Bachmann announce Class 117 and Class 121 at Collectors Club event

[dj_crisp]

On 30/12/2021 at 10:59, NickL2008 said:

Hi - has anyone attempted to renumber their 117? How well do they respond to thinners / T-cut? Thinking of renumbering my one

 

NL

 

Probably a bit late but t-cut worked fine for me

 

[dj_crisp]

Hi All

 

I'm trying to understand Bachmanns circuit board in a 117 with the aim to use a funtion decoder for my 121 DTS project.... and while at it label each tab to understand why so many wires are needed for the coupling connectors. Labelling of them kind of makes sense and I've made a start;

 

 

Above are the ones I'm confident in as I've managed to get the front and rear lights to illmuniate which felt like progress of sorts. I'm however struggling with the Interior/Destination/Cab lights and think things are complicated by the switches in the DMBS car not present in the DMS car.

 

Hopefully the photo explains what I'm trying to do.

 

 

It all does fit!

 

 

Just haven't been able to get the interior lights working!

 

Thanks for your help

Will

 

 

 

[dj_crisp]

I think I might have sorted my issue - please shout if I've done something daft!

 

I've hotwired the top circuit board so that the common goes to all lights. Not sure wht the VCC option is?

 

 

 

Then soldered up the bottom board as;

 

 

So I think S5 is the destination blind, Ln- is the interior lights and S4 the cab lights. As I only hae a 4 function decoder I've chosen the destination blinds to be on at the same time as the interior lights.

 

 

 

 

Seems to work! 

Please let me know if this wrong as if it works I'm tempted to get rid of the horrible coupling in the 117s

 

cheers

Will

 

[NickL2008]

7 hours ago, dj_crisp said:

 

Probably a bit late but t-cut worked fine for me

 

Hi will - haha never too late, Thinners got my ones off with careful removal.. next up for my one is chagning the destinations which im guessing may need the same treatment possibly?

 

NL

[dj_crisp]

13 hours ago, NickL2008 said:

Hi will - haha never too late, Thinners got my ones off with careful removal.. next up for my one is chagning the destinations which im guessing may need the same treatment possibly?

 

NL

 

I expect so or just file them off. I have plans for experimenting with destinations mounted in the front screen and just use the existing blind for illumination.

[Pteremy]

On 29/06/2022 at 19:21, dj_crisp said:

 

Please let me know if this wrong as if it works I'm tempted to get rid of the horrible coupling in the 117s

 

cheers

Will

 

Interested to know how you have got on. I was starting to plan the creation of a Class 149 DTS, but when I looked again at the prototypical formation I wanted to emulate I realised that it was in fact a Class 121 plus a Class 118 DMBS! (W55026 + W51314 for the record.) That simplifies things in one important sense, because the underframe & body required is simply that of the 117 DMBS, albeit the head code box needs some modification. But how to join them together? Two decoders or one? 'Chunky couplings'? 'Consist' programming? I looked at building a DMBS out of Bachmann spares but that isn't a cheap option. 

[dj_crisp]

On 23/09/2022 at 19:00, Pteremy said:

Interested to know how you have got on. I was starting to plan the creation of a Class 149 DTS, but when I looked again at the prototypical formation I wanted to emulate I realised that it was in fact a Class 121 plus a Class 118 DMBS! (W55026 + W51314 for the record.) That simplifies things in one important sense, because the underframe & body required is simply that of the 117 DMBS, albeit the head code box needs some modification. But how to join them together? Two decoders or one? 'Chunky couplings'? 'Consist' programming? I looked at building a DMBS out of Bachmann spares but that isn't a cheap option. 

 

Sounds a good project!

 

If it helps below is what I've settled on for my heritage DMUs. I've got a few photos on my threads but hopefully I'll be getting some transfers soon to finish them off.

 

As I want to run my 121 on its own I'm using a 3 link coupling between the 121 and 121 DTS.  

 

For all of my other DMUs I'm using a hunt magnetic coupling mounted into a kadee housing at bufferbeam height level. This'll allow me to mix and match. The downside to this is each coach needs to have a decoder.... but the upside is removal of the clunky coupling allowing me to easily coupler up the units which is way more practical for me as i change DMUs on the layout. I can easily do a mix n match combo etc. now :)

 

If it helps I've just done a 118 using a bit of a Dapol 122 roof for the top of the headcode box.

