Roco pantographs

[Swissrail]

Am I the only one who thinks the new Roco pantographs fitted to the latest Re4/4 and Re6/6 models don't look half as good as the older wire-made ones do? The new ones look like coarse castings or may even be, God forbid, plastic. Does anyone know of a high end etched replacement? The Sommerfeldt ones aren't very accurate for this prototype as the bow is too long and is the wrong shape.

 

 

Edited May 23, 2020 by Swissrail

[MichaelE]

I'm not impressed with them either. The diameter of the arms look to be slightly out of scale.

 

Since mine is still relatively new and under warranty I wasn't going to make any alterations until out of warranty.

 

I haven't yet shopped for any replacements.

 

 

 

[Swissrail]

Hi Mike

What are they made of?

 

[MichaelE]

I'd have to check, I've never touched them except to raise and tie the one you see in the photo. I use tweasers and a small needle nose to tie them down.

 

Well, I can't really tell. The arms don't flex in the slightest so I think they may be metal, but I can't be certain. They have a matt finish on them, unlike the first photo in your post, and I don't see the slightest amount of casting flash or parting lines. They might very well be metal.

Edited May 23, 2020 by MichaelE
Info added

[Swissrail]

I may have to resort to Corel Draw to run up the artwork on scratchbuilt etched ones. I can't find a decent replacement anywere. The old ones I have are limited in their travel by a 14BA nut soldered to the underside of the frame and a screw inserted and adjusted to prevent the pantograph arm from rising too high. It means I can have only slightly tensioned OHLE and no overly deflected contact wires.

Edited May 23, 2020 by Swissrail

[MichaelE]

Is there any way to simulate the carbon strip found on the top of the contact arm? I thought about just using flat black paint, but that will wear off with contact on the wire.

[Swissrail]

You could try chemical blackening. It's more robust than paint.