Robin Brasher Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Just bought 31874 from W. H. Smith at Poole. I am modelling the Swanage Railway and I am pleased to see that it is a model of the only surviving one. This is being rebuilt into working order at Swanage and should be entering traffic here by 2016. Hornby and Bachmann often do not make models of preserved engines so this makes a pleasant change and is a cheap addition to my collection. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith George Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Three in Asda at Longwell Green, Bristol, this morning. Keith. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy2 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Look. There are many of us here who want some/more and can't find them! Take pity on us! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Update: I've managed to break down the "N" into usable parts. The only difficult bit is separating the cab from the footplate: I found that a scalpel blade neatly breaks the glue joint, allowing the cab to lift off. The footplate moulding is very very usable, so I'll be trying to lengthen it at the front to portray the re-framed 31874, and seeing if the Bachmann boiler and cab assembly can be mated to it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy2 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Not if it looks like a roller coaster it isn't! Still can't get the smokebox door off. Still up for getting another one via swapsies - if anyone's interested PM me for what I've got available - plus anything to come, less the Lord Nelson. I'm wondering if it might be possible to use the chassis (if it goes all runny when I cut the footplate) on a Golden Arrow W Class to make a static model. GA reckon the mould is knackered, though, but I'm not afraid of a bit of work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Not if it looks like a roller coaster it isn't!.... Even that is better than a mazak one that's shattered into several random broken bits. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
emperordalek Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Looks as if Buy and Sell has become a "Roumanian Class 56" !!!! Unless of course you know different............. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Brit70053 Posted April 17, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 17, 2015 While fettling a piece of plasticard to fill the gap between the firebox rear and the cab front, my eye was drawn to the power classification on the cab sides :- 4P 3F which looked wrong to me for some reason. Checking against the 'Anatomy of the N Class Loco' illustration in the accompanying magazine, I found they had printed 4P 5F, which to me would seem more likely. Can anyone confirm the correct classification please? A further question out of curiosoty; Did the Bachmann original chassis have the pronounced kink in the Con Rod as indicated on the GBL model? All that aside, definitely one of the better models in the series and for once I count myself fortunate in not having any major assembly problems to contend with, just that gap mentioned above and a smoke deflector to re align. Regards, John 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I just ventured a visit to the MRRZ site of the former foremost contributor to this thread, and the listing there has vacant 'TBC' slots for items 41 - 50. Given the general accuracy of past information from this source that does suggest a likelihood of more; dependent as one must always realise on the continued profitability of the series. http://modelrailwaysandroadszone.co.uk/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=70 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I broke the "N" down to its component parts by unscrewing a couple of screws. The smokebox door and front ring has been modified by Amercom so that it includes a significant portion of the underside of the smokebox and the front of the saddle. You can also see that the boiler underside also appears to be a separate "plug-in" section. I put the Bachmann original next to it for comparison, so you can see all the reverse-engineering and fiddling that Amercom have done in order to differentiate it from the Bachmann original. The interesting point to note is that, during the copying/cloning process, the boiler was clearly dislodged or disturbed at some point. This caused the joint ring between the smokebox and boiler front to slip, resulting in the joint ring being thicker on top than it is at the bottom. That also led to the boiler looking (incorrectly) like a full cone, as opposed to the flat-bottom taper that it should have. Not going to be easy to correct this. This also caused the firebox to look more steeply sloped on top than normal. The cab is glued to the footplate, and running a scalpel blade between each side sheet should break the joint, allowing you to lift it away. The backhead looks a bit too big, and could be usefully replaced with a SEF casting. The chimney is probably the most awful bit, with a huge flared base - this can be replaced with a casting or turning; you'll need to do this anyway if you're portraying an engine with a Standard 4 exhaust/chimney (try 247 Developments or SEF for a suitable one). Smoke deflectors pull out from the footplate and can be replaced by an etched pair (Mainly Trains or SEF). The footplate moulding itself looks eminently usable as a convenient replacement for any Bachmann mazak casting that has shattered / disintegrated, which is what I intend, but it will need a fair bit of modification to ensure that the Bachmann boiler and cab can be seated correctly. There is a fair attempt at the AWS battery and vac. tank. The reversing lever is fairly awful, but could be replaced with a homemade one from brass or n/s strip. The massively overscale lamp irons should be replaced with etched ones (SEF or RT Models). As mentioned earlier, SEF produce a fair number of kits for the Maunsell Mogul and its 2-6-4T derivatives, and every single casting and etching is available as a spare, so you really can pick and choose the bits you need if you want to make this a working model. Their chassis etches are the work of the late Alistair Rolfe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Brit70053 Posted April 17, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 17, 2015 for once I count myself fortunate in not having any major assembly problems to contend with, just that gap mentioned above and a smoke deflector to re align. Regards, John Spoke too soon, just gone back through some of the piccies posted on here and realised that my GBL model is missing the entire Whistle assembly! A rake through the spares box will be called for when I have time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 While fettling a piece of plasticard to fill the gap between the firebox rear and the cab front, my eye was drawn to the power classification on the cab sides :- 4P 3F which looked wrong to me for some reason. Checking against the 'Anatomy of the N Class Loco' illustration in the accompanying magazine, I found they had printed 4P 5F, which to me would seem more likely. Can anyone confirm the correct classification please? The Bachmann variant numbered 31813 also has "4P3F" (see my photo above) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_mcfarlane Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I just ventured a visit to the MRRZ site of the former foremost contributor to this thread, and the listing there has vacant 'TBC' slots for items 41 - 50. Given the general accuracy of past information from this source that does suggest a likelihood of more; dependent as one must always realise on the continued profitability of the series. http://modelrailwaysandroadszone.co.uk/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=70 Clicking on that link made me all nostalgic for the mid-1990s, when all websites looked like that..