Nick Holliday Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Can anyone identify the maker of these tank wagons? The tank and other parts are made out of clear plastic, with a metal chassis and nice buffers and a brass ladder on one side. For some reason there are brake hangers, but no representation of brake gear itself, so some Ambis Engineering or Mainly Trains should fill that gap. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2865 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Why does it look like the photos were taken with a scanner? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D51 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 These are "Masterpiece" kits, originally manufactured by the McMurdo Instrument Company around 1948 and later distributed by ERG (Bournemouth) Ltd. They appear to be fitted with ERG nickel-plated brass wheels on Peco Insulaxles. The Insulaxles would have been introduced about the same time, and of course are still available. Normally these kits were supplied with "Masterpiece" spoked wheels which had a perspex centre and turned rims. Later the kits were supplied with ERG "Rex" wheels made of black phenolic resin, which were not as good as the brass or "Masterpiece" wheels but the kits were substantially reduced in price to as low as 2/6d sometimes. The "Rex" wheels were patented by ERG. The ladder is not part of the kit but has been added by the builder. These were probably the first complete 'OO' gauge wagon kits to be mass produced after the wooden-bodied Hambling-Merco litho models. Frank Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I built some of these kits in the fifties (not the tank wagon though). They were something different to run with my Hornby Dublo and quite reasonable at around 3/- * plus 3d post and packing (this was around 25p allowing for inflation - today RM charges £2.60 ). Fitting Peco couplings added quite a bit to the cost however (2/6d!). They were supplied with either HD or scale wheels. *The kits were complete with wheels and (overscale) 3 link couplings, but no brakegear. Attempts to reduce the solebars to scale width will meet with fierce resistance from very tough mazak. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbles2 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I think I have a couple of these wagons. A local auctioneer sometimes sends collections of railway related items in my direction, knowing my interest in anything rail related and that is how I acquired these along with a small collection of wooden Ratio kits. As you can see one of the box vans has sadly succumbed to impurities in the cast chassis. [/url]">http:// [/url]">http:// [/url]">http://http://s62.photobucket.com/user/Debe2233/media/MODEL%20STUFF/IMG_0100_zps6f126971.jpg.html'> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmrspaul Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Dreadful things, I was very upset when I ordered a whole set in my youth. A complete waste of money. By then we had got used to Airfix kits at 2shillings. I've still got some bits, including one of these clear plastic tanks around somewhere. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D51 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Bubbles, The meat van (sliding doors) has indeed succumbed to mazak disease. Interestingly this one has BRMSB Rex wheels, so is likely to be newer than the fish van (flush doors) with ERG brass wheels on insulaxles. I have a number of loose solebar castings which have suffered similarly and all have been subject to damp at some time. A product of their time. These predated even the Graham Farish or Trackmaster wagons and were contemporaries of the Trix and Dublo tinplate models. Like Graham Farish, McMurdo were using their experience in wartime electronics to test out the model railway market. Sayers Chaplin were another firm doing this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I never was sure which version of the van was which (they are supposedly Meat, Fish and Fruit IIRC), so thanks for the identification. Most of the kits are quite reasonable for their time (the first dates from 1948 I believe - the right hand van in the photos above), though I would agree that they are no match for the Airfix kits. The vans all suffer from excessive height, apart from the cattle wagon. I seem to have been lucky, as I have never encountered one with defective castings, but replacements are quite easy and cheap to find. They turn up quite often at toy fairs and are usually a pound or two. (The spoked wheels have a thick tyre and my wagons of NER origin run on them) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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