Cavalex Models All new RTR HAA and variants in 4mm scale

[Roy Langridge]

I too had several issues with the couplings. One was at quite an upward angle and took quite a bit to get level. However the main issue, the hooks on all of mine were tight meaning that they would stick in the raised position and on several couplings were stuck at sideways angles and even when straightened would then stick at an angle after going round a curve on my test track (24" radius Kato unti-track). I got several derailments and coupling them was difficult  (and remains so) as when pushed together the hooks would stay in the up position. Waggling them up and down loosened them a bit, but still not 100% reliable. Going to try a spot of oil in the hook pivot next.

 

I plan to change them at some point so not too bothered, but not the best coupling I have ever had. Couple of photos of one wagon showing the hook not straight and sticking up, even after a good wiggle.

 

 

Had a bit of a setback on the second half of my order today. For some reason the KMS ones have been shipped to High Wycombe with the my name and the first half of my address and the second half from somewhere else. Not sure what Royal Mail were playing at either as the Road they have delivered to has a very different name to mine and you would have thought they would have queried the address, not just hand them over and take a photo. They were not very helpful on the phone.

 

I ordered these in November 2020 not via the website so heaven knows what has happened. Call to @KMS Railtechtomorrow morning as its £500+ of models lost on the High Wycombe.

Roy

[RBE]

Hi Roy, yes we are aware that the hooks themselves can be a little stiff. Feedback of the first set of wagons that were delivered before having to be remade was that the hooks were too thin (but worked fine).

 

As they were to be remade we took the opportunity to ask the factory to make the hooks slightly thicker, however they seem to now be a little tighter on the pivot (probably due to the thicker material not etching out quite as much as the original hooks) which makes them stick a little. 

 

We can only apologise for this however the ones that we have had access to we have managed to wiggle until loosened. 

 

Needless to say though, all further couplings will be adjusted to work correctly like all of our other wagons.

 

As for delivery issues I am sure that KMS will get to the bottom of it if you give them a call.

 

Regards

Cav

 

 

[Magna Junction]

On 03/03/2023 at 21:04, RBE said:

Hi, we are surprised that you are having trouble with your couplings.

 

We have found that straight out of the box some of the NEM pockets are misaligned however it takes a small push with your finger to straighten them up. 

 

Once straight and coupled to the next wagon they should work fine. We have run several full sized 36 wagon rakes with no derailment issues.

 

If you are planning to use magnetic couplers though can I please recommend hunt pivoting couplers as per the link below. These should work great with our HAA.

 

https://westhillwagonworks.com/hunt-couplings-elite-oo/489-hunt-couplings-elite-close-couplings-for-oxford-mk3-coaches-nem-10-pairs-oo-gauge.html

 

Regards

Cav

 

Hi Cav,

 

Fitted the wagons with Hunt Couplings Elite straight close couplings and all good, not a hint of a derailment, even go round 2nd radius curves with no buffer lock.

 

Cheers  

 

Scott.

[Grimleygrid]

 

Nice to see our red cradle HAAs featured in the latest issue of Rail Express Modeller, our thanks to the RE magazine for their review.

 

 

Certain packs of HAAs/CDAs are still available from both Trains4U and KMS Railtec.

 

 

[Chrisjh]

On 03/03/2023 at 21:51, Roy Langridge said:

I too had several issues with the couplings. One was at quite an upward angle and took quite a bit to get level. However the main issue, the hooks on all of mine were tight meaning that they would stick in the raised position and on several couplings were stuck at sideways angles and even when straightened would then stick at an angle after going round a curve on my test track (24" radius Kato unti-track). I got several derailments and coupling them was difficult  (and remains so) as when pushed together the hooks would stay in the up position. Waggling them up and down loosened them a bit, but still not 100% reliable. Going to try a spot of oil in the hook pivot next.

 

I plan to change them at some point so not too bothered, but not the best coupling I have ever had. Couple of photos of one wagon showing the hook not straight and sticking up, even after a good wiggle.

 

 

Had a bit of a setback on the second half of my order today. For some reason the KMS ones have been shipped to High Wycombe with the my name and the first half of my address and the second half from somewhere else. Not sure what Royal Mail were playing at either as the Road they have delivered to has a very different name to mine and you would have thought they would have queried the address, not just hand them over and take a photo. They were not very helpful on the phone.

 

I ordered these in November 2020 not via the website so heaven knows what has happened. Call to @KMS Railtechtomorrow morning as its £500+ of models lost on the High Wycombe.

Roy

 

Also having the same issue here with the 18 MGR wagons I purchased from Trains4U, the wagons look great but are constantly derailing, I have tried to loosen the fitting but they still keep on derailing on large radii curves and straight track. Can some kind sole please give me an idiots guide as to how to solve this problem. I am even thinking of changing the couplings over to Kadee couplings just not sure which length to go for and will this solve the problem? Greatly appreciate any help.

