Starting a Dublo Collection

[Nearholmer]

This is turning into a Hornby-Dublo Masterclass, which I will watch with great interest.

 

About one a week, I nearly give-in and start down the road that the OP is treading, but so far the itch has been dealt with my migrating my 0 gauge into the early 1950s.

[2996 Victor]

2 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

This is turning into a Hornby-Dublo Masterclass, which I will watch with great interest.

 

About one a week, I nearly give-in and start down the road that the OP is treading, but so far the itch has been dealt with my migrating my 0 gauge into the early 1950s.

 

I agree - I'm overwhelmed by the responses so far, definitely the encouragement needed. But as @Il Grifone said at the outset, it's a slippery slope!

 

Time I got some finescale EM modelling done to try and balance things out a bit!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[sagaguy]

Hi Mark,i use Fox transfers almost to the exclusion of any others except for the odd Modelmaster transfer & name plates as they are the only supplier offering City nameplates which are the correct length for the pads on the boiler.I use Halfords primers & car rattle cans for the main bodywork & tenders with Humbrol enamel for smokeboxes,I use Railmatch aerosol enamel varnishes after the transfers have been applied & allowed to dry.The William Stanier is a conversion by me of a Wrenn city loco suitably 3 railed.The paint for HD platforms & buildings is UK Ford Sahara beige mixed by your local auto paint supplier.It`s also a a good match for the cream on the crimson & cream coaches.This is a pic of a refinished British Trix Mk1 coach.As for the valve gear,i always look at the condition of the motion before buying,the wheel tyres & rims are polished with a glass fibre brush whilst under power.

 

                   Ray

Edited January 22, 2020 by sagaguy

[Nearholmer]

Ray

 

Which red do you use for the crimson?

 

I've got an 0 gauge Bassett Lowke coach stripped down ready to prime and paint, but it has to wait until its suitably warm and dry in the spray booth (= garden).

 

Kevin

[sagaguy]

Railmatch RM1306 aerosol.Enamel is ok over acrylic paint but not the other way round.Modelmaster coach lining ,Railmatch enamel gloss varnish.This the Buffet car.Very free running coaches.

 

                         Ray.

[gtis]

Hi mark 

I just use oven pride from BM stores about

£2.79 just use in the bag provided or a suitable container Old Tupperware check after about 30 minutes use a old toothbrush to brush if needed rinse in cold water no etch primer used just rub with a pan scrubber rinse again and let dry before priming

just search for BR transfers on eBay 

neil

[2996 Victor]

54 minutes ago, sagaguy said:

Hi Mark,i use Fox transfers almost to the exclusion of any others except for the odd Modelmaster transfer & name plates as they are the only supplier offering City nameplates which are the correct length for the pads on the boiler.I use Halfords primers & car rattle cans for the main bodywork & tenders with Humbrol enamel for smokeboxes,I use Railmatch aerosol enamel varnishes after the transfers have been applied & allowed to dry.The William Stanier is a conversion by me of a Wrenn city loco suitably 3 railed.The paint for HD platforms & buildings is UK Ford Sahara beige mixed by your local auto paint supplier.It`s also a a good match for the cream on the crimson & cream coaches.This is a pic of a refinished British Trix Mk1 coach.As for the valve gear,i always look at the condition of the motion before buying,the wheel tyres & rims are polished with a glass fibre brush whilst under power.

 

                   Ray

 

33 minutes ago, sagaguy said:

Railmatch RM1306 aerosol.Enamel is ok over acrylic paint but not the other way round.Modelmaster coach lining ,Railmatch enamel gloss varnish.This the Buffet car.Very free running coaches.

 

                         Ray.

 

Hi Ray,

 

many thanks for the two posts - what can I say but, "those coaches are absolutely beautiful!" Presumably its relatively easy to remove the glazing?

 

I've never used Fox Transfers, as they don't tend to cover my "usual" period, but I've heard great reports and thought I'd give them a whirl when I tidy up my N2.

 

Thanks again,

 

Mark

[2996 Victor]

11 minutes ago, gtis said:

Hi mark 

I just use oven pride from BM stores about

£2.79 just use in the bag provided or a suitable container Old Tupperware check after about 30 minutes use a old toothbrush to brush if needed rinse in cold water no etch primer used just rub with a pan scrubber rinse again and let dry before priming

just search for BR transfers on eBay 

neil

 

Thanks, Neil! I'll get some soon and give it a go. As I said, I would never have thought of trying oven cleaner!

 

Best regards,

 

Mark

[sagaguy]

Very easy on these coaches,just one screw in the middle ,pull the roof up in the middle slightly & the ends pop out & the sides fall away.Just one thing,these coaches are 3.87mm scale but so long as you run them in a complete rake,the difference in scale disappears.A train with my Heljan EM1

 

                             Ray.

