Good buy from Ebay

[hayfield]

If something is easy to find others will find it and the price rises. As before looking for badly presented of incorrectly described items pays dividends, as does paying attention to multi lot items

[hayfield]

On 11/11/2021 at 09:14, hayfield said:

A good buy is yet to be established, but yesterday I won what was described as an 0-4-0 whitemetal kit condition was a good runner in both directions. The main photo was very poor ( under exposed) but it looked like a LSWR (side tank) B4. The third photo was the underside, which was clearly looking like brass footplates, buffer beams and steps and an etched brass chassis. Its more difficult with the photos to say what the body is made of but the signs are its brass

 

But anyway at £41 for a kit built good runner is fine and certainly has a decent chassis. My guess is that its a Jedinco kit

 

Another lot ending a bit later for two locos comprised of an unbuilt Falcon Brass LSWR/SR 02 and what looks like a Jedinco unbuilt 0-4-0 ( 0458 ? ) saddle tank (no box or instructions). These two were unbuilt kits without wheels, motor or gears and the latter a very rare kit but they went for £218

 

Well the LSWR/SR B4 arrived and unlike the description is not whitemetal but brass, as there are no instructions however the quality of the castings and the turned brass cylinders, plus the style of 00 on a spacer leads me to think its a Jidenco kit built loco, The assembly on the face of it looks to be quite well made, the wheels need a very good clean and it runs in both directions, one issue is that the cylinders are connected to each other by a brass rod, but the rod either has come adrift from the frames and can move sideways. A simple repair is to solder or glue the rod to the frames.

 

Will look prettier either in SR or LSWR green but the hunch paid off as a small mainline etched loco kit is £80 or £90 plus £50 to £60 for wheels motor and gears. In fact an absolute steal given how much Jidenco/Falcon Brass kits sell for.

[Rowsley17D]

Your pricing for kits makes me think I should have gone £10 more on a kit I was bidding for (went for £81, came with wheels too. Oh well, there's always next time.

[hayfield]

16 hours ago, Rowsley17D said:

Your pricing for kits makes me think I should have gone £10 more on a kit I was bidding for (went for £81, came with wheels too. Oh well, there's always next time.

 

When bidding I always look at the cost of all the items that come with the kit for instance a set of 3 pairs of Gibson drivers and a set of crankpins are about £24. Markits/Romford will put you back £50 ish (be careful with S/H Romford's, especially ones with cast plain wheels

 

Motors ? very difficult to price when Mashima's go for silly money. High Level have nice open frame motors at £10 and very nice coreless ones at £29

 

Gears I tend to sell older style (large worm) Romford/Markit gears

 

One can quite easy pay as much for a set of motor, wheels and gears as the kit. I now see a couple of eBay sellers sell the wheels and motors separately now to maximise their returns, also I have been known to buy either a kit or kit built loco for an etched chassis and or wheels or motors

 

Buying a kit is the start of ones expenditure, with everything I but I look for value in everything but the rarest of kits. Having said this not knowing which kit it was £81 seems (for me) a top price even with wheels, be careful just because one person pays a very high price does not mean its worth it.

 

Having said this £60 max for a pristine unbuilt kit only leaves £21 for wheels, perhaps I too should revalue what I pay, but another kit is always round the corner. What I have learnt if a kit gets a high price soon after others will follow and make a bit less.

 

Disappointment soon fades especially when you get it for less later

Edited November 16, 2021 by hayfield

[Rowsley17D]

16 minutes ago, hayfield said:

 

When bidding I always look at the cost of all the items that come with the kit for instance a set of 3 pairs of Gibson drivers and a set of crankpins are about £24. Markits/Romford will put you back £50 ish (be careful with S/H Romford's, especially ones with cast plain wheels

 

Motors ? very difficult to price when Mashima's go for silly money. High Level have nice open frame motors at £10 and very nice coreless ones at £29

 

Gears I tend to sell older style (large worm) Romford/Markit gears

 

One can quite easy pay as much for a set of motor, wheels and gears as the kit. I now see a couple of eBay sellers sell the wheels and motors separately now to maximise their returns, also I have been known to buy either a kit or kit built loco for an etched chassis and or wheels or motors

 

Buying a kit is the start of ones expenditure, with everything I but I look for value in everything but the rarest of kits. Having said this not knowing which kit it was £81 seems (for me) a top price even with wheels, be careful just because one person pays a very high price does not mean its worth it.

 

Having said this £60 max for a pristine unbuilt kit only leaves £21 for wheels, perhaps I too should revalue what I pay, but another kit is always round the corner. What I have learnt if a kit gets a high price soon after others will follow and make a bit less.