 

Many thanks Chris

[RBE]

He Chris, I'm not sure what the issue is. We have a few sets of 36 hoppers which all run fine with no derailments at all. I would not advise loosening the coupler as it's designed to hold the NEM pocket in the correct spot. 

 

As a replacement for tension locks (hate them personally anyway) you could use Kadees or even better and more cost effective the pivoted hunt magnetic couplers. 

 

Let us know how you get on. If you have any further issues please get in touch.

 

Regards

Cav

[Chrisjh]

Thanks Cav but how do I stop them from derailing even on straight track and large radii bends? these look excellent models but I cant understand why so many of them derail. Best Wishes Chris 

[RBE]

Hi Chris,

 

I have no idea why they are derailing on straight and large radius curves. None of our 36 wagon rakes do this. Are you able to assess what is causing them to derail? Are the couplings sat straight and engaged correctly. Are there any hooks engaging down the side of the hoop producing pressure laterally that is pushing the wagon off to the side? If it's a coupling engagement issue then the hunt couplers would solve that as there is nothing to cause a lateral force on the wagon in that case. It's hard to diagnose without being able to see what it going on.

 

Regards

Cav

[Phil Bullock]

These seem to have gone down well. Any news on CBA variant please gentlemen? 

[Chrisjh]

2 hours ago, RBE said:

Hi Chris,

 

I have no idea why they are derailing on straight and large radius curves. None of our 36 wagon rakes do this. Are you able to assess what is causing them to derail? Are the couplings sat straight and engaged correctly. Are there any hooks engaging down the side of the hoop producing pressure laterally that is pushing the wagon off to the side? If it's a coupling engagement issue then the hunt couplers would solve that as there is nothing to cause a lateral force on the wagon in that case. It's hard to diagnose without being able to see what it going on.

 

Regards

Cav

 

Thanks Cav I have managed to reduce the amount of derailing this afternoon by simply lubricating the pivot points this seems to have helped as the pivot points are too tight even for my large radii curves. 

 

Also can you supply 6 x NEP/NEM sockets please, many thanks

 

Best

Chris

[Trains4U]

For this summer, we have reduced most of our Cavalex Models OO MGR Hopper packs to £75.00 each (RRP £89.99)

 

As well as this, because each wagon is individually packaged, we can also now make them available as single wagons, for £25.00 each

 

This means you can mix, match or buy any quantity you wish without having to get three of the same wagon livery each time.

Choose from 18 different red-cradle HAA hoppers, 3 versions each of yellow cradle and EWS HFA wagons with hoods and 9 versions of the original HOP_AB

Check out our website for some great deals!

http://www.trains4u.com/c/656/Cavalex

 

[JohnC]

On 01/07/2023 at 16:37, Chrisjh said:

Thanks Cav but how do I stop them from derailing even on straight track and large radii bends? these look excellent models but I cant understand why so many of them derail. Best Wishes Chris 

Hi Chris

i have now changed over all my HAA couplings and my BBA/BLA couplings to Hunt Elite pivoted couplings and they run great. I had the added problem of a helix at each end of the layout so had to change from the poor tension locks.

John

[Chrisjh]

Thanks John changed mine to Kaydee lomg couplings but they are still derailing the hrights between each coupling is different for some reaosn. No problem with any other wagon. Best Chris

[Southernman46]

Have you checked the back to back measurement between the wheels ? It is just possible this is too wide on some of the wagons - it's a common source of random derailing - only take a couple of wagons and it does occur even in batches of high quality RTR stuff such as these.

[BR(S)]

On 05/07/2023 at 21:20, Trains4U said:

For this summer, we have reduced most of our Cavalex Models OO MGR Hopper packs to £75.00 each (RRP £89.99)

As well as this, because each wagon is individually packaged, we can also now make them available as single wagons, for £25.00 each

This means you can mix, match or buy any quantity you wish without having to get three of the same wagon livery each time.

Choose from 18 different red-cradle HAA hoppers, 3 versions each of yellow cradle and EWS HFA wagons with hoods and 9 versions of the original HOP_AB

Check out our website for some great deals!

http://www.trains4u.com/c/656/Cavalex

 

I see on these pages you have also listed medium-weathered HAA wagons. Are these the second batch of weathered HAAs, with lighter weathering? Have you got any pictures of the finished wagon please as none appear on your website page?

Edited July 9, 2023 by BR(S)

[Trains4U]

3 hours ago, BR(S) said:

 

I see on these pages you have also listed medium-weathered HAA wagons. Are these the second batch of weathered HAAs, with lighter weathering? Have you got any pictures of the finished wagon please as none appear on your website page?

