What have you done with your Keyser kit

[Horsetan]

The K's Dean Single was advertised in the Constructor in April 1980; it had etched coal rails for the tender and etched plates for Lord of the Isles (3046) and Lorna Doone (3047). The kit was withdrawn in 1986.!

That was around the same time that Teign Models started to retail the range in a major way. I still remember the adverts in RM.

 

Within four years it had all passed on again, this time to Chris Crawley Models, which also took over M&L. And you could buy parts of the kits as spares from CCM.

[Coach bogie]

There was a K's Dean single and it it did come with etched parts. As part of the Milestone range it had no motor. I am told by a friend who was involved with Nucast at the time, that when the K's toolings were past on to Nucast, there was no Dean single as the original masters had been altered to form the Armstrong 4-4-0, one of the last kits K's ever produced. 

 

The M&L was the better kit but finding the driving wheels was an issue. One solution was to use the....K's.

 

Neither were particularly good performers and struggled to pull themselves along, let alone a train. Mine was rebuilt with a tender drive unit and now pulls acceptable trains.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[brian777999]

There was a K's Dean single and it it did come with etched parts. As part of the Milestone range it had no motor. I am told by a friend who was involved with Nucast at the time, that when the K's toolings were past on to Nucast, there was no Dean single as the original masters had been altered to form the Armstrong 4-4-0, one of the last kits K's ever produced. 

 

The M&L was the better kit but finding the driving wheels was an issue. One solution was to use the....K's.

 

Neither were particularly good performers and struggled to pull themselves along, let alone a train. Mine was rebuilt with a tender drive unit and now pulls acceptable trains.

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

So the Dean Single must be one of rarer kits on the market. I do not care if they struggle to pull 3 coaches ; I would like one. There is nobody curently making a kit for this model which I find rather strange given the popularity of modelling the GWR.

[Coach bogie]

Here is an image of one via an auction house

 

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/keyser-ks-milestone-gwr-great-western-268568408

 

Mike Wiltshire

[Barry O]

Here is a Ks single - found it in the drawer unloved(!)

 

 

I will probably get rid of this at some time.

 

Some other Ks Kits - first up a Kirtley 0-6-0 which needs a lot of work..

 

 

then a MR 0-4-0T - for some reason I have two of these with HP2M motors and they still work

 

 

still to find the wagons...

 

 

[coachmann]

You didn't happen on a K's Fowler LMS 2-6-2T as well did you....?  I wonder if this kit is still produced by someone?

Edited November 17, 2013 by coachmann

[RosiesBoss]

Hello everyone,

 

The recent mention of the K's Dean Single has reminded me that I had another K's model, not mentioned in my post of 7 Apr 13 - the Milestone GWR broad gauge "Rover" class single. I completed it in Jan 1987 and it has remained as a mantlepiece curiosity ever since. Here is an image of it:

 

Regards,

 

Rob

 

[Michael Edge]

You didn't happen on a K's Fowler LMS 2-6-2T as well did you....?  I wonder if this kit is still produced by someone?

This was the first white metal kit I built, before that I had to build from scratch. In 1965 I was a university student with a grant and thus wealthy enough to fork out £4/19/6 for the kit. It had K's split axle pickup system, with brass centred wheels pressed into plastic sleeves and a MkII motor. I did eventually get it to work quite well and it ran like this for many years.

 

 

Eventually 40063 was in need of a repaint, I dunked it it Nitromors and then found that the latter was quite capable of dissolving the Araldite which the body had been assembled with.

This left me with a remarkably clean K's kit - so I built it again, slightly better this time. After more years of running the original frames and wheels were worn out so it acquired a new set of correctly profiled mainframes, Romford wheels and new motion work, although I think the coupling rods may be the originals. Cylinder castings were re-used. 40063 still runs well (far more effective than the full size ones were) and is a regular performer on Herculaneum Dock.

[coachmann]

One of them engines would just do me for Delph push-pull services Mike.....! (bow't steam pipes). Nice to see a photo of this body kit. It captures the look of these engines and I can well understand the need to build a decent chassis. The motion that came in the original kits was cast whitemetal as I recall.

