Wright writes.....

[26power]

2 hours ago, BMacdermott said:

Hello Tony and everyone

 

A friend found the items below during a clear-out of a modeller's garage. I'm not sure what scale the items are but the wheelsets are roughly 42mm back to back. They are sitting on a sheet of A3 paper.

 

If anyone wants the bits and pieces - and I would really insist on 'a modeller' as opposed to 'a dealer' - please PM me. I will post free of charge but will ask you to consider making a small donation to CRUK.

 

Fair enough?

 

Brian

 

If no takers on here it might be worth trying the “free to a good home” section at this part of the forum:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/forum/264-wanted/
There might be a bigger “audience” there?

[BMacdermott]

Thanks 26power

 

I deliberately listed here first knowing that the thread is a Broad Church of modellers and with the hope that it might make a bob or two for CRUK.

 

Brian

[Tony Wright]

Late last year, readers might recall, I was given a 3mm Jinty to build.................

 

 

The frames were a doddle to erect, being mainly a single fold-up etch.

 

 

I fitted extra spacers to hold the pick-up pads.

 

 

Drivers are a self-quartering push-fit, but the fit is incredibly tight - so much so that, in starting to push one wheel on to its axle, I snapped off the steel crankpin!

 

All looks well, but I'll have to cut the front of the frames off, up to the guard irons, otherwise the chassis won't fit into the body. 

 

I've yet to assemble the slim-line drive, and I'll report accordingly.

 

This is my first venture into 3mm modelling, and I imagine it'll be my last; it's just too small!

 

 

[Tony Wright]

Of possible interest................

 

 

[Barry Ten]

I've made good progress on my M&SWJR 2-4-0, with most of the details now in place:

 

 

I've found this to be a really enjoyable kit - I do hope it stays in production. Mine is modelled on 1336, the last of the three, but the kit caters for the variations in chimney, smokebox and buffer if you wish to model any of the three at any point in their lives after rebuilding.

 

In other news, I've acquired yet another 7F! What appeared to be a very well-built DJH example came up on ebay so I took a chance, and the model is lovely, and runs a treat. It just needs a little lubrication, as it's had virtually no running since being built. My layout's currently in GWR rather than S&D guise, so please excuse the incongruity of setting:

 

 

I must bump up my exposure correction a bit. I messed around with the settings in a vain attempt to capture the aurora, but need to set them back. I find a little extra exposure seems to work well under layout lighting conditions.

[Tony Wright]

More progress on the 3mm Jinty.........

 

 

Motor/gear installed and wheels on.

 

 

Rods on (nuts held in place with thick paint, for now).

 

The two above pictures show the chassis resting on..................

 

 

Pages in this little booklet, produced by the 3mm Society; very useful in all scales/gauges.

 

 

The body fits perfectly now. 

 

 

Edited May 15 by Tony Wright
to add something

[sjp23480]

12 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

 

The frames were a doddle to erect, being mainly a single fold-up etch

What an interesting build.

I wonder, has anyone come across an etched fold up chassis in 4mm?

Or is it a factor of scale, in that 3mm scale allows this method of construction?

[Paul Cram]

56 minutes ago, sjp23480 said:

What an interesting build.

I wonder, has anyone come across an etched fold up chassis in 4mm?

Or is it a factor of scale, in that 3mm scale allows this method of construction?

Dave Bradwell's J27 and  J39 chassis and possible oyjers of his. 52F also does fol up chassis

[Tony Wright]

9 hours ago, sjp23480 said:

What an interesting build.

I wonder, has anyone come across an etched fold up chassis in 4mm?

Or is it a factor of scale, in that 3mm scale allows this method of construction?

Good morning,

 

Most (if not all) of the Crownline/PDK locomotive kits have an etched, fold-up nickel silver or brass chassis. 

 

I've built several (including the following), all with complete success with regard to running.............

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The painting/weathering is the work of Ian Rathbone, Geoff Haynes, Tom Foster and me.

 

Regards,

 

Tony.

