00/4mm wheels a list of manufactures please

[Rob Hayes]

Hi all I wish to lean of all the various manufactures of 4mm/00 gauge wheels and any links to websites who supply them. I am new to this and keen to go in at the deep end.

 

I have heard of the following :

romford

markits

alan gibson

ultrascale

se finecast

maygib

 

Are there anymore I should be aware of. I will consider EM/P4 etc

 

cheers Rob

[Horsetan]

SE Finecast don't actually make wheels.

 

I would mention Sharman, but they're long gone. The shell of the operation now gathers dust at Phoenix Prcision.

[brossard]

I would add that Exactoscale make eyewatering wheels for EM and P4.  Don't forget to order axles (I did)  .  Now available through C&L.

 

The thing to know about Ultrascale is that there is typically a 6 weekish lead time for delivery.

 

Romford wheels have, AFAIK, been rolled into the Markits range.  These are nominally RP25 but are actually finer (according to a recent EMGS article).

 

John

[Ian Fisher]

Colin Craig

 

Steam Era Black beetle

[Adam]

The current wait for Ultrascale is six months! Nice wheels, but...

 

Adam

[Rob Hayes]

yes 6 months is a long time isnt it. For now I think id like to try some of alan gibsons and do another a4 to practice and wet my appetite. They look nice too. 

 

I was looking on mainly trains website It list the range of gibson wheels but I wondered when buying one wheel do you get the axle and the other wheel or just one wheel face.

 

Also a concearn is axle size does anyone know if alan gibson axles will swap out with Hornby A4 or will i have to shim them or something. Cheers Rob

[Horsetan]

AGW will supply 3mm axles to match the Hornby diameter. In each pack, you get 2 wheels plus one OO axle, and one EM axle. If you opt for P4, then the pack will have just the one P4 axle in it.

 

And before you ask, no balance weights are supplied.

 

The current wait for Ultrascale is six months! Nice wheels, but...

.....you'll be drawing your pension before you get 'em!!

[buffalo]

...I was looking on mainly trains website It list the range of gibson wheels...

You'll find a great deal more of both wheels and information on http://www.alangibsonworkshop.co.uk/ Click on '4mm' then 'Catalogue'.

 

Nick

[kevinlms]

Steam Era Black beetle

I should point out that Steam Era is the brand with the Black Beetle being a power bogie within the range.

 

http://www.steameramodels.com/

[Jol Wilkinson]

SE Finecast don't actually make wheels.

 

I would mention Sharman, but they're long gone. The shell of the operation now gathers dust at Phoenix Prcision.

 

Ivan,

 

Sharman Wheels are available if you order a sufficient quantity to make it viable. I've just taken delivery of a batch of wheels for LNWR 0-6-0s (21 axle sets P4). London Road Models carry a stock of specific wheels for some of their kits where no other suitable version exists http://www.scalefour.org/LondonRoadModels/

 

I believe that some of the wheels available through the 3mm Society are manufactured by Sharman Wheels

 

Jol

[Penrhos1920]

Intercity models make and sell Superrollers

[Horsetan]

Ivan, Sharman Wheels are available if you order a sufficient quantity to make it viable. I've just taken delivery of a batch of wheels for LNWR 0-6-0s (21 axle sets P4). London Road Models carry a stock of specific wheels for some of their kits where no other suitable version exists http://www.scalefour.org/LondonRoadModels/ I believe that some of the wheels available through the 3mm Society are manufactured by Sharman Wheels Jol

Yes, but I don't happen to run a business specialising in LNWR loco kits that would be able to order "viable" quantities.

[Jol Wilkinson]

Yes, but I don't happen to run a business specialising in LNWR loco kits that would be able to order "viable" quantities.

The batch I bought were nothing to do with LRM, but I simply dealt with SW on behalf of three members of the S4Soc. who wanted the correct wheels for particular kits.

 

But you could perhaps link up with others interested in building the same locos to get an order together. The Scalefour Society forum might be thee best place to do that for P4 profile, RMWeb for OO/EM.