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 While fettling a piece of plasticard to fill the gap between the firebox rear and the cab front, my eye was drawn to the power classification on the cab sides :- 4P 3F which looked wrong to me for some reason. Checking against the 'Anatomy of the N Class Loco' illustration in the accompanying magazine, I found they had printed 4P 5F, which to me would seem more likely. Can anyone confirm the correct classification please? A further question out of curiosoty; Did the Bachmann original chassis have the pronounced kink in the Con Rod as indicated on the GBL model? All that aside, definitely one of the better models in the series and for once I count myself fortunate in not having any major assembly problems to contend with, just that gap mentioned above and a smoke deflector to re align. Regards, John According to Wikipedia it's 4P5F. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SECR_N_class Confirmed here http://www.semgonline.com/steam/nclass_01.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Clicking on that link made me all nostalgic for the mid-1990s, when all websites looked like that..... You need a dial-up modem to really get that authentic experience.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo C. Cupier Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 WHSmiths at Warminster had four 'N's in the partwork display late yesterday afternoon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy2 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 SWAPSIES!!! I got the smokebox door off the N this evening, by prizing it apart with a scalpel, starting at the smokebox saddle. Getting rid of the handrail and number plate is proving tricky, it may be easier to get rid of everything and reinstate the hinges and dart. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy2 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Subscription copies arrived today, and I'm pleased to say that the N is far better than the ones I already have. Part of the motion is broken, but will glue back easily. May go for lined Southern green on that one, or wartime black with sunshine lettering. The 57xx and shunter looks OK, and that's up for swaps. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 ...I got the smokebox door off the N this evening, by prizing it apart with a scalpel, starting at the smokebox saddle..... Mine is proving very well-glued. There is no dart on a Maunsell door, BTW - only the fixing "dogs" around the circumference. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brake Compo Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 (edited) Drew the short straw today and had to the children into the centre of Gloucester, where I rarely venture, for the marathon morning session of music lessons, group singing, and junior orchestra, and so took the opportunity to visit Smiths and found another poor lonely N Class sitting in a large bin, pure compassion motivated me to reunite it with its classmates at home. This is one of the best assembled GBL locos that I have yet encountered, everything that should be vertical (including the cab) is vertical, there is no gap between the firebox and cab and everything appears to be stuck on squarely. Naturally nothing in life is perfect so there is a small splodge of red paint on the running plate. But is shows you that there are some decent examples out there. Oh well back to my Saturday chores... Edited April 18, 2015 by Brake Compo 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy2 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 There is no dart on a Maunsell door, BTW - only the fixing "dogs" around the circumference. Doh! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffnut Thorston Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 You need a dial-up modem to really get that authentic experience.... I really like the squeeks and squawks from a 56K dial up line....it reminds me of cassete tape progarms loading to the early computers...you know, Acorn Electron, BBC Model B, Dragon 32, Commodore Vic 20 (and C64!), Sincliair ZX81 and ZX Spectrum, etc..... Memories are made of this....silicon Memory modules that is.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railroadbill Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I really like the squeeks and squawks from a 56K dial up line....it reminds me of cassete tape progarms loading to the early computers...you know, Acorn Electron, BBC Model B, Dragon 32, Commodore Vic 20 (and C64!), Sincliair ZX81 and ZX Spectrum, etc..... Memories are made of this....silicon Memory modules that is.... As I remember it dial up was rather expensive and you had to be very careful that you had disconnected at the end of every session. An exciting technology though when I put a modem card in my Windows 98 desk top (which must have cost £1500, now that sort of kit has really come down in price, unlike model railways which...) Now with my £7.50 a month sim only contract I can look at the internet anywhere on my phone. Hasn't half moved on quickly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 No 'N' class in either Lakeside WHS or Greenhithe Asda*, just masses of orange stegosauri and 'cute' velociraptors at £5.99 a shot! Rather exorbitant especially, as Asda do rather nice dinosaurs at £1 each. * The latter is SECR territory so possibly to be expected, though the 'C' did linger rather a while. There was still one in Tilbury when I was there last a few days ago. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf27 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I've done a bit of a make over to the first of my GBL Peaks. Its still unpowered and very much a static model. New cabs and modified bogies. After modifications and painting S2180010 by Shane Wilton, on Flickr Now lettered and varnished but awaiting glazing S2200005 by Shane Wilton, on Flickr Glazed and ex-works S2240010 by Shane Wilton, on Flickr weathered and ready for 'service' S2240011 by Shane Wilton, on Flickr S2240014 by Shane Wilton, on Flickr Comparison with an unmodified Peak DSCF0166 by Shane Wilton, on Flickr cheers Shane 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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