Beginners loco kits

[Roy Langridge]

2 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

Unfortunately the DJH 02 is discontinued and now goes for very silly money. I've seen them go for well over £200. You might get lucky though.

 

Alas it was about the same time as Craftsman went. So no currently available 02 kit.

 

 

 

 

Jason

Stumbled across this earlier: https://aldmodels.co.uk/shop?olsPage=products%2Fyorkshire-engine-co-class-02-basic-kit-oo-gauge
 

Anybody got an experience of it?

 

Roy

[newbryford]

1 hour ago, Roy Langridge said:

Stumbled across this earlier: https://aldmodels.co.uk/shop?olsPage=products%2Fyorkshire-engine-co-class-02-basic-kit-oo-gauge
 

Anybody got an experience of it?

 

Roy

 

Complete kit with wheels/gears/motor here:

https://aldmodels.co.uk/shop?olsPage=products%2Fyorkshire-engine-co-class-02-full-kit-oo-gauge

[Guest MM1991]

1 hour ago, Roy Langridge said:

Stumbled across this earlier: https://aldmodels.co.uk/shop?olsPage=products%2Fyorkshire-engine-co-class-02-basic-kit-oo-gauge
 

Anybody got an experience of it?

 

Roy

I've seen the kit close up, sadly the prints require a hell of a lot of cleaning up and I'd be worried the finer details would be lost in the process

[RexAshton]

Another option might be a High Level Kits 03 shunter chassis fitted under an early Bachmann or Mainline 03 or 04 body. I'm building an 03 ATM and fitting it under the later Bachmann body - do-able but a lot more work as the Bachmann footplate is now cast rather than plastic.

[sb67]

Thanks for all the ideas guys, got loads to think about now, I like the idea of an 03/04 chassis as I've a couple of 04's I would like to detail etc.

[PenrithBeacon]

Branchlines do an 03/04 chassis and gearbox. High Level is not for beginners.

Cheers

[hayfield]

8 hours ago, PenrithBeacon said:

Branchlines do an 03/04 chassis and gearbox. High Level is not for beginners.

Cheers

 

I would agree with David, I have a couple of High Level chassis which were built by someone else, they look quite complicated when compared to both the Comet and Branchlines chassis chassis I have built. Having said this if the chassis are like Chris's gearboxes they go together very well and work perfectly. Certainly the gearboxes can be built by the novice, but as David has wisely suggested for a first attempt keep it simple. By the way no connection with any of these firms other than a very satisfied customer of all 3

[Steamport Southport]

It maybe worth having a read of this.

 

http://www.cometmodels.co.uk/data/PDF/Building loco chassis the Comet Way.pdf

 

 

 

Jason

[PenrithBeacon]

This is my latest

 

Ever so easy doing it the Comet way but you do need to buy the jigs too

 

Cheers

[polybear]

2 hours ago, PenrithBeacon said:

This is my latest

 

Ever so easy doing it the Comet way but you do need to buy the jigs too

 

Cheers

 

So the Comet jigs include a scorched block of rough sawn.....?

[PenrithBeacon]

It's actually a bit of planed softwood that's been around for a while!

Cheers

[hayfield]

On 24/12/2019 at 00:07, PenrithBeacon said:

Branchlines do an 03/04 chassis and gearbox. High Level is not for beginners.

Cheers

 

I have used the Comet chassis jigs fore some time in conjunction with London Road hornblock alignment jigs for setting up the bearings to the coupling rods. both are very simple to use and extremely effective. I was extremely lucky to buy a Hobby Holidays chassis building jig very cheaply in the year which makes it even easier, or is it makes me lasier .

 

Another area I had difficulty with was older style motor mounts, I could never get they to work well. I now buy gearboxes, namely High Level who have a great selection and are easy to build, I have also found both Comet and Branchlines both to be excellent

 

Do have a go as there is nothing more enjoying than building your own loco and seeing it work

[ianLMS]

Go for it!! You definitely wont regret it and there are so many experienced folks on here to help you through it!!! Mistakes will be plentiful, scratching head, giving up, returning to the kit and inspirational moments are all part of the fun! The satisfaction of creating something yourself at the end of it is one of the best feelings you get from this hobby.  

 

Before taking the plunge building loco kits less than 3 years ago, I cut my teeth on much cheaper plastic/brass/white metal wagon kits from Ebay (Falcon, Jidenco, Parkside etc). Once I understood some of the basics, I moved on to a Craftsman 1P 0-4-4T complete with wheels and a recommendation on which motor and gearbox. No valve gear to mess with and it gave me a chance to attempt soldering white metal and brass components. 

 

I then kept an eye on Ebay and grabbed cheap(ish) kits of LMS locos I wanted to have a go at building, from all sorts of manufacturers. Some are much easier than others to put together, some are very dated and some are very complicated. Some benefit from a better/more modern chassis from Comet (Wizard models), and some benefit from more modern detailing parts. I have used Alan Gibson and Romford/markits wheels, Comet and High Level gearboxes and Mashima/Mitsui motors. All with differing success.

 

Getting the right gearbox/gear ratio/motor is where folks like High Level Kits/Wizard help out. They have useful guides and scale drawings so you can chose the right combination.

 

My biggest challenges tend to be:

1. Getting the chassis square (now use Poppy's jig, Comet chassis jigs, and Romford Axle jigs to help)

2. Adequate pick-up arrangement

3. Motion Gear

4. Curving brass to the right shape (using foam mat and metal rods)

 

Things which will help: DVD's from Right Track on how to build loco's (presented by Tony Wright) and 4mm Chassis and loco kit building books (Iain Rice I believe). They help explain things the instructions tend to miss out! There are also video's on You-Tube from the Loco Builder which help you to visualize how things are done.

 

I have only been building loco kits for the last 3 years - so far I am on my 7th and learning each time I build one. 

 

List so far:

Craftsman 1P 0-4-4T - quite complicated 

SE Finecast 4F 0-6-0 - probably the easiest kit to work on

Cotswold LMS Jinty - used Comet chassis

Jamieson 2-6-0 Mogul with Golden Arrow body - chassis was a challenge - best avoided

Model Loco Ltd/DJH Black 5 - 4-6-0 - lovely kit to build but requires motion gear which is very complicated.

Millholme LMS Patriot 4-6-0 - as with the DJH

 

Currently building Maygib Johnson 3F 0-6-0 

 

To do:

3 x Jamieson kits - Black 5, Jubliee

Alan Gibson 3F Jinty

Proscale LNWR Webb Coal Tank

 

Either way, good luck and enjoy!!

 

Ian