 

Hope that helps

 

Will

[Pteremy]

9 hours ago, dj_crisp said:

 

 

If it helps I've just done a 118 using a bit of a Dapol 122 roof for the top of the headcode box.

 

Hope that helps

 

Will

 

Thanks - very helpful - for the 118 I am just planning on building the head box curve up with filler - but need to practice on something cheaper than the Bachmann 117s first!

[Richy59]

Hi, I may get panned for this but here goes.

 

Been on the lookout for a single car DMU for a little while, ideally the Bachmann, but none have been coming up in BR Green second hand. Was hoping for a rerun in the recent announements but alas. I picked up a Dapol Class 121 on the auction site and it seems to be a dud - I think it's a common issue from what I've raed so far.

 

Question is, if I buy the Kernow GWR Class 121 they have in stock (for £100) and buy the replacment part from Bachmann Spares for the BR Green bodyshell would this be fairly acceptable? They seem to be from a similar era, and whilst the underframes and buffer beams have colour differences would it be close enough to pass?

 

I'm assuming the body shells are interchangeable, but there may be slight differences.

 

Thanks

Edited May 3 by Richy59

[dj_crisp]

53 minutes ago, Richy59 said:

Hi, I may get panned for this but here goes.

 

Been on the lookout for a single car DMU for a little while, ideally the Bachmann, but none have been coming up in BR Green second hand. Was hoping for a rerun in the recent announements but alas. I picked up a Dapol Class 121 on the auction site and it seems to be a dud - I think it's a common issue from what I've raed so far.

 

Question is, if I buy the Kernow GWR Class 121 they have in stock (for £100) and buy the replacment part from Bachmann Spares for the BR Green bodyshell would this be fairly acceptable? They seem to be from a similar era, and whilst the underframes and buffer beams have colour differences would it be close enough to pass?

 

I'm assuming the body shells are interchangeable, but there may be slight differences.

 

Thanks

 

They are very similar. The early green one does have some minor differences underframe wise (engine, exhaust and buffers off memory). If you're using the kernow 121 then the headcodes won't be illuminated as the LEDs aren't there. I've added a SMD Led and SMD resistor to the existing circuit to do exactly this. The remaining differences are cosmetic... bufferbeam and interior colours.

 

If your Dapol 121 is having the spinning motor but no drive issue then its an easy fix which I've done a few times.

 

Hope this helps

Will

[Richy59]

10 hours ago, dj_crisp said:

 

They are very similar. The early green one does have some minor differences underframe wise (engine, exhaust and buffers off memory). If you're using the kernow 121 then the headcodes won't be illuminated as the LEDs aren't there. I've added a SMD Led and SMD resistor to the existing circuit to do exactly this. The remaining differences are cosmetic... bufferbeam and interior colours.

 

If your Dapol 121 is having the spinning motor but no drive issue then its an easy fix which I've done a few times.

 

Hope this helps

Will

Ah so I see, I could always buy the replacement top pcb as well including the leds for the headcode box.

 

I have been looking into the Dapol

issues, and bought online ‘new’ bit seems to have come out the box with issues. I can have a look at the drive issues.

[adb968008]

13 hours ago, Richy59 said:

Hi, I may get panned for this but here goes.

 

Been on the lookout for a single car DMU for a little while, ideally the Bachmann, but none have been coming up in BR Green second hand. Was hoping for a rerun in the recent announements but alas. I picked up a Dapol Class 121 on the auction site and it seems to be a dud - I think it's a common issue from what I've raed so far.

 

Question is, if I buy the Kernow GWR Class 121 they have in stock (for £100) and buy the replacment part from Bachmann Spares for the BR Green bodyshell would this be fairly acceptable? They seem to be from a similar era, and whilst the underframes and buffer beams have colour differences would it be close enough to pass?

 

I'm assuming the body shells are interchangeable, but there may be slight differences.

 

Thanks

Bachmann shells are changeable with each other, but not interchangeable with Dapols, they are assembled very differently.

