Let's see your Airfix/Kitmaster kit

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

 

Completely neglected to show, but after 20 minutes with just my hands, a flathead and some new plastic wheel bushes it’s rolling smoothly, need to file away at the ash pans so the rear bogie can swivel properly, fix the cylinder block (which is likely sitting too low down as of now) to the chassis, create a drawbar, and get a motor, but all in all it’s shaping up to be a decent model!
 

Will be focusing on cosmetics next, going to buy a smokebox dart from Silver Tay, considering getting brass 34056 “Croydon” nameplates from Fox.

[TinTracks]

On 28/10/2023 at 22:43, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

I’ve been tempted to try out that plasticard chassis kit for a while… Are they any good?

 Hi, apologies for my late reply. TBH I didn't use the chassis as I got side tracked into other things.

 As received the chassis had the motor glued at a bit of an angle off centre to the chassis. The chassis itself appeared to be ''made'' from some sort of conduit type of stuff. The motor worm ''sort of'' meshed with the drive gear and the motor seemed to be ok and reasonably controllable. I couldn't be pestered to return it so  It ended up getting chucked in with the spare motors as a ''one day'' project to strip down and use on a home made chassis.

On 31/10/2023 at 09:03, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

unsure of where to go from here in terms of modelling the correct type of wheels...

 Peters spares has some reasonably priced BoB wheels . I don't know if they'll fit your axles. If you go on his website (Not the ebay one) and tap bob into the search box, then select price low to high they pop up in the first 50 or 60 items.

 Hope this helps, Regards, Rich

Edited November 2, 2023 by TinTracks
spelin'

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

 

Managed to throw together a drawbar, a cut down Airfix COT’s drawbar, in hindsight I should have just cut the double loop which slots over the tender coupler off and used that instead of creating unnecessary faff for myself, but it holds and at a somewhat believable distance.

 

[roythebus1]

ISTR trying to motorise a Kitmaster BoB back in the 1960s when i got one in a set along with 3 SR coaches, all unmade. I used the plastic chassis and glued silver paper to the wheel treads. It sort of worked after a fashion, but at the age of about 13 money was tight!

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

Guess which clutz dropped the model and shattered the cab!

 

About to go and hunt around the floors, managed to find two parts of the cab already, really could have done without this though…

 

Push comes to shove, I attempt to rebuild it with Milliput and plasticard, any recommendations for paint? I’m considering Humbrol RC405 “GWR/BR green”, pretty sure that’s what was used when this model was first made, regardless of if I find all the cab pieces or not, I’m still going to get some paint to touch up the model’s details alongside other projects.

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

…On a considerably lighter note:

 

Remember that Kitmaster pug my friend sent over for a rebuild? I finally found the cheap train set wagon that the bogies came from, and so I’ve finally fitted the wheels! Handles radius 1 curves like a champ.

 

 

Hornby 0-4-0 for scale.

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

On 28/10/2023 at 02:56, 33C said:

Dapol Railbus + Micro Scalextric chassis + cheap speed controller =HS2.........

Y’know I was just thinking about how you motorised the Stephenson’s Rocket kit with a cheap windup motor, and how you can get cheap coreless motors off eBay… Drive gears from Microscalextrix car, cheap eBay motor, Dapol Rocket kit, possibly gut a windup motor for a gearbox casing, a cheap flatbed wagon for power collection… Would give Smokey Joe a run for his money 🤪

[33C]

40 minutes ago, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

On 28/10/2023 at 02:56, 33C said:

Dapol Railbus + Micro Scalextric chassis + cheap speed controller =HS2.........

Y’know I was just thinking

I like the way your thinking.....

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

 

Cut the drive axle to length, then fit the rear wheels to it (could do the front wheels for a faster runner, though the rear wheel would supply greater torque), use the windup motor’s casing to hold everything, can use the space from the boiler to help hide the end of the motor, then route the wires through the loco and tender, ensuring enough slack to take corners easily, fit pickups to a flatbed you don’t use any more, slave that to the loco, add weight if need be, and all should be good.

