Bachmann announce all new Class 37

[Southwich]

30 minutes ago, 97406 said:

A comparison of the Accurascale and Bachmann (Laserglazed) windscreens. I now need to stop rubbing my thighs and do some work! 🤩

Two photos courtesy of Flickr to compare this to the prototype:

 

 

 

The front windows on 37s are pretty sizeable and a very prominent feature of the loco. The Bachmann model once laserglazed is spot on, as shown in your comparison photo and as @Daddyman and @jjnewitt have alluded to. The nose seam does let it down though but much easier to fill that (especially on a respray) than using Shawplan screens.

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[97406]

Just now, Southwich said:

Two photos courtesy of Flickr to compare this to the prototype:

 

 

 

The front windows on 37s are pretty sizeable and a very prominent feature of the loco. The Bachmann model once laserglazed is spot on, as shown in your comparison photo and as @Daddyman and @jjnewitt have alluded to. The nose seam does let it down though but much easier to fill that (especially on a respray) than using Shawplan screens.

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

I’ve used thinned acrylic applied with a small brush to tone down the seams. After a few applications, they’re still there, but their impact is much reduced without having to fill and respray.

[Southwich]

7 minutes ago, 97406 said:

I’ve used thinned acrylic applied with a small brush to tone down the seams. After a few applications, they’re still there, but their impact is much reduced without having to fill and respray.

When they’re going into EWS anyway you may as well completely strip and get the filler out!

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[97406]

2 minutes ago, Southwich said:

When they’re going into EWS anyway you may as well completely strip and get the filler out!

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

 

Yes, I didn’t manage to get the noses off cleanly this time and there is a small gap when they were reattached which again was reduced with thinned BR blue acrylic.

 

Look forward to seeing them anyroad!

[Southwich]

9 minutes ago, 97406 said:

 

Yes, I didn’t manage to get the noses off cleanly this time and there is a small gap when they were reattached which again was reduced with thinned BR blue acrylic.

 

Look forward to seeing them anyroad!

 

Awful photo from a month ago - thanks to @P.C.M For the airbrush facilities for the afternoon! Will take some better photo tomorrow, the three split boxes without ploughs have had all of the pipes/extra details fitted. 109/114/042/057/425 (left to right) with 308 also joining the list.

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

Edited August 4, 2023 by Southwich

[Great Waterton]

I'm quite interested in the incoming Inverness 37 but I've read several times on here that it's difficult to have both the ploughs and pipes fitted at the same time without running issues. Can anyone confirm if this is the case please? 

 

Many thanks.

[Daddyman]

2 hours ago, 97406 said:

 

I’ve noticed a slight curve in the glazing on the A/S one. Looking at the 3 A/S ones below, the splitbox one on the left looks great to me, but the ones to the right go a little ‘off’. By a similar token the Bachmann screens look a little tall from some angles. In reality it’s fractions of a millimetre and in my view the perfect 37 screens lie somewhere between the 2. Some days I think Bachmann are best, other days the Accurascale wins.

I'd say with the two on the left [EDIT: I mean the two on the right! Also don't know my left from right!], the angle of the windscreen is not steep enough. I kept the A/S on the window sill near my desk for a few days (before getting rid of it), and I found the the model occasionally looked right, but not often. The Bachmann, I find, looks right more often and from more angles, and it's only the glazing that lets it down [EDIT: I mean only the glazing lets the windscreen area down; other things in other areas let it down too, but they're all fixable - the roof fan grille, the ploughs, the brake pipes, and the fuel tanks dangling a scale 3 inches below the lower edge of the bodyside - also a problem on A/S]: 

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by Daddyman

[rob D2]

2 hours ago, jjnewitt said:

 

The Accurascale model doesn't look enough like the prototype in the windscreen area. It somehow doesn't have the right "expression" on it's face. Soemthing about their cab isn't right and it puts me off completely, especially with all the endless look how great we are crap that goes with the company. All RTR glazing looks toy like by the way, including Accurascale's! It the one area with these models that still stuck in the 80s.  

