Rolling stock card kits?

[john new]

On 27/12/2020 at 03:06, zarniwhoop said:

If you are going to make them as static items, then I suppose you might be able to use card for the wheels (I know nothing about paper-based kits, but I assume they were either "scratch aid" (i.e. make your own underframe/bogies or axleboxes) or designed for available chassis from existing r-t-r items.

 

I know very little about 6.5mm gauge, but I assume you are going to have a hard job running anything which doesn't fit on an available chassis and you'll have to use whatever wheel size(s) are available for rolling stock. Unless you are a model engineer, that raises a bigger problem - finding available chassis for british-style locos. All I've ever seen in Z is german-based, and steam locomotives from germany are somewhat unlike most british locos. For 1960s or later diesels, perhaps do-able - but for pre-nationlisation much harder.

 

OK, you could come up with some 'British Z" scale which might help a little, but I'd be dubious about the running qualities and indeed the appearance. 1:200 would be similar in relative sizing to 00, but it only buys you 10% in terms of dimensions - a 57' coach would want a 19.1 metre chassis, a 10' wheelbase wagon about 3.35 metre wheelbase (just over 15mm in 1:220). Not trying to discourage you, but it sounds like a lot of work with many compromises and I suspect many people would not find the result acceptable.

 

Of course, if you are a model engineer then get the lathe out to produce the wheels. Perhaps someone in germany does actually produce a range of wheels and similar for more-realistic modelling of (german) Z stock ?

 

I helped the late Keith Hunt* with a few test builds of a series of 009 card kit locomotives he was designing. The card wheels in the kits were just for static display. I believe a print run of the Russell kit sheets may have made it to sales via the original Welsh Highland Society before Keith became ill. What has happened to ownership of the masters for that, and the other drafts in the range since he died, I can't say as I don't know. 

 

* As of today his website remains live and as a free Wordpress site may remain so permanently; however, no one has updated it for a long while.

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by john new
Added the * footnote.

[009 micro modeller]

2 hours ago, john new said:

 

I helped the late Keith Hunt* with a few test builds of a series of 009 card kit locomotives he was designing. The card wheels in the kits were just for static display. I believe a print run of the Russell kit sheets may have made it to sales via the original Welsh Highland Society before Keith became ill. What has happened to ownership of the masters for that, and the other drafts in the range since he died, I can't say as I don't know. 

 

* As of today his website remains live and as a free Wordpress site may remain so permanently; however, no one has updated it for a long while.

 

 

Do you know who designed the Corris loco that the group restoring the Corris Railway sells?

[john new]

37 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

 

Do you know who designed the Corris loco that the group restoring the Corris Railway sells?

 

Keith drew the Corris loco Winson and I have a copy of his design as it was in 2008. Not sure if it is the same one, as it is one I have not tried to do from the sheet I have so may not be the final version. His trading name was/was to be Welsh Patentless Cardboard Chimney Co. If that is anywhere on the kit it will definitely be one of his. (See logo below) 

 

His others that I have copies of were - an original Bullied Pacific in N (Unfinshed) and a child's construction toy Welsh Dragon.

 

The 4mm Narrow Gauge drafts I received were for Merridn Emrys, Tallylyn, Alice/Holy War. Moellwyn, a de-Winton & Countess. Not all the sheets I have were of the worked to a finish stage, his website shows at least one other he had made but I didn't get the drafts for that/those.

 

Of those I know Russell and Holy War were finished versions (I test built versions of those for him at the time as instruction sheet checks) and I think from memory Talyllyn was too but the project fizzled out so what with one thing and another the designs did not get built.

 

Hope this answer helps, sadly due to Keith's illness he lost use of the computer for email and our contact then became texts and some phone calls before it finally petered out due to the physical distance between Dorset & N Wales. I have no contact with any surviving relatives.

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by john new
Minor text tweak for clarity

[009 micro modeller]

This is the one I was thinking of (I have the 4mm version but haven’t assembled a complete one yet): https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alphagraphix-Corris-no-7-0-4-2ST-7mm-O-gauge-1-43-card-kit-E17-/283356393080

 

It says Alphagraphix on this one but I’m sure Corris used to sell it themselves without any particular branding.

[john new]

That isn't Keith's his was 4mm. 

 

[009 micro modeller]

3 hours ago, john new said:

That isn't Keith's his was 4mm. 

 

 

There is a 4mm version. But I don’t think that’s his either, it’s just a resized version of the 7mm one.

[33C]

On 24/12/2020 at 09:16, MikeTrice said:

Have a look for Micromodels on ebay and via google.

Look out for "Merco" Lithographs. 4mm scale and some 7mm and 2mm. They come on a lovely semi matt, full colour sheet. EMU'S, coaches and wagons.

[john new]

Having found I still had an unbuilt one in stock have just picked up some of the 1970s Trix 4mm LNER coach kits to go with what I had. Will scan before attempting a build.

[sagaguy]

17 minutes ago, 33C said:

Look out for "Merco" Lithographs. 4mm scale and some 7mm and 2mm. They come on a lovely semi matt, full colour sheet. EMU'S, coaches and wagons.

Freestone models had some awhile ago but it was a limited range.These lithos were printed in the 1950s,distributed by Hamblings of Cecil court. It's a wonder that these remnants survived. I don't know if Freestone are still trading.Oh for some Merco smokey brick paper!.

[sagaguy]

11 minutes ago, john new said:

Having found I still had an unbuilt one in stock have just picked up some of the 1970s Trix 4mm LNER coach kits to go with what I had. Will scan before attempting a build.

I have about three of the Trix coach kits,they need Bachmann Gresley bogies which seem to be unobtainable at the moment. 

[john new]

The originals were meant to have Trix commonwealth bogies with card overlay sides added from the kit. I built one back in the day which I subsequently scrapped but retained the 2 pairs of bogies. They  were also recently found lurking in a spares box, one pair is now under a Hornby Mk1 which had a broken bogie, the other set remains pending.

Edited January 5, 2021 by john new

[sagaguy]

1 minute ago, john new said:

The originals were meant to have Trix commonwealth bogies with card overlay sides added from the kit. I built one back in the day which I subsequently scrapped but retained the 2 pairs of bogies. They  were also recently found lurking in a spares box, one pair is now under a Hornby Mk1 which had a broken bogie, the other set remains pending.

I'm a member of the TTRCA and in a recent Gazette, there was an article on building these.They are quite tricky models if you want them to run smoothly. 

[Reptilian Feline]

On 05/01/2021 at 23:38, john new said:

Having found I still had an unbuilt one in stock have just picked up some of the 1970s Trix 4mm LNER coach kits to go with what I had. Will scan before attempting a build.

Scan, and then make it from the scanned image, not the original.

[john new]

7 hours ago, Reptilian Feline said:

Scan, and then make it from the scanned image, not the original.

Definitely, that was always the plan.