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115964300269?hash=item1b0002cbed:g:H5sAAOSw1fJlRl0R&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4B%2BULaUtEcUysz58p1lDym%2Bodl9uAyVWfR3OTX9WyMP1Dx%2BhJPI9GWJYFl4ze%2Bi3inY8WekTO4bSOlK0FDff%2Bpr5jdm7gXCg%2B1f5um9mr2isLYZ6195fmwJaz%2BX%2FU9yYmJXggdi4vHXswp6nRyweKueFZJobJTdIVC7%2FN7LmDT5At62lWvcb18Yajf35whNovupbNtzbG8XF9zLYFLhZqmEzDn0uHeq4HUYFK8Sy%2FgTq4M3SD9syciyhZ9Gypm6q%2FxpqwE4KpjrdlO04UsS7x8R8PpkaWs9q7IjB6S0Kgc%2F%2B|tkp%3ABk9SR5zJrKD1Yg

 

Biggin Hill on a Triang Synchro chassis anyone?

[33C]

On 06/11/2023 at 07:20, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

 

Cut the drive axle to length, then fit the rear wheels to it (could do the front wheels for a faster runner, though the rear wheel would supply greater torque), use the windup motor’s casing to hold everything, can use the space from the boiler to help hide the end of the motor, then route the wires through the loco and tender, ensuring enough slack to take corners easily, fit pickups to a flatbed you don’t use any more, slave that to the loco, add weight if need be, and all should be good.

Look for an early digital camera in charity/2nd hand shops. (the ones with the motorised lens that comes in and out). They can contain up to 9 micro motors and worm/gears. A tip from a late N gauge modelling friend. Could be good for this idea.... 

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

Might have a busted digital camera somewhere, I’ll have a look once I get home tonight…

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

 

Managed to find the camera, got a tiny 16 volt motor, more than sufficient for a 12 volt train set, some decent worm gears too, also found an old pullback toy which I’ve gutted to use as a gearbox casing, now all I need to do is fit the worm onto the axle, then get the Rocket kit…

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

Well, from a mechanical standpoint, Croydon’s finished!

 

 

A stroke of luck hit and Elaine had some Croydon nameplates up for grabs, swept those up last night, I’ll also be getting a Dapol Bulleid kit to take the cab window from as I can’t find the rest of the window on Croydon, I’ll also use it’s wheels, going to attempt to sand them down and lay them over the Triang wheels, if that fails then I’ll use Milliput, looks brilliant at the head of some Triang suburbans…

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

Nameplates arrived, need to do some tidying on the number’s paint, but I’m happy with it for my first time handling brass components, going to get a 73A shedcode plate from Fox, and a dart from Silver Tay next. Debating getting a route headboard too, thinking either Bournemouth Belle or Atlantic Coast Express…

 

[RobinofLoxley]

just going back a bit, to the tank kits, a couple of questions:

 

Has anybody fitted them with sprung buffers, and if so what did they use, what were the results?

 

While there are examples of the esso tanks painted black, the original colour seems to have been grey, although they look silver in one of the Paul Bartlett photos. Or were the individual companies tanks painted in different colours - Regent/BP/Esso etc. Would they have run in mixed rakes?

 

What colour has anyone used for the red frames?

 

The worst part of the kits is in my opinion the ladders. Where can replacements be found?

 

Thanks

 

Robin

 

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by RobinofLoxley

[33C]

21 minutes ago, RobinofLoxley said:

just going back a bit, to the tank kits, a couple of questions:

 

Has anybody fitted them with sprung buffers, and if so what did they use, what were the results?

 

While there are examples of the esso tanks painted black, the original colour seems to have been grey, although they look silver in one of the Paul Bartlett photos. Or were the individual companies tanks painted in different colours - Regent/BP/Esso etc. Would they have run in mixed rakes?

 

What colour has anyone used for the red frames?

 

The worst part of the kits is in my opinion the ladders. Where can replacements be found?

 

Thanks

 

Robin

 

 

I found a few examples of model ladder strip, plastic and brass, on Amazon. Cheap, and enough to do the 3 Triang tankers I was restoring, with some left over. The plastic stuff was very fine and springy.

