To fit Airfix 9f Kit

[Zen]

Hi I am looking for any information on this chassis that way purchased on eBay. It looks very professionally made but I have no clue who manufactured it or have any instructions for construction. Has anyone built one of these or has any information to aid me in its resurrection to a working locomotive please???

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

I think that might be the 'Millholme Models' product going by appearance. But whoever produced it, any instructions really are irrelevant now, as the parts specified to complete it are probably no longer available. But no matter, better parts may now be used: for example a fold up gearbox and can motor will fit neatly on the fourth axle for a fully concealed drive inside the firebox, which the parts available contemporary with this kit would not easily have achieved.

 

BUT - and as you can see it is a big but - I would test very carefully whether this item will make a satisfactory mechanism before spending any more cash. Just for a start, with the assumption that it is all square and true running, those three sets of flangeless drivers are a hostage to fortune. If they run on the railhead and your layout curves are of sufficiently small radius that any of them can go off the railhead, then your track laying has to be of near perfect flatness to avoid regular derailments.

 

Having built an etched chassis for a 9F in the long ago, I'll repeat here what I have posted before. The Bachmann 9F mechanism alone is worth the asking price if wanting a full brake gear fitted 9F intended to run on an OO small radius layout. Ditto the Hornby mech if a 'less detail' option is acceptable. (Or obtain an old 'push along' Hornby 9F chassis and modify the block to drop in a fold up gearbox and it will cost you less than working on this kit.)

[Horsetan]

That looks like it came out of a DJH kit. Giveaway clue is the armour plate-thick brass used for the frames.

 

A proper 9F chassis looks more like this:

 

Edited March 5, 2016 by Horsetan

[Arthur]

 

Did Millholme do a 9F or 9F chassis?, I'm not aware that they did. I'm inclined to agree with Ivan that it's DJH (or DJH under the Model Loco brand).

 

I've probably got the Model Loco instructions somewhere but that's only relevant if you have all the missing bits to complete the kit. There are better options today including 34Cs suggestion of the Bachmann chassis,

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...A proper 9F chassis looks more like this...

 

 

That's very proper indeed. I like the diaphragm plate representation, a very significant absent detail on the RTR alternatives.

[Zen]

The wheels are without doubt Romford and would say it is far more likely to be Millholme than DJH, Bit basic for DJH. The centre flangless wheels will be retained but as per the real 9f the other pairs will be replaced with flanged drivers.

 

However the chassis is too short front and back and the only solution would be to overlay the Airfix chassis side frames to the brass frame. But this is just guess work.

 

I will post the sellers notes up if I can still find them, hopefully this might spark some ideas.

[Zen]

Sellers notes

 

"Not sure what make this is, but its a properly manufactured chassis intended to be used with the Airfix ( now Dapol ) You utilise the front portion of the original Airfix chassis for the cylinder blocks, then use this chassis for the 10 coupled part. What you see is what you get."

[Zen]

That looks like it came out of a DJH kit. Giveaway clue is the armour plate-thick brass used for the frames.

 

A proper 9F chassis looks more like this:

 

DJH do make some beautifully engineered models.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

What radius curve do you want it to go around? With four flanged wheelsets, it will need a radius something North of 4 feet, would be my (educated) guess. I'm all for trying things, but if a practical running model is your intent this one is a case of 'if you want to go there, don't start from here'. In my opinion of course...

 

Sellers notes

 

"Not sure what make this is, but its a properly manufactured chassis intended to be used with the Airfix ( now Dapol ) You utilise the front portion of the original Airfix chassis for the cylinder blocks, then use this chassis for the 10 coupled part. What you see is what you get."

 Editied to add: the highlighted red is the significant aspect. I read that as there are no instructions beyond 'purchaser uses the Airfix kit parts and sources all other components required to complete, deciding exactly how this is to be done'. This is entirely normal for a sixties/seventies 'build aid' kit, with such groovy features as not having the frames long enough to carry the bufferbeam, cylinders or drag box, to make it a real test of skill and determination.

Edited March 5, 2016 by 34theletterbetweenB&D

[New Haven Neil]

DJH do make some beautifully engineered models.

 

And that looks more like a Bradwell to me?

Edited March 5, 2016 by New Haven Neil

[Zen]

What radius curve do you want it to go around? With four flanged wheelsets, it will need a radius something North of 4 feet, would be my (educated) guess. I'm all for trying things, but if a practical running model is your intent this one is a case of 'if you want to go there, don't start from here'. In my opinion of course... 

