69843 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 As long as the Light Pacific isn't based on the Dapol kit or the old Tri-ang tooling, I'm good Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Corbs Posted March 17, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 17, 2014 My version.... Sarah that looks awesome - was your chassis from ebay? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 My version.... A very nice effort. Do I spy the tender drive A4 chassis and tender in use? If so, how did you fit the motor under the GBL tender (it not being as wide as the old tender drive moulding). By comparison, I have used a Bachmann A4 chassis (the latest one) and a Hornby Railroad Scotsman chassis (again, the latest one with 3-pole motor and flywheel). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 As long as the Light Pacific isn't based on the Dapol kit or the old Tri-ang tooling, I'm good The rate things are going, you may be a tiny bit disappointed.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORTHDUK Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 TheWeatheringMan, Il Grifone and Jamie92208, Thanks for your explanations of the scale versus gauge question. As a maker of purely static models, I hadn't considered the practicalities of fitting motors into the locomotives but it makes sense now. I was most interested in the historical accounts of the emergence of HO and OO. It would be interesting to know more about the history of scale models generally, especially as it would probably differ widely from one subject area to another. I must admit that I've found this contact with railways and railway modelling very interesting. Railways have such an attractive combination of colours, textures and activity that I find it easy to imagine the fascination of setting up and running a scenic layout. In particular, railway layouts tackle the modelling of townscape to an extent that is usually ignored. It has only been in very recent years that the emerging interest in models of commercial vehicles has produced any other attempt to represent the industrial urban scene in model form. The availability of more plastic kits of non-railway buildings would be a great help. WeatheringMan, Thanks for your reply to my post. In all honesty, I doubt if anyone would learn much from seeing my attempts at improving the Mallard but I'll certainly try to get some photographs taken when I eventually finish it. At my present glacial rate of progress, it could take me a good while to start the work let alone complete it! Best wishes, Gordon McLaughlin 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Corbs Posted March 17, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 17, 2014 The rate things are going, you may be a tiny bit disappointed.... I've heard the WC/BoB is actually a china-made copy of the one in the Hornby 2014 catalogue... A photocopy, printed on recycled paper. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 You see, it's times like this I wish that Airfix had more of an interest and more of a crossover with Hornby for a range of plastic model kits that could fit some of Hornby's chassis. Can you imagine the delight at having some basic plastic kits to fit Hornby Railroad 0-6-0 chassis - industrial tank and diesel locomotives spring to mind, or for the larger engines, imagine plastic kits for the original form W1 to fit onto the Railroad A4 chassis with minor modifications... The GBL locomotives have for the most part given us a lot to ponder in terms of modelling. I think the A4 models have been the best thus far in terms of presenting us with raw materials to make better models. The tenders in particular are very nice. The 4472 model may have potential. I am literally champing at the bit to get a hold of one - tried all the usual suspects at lunch today in Canary Wharf but nope, only a solitary Coronation (the A4s have long since sold out!) 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I've just had a sudden thought that could be the answer - or at least as good as it might get for those GBL models for which an RTR chassis could prove a problem. Its not perfect by any means for all modellers, it could be said to be returning to old technology and it might be difficult to persuade a manufacturer to do it. It won't work for tank engines but just could be the answer for tender engines where a drive unit could be fairly easily fitted in the tender. Here goes : In the 1960's at least two manufacturers made cast whitemetal conversion chassis for Kitmaster and Airfix plastic loco kits. If a basic chassis was made this way to use available Hornby wheels and other parts (or even suitable parts cannibalised from cheaply bought secondhand chassis) it just might enable a modeller to assemble rather than build a mobile chassis that would be moved by the tender drive unit. Those modellers more able to take things further could go on to add a motor etc. as they felt fit. As I said its not a perfect solution and I'm quite prepared to be shot down in flames for even suggesting it but its one possible approach surely. Will now go and get my tin hat and jump into the trench. Regards. The snag here is that those kits used the original wheels and motion, which with care, could be made mobile. Being plastic, they wouldn't last all that long, but, as was said at the time, replacements were cheap. The wheels here are not really suitable for use in a working model. The only R-T-R chassis I can see as suitable for the 28xx is a Dublo 8F (The original ½" motor version), but this is likely to cost as much as the Hornby one (and will probably need conversion to 2 rail) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 You see, it's times like this I wish that Airfix had more of an interest and more of a crossover with Hornby for a range of plastic model kits that could fit some of Hornby's chassis. Can