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NORTHEASTERN KITS


ArthurK
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  • 4 months later...
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NORTHEASTERN KITS

 

SCALEFORUM NORTH 2016

 

It is with regret that I have had to withdraw from Scaleforum North this year. Family problems here at home are taking up a lot of my time and require my presence here at home that weekend.

 

I have always looked forward to meeting customers (old and new) or those coming by for a chat. I will miss that

 

The kits are still carrying on as usual but things have slowed down of late and there is quite a bit of packing to be done.

 

Over the next couple of weeks I will be posting news of the availability of existing kits. In addition there will be news of new kits to come over the next few months.

 

Arthur

 

 

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NORTHEASTERN KITS
UPDATE
I have recently restocked some of my earlier kits. These are still awaiting various bits which are on order. I will take me a while to pack these when the bits eventually arrive but for the record I have the etches for the following

B15 4-6-0 (S2) four.
E5 2-4-0 (1463- Tennant) four.
A6 4-6-2T (rebuilt W) four.
J24 0-6-0 (P) Three.
Q5/1 0-8-0 (T/T1) Three.
Q5/2 0-8-0 (Rebuilt with 5' 6" boilers) Eour.
D20 4-4-0 ® Two only until the next batch is ordered.
J77 0-6-0T (290) with Fletcher cab Six.
J77 0-6-0T (290) with Worsdell cab Six.

Some of the above are reserved.

New releases pending are the J71 0-6-0T (E) and its development class E1 (J72 with short bunker). If there is enough interest the long bunkered version of the latter will be developed.

I anticipate that the J25 0-6-0 will be among this years releases.

The long awaited Q7 should be available before the end of the year. The C6 (V09) will be scheduled for early 2017.

Please send me a PM or Email If you wish me to reserve any of the above.

ArthutK
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I would definitely be interested in a long bunker J72, especially if it could do the BR built versions. The Bachmann model is starting to show its age now.

 

I'm already down for a Q7, so why not a J72 to build 69023?

 

Only awkward thing is that the release date could clash with the Brassmasters Duchess.....

 

The BR build of the J72 had no major differences from the prior LNER builds. However the obvious addition on these builds was the rear sandboxes below the footplate. These will be in the kit if and when I produce this version. 

 

 

The other thing of note is that all of these had train vacuum brake gear fitted when built. LNER group standard buffers were fitted along with LNER draw gear.

post-6751-0-04602300-1461146971.jpg

 

I looks like I should give this version serious consideration. The bunker extension and the frame lower profile are the only changes required to the short bunker version.

 

ArthurK

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NORTHEASTERN KITS

FLETCHER CAB J77 UPDATE

 

The first batch of this is fully allocated. Those at the top of the list will have received notification of its availability. I will be ordering a further batch of twelve this week. I still  nave a few names left on my list but if anyone wants one of these reserved please send me an Email or PM.

 

post-6751-0-25424700-1462184847_thumb.jpg

 

If you wish to know more the instructions are in the following PDF:-


 

ArthurK

 

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  • 1 month later...

Can i put my name down for a j25 please?

 

Steve

I don't understand why Arthur is producing a J25 kit. London Road Models have one in their range and would have already supplied most of the potential market.

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Nothing wrong with competition. 

And what benefits do you see this competition providing in the cottage industry aspect of model railways.

 

We are reliant on a number of smaller suppliers producing kits that enable us to model what Bachmann, Hornby and co don't supply -and probably never will.

 

In the past Arthur has concentrated, as far as I know, on models of prototypes that weren't already available of at least not in etched kit form. His time and effort has widely expanded the range of NER/LNWR models available. Why not continue to do that, rather than duplicate what someone else has already done?

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I don't understand why Arthur is producing a J25 kit. London Road Models have one in their range and would have already supplied most of the potential market.

Maybe he thinks he can do it better? Kit technology and design techniques don't stand still.

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Depends on how you define "quality".

