4mm Scale Megafret

[PaulRhB]

Pictures of the prototype model on the Dapol stand at Warley, also shows the bogie side skirt issue which looks easy to modifty if you have big enough curves.

 

Poor pic as the camera struggled with two pieces of glass and focused on that. Cut off the bulge on the bogie moulding and replace with a strip of plastic or a small etch piece if someone fancies doing one.

[Southernman46]

I have to say - having seen it in the "plastic" as it were - I didn't think it looked too bad at all and hidden away in the middle of a long container train - it'll hardly notice especially as the high quality of the handrails / pipework & buffing gear tend to draw the eye anyway.

[The Fatadder]

I was thinking the opposite, the gap either side of the cut away part really does jar the eye.

Still not going to be very easy to modify as I dont think that type of low bogie is available in 4mm scale (and you clearly cant reuse the existing on given that half of it hasnt been modelled...

 

Silver bullet was looking quite promising though.

[PaulRhB]

the gap either side of the cut away part really does jar the eye.

 

I agree but fixable if the curves are big enough to allow a fixed piece.

 

you clearly cant reuse the existing on given that half of it hasnt been modelled...

If you chop off the bulge flush with the bogie face and fix in a new skirt how are you going to see the top detail is missing? You'd have to have a view equivalent to kneeling next to the wagon to see it's blank. At the worst you could fabricate a new bogie side and create a casting through one of many cottage industries which would only add a couple of pounds per bogie. Easier and quicker than starting from etch.

 

Personally I'm going to see what they look like on the layout when they are finished and then decide if I need to modify it and if I do it will be a simple chop off the bulge and leave the blank face hidden behind the new skirt.

 

Here's how I'd do it, preferably a small etch skirt so it can be firmly glued to the floor of the wagon and will be strong when handled. The dark green L' s are the small folded etches and the grey lump at the top represents the chopped bogie moulding.

[66540Ruby]

Hi, I think we should 'cut Dapol some slack' with the megafret wagon because, athough we crave absolute fidelity to the prototype, rightly so, so far is possible, railway modelling will always be a compromise.

 

For e.g. track width (O-O), couplings, non scale curves, non moving people and cars etc. this model, however it turns out is surely better than no model at all?

 

On a seperate note, is there any chance of the steel telescopic hood wagon in this version DapolDave? (pic of HO model)

[emdpowerrules]

this model, however it turns out is surely better than no model at all?

 

That I cannot agree with, I would like 14-16 pairs of these, an investment of around ??400 plus containers and the model as it appears does not inspire me to spend.

 

The way Dapol appear to have moulded the skirts looks to make modification difficult, the other issue being the large amount of data these carry. They could have produced two separate parts, one that clipped onto the bogie to allow passage of tight curves and another that fitted onto the body for larger radii. I might consider them if an aftermarket replacement for the skirt plus transfers was available but even then wouldn't be keen on modifying around 30 wagons. Of course Dapol could produce an alternative version!

 

Another miss I'm afraid.

[Nobby (John)]

That I cannot agree with, I would like 14-16 pairs of these, an investment of around ??400 plus containers and the model as it appears does not inspire me to spend.

 

The way Dapol appear to have moulded the skirts looks to make modification difficult, the other issue being the large amount of data these carry. They could have produced two separate parts, one that clipped onto the bogie to allow passage of tight curves and another that fitted onto the body for larger radii. I might consider them if an aftermarket replacement for the skirt plus transfers was available but even then wouldn't be keen on modifying around 30 wagons. Of course Dapol could produce an alternative version!

 

Another miss I'm afraid.

 

 

Well you could always buy the Roco model, but then of course that would set you back @ ??1500 for what you want.

[Glorious NSE]

And it's in the wrong scale, so you can't get the right boxes, or the decals in the right scale if you can find the right box...and so on and so forth...the Brawa one isn't really a sensible option for the scale modeller.

[Nobby (John)]

And it's in the wrong scale, so you can't get the right boxes, or the decals in the right scale if you can find the right box...and so on and so forth...the Brawa one isn't really a sensible option for the scale modeller.

 

 

I know i appreciate that, i was just trying to say that the Dapol is going to be @ ??25 and that they make models for the mass market and comprimises have to be made as 95% of people who will buy these will all have fairly sharp curves to run them on.

 

Dapol explained to me at the NEC that yes they could have tooled up a more complicate model to run around sharper curves, but this would have increased the price considerably.