 

The Bachmann model has it's faults (I'm not keen on the separate noses, just as I'm not keen on Accurascale's removable roof) but to me it looks more like a real 37.

 

Justin

Interesting . I suppose if you merged the two you'd get the ultimate ..

 

In terms of the spin ... accurascale are a young savvy company , and realise the influence of things like YT ... Bachmann aren't so much .

 

The only bit i'm not keen on us the constant FB references to reviews on social media often undertaken by " experts " just looking for likes and subscribes - If you don't have any knowledge of the real thing , how can you judge a model of it i feel .

Edited August 4, 2023 by rob D2

[Southwich]

1 minute ago, rob D2 said:

Interesting . I suppose if you merged the two you'd get the ultimate ..

 

In terms of the spin ... accurascale are a young savvy company , and realise the influence of things like YT ... Bachmann aren't so much .

 

The only bit i'm not keen on us the constant FB references to reviews on social media often undertaken by " experts " just looking for likes and subscribes - If you don't have any knowledge of the real thing , how can you judge a model of it i feel .

If you want the ultimate (of which I am hoping to aim for) the Bachmann model is 100% the best starting point. Fill the nose join, replace the steps, glazing and roof fan grille and you’re not far off. The ploughs/sound need sorting too but again not big issues to sort.
 

As I said many months ago it depends what you’re buying it for though, as if you want the best sound out of the box you’re not buying a Bachmann one, but if you want the best looking model (windows or the ‘face of the loco’ being particularly important to me and others it seems) Bachmann clearly is the way to go.

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[Jub45565]

I don't suppose anyone has the new and old versions and have compared the bogies please?  At some point in the future mine will be converted to P4.  Speaking to Ian from Penbits at Scalefour Crewe while the Penbits conversion kit is listed as 'not compatible' with the latest 37, this is due to not having been assessed/tested/proved rather than that it definitely won't.

 

The bogie concept looks the same (from photos of the old one), and the way the gear tower locates on top - but with the way the bogie 'sits' better I'm wondering whether the overall height of the tower has changed.

 

Thanks,

[dj_crisp]

I've been pondering the front of my Bachmann 37 vs the prototype (don't have an accurascale version to do similar to) and i think it's possibly a little flat at the base but I think this issue is exaggerated by the naff glazing. I'm tempted to try some of Brians frames as i have loads in stock to see if it makes any difference. (i understand Bachmann and brian seem to agree on the sizing of the frames but as yet haven't tried )

 

I think (judging by photos) that the accurascale version is laid back a bit too much and have my suspicions on how the curve of the roof departs away from the side windows. If you have a side on view you'll know what I'm on about. I've often thought the frames of the accurascale look a bit small... but they could be fine just not at the right angle? It's hard to tell on photos.

 

Mind you the bonnet doors on Bachmanns is way better so overall I think Bachmann have done a better job in this area.   

[Southwich]

1 minute ago, Jub45565 said:

I don't suppose anyone has the new and old versions and have compared the bogies please?  At some point in the future mine will be converted to P4.  Speaking to Ian from Penbits at Scalefour Crewe while the Penbits conversion kit is listed as 'not compatible' with the latest 37, this is due to not having been assessed/tested/proved rather than that it definitely won't.

 

The bogie concept looks the same (from photos of the old one), and the way the gear tower locates on top - but with the way the bogie 'sits' better I'm wondering whether the overall height of the tower has changed.

 

Thanks,

I haven’t tried it if I’m honest Pete, but the chassis is definitely different and the mountings into the block look to be different as well. For me the old model was a great candidate for springing due to the ride height issue being sorted by the Penbits bogies and the conversion not being reliable 100% of the time. The new model sits brilliantly on its bogies and due to the metal gear towers converts really nicely to P4.
 

