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Kernow [Bachmann] Exclusive Body


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12 minutes ago, RFS said:

There are a lot more available direct from Bachmann spares. 

 

Oh yeah, the spares website is superb, just hadn't appreciated a retailer their own exclusives direct as well.

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Posted (edited)
On 02/04/2024 at 16:32, E100 said:

 

Oh yeah, the spares website is superb, just hadn't appreciated a retailer their own exclusives direct as well.

I wish they would update the spares site, I dont think theyve added anything new in quite some time.

i know i Can phone and ask but sometimes I just like to noodle around.

Edited by adb968008
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  • 2 months later...

I have a small SR collection - two Heljan 33s, two Limby 73s, an 04 and 07 - and always fancied a 205 'Thumper' DEMU  to go with them, as I frequent rode on the 'Tadpole' variety in the 1970s; but at around £200 the Bachmann model was beyond my modelling budget at the time, and continue to command high prices.

When Kernow unexpectedly listed fully-finished bodyshells last year I wondered whether I could make my own chassis from what I had to hand - the aim was to achieve complete models for around £150 since if the total cost approached £200 I might as well have bought one while they were in the shops! The availability of interiors from ekmexhibitions.co.uk at a reasonable price was a further encouragement.

The chassis parts I had to work with were two Tri-ang Mark 1 underframes, a pair of Hornby 2BIL trailing bogie frames I'd obtained for another purpose which was unlikely to get anywhere, a pair of Bachmann B1 bogies (I had to reinstate Commonwealths under a coach to reclaim those), 6 Hornby 14.1mm  wheelsets, a rebuilt 34mm wb Lima motor bogie with 14mm wheels (the unit Lima would have used if they'd ever produced a Class 25, but it was never used in a UK OO gauge model) and a Hornby diesel large ballast weight (the last of a bundle of 6 purchased at a show around 3 decades ago). I checked the Tri-ang chassis dimensions against a Bachmann Mark 1 to (hopefully!) make sure I wasn't barking up entirely the wrong tree, then spent a busy month - because if this didn't work I wouldn't have wasted too much time! - in the run-up to last Christmas assembling these:

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The Hornby 2BIL bogie frames are so narrow the original fat Lima wheels barely fitted between them - no matter as they had to go anyway, Peter's Spares sorted that (£9). I couldn't see a way to exchange the wheels without damage as both sets were tight on the axles, so I cut a small notch in the axle bearing holes with a chisel blade to make them 'clip-fit'. Works for me! I kept the wiring from the trailing bogie out of the way under the floor as I had no idea how it was all going to fit together up top. The intention to secure chassis to body at this stage was the Tri-ang long-bolt method into the roof - one would pass between the motor and the cast ballast weight, and through the copper clad plate. After a bit of fettling the Lima unit and both chassis run very well. 

 

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The interior parts came from ekmexhibitions, total cost £15.50 (they also have seat inserts to return the empty luggage compartment behind the DTCL's driving cab to passenger use for £2). I had planned to make all of the DMBS's underfloor gubbins myself, but this cast chassis (the last one available at the time) was only £9 so why not just rob that instead? Thankfully I decided to do nothing more until I'd obtained the bodies......

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You can never be too old to have birthday money to spend, which is why I only popped down to Kernow last week to collect these beauties for a whisker under £100. Only the DTCL comes with a lighting strip (well mine did) which I've removed since, as you can tell, this is all a bit DC analogue old-skool. I reckon I'll have another use for this in due course (it's worth £10 according to Bachmann Spares). Now that I have finally put chassis and bodies together it's clear they can be made to work, although the bodies have a false ceiling which the separate roof moulding clips through down each side, and some excavation of the DMBS's false ceiling may be necessary to take the top of the motor assembly, after a new narrower copper clad plate has been created with possible additional filing of the cast weight.

 

However........

 

Last month ekmexhibitions suddenly took on a host of new Class 205 spares from Bachmann, including bogies, more DMBS underframes and the previously unavailable DTCL underframe (£9.50). This prompted a major rethink, since using the underframes designed to fit the bodies would save a lot of work and result in a better appearance all round. The main task would be making the motor aperture bigger (a job for the Dremel) and remounting the motor at the correct ride height. But this and the other three bogies will be reused for the afore-mentioned cost target reasons.

So another order went in to ekm:

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Conveniently both underframes arrived painted in BR blue, this was not a given. I'm not sure whether the bogies will allow retention of the kinematic NEM sockets on both underframes - TBD.

 

Cost so far, and hopefully final - £143. I'm aiming to do a lot of long-delayed paint-spraying this summer (weather permitting!) so this project will be picked up again in the autumn. (If I can resist it that long!)

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Sorry, what was that? "What's with the LMS 10000 body?" Along with the new Class 205 parts ekmexhibitions also listed five of these bodies at just £21.50 each - I couldn't resist, especially as I have these cast whitemetal bogie sideframes sitting idle (they were originally part of a Hornby 29-based D600 Warship conversion kit, which I never got around to using as I already had a decent enough MTK model up and running). Between me ordering the first of the five and delivery three more went - as I type this there's one left!

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A static model of Britain's first mainline diesel beckons!

Trouble is, this may prompt me to build a Dapol Kitmaster 'Deltic' to go with it. However during the past 24 hours ekm have added bodies for two different Bachmann early blue AL5 electric locos for £15 each and two different 'Blue Pullman' power car bodies for £12.50 each so who knows - if I can summon the patience of a saint maybe one day Bachmann DP1 'Deltic' bodies will turn up! Well, you never know.......but I reckon this website is going to be worth  keeping an eye on.

 

Finally, here's the box the 205 DTCL underframe and 10000 body arrived in - 'Royal Fail'!

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PS - Further to the above I should mention that I have no connection to ekmexhibitions other than as a semi-regular happy customer. As East Kent Models I used to purchase bits and pieces from their stand at the Bristol show in years long past. One such was a clutch of three different unboxed Trix blue 'Whiskey Wagons' held together with an elastic band for a tenner - I still have them, fitted with Hornby wheels and Bachmann mini-couplers!

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The curious thing about the LMS 10000 body is that this version, black with 'LMS' lettering, appears to be the only one not currently listed on the Bachmann Spares website. They may be rejects due to decoration flaws (as are the Class 47 bodies on offer) - on the nearest corner of the silver roof of mine above there's a small black mark in the paint and some blotches along the line of rivets below the two rectangular panels. It has had the cab and nose lighting circuits installed though.

 

Ekmexhibitions home page explains that the parts business is currently up for sale, but that they have recently taken on more "redundant UK and US parts" - the parts stock has been fairly static in recent times, but the addition of new items lately suggests Bachmann have an agreement with ekm to take what Bachmann regards as redundant stock - with new products arriving all the time there must be a limit to the number of parts Bachmann themselves can hold, so presumably ekm is being used as an outlet. The very recent addition of the 10000, AL5 and Blue Pullman bodies make this website one to monitor closely for some of us avid RTR meddlers out here I reckon! Even if some of us don't need any more projects ("I don't need any more projects, I don't need any more projects.......oh look, an LMS 10000 body for only £21.50, I've got some sideframes for that"........uh-oh!!)

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On 02/04/2024 at 10:18, RFS said:

There are a lot more available direct from Bachmann spares. 

 

Good for me though since Kernow's international shipping is much cheaper than Bachmann Spares (£25 to the U.S. flat rate 😬)

Edited by MattR
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