The way things were?

[melmerby]

I suspect the tooling is now quite worn. A few years ago I built the Dapol station building and loco shed kits for a small Thomas layout. I found the quality of the mouldings and, particularly, the standard of fit of the parts to be considerably below that which I remember from Airfix kits in the 70s. I hadn't previously built any of their lineside kits though, so it's not a like-for-like comparison. I may also have been less discerning when I was 12 .

I bought a couple of Engine Shed kits in the last five years to add to the 4 Airfix ones I already had to make a 2 road x 3 long shed

I didn't find much difference apart from the colour of the plastic. Airfix ones were brown, Dapol were greyish white.

 

Keith

[The Stationmaster]

I bought a couple of Engine Shed kits in the last five years to add to the 4 Airfix ones I already had to make a 2 road x 3 long shed

I didn't find much difference apart from the colour of the plastic. Airfix ones were brown, Dapol were greyish white.

 

Keith

I have a 'useful' (I hope) stock of various original Airfix rolling stock and lineside kits I bought when it was announced the company was going into liquidation

[Il Grifone]

omis

 

 

 

PS: am I right that Woolworths cheap gloss paint was the most tenacious paint ever made?

 

It was certainly excellent stuff. It was supposedly a thixotropic gel supposed to flow  smoothly onto the job.and not to need stirring. I always found it needed thinning and stirring before it flowed properly, but then gave good results. I painted our front door with it (bright red but it was the seventies!) with a lot less effort than when I last did this job about ten years ago (just before moving!).

[Il Grifone]

2/6, surely that's 12 1/2 p?

 

It took us (me anyway) ages to switch to the strange decimal stuff (which seemed to not go nearly as far - something to do with 10/- being 'paper' and thus valuable, whereas 50p was 'just a coin'?).

[Il Grifone]

My young son was recently given his first Airfix "series 1" kit, so, out of curiosity, I checked out on relative cost from when I was the same age.

 

2/3 or 2/6 then, inflates to c£3 now, but they actually cost c£7 now, so Airfix kits have actually increased in price waaaay more than the average rate of inflation. Which surprised me.

 

Probably a completely useless piece of information!

 

K

 

For me they're still stuck at the 2/- they cost when they first appeared in the fifties. I believe the cost was kept down by the purchasing power of Woolworth's.

[Il Grifone]

I suspect the tooling is now quite worn. A few years ago I built the Dapol station building and loco shed kits for a small Thomas layout. I found the quality of the mouldings and, particularly, the standard of fit of the parts to be considerably below that which I remember from Airfix kits in the 70s. I hadn't previously built any of their lineside kits though, so it's not a like-for-like comparison. I may also have been less discerning when I was 12 .

 

One of the two pre-loved and pre-assembled Airfix mineral wagons* I bought yesterday, turned out to be a Dapol version so I can do a direct comparison. They're currently sitting in a jar of caustic soda solution to strip the generously applied paint.....

 

P.S. Sorry for the multiple postings, but I still haven't got the hang of joining them all together.

[Nearholmer]

Grifone

 

One of the "Great Days" of my childhood was when I found a ten bob note on a footpath. Took it to the police station, and they said I could have it, if it wasn't claimed within a week. It wasn't, and, boy, did I buy some stuff with it!

 

I seem to remember that half of the US Civil War Union Army, including a jolly good cannon that fired matchsticks across the room, and a lot of knights in armour, were only a part of it.

 

Kevin

[Il Grifone]

Kevin

 

IIRC  the soldiers, knights, cowboys* etc. were around 6d and the cannon a couple of bob or so (I got through several of those - the lead (or zinc alloy?) wheels broke easily). There were the Airfix ones with a whole army in a box for 2/-.

 

*Britain's were rather dearer! 1/- or more.

 

David

[The Stationmaster]

Grifone

 

One of the "Great Days" of my childhood was when I found a ten bob note on a footpath. Took it to the police station, and they said I could have it, if it wasn't claimed within a week. It wasn't, and, boy, did I buy some stuff with it!

 

I seem to remember that half of the US Civil War Union Army, including a jolly good cannon that fired matchsticks across the room, and a lot of knights in armour, were only a part of it.