 

I believe that they are willing to buy in a batch of tyres to do a particular wheel, so a popular prototype not covered by other manufacturers would be a sensible choice.

[Kenton]

Of course if all kits came with wheels in the box then there would be no need for large orders, waiting 6 months (or more) or having to find a supplier, order separately, and wait in hope of the correct ones arriving.

 

Ah that'll be nostalgia and wishful thinking.

 

Yes I know there are some fussy folk who want things in different gauges but what is wrong with the supplier having a red phone line with his supplier and a small stock of the common OO/O gauge.

 

Meanwhile customer orders 1 kit, waits for the kit to arrive to find out the recommended (nearest equivalent) wheels (if lucky in the instructions) then have to find a supplier, order, wait and then receive them crushed in a jiffy bag having paid extra postage.

 

 

 

 

[Weaselfish]

Try Scalelink too. Here's the link. http://www.scalelink.co.uk/acatalog/Locomotive_Driving_Wheels_.html

[Rob Hayes]

Thanks for all this info. Can anyone advise which gibson bushes i need to buy to reduce the diameter of Hornby conection rods to fit the gibson wheels. and also advice about eccentric rod fittings. Cheers Rob

[buffalo]

Thanks for all this info. Can anyone advise which gibson bushes i need to buy to reduce the diameter of Hornby conection rods to fit the gibson wheels. and also advice about eccentric rod fittings. Cheers Rob

YouI can't be absolutely certain without measuring the holes in the rods as there has been some variation over the years. I have a Hornby 42XX in pieces here and the holes are about 2.45 to 2.50mm diameter. The Bachmann 4F rods on my bench have holes about 2.20 to 2.25mm diameter. On page 27 of the Gibson catalogue is

 

4800 Crankpin Washers for Conversion £2.00 £2.40

 

These are intended to be used for reducing Bachmann rods to fit Gibson crankpin bushes, but could be used to fit fit the above Hornby size. Note that when soldering these to the rods, you need to make sure they are centred at the correct spacing. Someone posted a photo showing how to do this with a set of tapered dummy axles a few days ago. I'll see if I can find it... Not on RMweb, but see here, three or four posts down the page.

 

Nick

 

As a mostly GWR modeller, I'll leave advice on eccentrics to those who've done it more than me

[Jol Wilkinson]

Of course if all kits came with wheels in the box then there would be no need for large orders, waiting 6 months (or more) or having to find a supplier, order separately, and wait in hope of the correct ones arriving. Ah that'll be nostalgia and wishful thinking. Yes I know there are some fussy folk who want things in different gauges but what is wrong with the supplier having a red phone line with his supplier and a small stock of the common OO/O gauge. Meanwhile customer orders 1 kit, waits for the kit to arrive to find out the recommended (nearest equivalent) wheels (if lucky in the instructions) then have to find a supplier, order, wait and then receive them crushed in a jiffy bag having paid extra postage.

 

If only it were that simple. The difficulty is that customers will often have a personal preference so what do you put in the box? What if the alternative they want isn't available, costs more/less, etc.

 

One 4mm kit manufacturer I know quite well has over sixty kits. If Markits wheels were supplied as standard (no quartering required, so little fitting "skill" needed), then I expect it would involve investing between £2000 and £3000 in stock. But that wouldn't suit those that wanted EM axles or P4 wheels. And anyway, Markits don't produce wheels to suit all the kits. Actually, nobody does, so you would have to use several suppliers.

 

Of course, this would require extra time and effort, in addition to the investment. So an additional charge (on top of the kit and wheels cost) would have to be added (or absorbed). And guess what, there will still be a number of modellers that would still rather get the kit, take it home and read the instructions before deciding which motor, gears and wheels they will buy.

 

Whilst this seems a sensible and practical idea, only DJH  (AFAIK) provided wheels in their kits, but they have now stopped. I think Alan Gibson may do, but as his kits are produced in batches to special order and he makes his own range of wheels, he can probably match the customers requirements. 

[Horsetan]

...I'll leave advice on eccentrics to those who've done it more than me

None more eccentric than me.

