Sailor Charon Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 I noticed that Dapol have started selling chassis for various locos. A B17 chassis (with unfinished tender body and loco body) will cost £60. (sigh) Part of me wants to keep well away from kitbuilding and scratchbuilding. I've done it in OO and O in the past, and, in all honesty, I have to admit I'm not very good. Another part of me says 'Yes, but...' And I'd kindof like a streamlined B17. I can even see how to do it too. An old A4 body cut down, wire handrails fitted... Yes, it should be a nice simple way back in. So I'm looking for a body now, and if I can find one, and I can persuade myself that it's not going to be a waste of time and money... I have a project for 2011... Wish me luck, folks. Edit: Ok. I've found a body (possibly) BR Lines have them (part no 372-354) for £23.50. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Wow! Now thats a turn up for the books! Dapol suppling chassis - I hope that Farish cottons on a reintroduces their own range! I started on a streamlined B17 conversion years ago out of a Farish A4 (using an unpowered A4 chassis with the rear truck removed) and a Union Mills tender. I was never that happy with is as the Farish A4 body is difficult to cut so it remained in the to do pile... If I was going to do this again I'd design a custom body in CAD and print it. However I've seen other produce some stunning results out of the A4 - notably Dr Al, who was doing some great work on a W1 built out of an extended A4. For me I think the B17 chassis would go along way towards providing power for my atlantic project (although the coupled wheelbase would remain 1.5mm to long!). However I see that the Brit chassis is on sale - thinking about some upgraded A4's and some new A1/A3 bodies sitting on these!!! Good luck with your project - I think that a streamlined B17 would be a great talking point in N! B) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor Charon Posted December 24, 2010 Author Share Posted December 24, 2010 Just a quick update. I've ordered the A4 body from BR Lines. Apparantly it was the last one. Which is a bit of a pity as, if this works, I'd planned to tackle the streamlined V2 that never got off the drawing board. Anyway, the next thing to do is order the chassis. Hopefully Dapol will still have some. (Hattons sold out fairly quickly ) Edit: And the chassis is now (hopefully) ordered from Dapol. Assuming that their online store only lists what they have in stock. Otherwise... So, next is to take the A4 diagram and the B17 diagram and work out where to "start sawin'" so that the body fits back together nicely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor Charon Posted December 30, 2010 Author Share Posted December 30, 2010 Well, my A4 body has arrived today. It looks as if I need to remove about half an inch (yes, I know, not very accurate but it's a first impression) from the boiler. I'm no quite sure where to take it from yet. It will probably turn out that I need to cut diagonally as if I cut straight down... Well, near the front, the top will have a step in it, and further back the bottom will have a step in it. I also probably need some thin brass or plasticard to complete the valance over the wheels... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Cool! I love streamlined B17's. I grew up alongside the mainline ex-GER at Shenfield. Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor Charon Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 Well, I've dissected my old (dead) B17. Things are actually looking up for once. There's a whole lotta room under the body with a B17. Pause, what I mean is, there's not much sticking up from above the level of the footplate. The cylinders and valve gear aren't attached to the footplate/running board - but this is attached at the back. Pause. Surely it would be easier to turn this into a B2 like Thompson did. Anyway, I think I can cut away the appropriate bits of the running board to get the A4 body to fit. The solid bit at the front doesn't appear to matter - and I'm hoping to get a Minitrix body anyway. That will leave me with a spare A4 body, and maybe I could use a B17 to make a Streamlined V2... (Ok, the wheels are (slightly) too big) or even a non-streamlined V2... The only problem is that I'd need a longer cardan shaft... And no, I wouldn't use a Farish V2 body, the cutting would be quite tricky... But yes. Things are, if not actually moving forwards, on the verge of moving forwards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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