 

Disappointment soon fades especially when you get it for less later

 

It was a London Road Models MR Class 378 with Maygib wheels. The kit retails at £126. I should have done my research more thoroughly but with no guarantee that I would have got it.

[hayfield]

24 minutes ago, Rowsley17D said:

 

It was a London Road Models MR Class 378 with Maygib wheels. The kit retails at £126. I should have done my research more thoroughly but with no guarantee that I would have got it.

 

You may well have dodged a bullet on this one. John's kits are excellent but if the age of the wheels are a guide it may well be an older one increasing the chance of missing bits, and or the kit may have been updated and certainly comes with a guarantee. More importantly Maygib drivers do not sell well, certainly I had issues with them in years gone by (might be the builder being inexperienced as I had the same issues with early Gibson's)

 

I see Maygib are back in production so please don't compare my experience with older (and possibly different) items, especially as it could have been builders error

 

There is also a problem with older wheels, Romford included. In that if you need to replace any, the new ones now available may differ from the old ones.

 

The other factor is that with harder to obtain kits (John has an excellent mail order reputation) some buyers on eBay are willing to pay over the odds simply for ease of purchase., John's kits rarely come up for sale, those that do fetch a premium.

 

With any kit that's still in production I will not buy it unless I get a decent reduction on the new price. I would rather pay a bit more and buy direct, at least I know if there is an issue I will get the manufactures support.  

 

With any eBay auction item its "buyer beware" 

[polybear]

What are the issues with the older Romford (as opposed to Markits) wheels please?

[hayfield]

59 minutes ago, polybear said:

What are the issues with the older Romford (as opposed to Markits) wheels please?

 

I may have it slightly wrong but Romford wheels were based on set diameters, (as were I believe were some early Markit) The newer Markit wheels are listed as prototypical wheelsets, therefore the diameters and  crank throws may differ 

 

If anything Romford wheels should carry a premium !!!  but they dont.

Edited November 16, 2021 by hayfield

[Barclay]

Crank throw can definitely be different - I bought a replacement Markits Webb wheel after receiving just 5 Romfords in a kit I bought. The new wheel is much nicer but the crank throw is 0.60mm less than the equivalent Romford. Dilemma - buy 5 more Markits wheels or 6 Gibsons (nicer and cheaper)? Gibson won !

[Rowsley17D]

Just won 12 axles worth of Alan Gibson wagon wheels for £1.17 per axle, RRP £1.50.

[hayfield]

On 16/11/2021 at 14:07, Barclay said:

Crank throw can definitely be different - I bought a replacement Markits Webb wheel after receiving just 5 Romfords in a kit I bought. The new wheel is much nicer but the crank throw is 0.60mm less than the equivalent Romford. Dilemma - buy 5 more Markits wheels or 6 Gibsons (nicer and cheaper)? Gibson won !

 

That is why I try and bid on what I can see and know, think we all have been caught out every now and then, but I bet you have lucked out many more time than lost out

 

As for those wheels, they do come up now and then, now you can bid knowing they will match up with one or another next time

[Richard_A]

I won a lima class 117 converted into a 122 which has a tenshodo spud motor bogie for £35. Needs finishing off but pretty happy with the purchase. 

[Rowsley17D]

Just won a couple of kits. A Wills Finecast 4F with what looks like 2 sets of tender wheels, I've a chassis awaiting a body, and a Millholme Goldcast 2P with wheels, crank pins, motor and gears. £77 the lot.

[hayfield]

1 hour ago, Rowsley17D said:

Just won a couple of kits. A Wills Finecast 4F with what looks like 2 sets of tender wheels, I've a chassis awaiting a body, and a Millholme Goldcast 2P with wheels, crank pins, motor and gears. £77 the lot.

 

As far as the 4F is concerned well worth getting the SEF 4F spares list, as the SEF version is an updated version of the said kit, at least you will be able to get a backhead and cab details and there is a new bespoke etched chassis kit

[MarkC]

32 minutes ago, hayfield said:

 

As far as the 4F is concerned well worth getting the SEF 4F spares list, as the SEF version is an updated version of the said kit, at least you will be able to get a backhead and cab details and there is a new bespoke etched chassis kit

As long as it's it's actually a recent SEF kit, John - the original Wills 4F was designed for the Hornby 0-6-0 chassis, which has a different wheelbase.

[hayfield]

2 hours ago, MarkC said:

As long as it's it's actually a recent SEF kit, John - the original Wills 4F was designed for the Hornby 0-6-0 chassis, which has a different wheelbase.