[Rob Hayes]

Thanks for all this advice I feel I am really starting to learn now and after a 2 days of searching various terms in google I am finally getting most the info I need. I have now seen that people have directly fitted gibson wheels to Hornby a4s and a3s so mr gibson is about to get some of my money through mainly trains this evening. 

 

Now I see they and brassmasters have actually used the existing motion so that also makes me happy and It looks great so I am happy to keep the motion in place for now its the wheels that really bug me on the Hornby locos. So that just leaves the problem or working out the wheel pins and motion plus bushes and spacers once I understand how this all works I should be well on my way to converting alot of my stock.

 

I thin my first conversion will be 00 but I must say it would be nice to convert a few things to em and make a small em layout and see how I get on it just looks so nice. 

 

I have found on the old rmweb this article showing a chap who converted a Hornby mallard just how I want to do. Can anyone put me in touch with him on here I would love to pick his brains. http://rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=571

 

Many thanks all the help is great and extra info im picking up is a good read too.

 

cheers Rob

[Rob Hayes]

I have commented on this post as if it were from my original post regarding wheels for my A4 conversion sorry about that.

 

I have just took the plunge and bough all alan gibson wheels for one whole a4 loco plus bushes short and long and a 2 packs of washers for the lager and smaller axles. I will reuse the Hornby motion set and hopefully I am now well on my way..

 

So the next questions are these. If no one minds me asking here.

 

1. do I need a quartering jig for alan gibson wheels. if so were can I buy one please.

2. do alan gibson wheels need loctite 603 or 243 or other.

3. were can I get some balance weight/blocks to fit to Alan gibson wheels suitable for an A4 loco.

 

Cheers all I am feeling excited now this is going to be fun. Cheers Rob 

[Jol Wilkinson]

Rob,

 

if you were enquiring about a first kit to build, then my advice would have been to start with something simpler! An inside cylinder 0-6-0 would be easier as a learning exercise, as you don't have the complication of the outside valve gear.

 

You can quarter wheels by eye, but I have found that the GW wheel press makes life a lot easier. There have been various threads on this subject here on RMWeb.

 

GW Models, 11 Croshaw Close Lancing West Sussex BN15 9LE

 

You'll find details of small suppliers/manufacturers such as George Watts at http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/counties/manufacturersDesc

 

Jol

 

 

[Rob Hayes]

Rob,

 

if you were enquiring about a first kit to build, then my advice would have been to start with something simpler! An inside cylinder 0-6-0 would be easier as a learning exercise, as you don't have the complication of the outside valve gear.

 

You can quarter wheels by eye, but I have found that the GW wheel press makes life a lot easier. There have been various threads on this subject here on RMWeb.

 

GW Models, 11 Croshaw Close Lancing West Sussex BN15 9LE

 

You'll find details of small suppliers/manufacturers such as George Watts at http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/counties/manufacturersDesc

 

Jol

 

Hi there many thanks I really need to get hold of one of them. I have never built a loco myself but have much experience of striping down and rebuilding/ repairing locos of all scales and types. Its just that I have never ordered the parts to do one myself. So I wanted to be careful I didnt end up ordering a load of bits and pieces that would not fit together. For me it seems ordering these parts and finding out information such as throw and axle width etc was the hardest part. I am confident I can do the A4 I always like to throw myself in at the deep end I guess I am a glutton for punishment lol.

 

So far I have ordered all the alan gibson wheels for an A4, 2 packs of the various size spacer axle washers, two packs of long and short bushes, some ultrascale balance blocks for the wheels. an alan gibson back to back gauge for 00 standard gauge, some loctite 603 which I guessed I will need to put wheels and nuts on. 

 

Is there anything I missed I guess I need the quartering jig and I am good to go. 

 

I have been eyeing up C&L finescale 00 track again and dreaming of making a small layout or display section it does look rather pretty. 

 

I am excited about the arrival of all these parts but just hope it all fits like a dream.

 

Cheers Rob

[Horsetan]

....I have never built a loco myself......I am confident I can do the A4 I always like to throw myself in at the deep end I guess I am a glutton for punishment....

 

 

Uh-oh....