Doesn't the Airfix Class 31 scrub up well...

[Clive martin]

6 minutes ago, Halvarras said:

 

Ah, proper modelling! I had no need to go that far but I have panelled over a few bodyside steps/boiler fillers and revolved a few engine exhausts in my time 😃!

I guess we were young at the time and modern image to us meant trying to keep up with what was happening on BR at the time ,now nearly forty odd years on i am very much a modeller of the rail blue era ,that is now very much historical modelling !

[Halvarras]

25 minutes ago, Clive martin said:

I guess we were young at the time and modern image to us meant trying to keep up with what was happening on BR at the time ,now nearly forty odd years on i am very much a modeller of the rail blue era ,that is now very much historical modelling !

 

I was the same until 1973/4 when TOPS numbers arrived - I preferred the old numbers I'd had 7-8 years to get used to! I didn't apply TOPS numbers to a model until 1980 when I decided to sell off my old Tri-ang stock and brought a few 'up to date' - including 5687 to 31304 and E3012 to 81008 I recall -  to make them more, um, appealing?! The reason for the change at that time was that we already had the remotored Hornby Hymek and Class 47, joined by the Class 25 in 1977 and '29' in 1978 (Class 22 conversion potential) as well as the Mainline Peak, and new Western and Warship models were promised by Hornby, Lima and Mainline - and this presented the opportunity to recreate the pre-TOPS Cornish spotting days of my yoof, so the future direction of my modelling had been settled.

However for one reason and another the 1980s had nearly expired by the time I made a start on it, by which time we had a much better Class 47 as well as etched brass conversion kits, a vast range of detailing parts and more authentic paint colours than Humbrol was turning out (their last batch of BR blue was shocking - and very similar to that used by Dapol on their first Class 22 releases.........!)

[Clive martin]

14 minutes ago, Halvarras said:

 

I was the same until 1973/4 when TOPS numbers arrived - I preferred the old numbers I'd had 7-8 years to get used to! I didn't apply TOPS numbers to a model until 1980 when I decided to sell off my old Tri-ang stock and brought a few 'up to date' - including 5687 to 31304 and E3012 to 81008 I recall -  to make them more, um, appealing?! The reason for the change at that time was that we already had the remotored Hornby Hymek and Class 47, joined by the Class 25 in 1977 and '29' in 1978 (Class 22 conversion potential) as well as the Mainline Peak, and new Western and Warship models were promised by Hornby, Lima and Mainline - and this presented the opportunity to recreate the pre-TOPS Cornish spotting days of my yoof, so the future direction of my modelling had been settled.

However for one reason and another the 1980s had nearly expired by the time I made a start on it, by which time we had a much better Class 47 as well as etched brass conversion kits, a vast range of detailing parts and more authentic paint colours than Humbrol was turning out (their last batch of BR blue was shocking - and very similar to that used by Dapol on their first Class 22 releases.........!)

I know we are rather spoilt for choice now with the superb detailed ready to run models we now have ,but i do miss all those etched brass detailing conversion kits + all those detailing parts we had in the 80s the Howes of Oxford bible of detailing parts was a must have companion ,

[locomad2]

Here is my 31 getting on for 40 years old and still looking brand new.

 

 

Actually its the original body as its one of the first models I decided too "collect" suitable fitting cheapo tatty bodies and repaint, detail etc and swap and  keep just 1 or 2  chassis in good working order. Thus I tend to have just a few chassis and lots of different bodies which fit, keeps costs down. Hence with class 31 ive still got some unpainted Airfix bodies in white or grey plastic, messing about over years somewhere is a Classs 31 in British Army deep bronze green with black "Mickley mouse" camouflage.

 

This one runs  beautifully, very smooth with excellent haulage abilities easily copes with 9 Kitmaster mk 1 coaches which are quite heavy it never needs attention as last service date was may 1991, original rubber tyres on black wheel and yes centre one is fixed and cut off. Somehow doesn't distract from a neat looking model. Considering cost £15 for the set thats about £3 for the locomotive 1985 prices ( 2 pints of beer ?) Reckon best value model ever

[Captain Slough]

the Hornby-Dublo travelling mail coach in the background is looking pretty good for its 60 years, too

[cnw6847]

On 22/03/2024 at 08:49, Clive martin said:

Back in the mid 80 s me and some of the lads in my local model railway club were very keen at rebuilding our airfix 31s as refurbished machines then being out shopped from Donny works ,removing the centre body stripe bands plating over the headcode panels etc and in some cases a repaint into the then new Rail Freight livery ,great days!

 

My brother did a similar conversion at the time and my dad sprayed it into Railfreight Grey.

 

It was proper modern image at that time.

[F-UnitMad]

6 hours ago, locomad2 said:

Here is my 31 getting on for 40 years old and still looking brand new.

 

 

Actually its the original body ......

Just needs an original Airfix slimline coupler to complete the authentic look. 😉👍

That coupler itself was a revelation back in the day. Incredible how long it took to become as established standard for OO now. 🙄🤔

[russell price]

my original 31 401 is still going too, been joined by a green one to keep it company. it was my 2nd loco bought from the Earls Court toyfair in late 1976 or early 1977 when it was officially launched,so therefore must be one of the very first ones out of the door.

[Clive martin]

5 hours ago, cnw6847 said:

 

My brother did a similar conversion at the time and my dad sprayed it into Railfreight Grey.

 

It was proper modern image at that time.

