drgj

The original style ex Airfix tender drive class 4f is one of the most powerful model locomotives known to mankind. Dave

I like the look of this loco and didn't mind the old version either. I remember when the Jouef class 40 came out and was very excited to get one for my birthday. I really liked it but do remember that it didn't look so good from the front but viewing it at a certain angle plus a bit of imagination cured it! It ran really well, was powerful and quiet (although the worm would occasionally pop off the motor!). How things have moved on! The other thing I remember is that I could buy a Hornby class 25 for a bit more than my weekly paper round pay. Do paper boys get £150 a week now? Dave

I like that a lot. . The battery box supports look good and are those brass nem sockets for couplings? Very neat. I would never have thought of doing that. I have some Parkside nem mounts that I was thinking of using. Dave

Thank Thanks to ralphrob for the excellent pictures.

I have been wondering about the battery regulator (I think that is what it is!). Is this a flat plate with the regulator on and then supported by four angled pieces of wire or two angled pieces of sheet? Thanks Dave

They are probably just the original types. I didn't realise yours were special ones. Have you had a look at the Southern Pride site? They might have something. Dave

I have a thread on building a Comet Stove R going at the moment. The tumble homes on the sides had been formed at an angle and annealing did help to make the job of fixing this easier. i too wouldn't recommend annealing unused material. Dave

This is where I am now. I have the body soldered as in previous pics plus the roof cut to length, etc. The roof is a very good fit so I must have got the body nice and square. Here is the picture of the underframe/ floor assembly. I still have to fit the lower steps and various white metal fittings. I will be using Araldite for the latter. I used plain wire between the brake blocks rather than yokes. The centre w iron assembly has the fold up centre bearing for the wheels. I fitted the pin point bearings just to give the axle boxes something to positively fit to. The step boards are on .45mm wire. The wire is fitted in the holes to be flush at the back. It is strong and didn't require bending at the rear as in the instructions. I thought these would get in the way of something. To fit the boards to the wire I put them in place and jammed some card packing between the board and foor edge. Sodering didn't cause the wire to loosen in the sole bar or if it did the card stopped movement. Two holes weren't pefectly level but a slight bend in the wire whist keeping the board horizontal sorted it. They look nice and level from the side. Dave

Any kind of factory glazing is very hard to find. Did you ask Bachmann? What was wrong with the glazing? If it was glue you can sometimes remove it with metal polish. The only other thing would be to use Comet sides to replace the originals if you are repainting anyway. Then you can use flat glazing material. Dave

I just read through John's (Brossard) thread on his stove r and noticed he had done the same thing of making a jig for the stepboard holes and drilling through it. He should have the credit for doing it first! Anyway, it worked well. Dave

I think I will have to leave mine the way it is now. I notice that the photo of the completed model from the old Comet (now on Wizard) shows it built like mine. I'm not too bothered. It's a bit like my Kitmaster MK1 that has the same problem but I don't notice it. Dave

I have made a Stove R before but with comet sides and an airfix coach chopped up. What I have suddenly remembered is that a stove has plain solebars rather than channeled. I remember making the floor and solebars from plastic and using comet w irons/ springs, etc. Maybe some did have channeled solebars? Dave

I managed to drill the holes in the solebars into which the step board mountings will fit. This was after reading to do this before assembly! Anyway, to make the holes level I made a little guide. This was just a short strip of brass sized to slide along the solebar channel . I drilled a hole in this at the right height and then slid it along drilling through the hole. This also stopped the drill bit skidding about. Dave

On a more serious note from my last post, I would also have been very disappointed if I had received a loco with weathering as on Straits Settlements's example, and he is right to be upset. I don't really go in for too much weathering on a model and a light toning down is all they need for me. I know people don't like the average factory weathering but I have actually seen pics of locos that look quite new but with dirt on the bogies and up the sides a short way. It should be quite lightly done, however. On a positive note I think the over all appearance of the Heljan loco is good because, as others have stated, it addresses the main problem with the Bachmann one in that the curve at the top of the windscreens looks correct. Funny though that in my eyes the Bachmann 25/3 didn't look as bad as the 25/1 or class 24. The curve is the same but the small windscreen in the middle must accentuate it on the latter two somehow. Dave

Thanks, John. This is my first full brass kit. I have used comet sides on plastic coaches before. Having not built a comet kit before I was a bit disappointed that parts like the step boards aren't a straight forward fit with solder. I have small drill bits for these but only a hand chuck which takes a lot of twiddling with brass. I might buy a pin chuck for my drill press. When I used to go on my mad railway trips in the 70s I would probably have seen all kinds of interesting rolling stock but it literally just passed me by as I was only interested in locomotives. I am now quite interested in ex LMS rolling stock, especially. Dave

Straits Settlements.. Never mind the weathering. I can't believe Heljan have fitted every single part of your locomotive upside down! Dave

Thanks to Mike and John for the new replies. Maybe I will follow the photo John posted of the underside of his. Dave

I am a bit confused about the underframe fittings arrangement. Mine stove is going to be like the one on the Paul Bartlett site with smooth sides and two step boards on each side. It says diagram 1776 numbered M32932M. What would be the arrangement in this case? There is another one on that site with the same diagram number but has beading on the sides. Did they build them both ways or remove the beading later? Dave

I have folded and fitted the solebars and adjusted the length of the chassis so it fits. I now have to adjust the length of the solebars and fit the buffer beams. Here is a pic

Thanks, John.

Thanks to Mark and Jason. Because the chassis has fold up sides that go inside the body you can't fit a floor. In my pic you can see these and also the solebars which are soldered underneath. The solebars are also too long so I will have to shorten these. I am realising that this must be because the chassis is also used on other models longer models. I was initially worried that I had made a mistake in construction but now, thanks to all who have helped, that the gap is normal. Dave

Thanks to John and John. I can see the gap on your hybrid mode, John in Quebec. It doesn't seem to be a problem. Here is a pic. The chassis is also too long because of the four extensions so I guess these have to come off Dave

I am currently building this model. I have assembled the body sides and ends into a complete unit. Starting on the chassis I find it is quite a bit narrower than the body assembly so there is a large gap on either side. Should I fill this gap by fixing something to the inner surface of the sides or am I missing something? Thanks Dave

Here is my Kitmaster second open. This was one of those coaches you find that are made up but not that brilliantly built. I stripped it down and rebuilt it. Along the way I removed the raised lining and put lining transfers on after a respray. I really like the Peco interiors that go with these coaches and have adapted one for a different type.. Dave

Thanks, Mike