[Michael Edge]

I've just put it on my drawing list. easier to build without the steam pipes - although I think they look better with them.

Yes the original kit has cast white metal con. rods, which actually lasted a remarkably long time

[farren]

would that be a complete kit or just a chassis kit, Michael ?

[Arthur]

Re. the Fowler, they must have modified the valve gear at some stage, mine (page 3 of this thread), had all the rods etc. etched, though the cross head was whitemetal. I did use it, though I chopped off the cast piston rod and soldered on a length of brass rod.

[Michael Edge]

Mine was a very early one - there weren't many kits about in those days.

I didn't say anything about kits - just on my drawing list, probably just etch the difficult bits as I have done before. It will certainly include frames and motion.

[hayfield]

You didn't happen on a K's Fowler LMS 2-6-2T as well did you....?  I wonder if this kit is still produced by someone?

 

 

Coachman

 

They crop up on Ebay now and again, I have recently got a couple of Ivatt's 2-6-2t versions. I even came across a McGowans Fowler 2-6-4t where the body has been part assembled with an unused whitemetal chassis (for display models only), need to obtain a new chassis for it

[coachmann]

Thanks. Sorted now though. The 'Delph Donkey' will get its appropriate Fower 2-6-2T next year sometime all being well.

[Barry O]

I have a few more Ks kits - including this one:

 

and an Ivatt 2-6-2T in bits, as well as one of these..

 

 

and some wagons.

 

I did have some 6 wheel coaches  but passed them onto a modeller who may find more use of them.

 

Strange that Bill Stott (Nucast) bought the Ks kits to stop them disappearing from the market... now they have all gone..

 

But the one seen in my posts were nearly all purchased from Bill when he ran Nu-Sto in Horden then on Hartlepool

[5050]

The late lamented Chris Matthewman had a beautiful K's Garrett on his various 'Striving' layouts and in EM.  It's still running in the hands of the new owners.  Another late clubmate had one in OO put together with Evostick.  It ran.

 

Sort of.

 

My only succesful K's kit was the ubiquitous 0-4-2 14xx (or is it a 58xx?  No top feed on mine).  The original K's chassis with the keyhole axle slots was soon dispensed with along with the K's wheels to be replaced by Romfords.  The motor became a DS10 with Romford gears.  It was also my first compensated chassis with the trailing wheels incorporated in the chassis rather than in a separate pony truck.   It became my first loco to be rebuilt to P4 by the expedient of putting spacers between the new Sharman wheels and the frames.  In theory, it's still a runner but my P4 stock doesn't get many airings these days.

 

I have also owned a 28xx which I soon realised was a waste of time as there was absolutely no side play in the drivers so would only go in a straight line even with flangeless centre drivers and a 43xx which I'm sure I must still have somewhere in bits.  I've also got one side of a Coral wagon and 2 sides of a GWR tender, none of which have ever been built.  Where did they come from?  Absolutely no idea!

Edited November 20, 2013 by 5050

[lyndonsdad1]

No one has yet mentioned the K's SR Lord Nelson, mine was purchased, I think, in the 70's. Although built it is yet un painted but runs fine.

[stewartingram]

I don't recall mention of the J70 yet? My Toby was built around 1965, as my first ever kit. Totally vanilla K's, apart from some brass buffers fitted later when I lost 1 of the originals. An absolute dream runner, slow, smooth, no pick-up problems despite its short wheelbase (weight maybe a factor?). A tad noisy on my pwm feedback controller, but that adds to its charm, and tbh is ok at slow speeds.

A little while back it was sitting on the shelf over the computor desk, and got knocked to the floor by the cat. Almost went back to component parts, and most bent at that! The pics I enclose show it as pretty quickly re-assembled, with a little work to redo. I'm loathe to repaint it though. The whitemetal cow-catchers have suffered, along with the loss of the Traing coupling at one end. However, a fellow RMWeb member has etched me some nice brass ones which I still have to fit, and I will be adding simple brass wire loops to work with Spratt & Winkle couplings.