 

There will always have to be comprimises to fulfill the commercial needs of the manufacturer, also just what would happen if they all made perfect models, the armchair critics and Dapol bashers will have nothing to post on here

[Glorious NSE]

Ah I see what you mean.

 

Personally i'm somewhat in two minds over it, i'd have preferred a version (even something lo-tech like clip on swappable skirts, can't imagine that would have been overly expensive?) with fixed ones, but I do understand the restrictions they were under.

 

That said if it worked with fixed skirts in HO then you should theoretically have more room to play with "narrow gauge" bogies in OO - curious.

 

As I said earlier, it's 90% there either way, an add-on replacement bit (and decals for it - as was correctly pointed out that's where most of the lettering is!) and you're sorted.

[Nobby (John)]

Ah I see what you mean.

 

Personally i'm somewhat in two minds over it, i'd have preferred a version (even something lo-tech like clip on swappable skirts, can't imagine that would have been overly expensive?) with fixed ones, but I do understand the restrictions they were under.

 

That said if it worked with fixed skirts in HO then you should theoretically have more room to play with "narrow gauge" bogies in OO - curious.

 

As I said earlier, it's 90% there either way, an add-on replacement bit (and decals for it - as was correctly pointed out that's where most of the lettering is!) and you're sorted.

 

I agree with you Craig, also seeing them at the NEC it did not help that they were painted in "Primer white" which shows off the flaws.

 

I think they will look better once they are in livery and decaled.

 

The Silver Bullets were also on display and looked rather nice, they were not the finished article with an etched ladder to replace the plastic one which was on the pre-production model.

[emdpowerrules]

Well you could always buy the Roco model, but then of course that would set you back @ ??1500 for what you want.

 

Actually given what Dapol have done to these if Brawa(not Roco) were to produce their model in 00 at ??75 with containers I would very seriously consider them. A reduced fleet perhaps and split order rather than all in one go, I don't mind paying for quality. Not as far fetched as it sounds either with the Kernow/Dapol weathered JIA at ??30.

 

I'm slightly bemused at where Dapol are going, they started off very well with the FEAs which were equivalent to the standard set by Bachmann in modern wagons. The KIA was good but not up to the same standard and the MBA etc very average. Had Bachmann not also been producing the MBA I would have bought a Dapol fleet as they are fairly easy to 'improve' unlike the Megafrets. On the other hand the forthcoming ICA looks very good.

 

The ICA and KIA are wagons I only want a few of unlike the FEAs which I purchased in quantity(another GBRF batch please!) and would have done so with the IKAs. A shame as the Megafret is an essential part of the current intermodal scene and means my DRS 66s will still only be used as Freightliner hire-ins!

[JZ]

I was thinking the opposite, the gap either side of the cut away part really does jar the eye.

Still not going to be very easy to modify as I dont think that type of low bogie is available in 4mm scale (and you clearly cant reuse the existing on given that half of it hasnt been modelled...

 

I was having a close look at these while at a signal stop at Millbrook the other day. and on some there is a gap behind the fairing/skirt/whatever. By the time these are in livery instead of the grey, I think it will be well disguised, especially with some weathering.

As for attaching the skirt to the bogie. I understand that with the Roco version these are lightly sprung to slide out on curves. Surely these has the same visual effect as fitting them on the bogie. And who is going to want a full train of them ? Very few I would imagine. I have yet to see more than two pairs together on my trips through Southampton. Far more realistic to have a mixed bunch in a train.

 

Any ideas when we might see them and the pocket wagons ?

[Fat Controller]

I was having a close look at these while at a signal stop at Millbrook the other day. and on some there is a gap behind the fairing/skirt/whatever. By the time these are in livery instead of the grey, I think it will be well disguised, especially with some weathering.

As for attaching the skirt to the bogie. I understand that with the Roco version these are lightly sprung to slide out on curves. Surely these has the same visual effect as fitting them on the bogie. And who is going to want a full train of them ? Very few I would imagine. I have yet to see more than two pairs together on my trips through Southampton. Far more realistic to have a mixed bunch in a train.

 

Any ideas when we might see them and the pocket wagons ?

I'll get some of these to go with my Bachmann FIAs, even if there's this perceived problem with the skirts. Though one or two pairs might be the norm in formations at Southampton, block trains of 16 or more pairs were usual on Channel Tunnel flows such as the GTS train to Bari, and on the recently introduced flow for Eddie Stobart. I think similar formations run from daventry to Scotland.