[Il Grifone]

The Dinky Dublo tractor is blue. I have seen several claimed as such on eBay but they are the Matchbox version which has a  driver, usually red, but I have Chinese reissue in green. Just to further confuse the issue there is a Britain's Lilliput one as well....

 

The containers just sat on the wagon. Tri-ang did a nice plastic one which is also the right length. The Dublo wagon is long enough for two 'A' containers, but they stretched the 'B' type to fit - a rather pointless exercise as it would have been easier and cheaper to make it the right length in the first place. The two Dinky Dublo Bedford flat lorries also have a long flat bed to take the containers. There are only a few Dinky Toys that are Dublo scale apart from the Dinky Dublo range. The 29 series buses and coaches though they are all either rather old designs (the single and double deck buses (29c and 29e) or esoteric (all the coaches). Apart from those the forward control lorry is 1/72nd scale but passable. It also suffers from a ridiculously long rear. (I've alwas thought about a cut and shut' but decided it's not worth the bother.

 

Meccano cord has its own story   https://www.nzmeccano.com/40.php

 

My Dublo layout is on RMweb. 

 

Edited January 22, 2020 by Il Grifone
added link

[sagaguy]

For tractors, check out Oxford die cast in 1/76 scale

Ray. 

[Il Grifone]

6 minutes ago, sagaguy said:

For tractors, check out Oxford die cast in 1/76 scale

Ray. 

 

Undoubtedly better, but not vintage.  My layout  (see link below) did have some modern vehicles....

 

 

[2996 Victor]

2 hours ago, sagaguy said:

Very easy on these coaches,just one screw in the middle ,pull the roof up in the middle slightly & the ends pop out & the sides fall away.Just one thing,these coaches are 3.87mm scale but so long as you run them in a complete rake,the difference in scale disappears.A train with my Heljan EM1

 

                             Ray.

 

Ray,

 

that looks fantastic - the locos and coaches are fabulous! I'm really not sure now where I want to go with my layout - the "traditional" HD layout or create something more akin to a modern-style micro/small layout with scenery, which was what I had been thinking!

 

Thanks for sharing, and if you have any more photos, hints or tips, please do share!

 

All the best,

 

Mark

[DCB]

Going back almost to the start. The Wheel hangers are usually available from a couple of specialist dealers on line.  

The body and coupling rivets have a shouldered boss which takes the coupling, it is thicker on the plastic couplings than on the metal ones, but it does mean you have to use the correct rivet. The alternative is to use a small bolt, maybe 8BA, countersunk downwards with a Romford 1/8" axle bush filed down to take the coupling and a nut on the bottom, but its ugly. 

EDIT   Peco do a plastic rivet for their kits but its not much use for HD though you can drill through the top part and use it in place ofthe filed down axle bush. See pics

Edited January 24, 2020 by DavidCBroad

[gtis]

8 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

 

Hi Neil,

 

many thanks for the extra info!

 

Interesting how you stripped off the old paint - I would never have thought of that! I did wonder about soaking in cellulose thinners, and of course there's NitroMors, but that may be a bit too astringent. Did you use an etch primer or just their normal one?

 

For transfers, I was looking at Fox Transfers and the like, but I'll scout eBay first!

 

Thanks again and best regards,

 

Mark

Hi mark

these might be of interest 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRITISH-RAILWAYS-LOGO-High-Detail-stickers-decals-Model-Railway-OO-Gauge-1950-56/153070967527

Neil

[Il Grifone]

2 hours ago, DavidCBroad said:

Going back almost to the start. The Wheel hangers are usually available from a couple of specialist dealers on line.  

The body and coupling rivets have a shouldered boss which takes the coupling, it is thicker on the plastic couplings than on the metal ones, but it does mean you have to use the correct rivet. The alternative is to use a small bolt, maybe 8BA, countersunk downwards with a Romford 1/8" axle bush filed down to take the coupling and a nut on the bottom, but its ugly. 

 

Wrenn coupling rivets are still available on eBay. https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?item=153796198835&_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=wrenn+coupling+rivets

The hole in the Dublo coupling fits on the component in Airfix kits, whereas the Peco version jams and needs reaming out. I have used 4MA cheesehead screws, but flat head screws are available from China and can be used as pivots. The casting will need drilling and tapping (a steel screw will cut its own thread in zinc alloy  ). If necessary a spot of locking compound will lock it in position. The coupling should be free to move horizontally without appreciable vertical movement. I always check that they will drop under their own weight if the vehicle is held on its side.

I assume the Dublo one must be 5/32" diameter (Meccano was an all imperial world). Dublo screws are all BA apart from the use of Meccano screws which are 5/32" Whitworth. (Body and cylinder assembly fixings for example(Buy the latter if required as Meccano parts not Dublo.)