 

Toby lives on.

 

Stewart

 

 

[micklner]

Y8

 

Not much of the original left. New chassis a cut down Mainly trains Terrier etch, Mashima motor and 108.1 High Level Box and much detail added. Still has K's wheels as couldnt fine anything else in 12mm diameter.

Doesnt like even Live frog points due to the tiny wheelbase.

 

 

 

C1

Still on original chassis and drivers . Gibson Bogie wheels, Non flanged wheel on truck, Mashima Motor and gearbox.

 

 

[devonseasider]

Another view of the K's Fowler Dock Tank on "Tormouth Quay".

 

 

See post #60 in this thread for more info on the loco.

Still lots to do to it, including rebuilding the chassis - again! (although, to be fair, it's well over 30 years old by now).

 

[Guest Lyonesse]

My first P4 loco.  I disliked the K's running plate so summoned up some courage and made a new one out of nickel-silver --- splashers,steps and all.  Up above, she's all K's, mostly stuck together with Evo-stik.  A new nickel-silver cab roof and new pick-ups are recent additions.

 

There were various unsuccessful attempts at main frames.  What she has now are Studiolith profile-cut brass frames with Studiolith frame spacers and hornblocks.  The rear axle is fixed and the front two are (in theory!) sprung.  Studiolith frames had the full profile above and below the footplate, so they needed some modification with a gurt big file.  Wheels are Sharman, from back in the day when Mike Sharman produced a single 'universal' OO/EM/P4/S4 profile.

 

Driving power comes from an X04 motor and Romford(?) 60;1 gears and although she runs, it sounds like a washing machine on spin-cycle with a full load of 1/2inch Whitworth nuts.

 

The important lesson I learned from completing this is that actually, scratchbuilding is pretty easy and I embarked on a LYr 2-4-2T, from the Ian Beattie drawing in Model Railways.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Lyonesse

[hayfield]

My first P4 loco.  I disliked the K's running plate so summoned up some courage and made a new one out of nickel-silver --- splashers,steps and all.  Up above, she's all K's, mostly stuck together with Evo-stik.  A new nickel-silver cab roof and new pick-ups are recent additions.

 

There were various unsuccessful attempts at main frames.  What she has now are Studiolith profile-cut brass frames with Studiolith frame spacers and hornblocks.  The rear axle is fixed and the front two are (in theory!) sprung.  Studiolith frames had the full profile above and below the footplate, so they needed some modification with a gurt big file.  Wheels are Sharman, from back in the day when Mike Sharman produced a single 'universal' OO/EM/P4/S4 profile.

 

Driving power comes from an X04 motor and Romford(?) 60;1 gears and although she runs, it sounds like a washing machine on spin-cycle with a full load of 1/2inch Whitworth nuts.

 

The important lesson I learned from completing this is that actually, scratchbuilding is pretty easy and I embarked on a LYr 2-4-2T, from the Ian Beattie drawing in Model Railways.

 

Lyonesse

 

Super looking loco, as for the gear noise. Why not replace the motor and Romfords for a newer motor and gearbox loco looks good enough for an upgrade

[Guest Lyonesse]

Lyonesse

 

Super looking loco, as for the gear noise. Why not replace the motor and Romfords for a newer motor and gearbox loco looks good enough for an upgrade

Maybe some day.  Right now I can't face the prospect of digging out all the lead and plasticene stuffed in the boiler and pannier tanks.  And if I started on an upgrade I'm not sure I'd be able to stop before all of the whitemetal origins got replaced.

[Horsetan]

....I disliked the K's running plate so summoned up some courage and made a new one out of nickel-silver --- splashers,steps and all......

 

Ah....you as well. I did wonder whether I should do this. The K's cast running plate did have some particularly neat rivet detail, but I think the wheelbase was compromised slightly to fit the K's frames. When I put a Puffers chassis underneath, the centres didn't line up with the splasher centres.