Chris Higgs

Amended test bits on the same test sheet. Plus an extra new underframe - 12' wheelbase version to use with the Dapol Grain hooper body. Chris

The M7, Terrier, J39 and Black 5 test etches are almost with me. Sat in a TNT depot according to the website. I will put up some photos of the etches when they get delivered. Chris

Sadly, you would have to add another digit at the front of the price (not sure which one!) to get a built chassis. The bits alone are going to be more than the Grafar version, especially if you go for a top-of-the-range motor. There are a few people about who probably would build a chassis for you, at a price. Chris

Try here: http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/srby There were (according to my books) 250 of these built, so they are not all that rare. However, the last of these were in 1941, so they were outlived by the CCTs and PMVs, which were still being built in the 1950s. They lasted until 1978 in revenue service, although none of those in the photos above actually seems to have been painted in blue. Chris

Feel free to post here if you want. You can also look here for photos of the underframe on my CCT kit. Even this is an approximation in parts. https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrishiggs/sets/72157603397695116/ Chris Higgs (aka Masterclass Models)

Not necessarily. If as most etches are designed they use axle bearings and these bearings have the bosses on the inside of the frames, you will actually end up with frames too far apart. Bob's design is different as he expects the jig to be used on holes in extensions to the frames, which do not have axle bearings in them, and so the boxes are 7mm wide. to match the wider PCB spacer strip also sold in the shop. A lot of modellers end up making new custom central spacers to suit whatever design combinaton is their choice. Chris

IIRC; they were not allocated to the Southern either initially. Which is why there were no green ones, they only were allocated to SR after the adoption orf rail blue. Chris

Must be an optical illusion. Unless Bachmann have also got the wheels well undersize :-) The underframe on the Lima is really not good at all, and those that own one will know. However, the body of the Lima model really was rather well done, apart from the glazing. Chris

Silly me, it is flickr I have them on: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrishiggs/sets/72157603373896122/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrishiggs/sets/72157603397695116/ Chris

I have a lot of photos (prototype and model) taken when I did my Masterclass Models kit, including the underframe. They were all on fotopic. Not sure where I could repost them though. Chris Higgs

It is my post and only covers dismantling. Ian Morgan has kindly drawn me some 3D CAD for gears on muffs (as he did for the Terrier) and I shall be getting these printed at Shapeways to see if they work. And I have an idea for replacement bearings. Chris

It is my post and only covers dismantling. Ian Morgan has kindly drawn me some 3D CAD for gears on muffs (as he did for the Terrier) and I shall be getting these printed at Shapeways to see if they work. And I have an idea for replacement bearings. Chris

The motor has a maximum height of 6mm. SO a 6mm diamter coreless will go in, or something 6mm high and can be a bit wider to fit inside the tanks Chris

I didn't relally have a specific plan. But I believe I made provision for something the same size as the Dapol motor in the Terrier, so that or something smaller. The frames could also be used to convert the Dapol chassis in the manner described in the 2mm Magazine. I did actually get the M7 and Terrier etches done, and onto a test sheet, so it might just be ready sometime after Christmas. Chris

You are of course allowed to put as many spacers as you wish onto the Association chassis and in whatever positions you choose. Or indeed build it with the Raithby/Hunt style metal spacers (I believe Nigel sells a small etch of these for general use). As Bob Jones comments in his kit instructions, you are the CME. Removing the gearbox altogether requires a bit more surgery, but in the end boils down to one cut. The new kits I am working on (Black 5, M7 and Terrier) come without gearbox, although I must admit that is mostly down to the fact for various reasons it cannot be used in any of them. Chris

G1, G2, G14, G18, G20 and BR 2-241 can all be built from the kit.

Yes, I managed to sort out the brakes after some thought. Like the other grain underframe, due to Dapol making the bottom of the hopper far too wide, you have to choose between two compromises to fit the underframe - choose one with the solebars too wide and using 14.8mm axles, or somehow hacking the body so it will fit between correctly spaced solebars. Chris

1/271. I think I may have a 1/275 version somewhere (so long since I did it that I am not too sure) but it has not been test etched as 1/275 is relatively rare, and as I recall the Dapol body was not 100% right for it. However if you want 10 I can put them on somwhere. EDIT: I remember the problem now. 1/275 has 8 shoe clasp brakes and there is basically no room with the 'normal' way of doing brakes on etched chassis, what with the hopper protruding through the underframe. I will need to to think again how it can be done. Chris

But that would only work if you are using one of the mentioned motors. The Class 08 kit had such an arrangement (because only the Maxon motors would really fit and not melt the body), but it did not work out too well as the relatively large hole required for the bush made it weak and too flexible. Chris

LNER Long CCT (Chivers body) LNER Horsebox (Chivers body) SR CCT/PMV (Dapol or Chivers body) GWR Fruit D (Dapol body) BR Grain Hopper (Dapol body) GWR Loriot D/E Lowmac (BR 2/241) Plus a bunch of new pre-group etched bufferstops - LYR, SECR, LSWR, NBR, GNR, GER (2 types) I designed a BR 2-240 Lowmac as well, but it proved too long and flimsy to build in 2mm. It needs a major rethink, or perhaps just blowing up to 4mm scale, where it should be fine :-) Chris

A bit of spare time on my holiday has finally allowed me to get the etch for the Farish J39 chassis ready to send to the etchers for test, along with a few tweaks to that for the Black 5 and a bunch of NPCS underframes which have been almost ready for over a year now. So hopefully these will be available soon. The M7 and Terrier are also almost done now, just need a bunch of another stuff to fill up another test sheet. After some comments on here about etched loco chassis being easy to distort by twisting - with which I agree as I have a Fencehouses J72 chassis in the same state - I realised it should be easy enough to make the frames up from two layers of etch as a sandwich to make them more robust. Using the narrower type of Association PCB spacer (6.4mm as opposed to 7mm) works nicely in combination. The J39 and Black 5 will now have this design, and I am testing out some extra parts for the already existing chassis. Chris

Even so, I cannot imagine that the motor placement in a relatively large GWR Pannier would suit a MR prototype with conventional side tanks. Chris

Don't let us stand in your way in producing one. I seem to remember that Nigel Hunt has a finished 1F. Chris

I had another batch of these etches done, I might even have some left (somewhere). Chris

I suspect Dapol feel there are significant moulding and glazing issues with the very narrow section between window top and roof, and we may never see these. Chris