 

 

[Bucoops]

11 hours ago, sjp23480 said:

What an interesting build.

I wonder, has anyone come across an etched fold up chassis in 4mm?

Or is it a factor of scale, in that 3mm scale allows this method of construction?

 

I know the DJH J50 comes with a pre-folded one, as it is designed as a starter kit. The old Stelfox N7 is a foldup with a spacer then added in the middle. No doubt there are others. There are usually additional spacers to suit EM and P4, the idea being you break the integral OO ones out at the fold lines and replace for those scales.

[sjp23480]

Thanks Gents - every days is a school day.

 

Having built DJH, Comet and K's kits - I hadn't come across a fold up chassis.

 

Seems to make a lot of sense as I imagine it helps to build a square chassis.

 

[gwrrob]

@Tony Wright Just wondering what your verdict was on the latest anchor oil tanks from Dapol was, I couldn’t help noticing them on the latest TMC video that featured LB.😉

[St Enodoc]

There's been a lot of discussion here over the past few months about the Peter Lawson collection.

 

I'm delighted to say that I now own, with the help of @LNER4479 and my No 2 daughter, five ex-GWR coaches from the collection. These will make their way south in a couple of weeks, when I return to Australia at the end of a short visit to England for a school 50th anniversary reunion next Sunday (no, I didn't think I was that old either). After fitting new couplings, they'll be ready to take their place in the Mid-Cornwall Lines fleet.

 

Thanks to both Graham and Tony for arranging the disposal of these items so efficiently and sympathetically.

[Clive Mortimore]

28 minutes ago, gwrrob said:

@Tony Wright Just wondering what your verdict was on the latest anchor oil tanks from Dapol was, I couldn’t help noticing them on the latest TMC video that featured LB.😉

Hi Robin

 

They are not anchor mounted oil tanks but saddle mounted ones. There are some livery and detail errors, the worse being the Shell Motor Spirit silver tank with red stripe, a limited pre WW2 livery with post WW2 platforms and ladders. These wagons were built for the transport of aviation fuel during WW2 so none should be in pre WW2 colours. Pre WW2 built wagons with silver tanks were painted grey as not to be targets for the Luftwaffe.  I did try to talk to the chap who developed these at Ally Pally but he did not want to engage with me. Otherwise the models are very good representation, one just needs to do some research as to which configuration of platforms and ladders (if fitted) the oil company of your choice should have.

[cctransuk]

47 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

I did try to talk to the chap who developed these at Ally Pally but he did not want to engage with me.

 

Probably because introducing changes at that stage would highlight his error to management.

 

One has to wonder how many model production 'cock-ups' are down to ego!

 

CJI.

[Red Devil]

On 15/05/2024 at 09:29, Tony Wright said:

Late last year, readers might recall, I was given a 3mm Jinty.

 

This is my first venture into 3mm modelling, and I imagine it'll be my last; it's just too small!

 

 

As a recent convert to 3mm I thought that too at first, it does take a while to get used to working in a new scale, I'd never really bothered with anything other than 4mm, now I seem to think in 3mm!

 

I've recently nearly completed this dead rail/radio control Park Royal railbus chassis for the Lincoln Locos print body, it has a 100mah lipo battery with both a charge socket and contacts underneath so it can charge on the track in the fiddle yard, runtime with this was 4 hours plus....I got fed up timing it. Motor is a Tramfabriek 816 coreless can driving one axle through Ultrascale 22:1 gears which is fine on 3.7 volts. Managed to squeeze most of it in with only a couple of mill intrusion into the body.

Radio control receiver by Micron and it lives in the pod under the chassis.

 

[gwrrob]

3 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Hi Robin

They are not anchor mounted oil tanks but saddle mounted ones. 

 

My mistake, Air Ministry tank wagons.