I do understand where you are coming from with the 9f radius issue. Expense is not the issue on this project as I just want to build it sheerly for the hell of it. I have a stable of oo Gauge 9fs as well as O Gauge 9fs the latter being the more scale that are for my layout at home. The oo Gauge are for the club layout as call me a philistine but they are all lovers of GWR and I have always had a thing about large BR freight locos 8f 9f etc 

[Zen]

And that looks more like a Bradwell to me?

Thank you

 

Indeed I stand corrected it even says lrgbradwell9f-1.jpg 

 

Well spotted that man!

[Arthur]

and would say it is far more likely to be Millholme than DJH, Bit basic for DJH.

 

Maybe, and happy to be proven wrong, but I am pretty sure that Millholme never made a 9F, certainly not in their kit range. Did they make special order chassis?

 

 

Edit: Could it be Bristol Models? They sold chassis kits for Airfix models (and others) and used heavy brass frames.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Arthur

[Zen]

Maybe, and happy to be proven wrong, but I am pretty sure that Millholme never made a 9F, certainly not in their kit range. Did they make special order chassis?

 

 

Edit: Could it be Bristol Models? They sold chassis kits for Airfix models (and others) and used heavy brass frames.

I am at a complete loss myself hence this post. I vaguely recall a chassis being available for the Pug being made in a similar way but by whom I have no idea.

 

Nice to know it is not listed my Millholme,

 

Someone out there knows what this is.

[Zen]

Maybe, and happy to be proven wrong, but I am pretty sure that Millholme never made a 9F, certainly not in their kit range. Did they make special order chassis?

 

 

Edit: Could it be Bristol Models? They sold chassis kits for Airfix models (and others) and used heavy brass frames.

Thank you

 

just managed to find an image of a Bristol Models Chassis and the manufacture is sooo similar. I cannot say it diffidently is but the closest call so far.

[Zen]

What radius curve do you want it to go around? With four flanged wheelsets, it will need a radius something North of 4 feet, would be my (educated) guess. I'm all for trying things, but if a practical running model is your intent this one is a case of 'if you want to go there, don't start from here'. In my opinion of course...

 

 Editied to add: the highlighted red is the significant aspect. I read that as there are no instructions beyond 'purchaser uses the Airfix kit parts and sources all other components required to complete, deciding exactly how this is to be done'. This is entirely normal for a sixties/seventies 'build aid' kit, with such groovy features as not having the frames long enough to carry the bufferbeam, cylinders or drag box, to make it a real test of skill and determination.

Lol Good to know nothing is missing then.

 

This is slowly coming together by process of elimination. 

[Zen]

For those of you interested in the progress, I have landed a genuine Airfix Evening Star kit and am also looking around for Hornby connecting rods and valve gear, unless someone as a better suggestion?

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

You will want to measure the axle centres to see whether they match the Hornby rods. The prototype was symmetric 5'5" spacing between axle centres, Hornby's is 22+21+21+22 mm. So the prototype's overall 21'8" coupled wb is reasonably well represented by the 86mm overall wb of the Hornby model, but the axle spacings are not uniform. (Bachmann manage uniform spacing, but of 22mm, for a net wb of 88mm whch is of course slightly overscale.)

[Zen]

You will want to measure the axle centres to see whether they match the Hornby rods. The prototype was symmetric 5'5" spacing between axle centres, Hornby's is 22+21+21+22 mm. So the prototype's overall 21'8" coupled wb is reasonably well represented by the 86mm overall wb of the Hornby model, but the axle spacings are not uniform. (Bachmann manage uniform spacing, but of 22mm, for a net wb of 88mm whch is of course slightly overscale.)

Yeh I had been wondering about wheel spacing. I believe there is a company that will custom etch motion gear will go look through the RM and see if I can find the advert. 

 

Thank you for that info it will save me buying the wrong sized rods.

 

 

Well here it is the Airfix Evening Star doner kit, shame to cut it about really. It is far better than the Dapol manufactured one in which one tender side is twisted.

 

Not bad for £8 the Dapol was £11 

Edited March 9, 2016 by Zen

[Jay1]

On 05/03/2016 at 13:11, Horsetan said:

That looks like it came out of a DJH kit. Giveaway clue is the armour plate-thick brass used for the frames.

 

A proper 9F chassis looks more like this:

 

Is this a comet chassis?

[Jay1]

is this a comet chassis?

[PMP]

1 hour ago, Jay1 said:

is this a comet chassis?

 

Nope, that’s Dave Bradwell’s Scalefour chassis. It’s designed specifically for 18.83mm and EM 18.2mm gauge.

Edited May 30, 2020 by PMP