Jenny Emily Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 I just popped the top off one of my Bachmann class 25s (BR blue factory weathered 25083 - can't remember catalogue number as the box is stashed away in storage) after it began running erratically. Inside along the heafty weight on top of the chassis that houses the motor there was a white bloom at one end that ran in a patch from the top and over one side. I scraped it with a screwdriver and it came away as a white dust leaving some minor pock marks in the metal underneath. It looks suspiciously like the first signs of Mazak issues that I know and hate only too well from pre-war Hornby Dublo items. It was not the cause of the erratic running - muck on the pickups turned out to be the cause of that so it was pure chance that I found the suspect area. I've bought heavily into the Bachmann class 25 fleet since they first turned up and my nine examples represent a large investment. Most are boxed away and I will need to dig them out to check, but of the others I have to hand to check I found that 25087 (from the first batch of examples to hit the shops IIRC) was clean, as were the far more recent 25034 and 25052. The affected area is quite small and there is no signs of distortion in the main casting - as far as I can tell it is just the surface that has been affected. The area is about the size of a five pence piece and the metal underneath the crust seems firm enough. Has anyone else had issues with the Mazak problem with class 25 chasses or is this just a one-off? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 30-something Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 I've just checked my 25 chassis block (now powering a 29) and it's fine thankfully. I bought that when the 25 first came out. Thanks for raising the issue, something to look out for in future purchases! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 I have never had an issue with a Bachmann locos, but am interested in the issue you have, as I have cut down myclass 25 chassis blocks to replace the chassis, so am worried the same might happen, have you any photos please? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren01 Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 HI I Have the same white dust on one of my older Ivatt tank, on the chasse block at the front. So far nothing has happened to this loco. Darren Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Dayz Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 Hi Have taken the bodies off 25052 & 25083. Thankfully everything ok! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 No issues with the nine Baby Sulzers here either, I'm happy to say, as they were all given an airing when they were being chipped over the past few weeks. They represent a good spread of releases too, from the earliest 24s, through locos of the same vintage as Jenny's to recent chassis-only purchases ex-soundchipped locos. Hopefully the damage described in the OP is just surface blooming and won't manifest itself as anything more serious. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 I've had this problem with Dublo castings in the past (possibly connected to damp - it's only appeared in second hand items????). I've tried scraping it off, but eventually it reappears. Painting over it to seal the metal seems to have worked for now.Late fifties Trix items (the lighted brake van and hopper wagon especially) seem to suffer badly from this problem.<br> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Emily Posted September 4, 2010 Author Share Posted September 4, 2010 I haven't got any pictures (my camera is so bad as witnessed by pictures taken by it of my layout - it would barely show up the chassis block at close range, let alone a mark on it) but it looks just like a white surface dust, almost like talcum powder or flour that has stuck to the surface. I've not seen it on any other Bachmann items, but it is just like that which I have seen on old Hornby Dublo items. Secondhand oughtn't to have anything to do with it appearing, as my Father's original Hornby-dublo 80054 suffered the loss of its front bufferbeam to Mazak issues, and that had had one careful owner from new! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
norfolkchinaclay Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Would like to know what the cause of this blooming is (chemical reaction from oil/lubricant?). I know of Mazak as one of the metals used in SU carburetters in old MG's - it is now the subject of analysis for damage caused by ethanol content of modern fuels, but had no idea the problem went as far as model locos (or indeed that Mazak was used in their construction!) I also have 25052 by the way, but was somewhat suprised to find that the yellow cab front did not wrap around the edges (like every other class 25 of the period) - I've seen pictures of 052 in cornwall with "normal" yellow coverage at the cabsides. Has anyone seen a pic of it in 1970's with the yellow stopping too short as on the model? I did a search for "25052" on RMWeb today, which yielded a scrap line pic of it in a very poor state, presumably taken early-mid 1980's after crash damage? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennine MC Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I also have 25052 by the way, but was somewhat suprised to find that the yellow cab front did not wrap around the edges (like every other class 25 of the period) - I've seen pictures of 052 in cornwall with "normal" yellow coverage at the cabsides. Has anyone seen a pic of it in 1970's with the yellow stopping too short as on the model? I think it was established at the time of release that it was just an error. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
norfolkchinaclay Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I think it was established at the time of release that it was just an error. Some error! Never seen a blue class 25 like that... I guess I will just have to repaint it correctly and then weather whole thing more heavily to blend it in with the existing weathering, once I pluck up the courage... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Emily Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 I must admit I'd forgotten about this. I will take a look next time I dig the loco out as to whether any further degradation of the chassis has occurred. It has performed faultlessly on the track, which hopefully means that nothing untoward is happening within it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomstaf Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hi Guys, Just a quick qu about the 25 bogies - do they have a 34mm wheelbase? Cheers Tom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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