I suspect I might have been the second person in the UK to hear about the prototype wagons being introduced, as I was in Paul Kneller's office at Eurotunnel when a fax arrived from AAE asking who they should contact for type approval. Paul had known AAE from his days with BR in Germany.

[emdpowerrules]

As for attaching the skirt to the bogie. I understand that with the Roco version these are lightly sprung to slide out on curves. Surely these has the same visual effect as fitting them on the bogie.

 

Not seen a Roco model, have you got a catalogue number or link to a photo?

 

And who is going to want a full train of them ? Very few I would imagine.

 

Anyone modelling the railway between the Channel Tunnel and Scotland via the WCML where they are a common sight in block trains and can be seen behind Colas Rail, DBS or DRS traction.

[Glorious NSE]

And who is going to want a full train of them ? Very few I would imagine. I have yet to see more than two pairs together on my trips through Southampton.

 

Well, i'd have said they would be rare-ish visitors to Southampton these days - Freightliner have a few on lease but AFAIK they are only used between the North West & Scotland - EWS has some in use mainly on Tunnel intermodal flows but there's an occasional one on domestic work.

 

But the biggie is that ALL of DRS intermodal workings are made up entirely* of this wagon type. And of course none of those get to the Southampton area.

 

Given that little fact-ette i'd have said that full trainloads ought to be fairly high on the shopping list of any modern modellers of the WCML and fair chunks of Scotland, especially as Dapol are doing all the right boxes for these flows.

 

(*With the single exception of the Davis "Super Low 45" prototype pair which DRS are testing at the mo)

[charliepetty]

Not sure if its been officially announced.....

 

There is information about it on the DEMU forum, looks rather good from the CAD (and no stupid compromises like the Megafret despite much tighter tolerances....)

 

Re the FLA. This is from a new company REALTRACK models (A joint venture between C-Rail 'Arran' & DC Kits 'Charlie', because it is not a kit and future models won't be Intermodal or possible not even Freight stock, thus REALTRACK models was born. From a commercial point of view we have to look for the customer who dos'nt know C-Rail and try to find the ONE GUY in the Uk who has never heard of DC Kits (Even though at shows you can always hear them!).

 

For Interest the new site will be www.realtrackmodels.co.uk, please note all the links, retail prices, stockist etc are not listed as yet, Please bear with us as we are both at the LAPEX show on Lapland over Christmas. HAVE A GOOD ONE. Arran & Charlie

[charliepetty]

Be interesting to see how C-Rail manage with the FLA.

 

What's this about? Had a look on the C-Rail website but there's nothing about FLA's on there.

 

REALTRACK models FLA:

The NEW FLA is progressing well, pre production samples (un-decorated) are due shortly for approval/modification. New Website (Not finished yet) will be http://www.realtrackmodels.co.uk, our aim is to have selected stockist's around the UK where customers 'Can pop in'. Some have already been appointed, the website will show this information as and when we have the vehicles for sale.

The models will be available Online and at shows from Realtrack models (Larger shows) DC Kits (Lots of shows) and C-Rail Intermodal (Specialist Shows). Other vehicles are planned!

 

Watch the Website. A & C PS We are busy over xmas at the big Lapex Show in Lapland!

[charliepetty]

Hi all,

 

This was on the previous version of RMWeb.

 

I've spoken with Arran and will try to get the old thread pulled over to the new Forum

 

The FLA is actually to be produced by a new company - Real Track Models

 

Hopefully will have the old thread on here ASAP

 

Thanks

 

The NEW FLA is progressing well, pre production samples (un-decorated) are due shortly for approval/modification. New Website will be http://www.realtrackmodels.co.uk,the website will show this information as and when we have the vehicles for sale.

 

Happy Christmas from both of us at Lapex 2009. Arran & Charlie

[Mike Bellamy]

try to find the ONE GUY in the Uk who has never heard of DC Kits (Even though at shows you can always hear them!).

 

And we can always hear you Charlie so we know where the stand is

 

Mike

[Ron Ron Ron]

Why does there need to be a cutaway? These don't need it....

 

Kombi Modell

 

.

[zabdiel]

There's now a picture of a weathered version with a curtain sided container thanks to Model Rail. The gap due to the skirt being attached to the bogies is still noticeable, so it will be worth trying to modify them as PaulRhB suggested.