 

Some Wrenn transfers are still available as are reproduction Dublo transfers.

Edited January 22, 2020 by Il Grifone

[Ruffnut Thorston]

Just in case the information is required...

 

The Hornby Dublo containers are a shaped solid wood block, covered in a printed paper wrapping.

 

There were / are overlays available, of variable quality, to re cover the blocks.

 

I have done some myself, after getting some from the internet, and thinking that I may be able to do better...

 

Mine, if stuck to card, can also make up into a cardboard container!

 

There is a small screw eye in the roof to allow lifting by a crane.

 

As said above, the sheer weight of the container, and the wagon sides, are all that retain the container.

 

Tractors...

 

Oxford Diecast have made a blue Fordson tractor, similar to the Dublo Dinky one, but more to today's standards.

 

There have been at least two versions of the Oxford blue tractor. With wide spaced front wheels, and with narrow spaced front wheels...

 

 

Edited January 22, 2020 by Sarahagain
extras

[sagaguy]

The first rule of servicing HD motors especially the vertical motors is don`t take it apart,ok if you have a remagnitiser but the magnets will lose a lot of their strength if the magnet is removed from the pole pieces,1/2" motors seem ok as well s ringfield motors but they have a few performance problems of their own in some circumstances.Taking wagons & bogies apart!.Not much point really if the wheels are ok,a tiny drop of oil on a pin on the axle ends & all pivots,if you can see it,you`ve probably put too much on.Metal couplings sometimes need bending back to shape,check out Ron Dodds videos on you tube.One last thought for tonight,don`t use neo magnets,if the motor is weak,it probably needs an armature rewind & remag.

 

                         Ray.

[sagaguy]

Finally,just to prove that other makes will with simple modifications ,will run on HD3 rail.Trix Transpennine unit.

 

                             Ray.

[Wolseley]

I bought a "Bristolian" set a few years ago, with the intention of maybe adding one or two locomotives and maybe a handful of items of rolling stock.  I now have 45+ locomotivs and I haven't counted how many coaches or goods wagons I have.  A "slippery slope" indeed.......

 

I don't see anything wrong with repainting or modifying locomotives or rolling stock as most of what Dublo made was made in large numbers, so is not rare (there are a handful of exceptions though) and playworn and, consequently relatively cheap, items are not too hard to find.  Also, the monetary value of it is mostly well below that of new equipment, so it's not like you're reducing the value of a rare antique.  Here are a few I've modified:

 

 

 

 

 

And, if you want still more variety, there's always Trix Twin - the later 3 rail models have wheels that are compatible with Dublo.  Models that come to mind are the ex-GWR 0-6-2T, Warship diesel, Britannia and Standard Class 5 (Trix called it a Class V for some strange reason).

 

 

[sagaguy]

The problem of course is that once you start collecting,it`s difficult to know when to stop,no more true than my collection.A Marklin electric turntable is the latest addition.I do spend a lot of time converting Dublo locos into items that Meccano never produced,ie.City locos into names that were never produced,designing overlays for coaches that Meccano may have introduced given time but it was not to be.The trouble is that once you`ve seen one Montrose with red & cream coaches or a 2-6-4 with suburban coaches,you`ve really seen the lot.

 

                             Ray.

[BernardTPM]

4 hours ago, Wolseley said:

Standard Class 5 (Trix called it a Class V for some strange reason).

A Roman five. Perhaps whoever was responsible for that was a keen Latin scholar!

[Wolseley]

22 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

For transfers, I was looking at Fox Transfers and the like, but I'll scout eBay first!

 

I have used Fox Transfers for almost all the locomotives I have repainted.  The only catch is that the lining is noticeably finer than that on the original Dublo transfers.  Not a problem if it's a total repaint but, if you're just touching up some damaged paintwork, you would be better off seeking out some Wrenn transfers.  I am almost finished my restoration of a Dublo Ringfield Castle, and I ended up removing all the transfers, even although two thirds of them still looked OK.  Acetone based nail polish remover does a good job of this.

 

The Briggs tank wagons in my last post used transfers from Modelmaster Jackson Evans.  They began life as a mixture of Esso Royal Daylight and Mobil tank wagons, all either faded, rusty, or both.  I'm going to redo the transfers on the N2 because I think they would be better in white rather than gold.

[Wolseley]

5 minutes ago, BernardTPM said:

A Roman five. Perhaps whoever was responsible for that was a keen Latin scholar!

 

At least they didn't call their 0-6-2T an LXVIxx.

[Nearholmer]

3 hours ago, sagaguy said:

The problem of course is that once you start collecting,it`s difficult to know when to stop

Yes, I was wondering whether there might be a mirror thread called ‘Stopping a Hornby Dublo collection’, which I hazard might be a more difficultly thing to accomplish.