I’ve used Ian’s brake gear as it makes getting the rigging round the wider back to backs across the outer faces of the wheels a lot easier than thinning the plastic brake gear.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[97406]

34 minutes ago, dj_crisp said:

I've been pondering the front of my Bachmann 37 vs the prototype (don't have an accurascale version to do similar to) and i think it's possibly a little flat at the base but I think this issue is exaggerated by the naff glazing. I'm tempted to try some of Brians frames as i have loads in stock to see if it makes any difference. (i understand Bachmann and brian seem to agree on the sizing of the frames but as yet haven't tried )

 

I think (judging by photos) that the accurascale version is laid back a bit too much and have my suspicions on how the curve of the roof departs away from the side windows. If you have a side on view you'll know what I'm on about. I've often thought the frames of the accurascale look a bit small... but they could be fine just not at the right angle? It's hard to tell on photos.

 

Mind you the bonnet doors on Bachmanns is way better so overall I think Bachmann have done a better job in this area.   

 

Here's one of Bachmann's glazing units in one of Brian's frame etches. There is a little play in the driver's and secondman's screens from side to side. With the vernier the difference in width is about 0.15mm.

 

 

[Daddyman]

54 minutes ago, Jub45565 said:

I don't suppose anyone has the new and old versions and have compared the bogies please? 

It's on my to-do list. Ian is in my S4 Area Group and we've spoken about this. We're meeting on Tuesday and if I am free to attend I'll try to get a look at old and new bogies and old and new chassis blocks before then, and take both along to show him. 

[dj_crisp]

43 minutes ago, 97406 said:

 

Here's one of Bachmann's glazing units in one of Brian's frame etches. There is a little play in the driver's and secondman's screens from side to side. With the vernier the difference in width is about 0.15mm.

 

 

 

Interesting... i don't suppose you have some of Brians new laserglaze to compare? Looks a little shallow to me.... but that could be compensation for the thick edges

 

thanks

[97406]

4 minutes ago, dj_crisp said:

 

Interesting... i don't suppose you have some of Brians new laserglaze to compare? Looks a little shallow to me.... but that could be compensation for the thick edges

 

thanks

No, alas. I used my last set in 37130.

[97406]

Having done some more comparisons (pics on my ‘Part Deux’ thread), if you were to ask me now which was my favourite 37, the answer is still “Both”. Both need work doing on the screens to bring out the best in them. There are some differences close up, but I can live with them, alongside my Shawplanned Vitrains and old Bachmann models, some of which will get lowered and reworked.

 

One thing I will do is sort out the radiator fan grilles on the Bachy ones as they really stick out since I started noticing them. 

[Daddyman]

20 hours ago, 97406 said:

Here's one of Bachmann's glazing units in one of Brian's frame etches. There is a little play in the driver's and secondman's screens from side to side. With the vernier the difference in width is about 0.15mm.

 

 

Have you tried laying the Shawplan etches over the A/C screen area? 

 

2 hours ago, 97406 said:

Vitrains 

 

Careful, you're going to lose people's respect...  😉

 

[97406]

43 minutes ago, Daddyman said:

Have you tried laying the Shawplan etches over the A/C screen area? 

 

 

Careful, you're going to lose people's respect...  😉

 

 

Any port in a storm! The curve on the nose end is a little shallow, but at least I sorted those dreadful wide-eyed windscreens!

 

 

Also the etches do seem to fit well over the AS screens. I may be doing it for real with their 37419 which I hopefully will backdate.

 

ETA the Vi Trains one was my first ever go with the Shawplan frames, albeit without the backing plate.

Edited August 5, 2023 by 97406

[Tony Walker]

23 hours ago, Great Waterton said:

I'm quite interested in the incoming Inverness 37 but I've read several times on here that it's difficult to have both the ploughs and pipes fitted at the same time without running issues. Can anyone confirm if this is the case please? 

 

Many thanks.

 

I've fitted both Bachmann and Accurascale ploughs to Bachmann's 37's. Yes, there are problems with both sets of ploughs, but I've had no running problems at all. And I fit all the details to both ends by the way. 

The Accurascale ploughs on an Accurascale 37 all fit really well, but you need to cut back the NEM pocket otherwise it fouls the centre plough, and the bogie won't turn. Don't take it out of the kinetic coupling though, as this also causes derailing problems, as the socket in the coupling holder fouls the bogie, again causing derailing problems.