Thanks for the feedback on the website, I hadn't realised the images were missing.   I'll get that sorted as soon as I can.

In any case, 
The medium weathering generally looks like this:

 

 

Or with tyre marks


these have not been discounted, they are currently priced at £35 each or £99.95 for a triple pack.

We have 33 different red cradle running numbers to choose from (or 11 different triple packs)
 

Edited July 9, 2023 by Trains4U
amended picture.

[Grimleygrid]

On 01/07/2023 at 17:08, Phil Bullock said:

These seem to have gone down well. Any news on CBA variant please gentlemen? 

 

Hi Phil,

 

Keep an eye out for an update coming soon.....

[Phil Bullock]

5 minutes ago, Grimleygrid said:

 

Hi Phil,

 

Keep an eye out for an update coming soon.....

Many thanks! It’s the one rake we are missing…

[astropsidings]

On 03/11/2022 at 13:08, Mophead45143 said:

Detailing

 

Accurascale have made more use of separately fitted parts, whereas Cavalex have used moulded detail in a few places (such as pipes along the chassis), albeit it's been well executed. 

It seems Cavalex have in fact used a number of separately fitted parts as the wagon I have (bought singly recently - Accurascale only sell in 3s, and I only needed one, a "green carded" stray) is slowly dismantling itself, and I'll soon end up with a kit. It really is green carded at the moment.

 

5 of the 8 spring dampers have so far dropped off, the most recent disappearing as I turned the wagon over to start running some glue in amongst the various parts still attached, and is proving elusive. Whatever glue was used in manufacture doesn't seem particularly effective (quite apart from items being applied at all angles, but at least they're easily removed for straightening).

 

Overall however it does look the part, or will do when I've put it back together, but buying 3 Accurascales and selling 2 might have saved some hassle. On the other hand I'll have the pleasure of doing some proper modelling, making a new spring damper, and having all the bits pointing in the right direction. And I'll give it a tidy it up with the file. Lucky I don't have 45!

[RBE]

Hi, we are sorry to hear that you are having problems with your HAA hopper. We have a rake of 36 of these that we take to various shows and locations for promotional purposes which we get out and put into their boxes each time and none have lost any of their parts yet. I would suggest that you have been unfortunate. If you would like a replacement hopper please drop us a line and we would be happy to help. 

 

Regards

Cav

[astropsidings]

19 hours ago, RBE said:

Hi, we are sorry to hear that you are having problems with your HAA hopper. We have a rake of 36 of these that we take to various shows and locations for promotional purposes which we get out and put into their boxes each time and none have lost any of their parts yet. I would suggest that you have been unfortunate. If you would like a replacement hopper please drop us a line and we would be happy to help. 

 

Regards

Cav

Thank you for your offer but it will be fine, just needs a little bit of work to put the bits back on. Some were in the box on arrival incidentally.

 

Nevertheless it is a good model of the prototype and looks the part, as I mentioned. 

 

Many thanks,

 

Ian

 

 

 

 

[RBE]

No problem and thanks for your support. If you need any further help please get in touch.

[RBE]

POST-DEMU SUMMER UPDATE

HAA FAMILY WAGON PROJECT

 

From the start of the project, our HAA family of hopper wagons, in collaboration with KMS Railtech and Trains4U, we wanted to offer modellers the opportunity to faithfully recreate a standard Merry-Go-Round rake of 36 individually numbered red cradle wagons.

 

 

 

Each of the 36 wagons have running number specific details and livery elements to replicate an authentic and prototypical rake of HAAs in model form.

All different as per the prototype from extensive research which include the following variations:

Hand painted vs stencil TOPS number panel

Axle box type

Door actuator type

With and without OHLW board

With and without OHLW stickers

Colour of door actuators

Colour of lower cradle

OHLW style

Different livery elements (TOPS number and wagon code panels)

 

 

In addition to the ‘full rake’ all of the other versions of the HAA family (including the CDA’s) have a similar level of observation taken regarding details and decoration.

 

All of the wagons are different as per the prototype to offer an authentic prototypical rake of HAAs/MGRs and CDA. These are still available to purchase via KMS Railtec/Trains4U.

 

Full update here: https://www.cavalexmodels.com/post-demu-summer-update

[The Fatadder]

Not quite a Cavalex HAA any more,  but nearly finished as a prototype coalfish, I have no photos of the inertia so the plan is to add a false floor and a ballast load (after all the real thing did get dumped in a yard with a full load of ballast).  Something a little different to the usual HAAs 

 

[BR(S)]

Finally made my way to Trains4u today and got myself a couple of the medium weathered HAAs, one with tyre marks, one without.  Great wagons and great weathering.  Only wanted two for a Speedlink Coal Network train.

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by BR(S)