 

https://www.Dapol.co.uk/blogs/news/oo-gauge-air-ministry-tank-wagon-production-samples?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1dirgPwcNPLy7fEn4fqal_k8gFg_MHtR2P4_MFU9cBf_YzATAgAafKbXk_aem_AasJwiKqcM9NJ-pRjlfN8AgNBQaKjXJMBCWt4qGCHOmtsNh8e5kTNkTmbuXhfmU02ddp5h1hm0zu6xkwVMIoLo9F

[Tony Wright]

5 hours ago, gwrrob said:

@Tony Wright Just wondering what your verdict was on the latest anchor oil tanks from Dapol was, I couldn’t help noticing them on the latest TMC video that featured LB.😉

Good afternoon Robin,

 

I didn't really notice them, I'm afraid. I left Howard Smith to do his videoing on Little Bytham while I attended to something else.

 

I think Clive has summed them up much better than I ever could have done; I really know very little of such things.  All I really did was put some of them back in their boxes after Howard had finished.

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

[Tony Wright]

4 hours ago, Red Devil said:

As a recent convert to 3mm I thought that too at first, it does take a while to get used to working in a new scale, I'd never really bothered with anything other than 4mm, now I seem to think in 3mm!

 

I've recently nearly completed this dead rail/radio control Park Royal railbus chassis for the Lincoln Locos print body, it has a 100mah lipo battery with both a charge socket and contacts underneath so it can charge on the track in the fiddle yard, runtime with this was 4 hours plus....I got fed up timing it. Motor is a Tramfabriek 816 coreless can driving one axle through Ultrascale 22:1 gears which is fine on 3.7 volts. Managed to squeeze most of it in with only a couple of mill intrusion into the body.

Radio control receiver by Micron and it lives in the pod under the chassis.

 

Good afternoon,

 

I doubt if I'll ever think in any scale other than 4mm. 

 

I've built very little in N Gauge (2mm FS is way beyond my limited capabilities), bucket loads in OO, quite a few things in EM and about ten locos/items of rolling stock in O. S4/P4 is also way beyond my 'pay rate' - I'll never acquire the necessary skills.

 

3mm then? As I stated, my first foray into the scale. That chassis is to 12mm gauge, so there's not much space for my style of pick-ups, especially around the spring detail. At least it has brakes (yet to be added), which is something many 3mm bods happily omit (it's something I used to not bother with many moons ago, but I'd rarely leave such essential details off a loco chassis these days). 

 

It's been my privilege to photograph several wonderful 3mm layouts down the years - those no longer with us; the Gentles of this world and the Bossoms, as well as those still active - the likes of Mike Corp. 

 

In many ways it should be the ideal scale, though Hornby's adoption of TT 120 doesn't seem to have been universally applauded. Still, at least it's the correct scale/gauge relationship. 12mm gauge in 3mm scale is 'worse' than 16.5mm in 4mm, isn't it? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited May 16 by Tony Wright
typo error

[Red Devil]

13 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

 

In many ways it should be the ideal scale, though Hornby's adoption of TT 120 doesn't seem to have been universally applauded. Still, at least it's the correct scale/gauge relationship. 12mm gauge in 3mm scale is 'worse' than 16.5mm in 4mm, isn't it?

Yep, very much so....I can understand those that do do 12mm but as a new starter in 3mm I went for 14.2 from the outset, whilst fractionally wrong and certainly not P3 (which would be way beyond me) it's not too bad to work in, bit like EM in 4mm. I had a look at TT120, but for me, it was just that bit too small. 

 

All the stuff I'm currently building would be available RTR in 4mm but I like building stuff so decided to have a go at 3mm. It's most definitely a builders scale but there's plenty of stuff to have a go with.

 

Cheers,

Mark.

[Keith Turbutt]

21 hours ago, sjp23480 said:

What an interesting build.

I wonder, has anyone come across an etched fold up chassis in 4mm?

Or is it a factor of scale, in that 3mm scale allows this method of construction?

Hi,

Going way back to the 80s, East Coast Joint Models, with which Nick Campling was involved, had fold up chassis for their LNER L1 and V4 kits. These may even have been the first fold up chassis  I think ECJM only produced these two kits which were eventually taken into the ABS range.