 

New designs may be different in their approach - dependant on the designers preferences - but it doesn't always mean better. Some of the most highly regarded kits on the market were designed twenty or so years ago.

 

Arthur's kits are highly regarded. His approach to certain design aspects are different to mine but whether they are "better" will depend on the builder's experience and preferences.

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I may be wrong, but I thought that George Norton design the LRM J21/J25 some 30 years ago when possibly the only alternative was a Nu-Cast kit. I have recently come across the description of a LRM J25 build (by a Mr Daddyman), that used etched parts from another, more recent, kit. As Arthur already has a J24 kit developing a J25 using essentially the same constructional methods, castings and tender would appear an entirely logical development.

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Ok, nail and colours.... The LRM old George Norton kit is still build able. No doubt Arthur took this into account before doing his design. The kit sales from each supplier no doubt will conform to economics of supply and demand. I have not built one of Arthur's kits, from what I have seen online they do produce lovely models. So if Arthur's kit is better detailed, cheaper or easier to build, more available etc the sales will unfortunately leave the older LRM/ GN kit on the shelf and no doubt be eventually discontinued. Dare I say that the claim of chose another class rather than one that is already available. Is only valuable to the modeller. To no doubt trade competition section of the government would approve of the added competition. Only time will say which is better.

 

There could be another reason Arthur wanted to do them for himself! So to make them available in his range was a normal step.

 

Ok off in another direction. The older etched kits generally are not drawn on cad, therefore the accuracy is not as high as the old hand drawn versions. As the tolerances achievable are a lot better on Cad. I say this from building Dave Bradwells J26/27 in the older version and the Q6 from Cad. The tolerances were tightened and the build became easier. I am also building a Finney V2 at the moment which appears to be very well designed on Cad. The tolerance and fit is lovely and the build quick and painless to date!

 

So the out come of this is the market is halved between each supplier unless differentiated by other factors.

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     Next in my pile is my first of Arthurs kits a B15, so I will know soon and make any comment then on build quality etc. The kit looks superb and there is at least one already built on here by Mike Meggison.

     I bought a part built Geo Norton G5,  I could never get the semi built chassis to work. I gave up in the end and used a Dave Alexander chassis. The body built well, no idea if the period chassis can be made to work on not ? LRM probably have updated these very old kits at some point as well.

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Ok, nail and colours.... The LRM old George Norton kit is still build able. No doubt Arthur took this into account before doing his design. The kit sales from each supplier no doubt will conform to economics of supply and demand. I have not built one of Arthur's kits, from what I have seen online they do produce lovely models. So if Arthur's kit is better detailed, cheaper or easier to build, more available etc the sales will unfortunately leave the older LRM/ GN kit on the shelf and no doubt be eventually discontinued. Dare I say that the claim of chose another class rather than one that is already available. Is only valuable to the modeller. To no doubt trade competition section of the government would approve of the added competition. Only time will say which is better.

 

There could be another reason Arthur wanted to do them for himself! So to make them available in his range was a normal step.

 

Ok off in another direction. The older etched kits generally are not drawn on cad, therefore the accuracy is not as high as the old hand drawn versions. As the tolerances achievable are a lot better on Cad. I say this from building Dave Bradwells J26/27 in the older version and the Q6 from Cad. The tolerances were tightened and the build became easier. I am also building a Finney V2 at the moment which appears to be very well designed on Cad. The tolerance and fit is lovely and the build quick and painless to date!

 

So the out come of this is the market is halved between each supplier unless differentiated by other factors.

 

Doug,

 

an fairly accurate assessment, although there are limits to the photo etching process that  limits the level of drawing tolerances you can use. Properly drawn and designed hand created artwork can produce very good kits. One of the great advantages of CAD are in the repeatability of parts and laying out of components for effective use of metal.