 

Kevin

Sorry Kevin but I  found a wallet, which I immediately took to the Police Station, and it had no ownership details in it so - after due time and no claim made  I received the £5 note which it had contained; riches beyond belief.

[Nearholmer]

A fiver!!!!????

 

You could probably buy Hornby for that in the Sixties. And, yes, I do mean the whole company.

 

Kevin

[rockershovel]

Cannons that fired matchsticks across the room? Now you're talking...... I do remember futile defences by forlorn detachments of cheap plastic soldiers of indeterminate origin, their matchstick firing anti-tank guns helpless against the onslaught of cotton reels driven by rubber bands...

[jonny777]

A fiver!!!!????

 

You could probably buy Hornby for that in the Sixties. And, yes, I do mean the whole company.

 

Kevin

 

 

You would get 18/6 change from a fiver when you bought a Hornby 8F.

 

 

[5050]

Because of this reason,i bought three small tubes of Uhu superglue on a card from Lidl,don`t think it was much more than a pound,i`m still using the first tube.So long as you store it upright.the top comes off every time & it`s really good glue

 

 

                Ray.

'Squirt' a small amount onto a scrap of plastic and use a pin etc. to apply.  Before replacing the top, lightly tap the tube/bottle vertically to ensure all the liquid glue is out of the nozzle then securely replace the top and store in the fridge.

 

I admit I don't use a lot and have recently 'rediscovered' Araldite.

[sagaguy]

Many years ago in the mid 1980s,i bought a green H/D 3 rail Deltic at a toy fair,(don`t see many of them now),It had one bogie sideframe missing so i pressed one of the others into a block of Plasticene,Mixed up some slow setting Araldite,warmed it up so that it ran like water & poured it into the Platicene mould.A few hours with an Anglepoise lamp creating some heat & a few hours later,i had a almost perfect replica of the side frame.It`s still there to this day!!.

 

                                          Ray.

[Colin_McLeod]

Thanks for that idea Ray.  I know now how to replace that missing side-frame on my Dublo EMU.

[sagaguy]

Does anyone go to toyfairs these days or has Ebay wiped them out?.

 

                                     Ray.

[Il Grifone]

Many years ago in the mid 1980s,i bought a green H/D 3 rail Deltic at a toy fair,(don`t see many of them now),It had one bogie sideframe missing so i pressed one of the others into a block of Plasticene,Mixed up some slow setting Araldite,warmed it up so that it ran like water & poured it into the Platicene mould.A few hours with an Anglepoise lamp creating some heat & a few hours later,i had a almost perfect replica of the side frame.It`s still there to this day!!.

 

                                          Ray.

 

I've always wanted to try this, but it's yet another of those 'one day' jobs. I keep finding a broken (zinc alloy problems!) Rivarossi bogie side frame that was lined up for this treatment years ago....... (There's an FS Poz flat wagon that came less bogies too - I found one at a toyfair in a odd bits box, but a second is probably asking too much.)

 

Deltic sideframes are available from Dublo parts dealers for a few pounds - well worth to complete a 'rare' 3 rail version.

 

Further to the Airfix/Dapol mineral wagon saga*, there appears to be little difference in the parts beyond some signs of retooling - moulded part numbers and change of name on the floor - a large flat file disposes of these without fuss., The wretched circular moulding marks on the inside of the sides, ends and doors are still there and need filling. There is an improvement in the Dapol version in that the wheel bearings are now pinpoint axle ready (they'll still get brass bearings though). Some of the slots below the axleboxes were blocked, but I'm not sure if this was flash or over enthusiastic application of black paint - I suspect the latter

 

* it's more of the paint that caustic soda merely softens (possibly acrylic, but alcohol had no effect on it). Unfortunately there's too much fine detail to scrape it off, so it's try brake fluid next.

 

Superglue must be kept upright, but will still go hard in time. Incidently, the gel type seems to be the solution for white metal kits, as it fills gaps. I've bought some from pound shops (Stanley IIRC), but I've found Asda sell 2 tubes for £1.50. I still have to test this however - the tube I'm using hasn't dried up yet

[Il Grifone]

Does anyone go to toyfairs these days or has Ebay wiped them out?.

 

                                     Ray.

 

There were plenty of punters at the one I went to on Saturday (Brentwood), though I gather business is not as good as it used to be. There are quite a few fairs in my area (South Essex/North Kent around the Dartford Crossing.

