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Farish megabox


grahame

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Hmm, they did look oh so nice in the Bachmann display cabinets! Most rakes seem to be a significant length - maybe 5 loaded with scrap would be enough as part of an Enterprise working? If a trader at Calne show has these over the weekend, I can feel myself leaving with a light wallet!

 

cheers

 

jo

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I ordered an outer and 2 inners which duly arrived this morning. Having only glanced at them before heading off to work, they are absolutely stunning - the level of detail underneath is breathtaking. My only grumble is that they aren't close coupled, and so do sit quite far apart.

 

Having also looked at them in my hands and on the track, I do begin to wonder if we are driving 'pointless' detail though on rolling stock. I mean, how often will I or anyone else appreciate the stunning detail underneath? Certainly when running, all that fine metalwork is invisible, so for the sake of a few quid less, I'd probably have been just as happy if it wasn't there...

 

David

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Hi David,

 

I don't presume to know how the cost breaks down for Bachmann on a model like this one, but I doubt the extra detailing adds a huge amount compared to other fixed costs such as body mouldings, bogie mouldings, wheels, painting, priting, packaging, transportation etc. Even if we say the cost of the detailing is a quarter of the entire production cost, then starting with RRP of ??20 the price without would be ??15.

 

So for ??100 you could either have 5 "absolutely stunning... breathtaking" wagons, or 6 that... aren't. I know which I prefer!

 

But away from price comparisons, I also feel that the quality of these latest products means we Britons are no longer the poor relations of those N-gaugers modelling German, Japanese or US railways - yay! - and I also think that this sort of quality is the only real way of "growing" the scale - by convincing die hard O and OO modellers that dabbling in N is worth it.

 

I totally agree with you about the coupler spacings - luckily the NEM pockets make substitution with Dapol buckeyes straightforward!

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

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Picked up 4 today from the Modelmania stand at Calne. How very very tasty! May well get some more tomorrow!

These have got to be the tidiest RTR items in N for a fair while, and this does seem to be the standard we are being offered with things like the Farish 150 and Dapol 67. Bring on more stuff like this!

The good news about the two types of wagons, is that buffered types aren't actually outers, and the MBAs don't seem to run in fixed sets. They simply have a combination coupler, which allows either a knuckle or screw link coupler to be used. Of course if a screwlink fitted loco is hauling, then yes they do need to be formed at an outer end, but they frequently crop up randomly in the middle of rakes too, and this 66 hauled set seen at Swindon had knuckle only (no buffer) wagons at both ends, as 66s and 67s have the required combi coupler, though there were odd buffer fitted wagons throughout the rake

y0uek1.jpg

cheers

 

jo

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Picked up 4 today from the Modelmania stand at Calne. How very very tasty! May well get some more tomorrow!

These have got to be the tidiest RTR items in N for a fair while, and this does seem to be the standard we are being offered with things like the Farish 150 and Dapol 67. Bring on more stuff like this!

The good news about the two types of wagons, is that buffered types aren't actually outers, and the MBAs don't seem to run in fixed sets. They simply have a combination coupler, which allows either a knuckle or screw link coupler to be used. Of course if a screwlink fitted loco is hauling, then yes they do need to be formed at an outer end, but they frequently crop up randomly in the middle of rakes too, and this 66 hauled set seen at Swindon had knuckle only (no buffer) wagons at both ends, as 66s and 67s have the required combi coupler, though there were odd buffer fitted wagons throughout the rake

y0uek1.jpg

cheers

 

jo

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Picked up 4 today from the Modelmania stand at Calne. How very very tasty! May well get some more tomorrow!

These have got to be the tidiest RTR items in N for a fair while, and this does seem to be the standard we are being offered with things like the Farish 150 and Dapol 67. Bring on more stuff like this!

The good news about the two types of wagons, is that buffered types aren't actually outers, and the MBAs don't seem to run in fixed sets. They simply have a combination coupler, which allows either a knuckle or screw link coupler to be used. Of course if a screwlink fitted loco is hauling, then yes they do need to be formed at an outer end, but they frequently crop up randomly in the middle of rakes too, and this 66 hauled set seen at Swindon had knuckle only (no buffer) wagons at both ends, as 66s and 67s have the required combi coupler, though there were odd buffer fitted wagons throughout the rake

y0uek1.jpg

cheers

 

jo

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Picked up 4 today from the Modelmania stand at Calne. How very very tasty! May well get some more tomorrow!