 

 

[dj_crisp]

6 hours ago, adb968008 said:

Bachmann shells are changeable with each other, but not interchangeable with Dapols, they are assembled very differently.

 

 

 

With a small amount of hacking a Dapol shell can be fitted to a Bachmann chassis. With the chassis being so light simple black sticky tack keeps the body on. 

[dj_crisp]

8 hours ago, Richy59 said:

Ah so I see, I could always buy the replacement top pcb as well including the leds for the headcode box.

 

I have been looking into the Dapol

issues, and bought online ‘new’ bit seems to have come out the box with issues. I can have a look at the drive issues.

 

If it helps the top PCB is the same... just Bachmann only solder on certain SMD leds needed for the model they're selling. You need a warm white SMD led and a SMD resistor and it all works OK.

[Richy59]

On 03/05/2024 at 22:40, dj_crisp said:

If your Dapol 121 is having the spinning motor but no drive issue then it’s an easy fix which I've done a few times.

I know this is going off topic, but is this an easy enough fix before I send the item back?

 

I watched jenny Kirk’s video and she bought replacement drive shafts which I can’t find in stock now. Is it more a case of removing the plastic cog and glueing it back onto the metal shaft?

 

thanks

[dj_crisp]

2 hours ago, Richy59 said:

I know this is going off topic, but is this an easy enough fix before I send the item back?

 

I watched jenny Kirk’s video and she bought replacement drive shafts which I can’t find in stock now. Is it more a case of removing the plastic cog and glueing it back onto the metal shaft?

 

thanks

 

If the plastic cog is split then a new drive shaft is best. If it looks ok and is just spinning then remove the cog, burr the driveshaft (where the plastic cog should be) with a file then superglue it on. TBH I think all Dapol driveshafts will have this problem at some point especially if grease gets in. So the fix will hopefully prevent this.

[Markwj]

15 hours ago, Richy59 said:

I know this is going off topic, but is this an easy enough fix before I send the item back?

 

I watched jenny Kirk’s video and she bought replacement drive shafts which I can’t find in stock now. Is it more a case of removing the plastic cog and glueing it back onto the metal shaft?

 

thanks

I watched one of Jennys videos where she glued the fitting back onto the drive shaft  and that’s what I did with mine with success so far.

[Kingstoke Junction]

Another way of sorting this issue is to use Bachmann drive shafts. I have recently fitted all my Dapol 121s with Bachmann 65mm drive shafts (the ones fitted to 220 Voyagers) part number E3260-209-01. They are single piece plastic rather than the Dapol concoction of metal shaft with a plastic "butterfly" on each end. Works a treat and and once you get the hang of what you are doing, it's a fairly painless operation. Also when fitting the Bachmann shafts, the flexibility of the plastic also assists with the fitting operation. Cost is £2 per driveshaft but beware, post is £5 per order

[Jenny Emily]

20 hours ago, Richy59 said:

I know this is going off topic, but is this an easy enough fix before I send the item back?

 

I watched jenny Kirk’s video and she bought replacement drive shafts which I can’t find in stock now. Is it more a case of removing the plastic cog and glueing it back onto the metal shaft?

 

thanks

I didn’t buy any replacement parts. I just cleaned the drive shaft ends and the push fit part they fit into where the slipping was occurring then superglued them together carefully. It helps to lightly scratch up the mating surfaces for a good key. But don’t take off too much material. 

[Phil Bullock]

The butterflies on mine were split and fell apart when I tried to refit them. But have still done a successful repair to them with a tiny dab of superglue…. 

[Richy59]

On 06/05/2024 at 09:40, Kingstoke Junction said:

Another way of sorting this issue is to use Bachmann drive shafts. I have recently fitted all my Dapol 121s with Bachmann 65mm drive shafts (the ones fitted to 220 Voyagers) part number E3260-209-01. They are single piece plastic rather than the Dapol concoction of metal shaft with a plastic "butterfly" on each end. Works a treat and and once you get the hang of what you are doing, it's a fairly painless operation. Also when fitting the Bachmann shafts, the flexibility of the plastic also assists with the fitting operation. Cost is £2 per driveshaft but beware, post is £5 per order

Thanks for this, might be a good way to do it rather than messing about with glue etc.