The Accurascale ploughs work well with the Bachmann 37, but you need to use the holes provided behind the buffer beam, for the white pipes, for the outer ploughs. This means you then have a problem adding the white pipes. I cut the attachment pip off them and just glued them to the underside of the buffer beam.

The Bachmann ploughs on the Bachmann 37 are a real pain! I usually use two small lengths of brass wire fixed behind the centre plough. Then I drill two appropriate holes in the underside of the buffer beam to match. The problem you have with this is that the outer ploughs sit to high and so interfere with the ETH equipment on the outside of the buffer beam. I've had to notch the outer ploughs to get things to fit nicely, which does look a little strange. I think, if Bachmann had put a little thought into this one area, they could have made a much better job of it. Hope that helps.

[97406]

4 minutes ago, Tony Walker said:

 

I've fitted both Bachmann and Accurascale ploughs to Bachmann's 37's. Yes, there are problems with both sets of ploughs, but I've had no running problems at all. And I fit all the details to both ends by the way. 

The Accurascale ploughs on an Accurascale 37 all fit really well, but you need to cut back the NEM pocket otherwise it fouls the centre plough, and the bogie won't turn. Don't take it out of the kinetic coupling though, as this also causes derailing problems, as the socket in the coupling holder fouls the bogie, again causing derailing problems.

The Accurascale ploughs work well with the Bachmann 37, but you need to use the holes provided behind the buffer beam, for the white pipes, for the outer ploughs. This means you then have a problem adding the white pipes. I cut the attachment pip off them and just glued them to the underside of the buffer beam.

The Bachmann ploughs on the Bachmann 37 are a real pain! I usually use two small lengths of brass wire fixed behind the centre plough. Then I drill two appropriate holes in the underside of the buffer beam to match. The problem you have with this is that the outer ploughs sit to high and so interfere with the ETH equipment on the outside of the buffer beam. I've had to notch the outer ploughs to get things to fit nicely, which does look a little strange. I think, if Bachmann had put a little thought into this one area, they could have made a much better job of it. Hope that helps.

Accurascale ploughs on this one.

[Great Waterton]

36 minutes ago, Tony Walker said:

 

I've fitted both Bachmann and Accurascale ploughs to Bachmann's 37's. Yes, there are problems with both sets of ploughs, but I've had no running problems at all. And I fit all the details to both ends by the way. 

The Accurascale ploughs on an Accurascale 37 all fit really well, but you need to cut back the NEM pocket otherwise it fouls the centre plough, and the bogie won't turn. Don't take it out of the kinetic coupling though, as this also causes derailing problems, as the socket in the coupling holder fouls the bogie, again causing derailing problems.

The Accurascale ploughs work well with the Bachmann 37, but you need to use the holes provided behind the buffer beam, for the white pipes, for the outer ploughs. This means you then have a problem adding the white pipes. I cut the attachment pip off them and just glued them to the underside of the buffer beam.

The Bachmann ploughs on the Bachmann 37 are a real pain! I usually use two small lengths of brass wire fixed behind the centre plough. Then I drill two appropriate holes in the underside of the buffer beam to match. The problem you have with this is that the outer ploughs sit to high and so interfere with the ETH equipment on the outside of the buffer beam. I've had to notch the outer ploughs to get things to fit nicely, which does look a little strange. I think, if Bachmann had put a little thought into this one area, they could have made a much better job of it. Hope that helps.

 

Thanks Tony, seems like an awful lot of bother for something that should really be simple!

[Daddyman]

This is my 37423. I have no need for a loco in this livery, but reading Nick Meskell's books can be dangerous... Still a few jobs to do - glazing, more air pipes, ETS and MW pipes, metal arrows of indecision, possibly a few other things. 

 

An outdoor shot in rather too bright sun before I noticed it needed the fuel capacity wording. The fuel tank to underframe gap has been corrected by removing the detail between tanks and frame and reseating the former, but it's all lost in shadow here!  

