can be improved with a bit of work.

 

* The Dublo one is a different diagram, but seriously compromised dimensionally.

 

I'd assume that the brake gear needed some compromise to allow me kids with...erm...limited skill to put it together without it all disintegrating between my their pudgy fingers.