zr2498

54 minutes ago, KR Models said:

 

Yes absolutely.  We had a small number where the handrails have popped out of the buffer beam  

Thanks guys. I will have another look tomorrow as moving the handrails to the holes would mean the handrails have to splay out at the bottom. I will send photo to explain. 

The exploded diagram of the parts is great. Was wondering about maintenance instructions. Lubrication and access to DCC chip etc. I'm particularly interested in the lubrication for the tender wheels as the electrical pick up is through the axles and wheel hubs (not wipers as per the loco). So would conductive lubricant need to be used.

David

PS The GT3 is really a marvellous achievement. More EOI's to go in!

2 hours ago, adb968008 said:

Very cool... would you believe a rtr GT3... previously reserve of the wealthy, those with oodles of spare time or just lucky.

only minor oops is that handrail needs reseating.

 

 

 

 

Everything on the model looks fine except perhaps the alignment of the steps and front buffer beam. The holes that are shown on your photo are on both sides and in wider positions than the handrails. Same on mine, so perhaps this is common. The steps are also sloping backwards and this seems to be owing to the buffer beam not sitting square. The buffers and buffer platforms are pointing downwards. I assume this can be rectified but could do with some advice / permission from Keith and Mike before attempting this.

28 minutes ago, Metr0Land said:

 Only slight problem is the loco to tender connection seems tricky.  Is there a knack to getting it to 'click into place'?

 

 

 

OORail did a vid on the connector. Not sure if that is the 'official' method?

Arrived and looks / sounds terrific.

Thanks Keith and Michael for enabling us to get this iconic loco onto our layouts.

David

2 minutes ago, Brian Hawkins said:

No, Handels for Forks

To fill the time in while we await delivery

1 minute ago, Darius43 said:

How many?

Four. Did you mean candles?

Ditto

Perhaps Monday morning - such excitement.

34 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

I wasn't sure Mike,

 

Some pictures show relatively clean spectacles (irrespective of the general condition of the loco) and some are really grubby. 

 

I think in my pictures the spectacles look dirtier than they are. Many prototype pictures are taken from low down, with light shining through the spectacles. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Perhaps they are sunglasses

23 minutes ago, jrb said:

 

David,

 

Certainly. In fact, here's the album with them all. Enjoy!

 

Regards,

 

Jonathan

JSModels

Jonathan

What can I say? Wow! Thanks so much for posting these. I will let you know how the finishing goes based on these photos and the techniques used if successful.

Cheers, David

PS Enjoying those photos if what can go wrong, albeit not so funny for the canal boat owners.

On 14/03/2021 at 12:37, jrb said:

Following the very successful launch yesterday, this kit sold out very quickly. I've now produced some more and have added them to the website.

 

The 20% discount code is still valid for this new stock, too.

 

Regards,

 

Jonathan

JSModels

Jonathan

Canal lock kit should arrive shortly. Can't wait to get started. I noticed a couple of your photos of the prototype. Is it possible for you to post a few which will greatly help with painting / weathering and setting the scene.

David

9 hours ago, juke said:

My Thane of Fife is waiting for a new body. Messy glue to the front windows, two lengths of the boiler top misaligned and black plastic showing. Could cover the boiler top by weathering though it would need a slight rub to sit level. Also a couple of chips on the chassis, again weathering will fix. Windows would be impossible to fix well. My Sun Castle overall much better but again a short(er) black line but i'll fix that. Both run beautifully using Lenz basic decoders.

They pull eight Golden Age brass Gresleys without slipping.

 

Syd

Syd

Are you saying they can pull (have better traction) than GAMs own locos. If you recall I had to do those wheel bearing modifications to the GAM coaches as too much drag. So really impressed with the A2/2 and A2/3!

Dave

34 minutes ago, Darius43 said:

KR models said there would be in the World of Railways exhibition interview this past weekend.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

 

Most likely more GT3s will be sold on the second run.

5 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

For those who've not been following the virtual exhibition, here's my now painted/weathered (by Geoff Haynes) DJH 8F running.................

 

 

A splendid kit, a delight to build, and super-smooth with DJH's latest motor/gearbox combination (the small one!). 