These have got to be the tidiest RTR items in N for a fair while, and this does seem to be the standard we are being offered with things like the Farish 150 and Dapol 67. Bring on more stuff like this!

The good news about the two types of wagons, is that buffered types aren't actually outers, and the MBAs don't seem to run in fixed sets. They simply have a combination coupler, which allows either a knuckle or screw link coupler to be used. Of course if a screwlink fitted loco is hauling, then yes they do need to be formed at an outer end, but they frequently crop up randomly in the middle of rakes too, and this 66 hauled set seen at Swindon had knuckle only (no buffer) wagons at both ends, as 66s and 67s have the required combi coupler, though there were odd buffer fitted wagons throughout the rake

y0uek1.jpg

cheers

 

jo

 

Thanks for the info on buffers and lack of buffers Jo! That's just answered a question I was about

to ask.

 

Having looked at some MBAs in the flesh yesterday my only real gripe is the lack of close coupling

mechanism (as fitted to pretty much all european N models in the last 10+ years). Whilst at the same model shop I bought some Minitrix bogie tank wagons of a German prototype, these are fitted with close coupling mechanisms. With normal N couplings the buffers sit approx 2-3mm apart. With Fleischmann 9545 couplings in the NEM pockets the buffers touch. Why can't this be done with UK N models? It makes such a difference!!!

 

Apart from that, recent UK N wagon models are pretty much on par with european offerings. Coaching stock and more so locos, still lag behind in terms of quality, but then european locos cost more and thats a whole new topic/debate!

 

Anthony

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If you're running them as part of an enterprise you'll probably also want a buffer fitted one at the end that joins to other wagons as well - somewhere like Tavy Jcn where a set would be broken down for loading and then re-assembled into a mixed freight could make for an interesting basis for a layout with having to try and get the wagons in the right order to couple up - throw in a non-buckeye 66 like 001/002 and an occasional BRA/BYA barrier wagon for real fun... wink.gif

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I have just added a post to my blog about adding Microtrains couplers to these rather tidy beasts.

post-6899-12644328040084_thumb.jpg

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/blog/360/entry-2553-knuckle-duster/

cheers

 

jo

 

Look very nice, much better than Dapols 4mm scale effort! Cant wait for Bachmann's 4mm ones!

 

Now that my layout plan is going to see a lot more aggragrate traffic, I suddenly need a lot more of these than the pair I had originally planned for my scrap rake.) 8 or 9 will do nicely to go with a Hanson 59 for something like this http://rollingstone.fotopic.net/p10010946.html

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Rich, don't say things like that, I'll need to buy more!

Martyn, my plan was to have buffered outer wagons, so it can run as part of an enterprise, or behind any loco, and the odd buffered wagon thrown in the middle of the train, much like this: http://wagons.fotopic.net/p53056903.html Shunting the models won't be an issue, but I do like to think about that kind of thing when I'm putting my rakes together to add to the authenticity, not that anyone'd notice in N rolleyes.gif

I don't you've got any idea what the situation is with ladders on MBAs? I assumed they were all removed when the wagons were a couple of years old. However, whilst doing my research, knowing this model was imminent, I've noticed a couple still with ladders, one photo dated 2009! Is it case of being removed when they got damaged, or are those that retain them one's that were missed in a mass removal?

cheers

 

jo

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Thanks Martyn, I had a recollection of it being something to do with climbing, whether OHL related or not. So it means most of my wagons are going to be getting the ping off and fill treatment then. I see a few ladder-less ones have retained the white bottom footsteps, though sadly this doesn't help with the need to fill the holes on the side and ends!

 

jo

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  • 2 months later...
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Hi Paul.

 

52cm, or there abouts, for a rake of 4. They are huge things!

 

hope this helps.

 

Tom.

 

The "mini-monsterbox" wagons have arrived at Hattons :)

Does anybody know how long 4 of these wagons would be? as I think that'll be all I can acomodate In my PW siding...

Cheers

Paul

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Hi Paul.

 

52cm, or there abouts, for a rake of 4. They are huge things!

 

hope this helps.

 

Tom.

hmmm, think i might go with 3, then 2 shorter MFA's or similar, thus creating the illusion it's longer than it really is (hopefully!)

 

Cheers for the help!

Paul

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