you imagine the delight at having some basic plastic kits to fit Hornby Railroad 0-6-0 chassis - industrial tank and diesel locomotives spring to mind, or for the larger engines, imagine plastic kits for the original form W1 to fit onto the Railroad A4 chassis with minor modifications... The GBL locomotives have for the most part given us a lot to ponder in terms of modelling. I think the A4 models have been the best thus far in terms of presenting us with raw materials to make better models. The tenders in particular are very nice. The 4472 model may have potential. I am literally champing at the bit to get a hold of one - tried all the usual suspects at lunch today in Canary Wharf but nope, only a solitary Coronation (the A4s have long since sold out!) Our local newsagent (Civic Square) still had some of each the other day. There was still one Coronation left in Asda yesterday. (A bit far from Canary Wharf though., but the publisher probably has some. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Hi Ivan, What you say is correct and is the reason - the development line was the old Hall was modified into a (sort of) Saint and when the 28xx was decided on the tooling drawings were part used for that, this resulting in the over long boiler. Isn't it a shame that Triang Hornby made the initial errors, look how things could have been with all three if they hadn't. I'm still waiting for a decent Saint but there is now hope that Hornby have made a worthwhile Star (although recent events at Hornby and Simon Kohler's imminent departure is cause for worry). M&L (later absorbed into Alan Gibson) used to produce a useful detailing / conversion pack for the "Hall / Modified Hall", which also included the instruction to remove 3mm from the Hornby smokebox, and a corresponding amount from the front footplate ( which was similarly too long). I've got to agree about the cab shape -it always makes me think of a Bulldog cab rather than a 28xx - what do you think I think it looks like nothing recognisable. Does anyone else think that the mouldings will get worse as the partwork series continues? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
69843 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 It'll be interesting to see, if the current 'backwards steps' continue, if the 4MT Tank is the old Dublo version. I still hold hope for the series, and it would be nice to see if the V/Schools is the current version. This model also has the possibility to be altered to 'Repton' as it is post-USA/Canada with the extended tender raves. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 .... I wondered if the first two models were produced to a higher standard to attract subscriptions and after that we might see the overall standard fall. They're a bit like savings accounts. You get a headline rate (which last for maybe 12 months) and then, after locking you in, the thing goes into steady decline. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Hi, You are of course quite correct that those old conversion kits used the original plastic parts. I clearly remember doing a large prairie and the kit provided brass bearings for the plastic mainframes and brass eyelets (like those used in eyelet pliers) to bush the kits plastic axles together with metal 'rings' to force onto the driving wheel tyres to provide for power pickup. I did get the loco to run and it put in several years service but the arrival of the Airfix Railways RTR model was (for all its faults) received with much relief. I also motorised an 'Evening Star' following an article in one of the magazines of the time by building the plastic loco chassis very carefully so that it ran fairly freely and then using a drop of 3 in 1 oil (we hadn't been told about light hydrocarbons and polystyrene back then) and motorising the tender with the Triang Railways power bogie from the Brush type 2 diesel with the frame detail ground off. Again it operated after a fashion for several years until the inevitable problems with the loco chassis condemmed it to a box. I wasn't suggesting any use of the GBL wheels as these clearly would be very difficult if not impossible to use for a running chassis as I doubt that modification would be possible for such use. What I was suggesting in order to keep the prospect of a 'rolling' chassis as simple as possible is a cast chassis block that would be used with available RTR wheels and other spares (or such parts as might be suitable cannibalised from cheap secondhand chassis) to give a more 'screw together' item suited to those modellers who don't feel able to tackle building something like an etched chassis. As I said at the beginning of my post its by no means a perfect answer but was offered as a thought on how to get round a problem that looks increasingly likely to occur. Regards I wasn't disagreeing with your idea - I think it would be great if it happened. The Perfecta kits only appeared for a few Kitmasters - the L&Y 'Pug' (later modified to fit the Airfix railbus) the Italian Gr 835 tank (Making this in 4mm scale was a mistake!) the Prairie tank and the BoB (there was supposed to be one for the 'Coronation' but I don't think it ever appeared). I did the 'Pug' tank, but it wouldn't pull much (Dublo wagons didn't help) and the 'Terrier' model overheated. The motorising article in the RM stated to lubricate with vegetable oil, so someone knew about the effects of mineral oil on plastic. This didn't work either as it dried up quite quickly and then went rancid! Once you'd bought all the bits, it wasn't all that economical either. Chassis blocks for various models can be found on eBay (not unfortunately the modern models), but I'm afraid this idea would be a non starter because of the various wheelbases required. Back in the fifties and sixties, we were less critical (and the information was hard to find anyway) and most of the available kits fitted the Dublo or Tri-ang 0-6-0, the Dublo 4MT or the Tri-ang 'Princess' chassis (which were incorrect for most of them! - the two 0-6-0 chassis aren't even correct for the bodies fitted to them by their manufacturers. Chassis are available from SE Finecast for most of their range. My A4 and Coronation are going on Dublo chassis, that I happen to have spare (somewhere I have an A4 chassis that someone has milled out to take the correct size wheels). 