JSpencer Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 I have started stripping my 71 down to give some more down play on the leading edge of the bogies. Lifted the PCB which covers the gear towers and stops (lumps of plastic/metal which restrict the bogies movement). In fairness the engineering is quite good on this model. On the outer ends, there is a plastic tab attached to the bogie with sits in a metal arch of the chassis block limiting down play. FWIW The very similar chassis of Dapol's 73 does not have it. You can cut it off or in my case grind down the metal arcs to give an extra mm or so. That is not the end of it. The gear tower - while being centered - is not the central pivot point of the bogie itself (unlike the Hornby 73 or Heljan 33). Instead there is a small cylindrical column behind the towers (towards the centre of the loco) that acts as the chassis pivot. (the 73 has a similar arrangement - in fact the chassis design of both is so similar to suggest the same factory). I assume this was down to ensure that the angle of attachment for the shafts is kept to a minimum thereby increasing running smoothness round sharp curves. I have the impression (!) that there must be a screw inside the bogie holding the bogie to this column from underneath the chassis block. If so - this seems tight - as despite giving the bogie greater down play, it is still held rgidly enough to prevent it from naturally drooping down onto the rails whenever the loco meets a dip. The plastic 73 bogie frame is easier to get off on a 73 as the down play is a good 3/4mm on this model which makes getting a screw driver in one end to ease it off, possible to do (bogie frame parts with not enough glue will come off at the same time - a perfect test!). The 71 has little/none to start with and the frames are broader, somewhat more detailed. I have not found the best way to remove it with risk of damage. Has anyone found a way to remove the plastic bogie frames from the bogies? If so, did you see a screw holding the bogie to the pivot point of the chassis block? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteskitchen Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 Has anybody re motored one of these to get a bit more performance out if it? I really prefer the over all look and detail, and especially the paint of the DJM model, but with a large layout the performance is not good enough. Rather than buy a Hornby version I would prefer to buy a DJM one and re motor it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesndbs Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 (edited) This is a real confuster. I still love my DJ 71 and would not even give Hornby's one a chance. However, while my layout is not big and slow speed is much more important, I measured mine at 55 mph with a small load and that is a little too small. A scale 70mph would be nice. As for remotoring, the coreless motor is so very small I doubt there is room to do it, its not much bigger round than a large pencil. Edited January 6, 2019 by mikesndbs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSpencer Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 This is a real confuster. I still love my DJ 71 and would not even give Hornby's one a chance. However, while my layout is not big and slow speed is much more important, I measured mine at 55 mph with a small load and that is a little too small. A scale 70 would be nice. As for remotoring, the coreless motor is so very small I doubt there is room to do it, its not much bigger round than a large pencil. Me too, I would love someone to produce a scale class 70. A proper one, not those ugly 21st century diesels Bachmann does. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John ks Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 This is a real confuster. I still love my DJ 71 and would not even give Hornby's one a chance. However, while my layout is not big and slow speed is much more important, I measured mine at 55 mph with a small load and that is a little too small. A scale 70mph would be nice. As for remotoring, the coreless motor is so very small I doubt there is room to do it, its not much bigger round than a large pencil. I have also considered repowering DJ's 71 Space is one problem, an other problem is the motor RPM and the gear ratio A lot of coreless motors are very high revving, in which case a remoter might result in an even slower loco. While having a quick but unsuccessful look for spare parts on DJ's new site I remembered that I had downloaded a Cl 71 PDF Here is the chassis. Removing the coreless motor & cradle may give enough room for a larger motor, if not then the highlighted area may need to be removed(piece of cake if you got a mill) . Hope this helps John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteskitchen Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 I ended up buying a Hornby one as I found one for sale for peanuts in the right livery. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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