Stephen Lacey (92245) Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 (edited) I'm starting to get back into O Gauge modelling after a break of about ten years, and I've been contemplating purchasing a number of the MM1 BR/SR/LMS 12ton Box Van kits. Having not seen any in the flesh, nor can find any reviews of construction online, I was hoping modellers on this forum could give an insight into the quality, ease of build and any pit falls involved with these kits? I've not worked with resin before, with Slaters and Parkside wagon kits being the limits of my experience. Ideally I would be looking to obtain a number of the SR 12ton Van kits to be finished in Longmoor Livery to complement a Bachmann Brass 'Austerity' tank that I'm currently having finished in LMR Blue. I'd also loo to purchase a number of the standard BR Vans and the the odd LMS Van to replace a number of Skytrex BR Vans that are surplus to requirements. Any advice on the MM1 wagons kits would be gratefully recieved! Cheers, Stephen Edited November 22, 2020 by Stephen Lacey (92245) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 (edited) I built two JLTRT (now MM1) kits, BR Mk 1 CCT and BR(W) Fruit D. The resin parts are very crisp and, as far as can tell, accurate. I used CA to glue them together. IMO, there are too many whitemetal parts such as vacuum pipes and steps. WM is not appropriate for fine parts like this, I replaced them with Slaters which are lost wax cast brass. The CCT instructions contained very tiny photos that weren't a lot of use. I did find a series of videos for the Fruit D. My advice would be to get a MM1 kit not done by Parkside or Slaters. If these two do the same or similar, I would get that. Parkside and Slaters include transfers. John Edited November 22, 2020 by brossard 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Lacey (92245) Posted November 22, 2020 Author Share Posted November 22, 2020 Hi John, Many thanks for your response - I've not used Cyanoacrylate glue before, so am interested to see how that goes. It's a shame that the Freightman sides are no longer available, seeing as they would have pretty much suited my needs combined with Parkside underframes. Cheers, Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 I use CA a lot (as well as plastic solvent). My go to brand is Zap A Gap Medium and it is very strong. Experience guides you as to the appropriate adhesive. Most of my kits are from the Parkside and Slaters stable. I also have a number of etched brass kits too. You can see some of them in the link below. John 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hal Nail Posted November 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 23, 2020 (edited) On 22/11/2020 at 12:09, Stephen Lacey (92245) said: Ideally I would be looking to obtain a number of the SR 12ton Van kits to be finished in Longmoor Livery to complement a Bachmann Brass 'Austerity' tank that I'm currently having finished in LMR Blue. I'd also loo to purchase a number of the standard BR Vans and the the odd LMS Van to replace a number of Skytrex BR Vans that are surplus to requirements. J&M Hughes do resin kits as well. Both do LMS van types not covered by Parkside or Slaters and the Parkside SR van is a 9ft wheelbase type whereas MM1 is a later type I think. I bought a JLTRT (mm1) LMS van which had a crisp body but sold it on un-started when I got hold of a Freightman version. Whilst I dont really like mixing metal and plastic (largely as it's a pain to mix epoxy) the Slaters BR range are very nice and I'd go for them over MM1 personally although MM1 do a few variants not covered by Slaters. Edited November 23, 2020 by Hal Nail 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 I mostly detest epoxy and usually use CA when attaching metal details to plastic. It has worked well for me and soooooo much easier. For my most recent kit, I did use epoxy to glue the aluminum roof to the brass body. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodyfox Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 I have no personal experience of MM1 van kits but seem to remember reading that the buffer centres are out? This may have been corrected of course. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 5 hours ago, woodyfox said: I have no personal experience of MM1 van kits but seem to remember reading that the buffer centres are out? This may have been corrected of course. I was warned about that with my Fruit D but I found the centers to be correct. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Lacey (92245) Posted November 24, 2020 Author Share Posted November 24, 2020 The model that interests me the most of the SR 12 ton Uneven planked box van - I think I'm going to take the plunge and purchase a couple. I already have spare slaters wheel sets, so it's not too much of a gamble..... I've not heard of J&M Hughes before - its a shame the website isn't a bit more user friendly, but credit where it is due their range seems quite expansive. Cheers, Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike hughes Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 On 24/11/2020 at 16:49, Stephen Lacey (92245) said: The model that interests me the most of the SR 12 ton Uneven planked box van - I think I'm going to take the plunge and purchase a couple. I already have spare slaters wheel sets, so it's not too much of a gamble..... I've not heard of J&M Hughes before - its a shame the website isn't a bit more user friendly, but credit where it is due their range seems quite expansive. Cheers, Stephen I’ve been about for 20 years (mostly with late father) range is slowly expanding when get a chance Michael 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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