Indoor shots 

This one seems to be afflicted with particularly set-back glazing:  

 

The loco has had new ploughs from PH Designs as I've run out of Heljan class 47 ones. I don't like the fitting of the PH ploughs, especially on the centre one, and am not convinced by the shape of the centre one either, so I've left it off. I modified the fitting by inserting a piece of 0.6 wire up the "boxes" at the back of the PH ploughs, and then drilled this into the b.beam: 

 

 

This has been P4'd with Branchlines coach wheels mounted on the original Bachmann axles - we'll see how bad an idea that was. There were clearance problems on the brake pull rods so I replaced them with 0.3 wire, drilling out the shoes to give a firm fixing. Th

 

The next shot shows the cut-out on the corner of the b.beam and replacement ETS fittings with my own resin castings that I made some years ago - original source unknown. On my first new-gen Bachmann 37 I replaced the feeds to the brake cylinders with 0.3 wire, but you're looking at a week in rehab (at least) after that, so nowadays I leave the originals. 

The curve of the Bachmann pipes is wrong - airpipes curve out from the b.beam and then dangle vertically. I kept Bachmann's cocks as they're OK (I know, I know), and drilled them to take 0.5 wire bent to shape and crimped at the end to represent the connections at the other end. 

 

I also replaced the handbrake chains with 40-links-per-inch chain from Branchlines. The roof fan is Shawplan, obviously, and all transfers from Railtec. Oh, and the aerial is a toothbrush bristle - not my idea!  

 

This has had quite a lot of work done on getting the work-worn look to the finish. As I've said earlier in this thread, Bachmann didn't bother to paint the upper grey band behind the sector logo, so when you remove it you're left with a square of the lower bodyside colour intruding into the upper grey band. As the grey looked wrong anyway - or wrong for a weathered loco - I repainted the whole band with LMS grey mixed with white as there's quite a blue tinge to the band in photos of locos in 1993/4. I then gave the whole body a white filter coat, laying it on pretty thick on the roof as on the real thing this area looks far paler than the colour supplied on models. Not sure about the lower bodyside colour, even after the white filter - shouldn't this be the same colour as the grey in blue-and-grey carriages? 

 

I paid a lot of attention to the roof weathering. There is a tome to be written on the subject. Before the rot really sets in, 37s tend to have clean patches on their roofs - between roof fan and roof hatches, between roof hatches and cant rail, and between roof fan and cant rail. At the same time, there will be muck in all the seams and around all the straps, even in those clean areas - this begins to collect after just one journey. Modellers (and "professional" weathering companies) tend to just squirt some muck on the roof vaguely along the centre area, but there are two problems with that: first, it doesn't get the muck into the seams, and second, it ignores the characteristic clean patches on a 37 roof. My process is to coat the roof with a muck mix and then wipe it off, leaving it collected in seams and around strapping. Only then can the airbrush come out, being used to mist exhaust carbons on certain areas - longways from the exhausts, drifting over the hatches and part of the boiler room roof, and in the fan itself. I then use black pastels (the darkest, mattest black I know) to add some darker patches around the exhaust ports proper, and perhaps in the fan grille. The effect can be seen here, with the clean (and faded) patches in evidence: 

Edited August 5, 2023 by Daddyman

[Southwich]

That is absolutely stunning David - great work! Some LaserGlaze in that machine will finish it off very nicely. I think you’ve also just convinced me I need a Transrail machine

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[Daddyman]

20 hours ago, Southwich said:

That is absolutely stunning David - great work! Some LaserGlaze in that machine will finish it off very nicely. I think you’ve also just convinced me I need a Transrail machine

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

Haha! Thanks Will! 

 

I realise the photos didn't really show the chains. A bit closer here: 

This one shows the method of fixing: on the underframe, a piece of 0.4 wire through Bachmann's actuating lever and through a link of the chain, with the chain held behind the lever; on the bogie, a piece of 0.193 brass wire looped through a link of the chain, and then twizzled into a "tail", which is drilled into the bogie frame just ahead of the step.  The chain is fixed permanently to the lever, but the tail can be pulled out if bogies ever need separating from the u/frame. 

 

 

The steps don't bother me as much as they do you, Will! 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Daddyman