 

 

Mark

 

Thanks for that bit of valuable information

 

There are 2 options, alter the footplate (or buy a new one) to match the wheelbase, or buy the SEF FC202 etched chassis which is a direct replacement for the Hornby Jinty chassis (tender loco version)

 

Either is a vast improvement over the Jinty or wills whitemetal chassis

[Blandford1969]

4 hours ago, hayfield said:

 

As far as the 4F is concerned well worth getting the SEF 4F spares list, as the SEF version is an updated version of the said kit, at least you will be able to get a backhead and cab details and there is a new bespoke etched chassis kit

Just bear in mind at the moment SEF orders are taking a long tine to fulfil, as a result of furlough and level of orders. I hope to get the first part of an order of 20 or so parts in mid December from an order in July. 

[hayfield]

10 hours ago, Blandford1969 said:

Just bear in mind at the moment SEF orders are taking a long tine to fulfil, as a result of furlough and level of orders. I hope to get the first part of an order of 20 or so parts in mid December from an order in July. 

 

That's a shame, soon after they took over from SEF I placed at lease two if not 3 orders, all were dealt with very quickly

[MarkC]

13 hours ago, hayfield said:

 

 

Mark

 

Thanks for that bit of valuable information

 

There are 2 options, alter the footplate (or buy a new one) to match the wheelbase, or buy the SEF FC202 etched chassis which is a direct replacement for the Hornby Jinty chassis (tender loco version)

 

Either is a vast improvement over the Jinty or wills whitemetal chassis

Oh yes 

[hayfield]

Yesterday I snapped up a revised version of a GEM Watford Tank with a GEM etched chassis £32 post included, as I was born 3 or 4 miles south of Watford Junction I have always had a soft spot for them. I did have one but sold it when I started collecting some 7mm items, so was very pleased to get this on, especially as they regularly go for a lot more. Have no use for it other than something that reminds me of my childhood train spotting at Bushey & Oxhey station

[Bucoops]

14 hours ago, Blandford1969 said:

Just bear in mind at the moment SEF orders are taking a long tine to fulfil, as a result of furlough and level of orders. I hope to get the first part of an order of 20 or so parts in mid December from an order in July. 

 

In April I asked about some etchings for another range they have taken on. They said a week. A chase in late April and then August with no reply, I've given up now, and managed to find them elsewhere.

[hayfield]

On 22/11/2021 at 08:43, hayfield said:

Yesterday I snapped up a revised version of a GEM Watford Tank with a GEM etched chassis £32 post included, as I was born 3 or 4 miles south of Watford Junction I have always had a soft spot for them. I did have one but sold it when I started collecting some 7mm items, so was very pleased to get this on, especially as they regularly go for a lot more. Have no use for it other than something that reminds me of my childhood train spotting at Bushey & Oxhey station

 

Given that most of the items  sent via the Royal Mail are taking 4 to 5 days to arrive, the GEM Watford tank arrived this morning. Everything still wrapped up by the manufacturer. This one will be built. I think these chassis now are very expensive if bought separately, in fact nearly £20 more than I pad for the complete kit. Clearly there are still a few bargains left on eBay  

[Rowsley17D]

On 21/11/2021 at 14:25, Rowsley17D said:

Just won a couple of kits. A Wills Finecast 4F with what looks like 2 sets of tender wheels, I've a chassis awaiting a body, and a Millholme Goldcast 2P with wheels, crank pins, motor and gears. £77 the lot.

 

The kits arrived today (Wednesday) having been posted Monday. One set of tender wheels for the 4F are plastic so will be binned. The 2P has come with 2 chassis blocks. I wonder if one is a replacement?

[Bucoops]

42 minutes ago, hayfield said:

 

Given that most of the items  sent via the Royal Mail are taking 4 to 5 days to arrive, the GEM Watford tank arrived this morning. Everything still wrapped up by the manufacturer. This one will be built. I think these chassis now are very expensive if bought separately, in fact nearly £20 more than I pad for the complete kit. Clearly there are still a few bargains left on eBay  

 

Not here - I got some bits last week postmarked 25th October, I'm still missing several items that are well over 10 days overdue. I've had a couple of refunds on ebay items now.

 

One arrived the next day after a refund was issued which was awkward, but they sent a paypal invoice when I told them I had it and still wanted it.

 

I just hope the other senders who have refunded are able to claim compensation.

[hayfield]

 

Wills  tender loco kits used to come with plastic wheels, chassis were always an extra, think initially they were designed for RTR chassis