What inspired me to rebuild my airfix 31 as a refurbished machine was a layout in the Sep 1985 model railway constructor Darrowby by the Bolton mrc  a large 4 track main line based on the east coast mainline one of their members had rebuilt a airfix 31 into refurbished condition ,this is the description of the photo in the magazine ,the locomotive is based on a photograph of 31 447 taken at the Doncaster works open day.it is fitted withconstant brightness sealed beam headlight and eth jumper cables and is in ex works condition. A priceless description of a bit of mid 80s modern image modelling !

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

My all green body  Airfix Brush 2's, long ago flush glazed, are now running on Hornby mazak rotted mechanisms, got very cheap s/h. Both look right and run beautifully. Not quite as cheap as some, because they are on their third drives, first double motored with  the original Airfix coffee-grinders on the metal wheels taken from the pick up bogies, then on Athearn PA1 mechs, both these running outdoors until they wore out.

 

The present  combo is the benchmark which the Bach and Acc introductions have to beat. Look at those properly recessed cabside windows, with the distinctive step out to full body width to rear of the cab doors; essential to the character of this class. Mine won't be withdrawn from service any time soon, even if one of the newcomers is satisfactory.

[Halvarras]

5 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

Just needs an original Airfix slimline coupler to complete the authentic look. 😉👍

That coupler itself was a revelation back in the day. Incredible how long it took to become as established standard for OO now. 🙄🤔

 

Yes, the Mainline coupler despite being a bit chunky went partway to reducing the intrusive appearance of the oversized tension-lock (although shortening the buffers to get stock closer together was an unwelcome throwback to Hornby Dublo) but Airfix went full-on pseudo-Fleischmann, which was a brave move at the time and unfortunately the market wasn't ready to follow their lead. When Airfix was forced to backtrack at least the clip fitting avoided expensive tooling changes and made swapping to their larger couplers easy, but making them that large, when Mainline had paved the way for something smaller, was a missed opportunity. Dapol later showed how it should have been done.........albeit with very poor hooks which required filing to a functional shape 🥴!

 

When I was putting some stock together for exhibition use in the early 1990s I had noted the brake shoes aligned with the wheels and finer buffers of Airfix wagon underframes and embarked on a program of mounting all kinds of wagon bodies from Mainline, Wrenn (unpainted, £1 each!) and Hornby Dublo on these - which allowed the use of the small couplers. Removing the hook from one end also removed the need for them to swivel, which meant they could be rigidly attached to other stock too - HD Presflos / Traffic Services tanker and Wrenn milk tankers required nuts and bolts through the original coupling boss, Mainline BR brake vans and shock wagons they were screwed to plastic mounting blocks. I bought these couplers whenever and wherever I found them, usually on club stands at exhibitions. Uncoupling was by magnetic shunter's pole - except for a few early couplers which I discovered had brass hooks! I also used them on Lima Class 117 DMU conversions (and will shortly use four of my remaining stock on a newly-acquired Class 101). Coaches and parcels stock used Dapol couplings and locos a mix of various solutions, some homemade involving a soldering iron, but always ensuring the single-ended hooks were bent or assembled in a central position. Happy days, and I still have them all, long since rewheeled with Hornby metal wheels when they were £3.50 per pack although they haven't been to any shows lately. Well, for nearly two decades actually.......

[locomad2]

On 25/03/2024 at 07:53, F-UnitMad said:

Just needs an original Airfix slimline coupler to complete the authentic look. 😉👍

That coupler itself was a revelation back in the day. Incredible how long it took to become as established standard for OO now. 🙄🤔

 

 

Ive a few of them those slimline however i dont find them that compatible most tension lock coupling especially triang mk3 stock so larger one left on the front. One advantage then was quite easy to swop them over well ahead of there time now we have modern nem fitting

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

11 hours ago, locomad2 said:

...well ahead of their time, now we have modern nem fitting.

The Airfix GMR coupler mounting is actually compatible-ish with the Bachmann longer screw on type miniature tension lock. With 'a little dimensional adjustment' of the coupler rear it can be made to fit very neatly. But read on.

 

12 hours ago, locomad2 said:

...those slimline however i dont find them that compatible (with) most tension lock coupling...

The straightforward fact is that there is no standardised pattern for UK tension locks.

On my return to OO I tested the miniature tension locks then in production and readily available : Bachmann, Hornby, and that's your lot. They were incompatible with each other if truly reliable operation was required. Either was reliable if used exclusively. Since the Bachmann type outnumbered the Hornby 20 : 1, that's what I settled on for my wagon fleet, and they have performed as expected to this day, 23 years on.

 

But here's the crucial fact that has to be recognised: a brand management could alter the coupler design or terminate its production tomorrow, it is wholly proprietary. My 'solution' is to have a stash.

[Richard_A]

I don't suppose anyone has a couple of the chassis frames going spare? 

 

I have two bodies and some spare Hornby bogies to use for them, but the chassis are hard to get. 

[locomad2]

On 25/03/2024 at 05:32, Captain Slough said:

the Hornby-Dublo travelling mail coach in the background is looking pretty good for its 60 years, too

 

Yes it is and just realised Meccanco went bust 60 years ago, the mail coach still works the grandchild think its great fun putting those little mail bags on the hook

[locomad2]

On 27/03/2024 at 15:55, Richard_A said:

I don't suppose anyone has a couple of the chassis frames going spare? 

 

I have two bodies and some spare Hornby bogies to use for them, but the chassis are hard to get. 

 

You dont seam to come across them 2nd hand at toy fairs prehaps type of models modellers hang on too as they work so well

[Richard_A]

3 hours ago, locomad2 said:

 

You dont seam to come across them 2nd hand at toy fairs prehaps type of models modellers hang on too as they work so well

Perhaps, luckily a member on here thinks he might have one or two hiding away somewhere.