[melmerby]

Many years ago in the mid 1980s,i bought a green H/D 3 rail Deltic at a toy fair,(don`t see many of them now),It had one bogie sideframe missing so i pressed one of the others into a block of Plasticene,Mixed up some slow setting Araldite,warmed it up so that it ran like water & poured it into the Platicene mould.A few hours with an Anglepoise lamp creating some heat & a few hours later,i had a almost perfect replica of the side frame.It`s still there to this day!!.

 

                                          Ray.

You used to be able to get a liquid plastic product which when mixed with a hardener set to a clear hard plastic.

It used to cure quite quickly.

I once used it to mould a plastic block for a piece of electrical equipment where the original had broken up and exposed some terminals.

Would be quite useful these days

Haven't seen any similar product for years.

 

Keith

[sagaguy]

When i lived in N.London,it used to be one round of toyfairs,Epping,Enfield,Hatfield,St.Albans & many more.When i moved to Northampton,it was Rugby,Market Harborough,Daventry,Wellingborough & of course,the Moat house hotel in Northampton town centre.I got very friendly with Peter Randall,president of the HRCA & he used to run a stand at toyfairs called Binns Rd where i bought a lot of my H/D 3 rail stock from.Most of the old dealers are gone now but it was good while it lasted.My wife has just bought me a floor standing glass display cabinet so i can admire part of my collection instead of it all being packed away in boxes!!.

 

                         Ray.

[sagaguy]

Thanks for that idea Ray.  I know now how to replace that missing side-frame on my Dublo EMU.

  They are available but at a price,still, i don`t think it`s too bad if you only want one.

 

                           http://www.dubloforsale.co.uk/product/emu-motor-coach-sideframe/

 

   Mind you,i did pay £42 for a Triiang Electra pantograph yesterday,As rare as rocking horse doo dah.

 

 

              Ray.     

[Il Grifone]

Further to the Airfix/Dapol mineral wagon saga*, there appears to be little difference in the parts beyond some signs of retooling - moulded part numbers and change of name on the floor - a large flat file disposes of these without fuss., The wretched circular moulding marks on the inside of the sides, ends and doors are still there and need filling. There is an improvement in the Dapol version in that the wheel bearings are now pinpoint axle ready (they'll still get brass bearings though). Some of the slots below the axleboxes were blocked, but I'm not sure if this was flash or over enthusiastic application of black paint - I suspect the latter

 

* it's more of the paint that caustic soda merely softens (possibly acrylic, but alcohol had no effect on it). Unfortunately there's too much fine detail to scrape it off, so it's try brake fluid next.

 

If anyone's interested, the score is-

 

Caustic soda   0   Brake fluid (Dot 4) 1

[Nearholmer]

Have you actually worked out the cost of these noxious fluids, and compared them with the cost of brand new kits?!

 

And, the "opportunity cost" of your time?

 

If the answer is "it's all about the challenge", I do get that......... When I get back to a life that permits it, I shall enjoy doing vaguely "time-expensive" things myself.

 

K

[Il Grifone]

The cost of the paint strippers is relatively small (one jar strips several items) and the time taken is not great either. Costwise the two mineral wagons cost £3.50 for the pair (I lashed out a bit more for the Airfix one, as it already had Hornby metal wheels (spoked, but they'll do for something else). Couplings, paint, transfers (they can't all be B231709!), bearings, wheels. etc would be required for a new kit in any case.

There is also the challenge of resurrecting a piece of junk of course

The last new kit I acquired was a Cambrian LMS 16T mineral (they can't all be 1/108s either*) a couple of months ago - £5.90 on eBay including postage.

 

* It's true the first three Airfix minerals I built many years ago, when their price was in pence rather than pounds, are a 1/106 (with bottom doors), a standard 1/108 and a fitted 1/114 just for variety.

[5050]

  They are available but at a price,still, i don`t think it`s too bad if you only want one.

 

                           http://www.dubloforsale.co.uk/product/emu-motor-coach-sideframe/

 

   Mind you,i did pay £42 for a Triiang Electra pantograph yesterday,As rare as rocking horse doo dah.

 

 

              Ray.     

Really?!  I've got two of them on a complete roof.