Upgrading a K's GWR 4575 kit

[Pierview]

This is my latest project which  has formed part of a quite intensive GWR loco build this year. I have always liked the small prairies and have fond memories of travelling  from Yeovil to Taunton behind a 4575 class loco working bunker first. I didn't really need another 45xx but I have a weakness for acquiring old white metal kits and subsequently rebuilding them to produce something useful again. This partially built kit was obtained from that well known auction site on Christmas Eve, and when it arrived a week or so later I lost no time in assessing possibilities. The body had been soldered together very neatly but the chassis was not functioning with the ridiculous K's white metal connecting rods bent. out of shape.  Adopting my Mc Shrewd persona (an Iain Rice description in one of his articles)  my first thought  was that I could produce a cheap loco by replacing the K's motor with something better from my stock of motors. However, this was an early K's kit with wheels already mounted on their axles and removal to get at the worm wheel was therefore not an option. I replaced the errant connecting rods with steel ones fashioned from bits in my spares box, fitted the K's motor with a more secure mounting (the original builder had already done some work on this) added a new pick up assembly and got things running again. It was however very noisy and instantly took me back to struggles  with K's kits in the 1970's. It was clearly incompatible with current standards and the logical thing to have done would have been to sell the whole thing on as a bad job.

 

However, I liked the kit, which is one of K's better products in my opinion, and rather felt that a decent chassis would enhance it considerably as well as the weight of the cast body being very useful. Not a cheap exercise - no chassis construction is these days - but something that I had to do!

 

   

  

I began by completing the body and adding some extra detail. I already had a 45xx lost wax chimney casting in stock so I fitted it.  The cab front and back head had been cut away for motor clearance by a previous owner so I managed to remove it and replace it with one cut from nickel silver sheet . A cast back head with control detail will be added at a later stage, and I also cut a floor to which I added a hand brake pillar and reverser.

 

 

The chassis kit was by comet. I am very familiar with these kits, having constructed at least 20 over the years, and find that they offer a very straightforward and common sense approach to chassis construction. They are basic compared to more sophisticated productions but I like them. The chassis fitted into the body with only slight adjustment, and I went on to fit Markits wheels, a High Level road runner plus gearbox and a Mashima 1420 motor. 

 

 

 

I think the kit now looks a lot better and certainly performs more smoothly!

 

 

The 4575 now joins the line of recent projects awaiting the paint shop so I had better get on with things!

 

Barry

 

 

Edited February 13, 2023 by Pierview
update

[hayfield]

 

A great improvement to one of my favourite kit makers, the early 70's series chassis/wheels/motor was perhaps its weakest feature, the wheels being quite coarse and the gears needed a lot of running in, the Mk 2 motor far better than its replacement. The cylinders just look so much better as the whitemetal crossshead and piston rod was not up to the job. Well done 

[Pierview]

My 4575 loco project is now finished as shown. I chose 5504 as my prototype, a Taunton based engine that I saw in my spotting days.

 

 

 

With a High Level RR + gearbox, Mashima 1420 motor and flywheel this loco runs very smoothly and the weight of the cast metal kit helps considerably.

 

I 've completed 4 GWR locos this month - all the result of frenzied E -Bay activity both before Christmas and early new year. This is the last one ,which is a Cotswold 16xx pannier tank. I only saw a small number of these engines in service but I have always wanted a model version. This kit came assembled but undetailed and had been put together quite nicely. The down side was that the chassis has old style Romford drivers  and the non - insulated ones were plain without any nickel tyres. The motor is  a Tri-ang X04, albeit with Romford gears. Very old school and redolent of the early 1970's ! I deliberated for quite some time about this model before deciding to go for it at a price a little more than I really wanted to pay. After a bit of tweaking and a pick up rebuild I got thechassis running quite well, even if  it was rather noisy, and I decided that I could live with it. Fitting a more modern motor and gear box to the massive milled brass Cotswold chassis was not really an option, and complete replacement with the NuCast Partners etched chassis plus wheels, gears and motor would cost almost as much as the RTR model. I decided that I didn't want a 16xx  at any price so set about improving what I had.  To my mind, the biggest fault was the lack of brake gear on the Cotswold chassis so I managed to drill into the solid brass for brake cross rods and then added the hangers and connecting arms from the invaluable Mainly Trains etches. I don't think it has turned out too badly. The body was completed using the parts that came with the kit and I added a small amount of extra detailing .

 

 

 

 

Well, after a wholly unexpected GWR diversion over the last two months it's time to return to the Southern and tackle a sorry looking "Lord Nelson" that I rescued  from the clutches of E bay last year. Where's the Dettol?

 

Barry