[Barclay]

On 05/11/2023 at 16:58, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

…On a considerably lighter note:

 

Remember that Kitmaster pug my friend sent over for a rebuild? I finally found the cheap train set wagon that the bogies came from, and so I’ve finally fitted the wheels! Handles radius 1 curves like a champ.

 

 

Hornby 0-4-0 for scale.

 

How about one of these then? (Courtesy October 1967 Model Railway News)

 

 

[41516]

1 hour ago, RobinofLoxley said:

While there are examples of the esso tanks painted black, the original colour seems to have been grey, although they look silver in one of the Paul Bartlett photos.

 

Colours depended on the different classes of oil based on flashpoint - Class A (more volatile liquids, petrol, benzene, etc) are the silver/grey with red frames. These were slightly longer in the tank than the 35t Class Bs made by Airfix/Dapol.

 

Class B (generally heavier oils) were black.

[RobinofLoxley]

51 minutes ago, 41516 said:

 

Colours depended on the different classes of oil based on flashpoint - Class A (more volatile liquids, petrol, benzene, etc) are the silver/grey with red frames. These were slightly longer in the tank than the 35t Class Bs made by Airfix/Dapol.

 

Class B (generally heavier oils) were black.

To this day there's a black painted Esso tanker with red frames on the SVR.

[41516]

The only Esso tank wagon on the SVR (past or present) according to the SVR wiki is 2686 and all the photos online I can find have it in all black - including all in this Flickr album.  Unless there's another, or it's had some red oxide applied recently to stop some rot?

 

Besides, the SVR also had a purple Bulleid...

[Pierview]

4 hours ago, RobinofLoxley said:

just going back a bit, to the tank kits, a couple of questions:

 

Has anybody fitted them with sprung buffers, and if so what did they use, what were the results?

 

While there are examples of the esso tanks painted black, the original colour seems to have been grey, although they look silver in one of the Paul Bartlett photos. Or were the individual companies tanks painted in different colours - Regent/BP/Esso etc. Would they have run in mixed rakes?

 

What colour has anyone used for the red frames?

 

The worst part of the kits is in my opinion the ladders. Where can replacements be found?

 

Thanks

 

Robin

 

 

RT models offer an etched detailing fret, including ladders , for the Airfix/Dapol kit.

 

Barry

[RobinofLoxley]

32 minutes ago, 41516 said:

The only Esso tank wagon on the SVR (past or present) according to the SVR wiki is 2686 and all the photos online I can find have it in all black - including all in this Flickr album.  Unless there's another, or it's had some red oxide applied recently to stop some rot?

 

Besides, the SVR also had a purple Bulleid...

Im wrong; now I look really closely at the photo I have, its rust. Not black, may have been once, probably not red.

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

So here’s a thought that just came up:

 

I’ve heard of collectors associations for niche ranges of models buying out the toolings of the models they collect to produce replica components, the Trix Twin collectors association owns most, if not all of the original TTR toolings, and a Wrenn collectors association exists too, owning a selection of Wrenn/Dublo toolings acquired from Dapol (though I haven’t found much info on this). Out of interest: Does a Kitmaster collectors association exist? If so, has anyone considered the thought of possibly purchasing the K’master toolings from Dapol should the range become discontinued? Outlandish maybe, but not impossible…

[Moxy]

1 hour ago, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

So here’s a thought that just came up:

 

I’ve heard of collectors associations for niche ranges of models buying out the toolings of the models they collect to produce replica components, the Trix Twin collectors association owns most, if not all of the original TTR toolings, and a Wrenn collectors association exists too, owning a selection of Wrenn/Dublo toolings acquired from Dapol (though I haven’t found much info on this). Out of interest: Does a Kitmaster collectors association exist? If so, has anyone considered the thought of possibly purchasing the K’master toolings from Dapol should the range become discontinued? Outlandish maybe, but not impossible…

 

There certainly used to be a Kitmaster Collectors Association, website here : http://www.kitmaster.org.uk/CollectorsClub.htm#Ind

 

Their last journal was issued in 2006, so whether it is still going or not I cannot say.  Some of the web links no longer work.