Dale Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I have recently completed a few kits – water towers, platelayers huts and even an engine shed, but am considering having a go at aSlaters Toplight GWR coach kit in OO. Obviously these kits are a bit more expensive than a Ratio track sidehut. How hard are they to put togetherif your aim is to have a cracking model at the end of the day, not an amorphousblob of plastic which derails on the straight and looks a more like last nightscurry than a GWR coach? Advice for a newbie pls? D. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I think Stephen Williams wrote an article in MRJ some years back on how he put one of these things together. The finished article was very impressive! B) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Dale, before you lay out your hard-earned on the kit I would advise reading up on how easy it is to build. Stephen Williams, who builds coaches for Pendon, describes in his book "The 4mm Coach Part 1" (Wild Swan, not sure if it is in print) how he tackled it. The other recommended reading is an article by the late Guy Williams in issue 66 of Model Railway Journal headed "The best coach kit yet". If after reading these learned works you do decide to build one, take it slowly. You will know from your reading which parts don't quite fit and what to do about it! Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 The main issue with the Slaters kits is the bogies - they are beautiful kits in their own right, but getting them set up and running well can be problematic. The rest of the kit goes together reasonably easily. For some reason the roof on the brake third seems to fit better than that on the third, so I would suggest that you try that one. It does take a bit of work to get some pieces removed from their sprues and cleaned up - more than you would find on Ratio kits. I would suggest planning to fit replacement bogies, but otherwise building the kit as intended. We had a bit of a discussion about these coaches here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/28388-adrians-coach-works/ Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted July 19, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 19, 2011 I've not had any issues with the Dean bogies in the Clerestory kits. I built them on a sheet of glass to ensure all was flat and square. Cheers SS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach bogie Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 The main issue with the Slaters kits is the bogies - they are beautiful kits in their own right, but getting them set up and running well can be problematic. I agree Adrian. I replaced the bogies on mine with cast ones. The Slaters bogies, having inside frames, do not roll as well as pin point outside bearings. It also had the added advantage of weighting low down a very light model. David Geen Kits supplied me with replacement American bogies as he had the same issue. They were odd diagrams for Slaters to produce as they just replicated the diagrams that had been available for years from Mallard/Blacksmith. I picked up some Trevor Charlton zinc sides a few years back, that fit straight on.to the Slaters frame. I have a D46 running produced this way. Otherwise they are a straight forward build requiring a minimum of tools. I started one in a holiday cottage once, with only a few tools, when the rain altered decided to alter our holiday plans. The preformed grab handles save a lot of time bending wire. enjoy the build Mike Wiltshire Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Posted July 24, 2011 Author Share Posted July 24, 2011 As a practice before the toplight I have had a go at a wagon, well we all have to start somewhere don't we? Any recomended manufacturer for quality OO Scale a: Wheels etc and b: Decals for my future kit bashing exploits, not just the wagon in hand but generally (GWR pre grouping)? Cheers folks. D. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_mcfarlane Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 They were odd diagrams for Slaters to produce as they just replicated the diagrams that had been available for years from Mallard/Blacksmith. I picked up some Trevor Charlton zinc sides a few years back, that fit straight on.to the Slaters frame. I have a D46 running produced this way. Interesting idea - using etched sides with the Slaters kit. I spotted the other day that Worsley Works are now listing Toplight sides on their website, and there are also the Frogmore etched sides available from Dart Castings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Barry Ten Posted July 24, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 24, 2011 Other than the bogies, the only problems I encountered with these kits were the fiddly working corridor connections, which tested my soldering to its limit, although I did eventually get them to function - and the amount of plastic that needs to be removed from the roof and/or interior partitions to get a snug fit. Not difficult, but tedious. Everything else goes together very well and they are satisfying to assemble. The first run Slaters kits came with wheels included but since these are on stub axles and rely on the not very successful bogie design, I'd bin them and order Gibsons or Markits to use with cast bogies from Geen or 247. I have started using Bachmann coach wheels as standard lately as they are economical and run well. I did mine as BR crimson/cream examples, using Fox lining. They also do (I believe) a nice pack containing a large number of WR coach numbers. There's probably a similar set for GWR stock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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