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Boar Fell Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 The photo of the 28XX still looks good to me especially for use as a scrapper, don't know if its just me but it appears to have lamps fitted for an express passenger? Wild Boar Fell Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr.king Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 You see, it's times like this I wish that Airfix had more of an interest and more of a crossover with Hornby for a range of plastic model kits that could fit some of Hornby's chassis. Can you imagine the delight at having some basic plastic kits to fit Hornby Railroad 0-6-0 chassis - industrial tank and diesel locomotives spring to mind, or for the larger engines, imagine plastic kits for the original form W1 to fit onto the Railroad A4 chassis with minor modifications... That's much of the logic behind resin bodies and parts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) That's much of the logic behind resin bodies and parts.There's much to be said for producing, say, just a range of resin boilers, smokeboxes and fireboxes. People are then free to mix and match those with other parts (either their own or others). Brassmasters produces some beautiful resin LMS boilers, as does Martin Finney, whilst PDK's are useful if somewhat less refined. Edited March 18, 2014 by Horsetan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.A.C Martin Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 That's much of the logic behind resin bodies and parts. Absolutely Graeme, it was your excellent range I had in mind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffnut Thorston Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) A very nice effort. Do I spy the tender drive A4 chassis and tender in use? If so, how did you fit the motor under the GBL tender (it not being as wide as the old tender drive moulding). By comparison, I have used a Bachmann A4 chassis (the latest one) and a Hornby Railroad Scotsman chassis (again, the latest one with 3-pole motor and flywheel). Thanks. This is the GBL Mallard loco and tender bodies on Tri-ang Hornby Loco drive A3 "Flying Scotsman" loco and tender chassis. (Early Hornby Railways with X.03 motor and flanged centre driving wheels.) Sarah that looks awesome - was your chassis from ebay? Thanks. The chassis came from a train fair... More here.... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/76497-sarahs-projects/?p=1375937 Edited March 18, 2014 by Sarahagain 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
exet1095 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Looking at the 28xx picture, with its solid backed pony truck wheels and NBR style smokebox handrail, I wonder if this is a picture of an N gauge locomotive? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) The 28xx certainly has some marks of Farish products - the weird split safety valve casing for one thing. Let's hope that this is merely an artist's impression, because if it's as bad as the picture I shall be saving £8.99. EDIT Late night finger trouble Edited March 19, 2014 by Il Grifone Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buhar Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 There's a few of these that interest me as a source for parallel boilers, tenders, the odd detail fitting, but not the whole lot. I would be wanting to buy 4 or 5 of these and not bother with the others. Do these part-works remain on general sale or do they eventually end up as subscription only? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Subscription only. Never seen a partwork make it past issue 6 or 7 in the shops. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
West_riding Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 The same company that makes these did the fighter aircraft collection and the helicopters collection, both of which had all the parts on sale in some WH Smiths right through to the end so these might be available for more than 6 or 7 issues. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted March 19, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 19, 2014 Hi, I would think its very likely that given the demand so far for the GBL models from modellers as well as collectors, the fact that modellers might be reluctant to place subscriptions and thus receive models they don't really want for their layouts say and the obvious desire of the publisher to keep sales at the highest level possible, plus the good sales as a result for newsagents, that these are very likely to remain on general sale. In addition to the part works mentioned by the poster here there have been several others in non modelling fields that have and still do continue on open sale. Regards The demand for GBL appears to be pretty high so far. As I posted last week WH Smith in Birmingham had loads of Part 1 (which they had previously seemed to have sold out of) along with the new part 2 last week. Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 The same company that makes these did the fighter aircraft collection and the helicopters collection, both of which had all the parts on sale in some WH Smiths right through to the end so these might be available for more than 6 or 7 issues. What works for one, may not work for the other. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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