GNER ‘mallard’ mk4 set

[Luciton St James]

My little boy who is 9 is a big fan of the IC225’s / 91’s , we have a InterCity liveried set that I’ve had since Nov 1990  . He’s a big fan of the GNER livery ( it is a class corporate look) , he’s been badgering me for months about doing a GNER mallard set & luckily a week before Xmas a super cheap set of 6 coaches inc a dvt & a class 91 was aquired. Started the task of altering the coaches to suit. Done a fair bit of cutting / filling / sanding to get where we are with the TOE / TOD / SV / PO (d) & the DVT , made a start on the class 91 chassis by cutting off the incorrect drag box shape & making a new one from milliput. It’s probably a given that Hornby will be making new mk4 coaches , but nonetheless I like old fashioned railway modelling / chopping  / altering the old Lima / Margate Hornby gear.

[JDW]

Interesting project, I look forward to seeing it progress. Will you be fitting the Keen skirts and close couplings? 

[Luciton St James]

Cheers , I’m still mulling over the keen drag boxes etc. The set we have , have had all the weights removed , Peco plastic wheels fitted & one hook removed from the ‘91’ end of each coach to eliminate the cross coupling. The 91’s we have all run with Lima class 87 power units / pick up bogies. This produces a lighter but far more reliable locomotive / eases up the spares as we have a lot of Lima locomotives / not many Hornby ringfields, most of the 86’s have Lima 87 motors & the 90’s are being converted to cd/ dvd motor drives.

[JDW]

Interesting. I found that the Keen couplings can be quite stiff, but in my case it's a display model rather than a layout one so haven't really tried to adjust them beyond adding some graphite. 

[Luciton St James]

So far so good with the GNER ‘mallard’ mk4 set. Apart from replacement wheel sets the coaches are complete. All painted up inside, figures added , painting / transfers etc all complete. Used Fox transfers for this. Got a matching class 91 underway , it’s 90% done just awaiting GNER logos & OH designs etch brass frets for between the bogies.

[Clagsniffer]

Nice job on the GNER livery, will make a lovely set.

 

You didn’t by any chance squire this rake on eBay around September time? I sold mine on reluctantly with the same 6 coaches, 91 and DVT, would be interesting to see where it ended up! 
 

If I remember rightly I think the set I sold went for £80 which I thought was cheap.

 

Regards

 

Rich.