 

I think Connoisseur have fold up chassis in their 7mm kits.

 

 

 

Edited May 16 by Keith Turbutt

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, Red Devil said:

Yep, very much so....I can understand those that do do 12mm but as a new starter in 3mm I went for 14.2 from the outset, whilst fractionally wrong and certainly not P3 (which would be way beyond me) it's not too bad to work in, bit like EM in 4mm. I had a look at TT120, but for me, it was just that bit too small. 

 

All the stuff I'm currently building would be available RTR in 4mm but I like building stuff so decided to have a go at 3mm. It's most definitely a builders scale but there's plenty of stuff to have a go with.

 

Cheers,

Mark.

Thanks Mark,

 

I agree entirely that 3mm is a builders' scale, and all the better for that in my view. 

 

I'm not sure if my perception is coloured by 'prejudice', but so many layouts I see at shows these days are populated by RTR items (especially diesel-/electric-outline, particularly the rather hackneyed - in my view - TMDs). Granted, I couldn't build anything 'modern image' to the incredibly high standards available RTR these days, but I find it rather refreshing when I see the creations of the likes of Clive Mortimer (who regularly posts on here). 

 

I know not all can build motive power, and even some of those who can will (sensibly) exploit RTR locos, thus saving time for other projects (for which there is no RTR equivalent?). I know I've done that (not with locos in this case) by obtaining over 90 RTR Mk.1s for Bytham's trains (altered, of course), thus freeing up my time to build the Mk.1 types which aren't available RTR or the likes of Thompsons and Gresleys. 

 

I don't think it's a case of RTR v kit/scratch, just a personal preference. Things which have been made have a personal 'story' to tell; they're creations rather than possessions/acquisitions. I think that's why 3mm appeals to me (though not to build in it, it has to be said). 

 

Stuff like the following cannot be bought RTR.................

 

 

 

Ballyconnell Road - correct Irish 5' 3" gauge in 3mm! 

 

Anyone ever made a 'Jeep' RTR?

 

 

 

Heybridge Wharf.

 

 

Martin Gentle brought along this 3mm B1.

 

 

 

 

And John Sutton brought these 3mm locos he's made. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

31 minutes ago, Keith Turbutt said:

Hi,

Going way back to the 80s, East Coast Joint Models, with which Nick Campling was involved, had fold up chassis for their LNER L1 and V4 kits. These may even have been the first fold up chassis  I think ECJM only produced these two kits which were eventually taken into the ABS range.

 

I think Connoisseur have fold up chassis in their 7mm kits.

 

 

 

Thanks Keith, 

 

I'd forgotten about the ECJM/ABS L1 and V4 having fold-up chassis...........

 

 

I built/painted the ECJM L1 when it first came out (well over 40 years ago?), modifying it to make one of the contract-built locos.

 

 

It only became 'realistic' after Tom Foster weathered it, many years later.

 

 

I sold an ABS one on behalf of a widow. 

 

Of course, things move on, and I even..............

 

 

 

 

Modified/renumbered/detailed/weathered a couple of Hornby RTR L1s, though not for myself.

 

Who'd build an L1 now?

 

I never built an ECJM/ABS V4. However,

 

 

I've run a couple (builder/painter unknown with regard to the one above).

 

 

Eric Kidd's work (bottom right). 

 

I don't think the V4 below is from an ABS kit.........

 

 

Probably scratch-built, with a Hornby tender?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

[Mike 84C]

Ballyconell road, one of my favourite exhibition layouts. It runs as well as it looks.  Lots of Irish modelers are hoping IRM's announced Irish steam loco is going to be a Jeep. It would be a good choice but there are several other good choices in the frame!

[mullie]

I build where possible, but having spent 4 months building the Eveleigh Creations Great Eastern 6 wheelers I did buy a Rapido W&U carriage though it now looks very different to how it came out of the box and  has EM wheels. 

 

 

 

Still need to sort out a brake.