James Posted April 19, 2013 Author Share Posted April 19, 2013 This and a few other bits and pieces will be at Scalefour North this weekend - http://www.scalefour.org/shows/shows.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted October 6, 2013 Author Share Posted October 6, 2013 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_long Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Congrats James, well deserved. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted October 7, 2013 Author Share Posted October 7, 2013 Thanks Dave! A model which was predominately RTR bits, was considered alongside kit and scratch built steam locos. It shows how far diesel modelling has come along and how it's now regarded. When I put a class 37 (the one in my signature - a hugely modified Lima body with correct tumblehome and a chassis which used Hornby class 50 bogies with a new motor, etc., etc...) in the competition (around 2005 I think), it was only allowed into the modified RTR category, not the full locomotive one! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon020 Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Well deserved James... as you know; and a useful ref for my stalled project Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesndbs Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I don't like the Hornby 31 - the body just doesn't do it for me. I'm not sure what it is, but the overall shape just doesn't seem right. The mechanism is rather better than Lima's but the Lima body looks so much better to me. The curve of the bodysides look 'right' to my eyes. If you're happy with your Hornby 31, then you'll be saved all this aggro! I bought a Hornby 31 when they first appeared, I had ordered it once it was announced but it sat in the workshop because I just wasn't happy. A new project can justify a model of 31 171 in Railfreight grey; a photo of the loco on the line provided the impetus for this model. I had Lima model which would provide the basis, but what to do for the mechanism? Well I decided to sell the body and use the mechanism; problem... The Lima body is about 1 mm shorter than the Hornby one! So the Hornby chassis won't fit! Even with the ends filled down the buffer beams wouldn't be right relative to the cab fronts. SO I decided to canniblise the Hornby chassis for the bogies, motor, drive shafts and the battery box details and use these with the Lima chassis frame. The set up is very simple - in less than an hour you have a working chassis! The work was very similar to that of 37 219 which appears in my signature and the top of my blog. Very simple cut outs at the former non-powered end and simple bearing pieces from 60 thou Plastikard with 1/8" holes to take the bogie pivots. I also fitted the Hornby battery boxes and once they were in place filled them with lead and added a flat piece of Plastikard over them to provide a seat for the motor. This was secrued with silicon sealent. The chassis was very quickly wired up using the original pick up wires to test it. The loco has now a much better mechanism (though a good Lima loco is still very useful!) and will no doubt improve further once it has new wheels. The other advantage is that the bogies have finer detail too which can only enhance the overall look. The body has a long way to go, but with a little care it should be better result than the Hornby original - the Lima tooling is delightfully fine! I also have the Hornby cab interiors which will enhance things a little I hope! This is exactly what I was looking for! my Hornby 31 chassis fell apart, I just need to get hold of a Lima chassis now! great stuff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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