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Why would one model in EM rather than P4?


Lacathedrale
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I accidentally did the opposite when changing from OO to P4.  I asked someone to pick up a length of the (then) new K&L P4 flexitrack.  I glued it down on a small demo diorama and could not understsnd how hard it was to get my GWR Diesel Railcar with drop in P4 wheels on the track.  It turned out the track was actually EM!........

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10 hours ago, kevinlms said:

What's that in metric?

That's the whole point of S scale, it's an all imperial scale and doesn't have those odd metric-imperial fudges that Henry Greenly introduced to the hobby. The old name for S was 'H1' , as in half-size "imperial" Gauge 1 i.e. 1/32 scale (as per Britain's toy soldiers and farm animals).  If you really must use a metric-imperial fudge, then S scale is approximately 5.5mm  4.76 mm/ 1' [see post below]

Edited by CKPR
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8 hours ago, CKPR said:

If you really must use a metric-imperial fudge, then S scale is approximately 5.5mm / 1'. 


Forgive please but I believe it’s 4.76mm / 12”. I’m afraid I only ever worked in metric when I did S. Unforgivable I know but I have always been useless at fractions......

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  • 3 weeks later...

There does seem to be greater interest in both EM and P4 gauges, certainly for some time the movement for finer scale models has been high on the agenda, but without easily accessible and affordable track, especially turnouts and crossings have held many back.

 

With the EMGS selling RTR turnouts and Finetrax producing easily assembled turnout kits interest seems to be increasing

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest WM183

I would do 4mm finescale if i believed the chassis and track id need to build would work anywhere near as well as Bachmann and peco stuff does out if the box. Sadly i dont think i could.

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7 minutes ago, WM183 said:

I would do 4mm finescale if i believed the chassis and track id need to build would work anywhere near as well as Bachmann and peco stuff does out if the box. Sadly i dont think i could.

 

 

What makes you believe this ?

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Guest WM183

Modern rtr stuff is nice. My eyes arent great and... frankly its scary to try. I have some comet chassis packs and all but its very much terra incognita for me.

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56 minutes ago, WM183 said:

Modern rtr stuff is nice. My eyes arent great and... frankly its scary to try. I have some comet chassis packs and all but its very much terra incognita for me.

 

If you ask 100 what is fine scale you will get 100 different explanations. Its more a state of modelling where high standards are used irrespective of scale or gauge

 

Yes you are correct most modern RTR stock is of a high quality, some feel the narrow gauge lets them down

 

With Peco making the EMGS RTR track system, certainly with that and their new 00 bullhead system certainly finescale RTR track is available and there are plenty of fine layouts in P4 & EM gauges where hand built track works as well id not better that RTR

 

Likewise many kit built and ready to run locos run exceptionally well with finescale hand built chassis, certainly modern kit built gear trains are better and superior motors can be used. Comet chassis are excellent and can be made to work excellently in any of the 4mm gauges. But as you say the quality of modern RTR stock can be superb

 

I think that by carefully selecting the items it is now possible to build a finescale layout from ready to run items, the skill being to bring everything together as one

 

Sorry to hear about your eyes, I have 2 relatives who have eye problems, one is nearly blind but enjoys special art classes for the visually impaired. Enjoy your modelling and keep safe 

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Well rotten eyesight and clumsy fingers post a stroke pushed me to EM rather than P4(got nowt against that and am constantly impressed by the standards of modelling displayed in that genre) ,  but I frequently find myself wishing I had stuck to 00 as I wouldn't need to modify as much, then I could stick to hacking and painting which i can deal with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by robert17649
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Guest WM183

How do most people make steam locos in EM / P4 nowadays? Do you just replace RTR mechanisms with new ones? What do you do with the mechanism? Most of the time you cannot really convert them like you can with diesels, can you?

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7 minutes ago, WM183 said:

How do most people make steam locos in EM / P4 nowadays? Do you just replace RTR mechanisms with new ones? What do you do with the mechanism? Most of the time you cannot really convert them like you can with diesels, can you?

 

There are P4 modellers who do convert steam locos to P4 with not much more than a wheel swap although as you have the valve great to deal with it is clearly not as simple as a diesel, the showcase section of the recent Scalefour North virtual show had a Black 5 converted from a Hornby loco that used the existing, rigid, chassis and mechanism and it was very difficult to tell it apart from a fully kit built Black 5 from the same modeller.

 

John

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If you want to model steam in P4 and want to get up and running quickly, drop-in wheelsets for inside cylinder 0-6-0 tanks like panniers and jintys are easy but can be expensive.  Ultrascale sets come ready quartered with a new drive gear and can use the original coupling rods.  Actually available in EM and P4.  Gibson sets are cheaper but need to be installed on the supplied axles and I believe may need replacement coupling rods.

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I model in EM because I didn’t think I would have the time or indeed the skill to build the type of layout I like in P4. My interest is in modelling a real main line location with scale length express trains which are themselves models of the actual trains which worked n the line.

 

It is possible to convert RTR locomotives to EM relatively easily, even using the  original driving wheels of the RTR loco.A8C2B596-5452-40E4-8667-2D06AF5E1A9E.jpeg.c5d11e614961e66f6979161dafec48d2.jpegHere is a Hornby A4 which I converted to EM gauge using the existing driving wheels but I did change the bogie wheels and the trailing wheels. The driving wheels were simply pulled out on their axles to the EM gauge. I used super glue to secure them to the axles and used washers to reduce the movement of the axles in the chassis. This loco also has the chassis widened by the use of lead sheet to overlay the frames and weight added to the inside of the boiler. She will quite happily pull 12 coaches but I do feel that RTR locos are rather fragile and I do wonder if she will last in the long term. 
 

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