mike morley Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Forgive me if this is common knowledge or has been posted elsewhere (a quick search revealed nothing obvious) but Mercian Models have a message posted on the relevant sections of their website warning visitors that as soon as current stocks have all been sold (and by the look of it, most already have) their 4mm scale industrial loco kits will become available by special-order only. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium wagonbasher Posted February 22, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 22, 2015 Forgive me if this is common knowledge or has been posted elsewhere (a quick search revealed nothing obvious) but Mercian Models have a message posted on the relevant sections of their website warning visitors that as soon as current stocks have all been sold (and by the look of it, most already have) their 4mm scale industrial loco kits will become available by special-order only. I did mention this in the lillishall thread. Without Mercian there is a big hole in the availability of 4mm Peckett kits. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCR Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I did mention this in the lillishall thread. Without Mercian there is a big hole in the availability of 4mm Peckett kits. Andy If only we could form some sort of kit preservation society to buy up the molds and drawings for the etches so we know where they've gone and can produce batches as and when sufficient demand surfaces. something that almost certainly falls under the HMRS objectives as keeping kits available would allow modellers to "build with greater historical accuracy" not fall into the repainted Hornby pug trap. http://www.hmrs.org.uk/_general_information/about_us.php Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium wagonbasher Posted February 23, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 23, 2015 In fairness, Mercian will produce to order once sufficient demand is there. my concern is without a system of capturing that demand the demand will never be there. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rope runner Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I would question the level of demand for these kits though, as this step appears to be a reaction to lower sales than their 0 range. Unfortunately their 4mm kits also fall far short of modern offerings, such as High Level and newer CSP kits. Paul A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike morley Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 Now there's an interesting statement, worthy of further discussion. Without hesitation I'd agree with the first sentence and the bit in the second sentence about High Level - but CSP? I'm not so sure. I've got a CSP Trojan with a body that was a simple re-scale from Agenoria's 7mm original and was an absolute delight to build. The chassis, on the other hand, had been redesigned by CSP during the re-scaling process and was a complete nightmare, with things not being helped one iota by instructions that had merely been altered rather than being given the major revision that was merited. I was half way through my second rebuild when I came to conclusion that, even though I'd never scratchbuilt a chassis before, it would have been both quicker and easier to have made my own. A third rebuild was needed before I finally created a silk purse out of that particular sows ear. There are several other models in the CSP range that would interest me, but a combination of that experience and talking to acquaintances who've had similar experiences with other CSP kits has made me wary of them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rope runner Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Interesting Mike, which area of the chassis did you have difficulty with? Conversely, I have now built 3 CSP kits - the YE/RSH 0-6-0, 15'' Hudswell clarke ST and the "Cranford" Avonside. I fitted a High level gearbox to the Hudswell, but the other two run on the supplied 38:1 arrangement very well. I am also new to etched loco kit building and soldering, but to be honest all mine went together without much of a fuss. I did solder the slide bars to the motion bracket on all 3 however, to lock the clearance for cross head clear of the connecting rods. I also ignored the top-wiper pick up suggestion. Paul A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike morley Posted February 27, 2015 Author Share Posted February 27, 2015 The problems began right after I opened the packet, when the chassis provided bore so little resemblance to the one in the instructions my initial assumption was that the wrong etch had been packed by mistake. Even after I'd found "SS" etched into the fret (Trojan is a member of Avonside's SS Class) I still wasn't convinced, so great were the differences between the chassis in the packet and the one featured in the instructions, and I remained unconvinced until I made a visit to Didcot to take a close look at the prototype. I only live an hour from Didcot so that wasn't a major undertaking, but it would obviously not be viable for someone for someone who lives further away. Another problem that became apparent from my visit to Didcot was that the etch only included two-thirds of the brake gear, leaving the remaining third to be scratchbuilt. Fortunately it was the easy third, but even so . . . When construction began further problems lined up to present themselves in quick succession; the method of attaching the cylinders is far more awkward than it need be (I modified mine, and they still aren't good); the crosshead castings were so undersized they were unusable (I threw mine away and used Comet replacements) the design of the pick-ups is awful and they would be almost certain to foul the motion bracket ( I scratchbuilt my own). Problems with the alterations to the instructions continued, too. There were several duplicated part numbers and at least one that was triplicated - plus, of course, the continuing problem that the instructions were for the original Agenoria design, not the CSP redesign. As if that wasn't enough, the kit is decidedly 00 and I model in EM. I phoned CSP for guidance as to the best way to convert it and was told to build an 00 chassis and space everything out. That was what I did and it just didn't look right. It proved not to be right, too, because the first time I ran it alongside a platform it proved to be so much wider than the loading gauge the platform ramp slid under the jutting cylinder and tipped the loco over onto its side! It was about then that I went to an exhibition where someone was running an original, 7mm scale Agenoria Trojan. I got talking to its owner/builder and was handed the loco to take a look at the underside. As soon as I saw it I realised that my by then firmly rooted suspicion that the original Agenoria design was vastly superior to the CSP redesign had been correct. It was also about then that I decided it would probably have been quicker and easier to have scratchbuilt my own chassis than to have struggled with the CSP offering. What I've ended up with uses some of the CSP parts as a sort-of scratch-aid, but it does at least now run properly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rope runner Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Hi Mike, I thought I could recall a thread on the SS class build and I've just found it, and your model: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/77100-csp-avonside-class-ss-trojan/ Glad you got it working in the end, the conversion to EM can't have been straight forward. All I can comment on is the three that I have built, and to report that only one of the models had inaccuracies in the artwork (the Hudswell Clarke firebox is etched too long, and the boiler barrel too short). One of the issues which puts me off Mercian models is that their chassis artwork is not actually modified (unlike CSP) when reduced from 7mm to 4mm scale. As I understand it this makes clearance between the front drivers and crosshead VERY tight. This can be evidenced on the thread here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/14655-mozzers-new-work-bench-4mm-a-john-summers-hopper/page-17 As a result I've only been tempted by one Mercian kit so far (Hunslet 50550 class, as this features outside cylinders). Paul A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonside1563 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Paul, I think you've made a slight error there, the 50550 class is inside cylindered as I'm sure you know Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rope runner Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Oops quite right! Paul a. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_Under Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Anyone else had issues with missing parts from recent kit deliveries? I've ordered a OX1 Peckett and 16" Barclay recently, and the peckett arrived minus all the brass and white metal castings, the wrong saddle tank wrapper, and no brake gear etches. I contact the owner, who said he'd send the parts....nothing. Barclay kit turns up, sans some of the white metal castings (semi important stuff like the side of the saddle tank), I haven't even opened the bag with the etches in yet...I wouldn't mind so much, but I've waited 4 months for these, and I would I'd track them down at an exhibition, but I live on the other side of the planet. Little bit annoyed since I highlighted the issue 2 months ago before this kit turned up. Huh. Any suggestions, other than email or Skype? J EDIT - upon looking at the etches, they seem pretty crisp(compared to the OX1), all nickel silver, and you get 3 chassis variations in the kit (although you'll need to make up spacers if you work in P4 and possibly EM. It gives you easily enough parts to build a full loco, and enough spares to make something like this From David Cookes Flickr page https://www.flickr.com/photos/60790501@N04/5706748597/in/set-72157632648858660 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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