 

My original post about Arthurs' kit for the J25 was motivated by a market for etched kits that is actually fairly small.  Therefore the opportunity for sales - given the existing kits on the market - will be smaller than for a kit of a prototype that isn't available (or at least not as an etched kit). Arthur's kit may be different, cheaper, more readily available or have a ready market with his existing customers (all conjecture at this point) however I see this as more of a lose/lose rather than a win/win scenario. The "small suppliers" community is fairly fragile - few of them make a full time living out of it - so cooperation rather than competition is what we need. Yes, there are examples of multiple kits for many prototypes, but these are usually of different types, w/m, etched, cast resin, etc. and appeal to modellers with different preferences, skills, experience, etc.

 

     Next in my pile is my first of Arthurs kits a B15, so I will know soon and make any comment then on build quality etc. The kit looks superb and there is at least one already built on here by Mike Meggison.

     I bought a part built Geo Norton G5,  I could never get the semi built chassis to work. I gave up in the end and used a Dave Alexander chassis. The body built well, no idea if the period chassis can be made to work on not ? LRM probably have updated these very old kits at some point as well.

Mick,

 

the G5 is  a popular and good selling kit for LRM (accepting that any etched kit sells in small quantities) and hasn't, as far as the proprietor of LRM knows, has presented any problems with building the chassis. It's probably the other NER kit - in addition to the G1 4-4-0 - I shall get for London Road to go with the rake of D&S NER carriages being built at present.

 

Jol

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Jol, I believe we agree!

 

The G5 however I have to agree with Mick. I too have had trouble with the chassis which to date has no succumbed to my efforts. A redesign may be worthwhile.

 

Unfortunately I would like to have the loco running but time is against me at the moment.

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I have only just been made  aware of the comments recently posted on my thread and feel that it is time for me to try to justify my decision to proceed with the J25.

 

I have nothing against the Norton kits and must confess to building several of those myself including the G5 and the N8/9. They went together without too many problems but there are several areas where the method of construction could be improved and/or simplified. I did modify the chassis of both the G5 and N8 to conform with my own preferences. My kits are aimed at a niche market made up from about 50/50 P4 and EM/OO modellers. They are built to satisfy those who want an accurate and easily built model.

 

Whereas I agree  with Jol that it might seem a little odd to be duplicating an existing kit I felt that there is scope for a second one which would in the main be attractive to my existing customers. The other fact is that I already have the J24 kit now reaching the end of its lifespan and as all the loco castings from the J24 are identical with those of the J25 and the fact that the tenders were also identical, it made economic sense to add an additional kit to my range for quite a small outlay.

 

I never expect my kits to flood the market. If any one kit reaches a sale of more than twenty in total then I am more than happy.

 

ArthurK

 

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OK I seem to have hit my head on a nail again. From Arthur's comments above I would say that the reason for doing the kit was to complete his range (IE personal "wants") 

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NORTHEASTERN KITS

 

Special Cattle Wagons

 

No doubt you will have seen Jonathan Wealleans' build of the test etches for both the NER and LNER versions of this  on this forum and also on the LNER forum.

 

This is an update on the present state of these etches. They were originally drawn by Roger Chivers and intended as part of his range of etched vans and wagons. He decided not to proceed with these and I acquired the artwork. I made a few small changes. In particular I changed the fixed/rocking axles to a sprung system and increased the depth of the recessed panelling. It was in this form that Jonathan built the test etches.

 

Roger used the drawings published in Tatlow's book "Historic Wagon Drawings". It has since come to light that there are a  number of errors on these drawings. In particular the windows in the doors and the attendant's compartment are not of correct size. Also the cattle doors on the NER version  were 5' 6" overall whereas the LNER increased this to 6' 0". There are also differences from the Darlington GAs in some of the panel sizes.

 

Because of this I am holding back the release of these until the errors have been corrected. I am awaiting copies of the GAs from the NRM.

 

Sorry for the delay but I think that it will be worth it.

 

I have made a list of those of you that have expressed an interest in these. I will get back to each of you when I can supply them. 

 

Any one else interested just PM me.

 

ArthurK

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