Looks great. Was impressed with this kit and your build on earlier posts. Eagerly waiting for DJH to have this kit in stock. Not sure how long the usual waiting time is.

Fantastic news!!!!!!

A2/3 Sun Castle arrived today from TMC. All parts intact. Clearly the same paint shop as A2/2 and same colour boiler bands which will need changing. Looks as though the tender wheels will need a hair cut on the back for the pick up contact (thanks for the tip).

Ran very smoothly straight from the box. Impressed, but a shame about some of the fundamentals. The smoke box door is a tad out of alignment but not easily visible on the layout especially with deflectors blocking the view.

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

The next MR/M&GNR selection......................

 

And so, to the latest loco for the 'upper' trainset..................

 

 

 

Thanks Tony for these pictures. Always good to see this line in operation. Great picture of the bridge and of course the 'latest loco'.

Cheers, Dave

29 minutes ago, D9001 said:

Very disappointed to have received an email from a well known Liverpool based retailer this morning saying that my money has been refunded for my Sun Castle because they are sold out; I must have been one of the first to order with them, immediately following the announcement of the Hornby A2/3 so how can they be sold out of it?  I have emailed back my disappointment but Has anyone else received such an email? 

8 currently in stock at TMC if no luck with Kernow

1 hour ago, gordon s said:

Something else worth checking. I use a multi meter to check continuity on all wheels as good running quality requires good pick ups. Whist the tender was apart I checked all the pick ups and was surprised that only two wheels were picking up and even they were intermittent. Took off the keeper plate and saw the pick ups were not making contact with the wheels, so gently tweaked them as that usually fixes any issues. Put it all back together and still not 100%, so took another look.

 

The tender wheels are a metal tyre with a plastic insulating insert. It would appear that the plastic insert is actually standing proud of the tyre and in some cases, preventing the pick up strip touching the metal rim by holding it away from metal to metal contact. Very hard to photograph, but to try and solve the problem, I have taken a scalpel and removed the protruding plastic on one wheel and that has completely resolved the issue.

 

If you really want good running, it may be worth putting a meter across all the tender wheels and just check that each wheel down each side are connected. If not, you may have the same problem. It appears easy to solve, but I will let you know how it went once all wheels are done.

 

I must have really been naughty in a previous life.....

 

 

All good information and things to check out when Sun Castle arrives soon. Might be worth going back to the A2/2 to see if that has a similar issue

Not sure if the contents of this mag have been shown before

Bought a magazine on ebay last week as there is an article on the GT3 when first built.  July 1962 Model Railway News. Very interesting to see how railway modelling was portrayed in those days (when I was still in short trousers). A touch of nostalgia always brings a smile.

However, I did find the old style smoke generators quite shocking to see.

Dave

Hopefully the Sl-43's will be available again before long. The thread was started nearly a year ago but appears to be of interest again. A photo below to show the stacking of the boxes (up to 4 high), and the thicker (6mm) shelf.

Each of the Loco-lifts are numbered and the detail parts put into polybags with the corresponding numbers. All empty manufacturers boxes now in the loft. It's quite a large capital outlay but certainly makes loco handling easier and avoids damage.

Dave

27 minutes ago, deepfat said:

Loving your work but sl-43 Peco lifts are impossible to get hold of, Not sure why Peco can't make things anymore even in lockdown 

Seems everybody is waiting for new stock. Might be worth an email to PECO to see when they are due.

Dave

14 hours ago, Black 5 Bear said:

Has anyone actually received one of the A2/3's  and if so what is the verdict?

Any better than the A2/2's?

They are shown as in stock with a number of suppliers but no invoice has been sent out as yet even though I have preordered one. Maybe they are all being checked to avoid a wave of returns?

Recommended viewing.

I bet Tony is even faster!

Dave

8 minutes ago, RBAGE said:

Ian, the lack of visible solder genuinely down to the kit design.

The door handle recess rims are soldered. It was quite tricky. I might use superglue for the rest.

I'm lead to believe that superglue doesn't leave a solder trail. The Dickens.

Bob

I ran solder around the back of the door handle recess rims (using 1mm diam bit), and then fixed via RSU with overlay laid on a flat plate. If you have an RSU?

Dave