Chris Higgs

The intention was that these chassis would make it as easy as it can be made - although that still might not be easy enough for some! The J94, although obviously not state of the art as far as RTR bodies go, or even properly to scale, is a nice heavy thing which should help the running qualities. And fairly spacious inside for the motor, DCC chip and whatever. Not to mention fairly easy to pick up bodies only at good prices on ebay. Some of the other locos are much more difficult to get hold of. But if I was pushed to choose a body which will produce a good looking and running model without major mods I would probably go for the Jinty. The problem with leaving loco building to last, is that a layout without locos is, well just a diorama. Unless you are just going to run diesels. Chris

Will be there in a couple of minutes. But this is very much an advanced option. There is a bunch of body hacking to be done in this configuration, and to be frank, really needs a new etched (or scratchbuilt) footplate like Julia did to do it justice. Chris

I have put the draft instructions online at https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7V9MIj3SLTgYTZkZGM1NDEtZTQxNi00ZGM5LTg5ZDUtMGU\ 3NGY0NWI0MDM1 https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7V9MIj3SLTgNmZhNzNkZjItYmY0MC00YjI2LTk2ODYtZGZ\ hNTUzYTIzNTZh Chris

These have prices now on the 2mm Product website, and the etches arrived at Shop 3 today.

<quote> 0-6-0 tender (principally for Peco Collet goods, but probably also suitable for Dean goods) - etched chassis expected to be available early next year from 2mm Association </quote> Don't do that, I have a proper Dean Goods chassis etch. 2251 and Dean Goods are not that similar.

Just to let everyone know, a replacement chassis for these bodies will be included in the second wave of chassis to be made available through the Association. I picked up three of these bodes at an avaerage price of 3 quid on ebay, so it makes a nice cheap loco. Anyone got any comments on just how accurate it is to the dimensions of a J69? Chris

Actually, it wasn't the only advantage. I run some 4mm stock with Kadees, and having the knuckle coupler at a higher point makes them less obtrusive when running under corridor stock, epescially when bviewed from the side. Not to mention the fact that the higher setting is closer to where the real railways actually have them. Chris

The chassis is just the same as the others, but it includes etched sandboxes as the shape is amenable to an etched foldup box. There is a tender chassis, it's just the inside frames and brakegear ie. not the outside frames which you can use from the Raithby kit. No castings are included in any of the chassis. This is the chassis listed for the Farish 4F but the website is WRONG. Its not suitable for the Farish 4F at all Chris.

An etched GWR tender is already in the pipeline. Could be a long pipeline though Chris

They would probably say, wait and make sure it runs. The real thing probably also got adulation before it was delivered. Chris

Yes, although I haven't done the instructions, when they do a parts list will be included. And normally the instructions or at least the parts list will be online so you can get all at once. Often, and it will be the case here, there will be a recommended motor, but others may choose something different, inclduing from another source. And there will I know be at least some the chassis where a choice of wheel sizes can be made - either a set which are full scale size but perhaps quite tight inside the splashers, or use the next size down and have a bit more leeway. Chris

It probably creates a fair impression, given that Hattons it ain't. When you joined the Association you became part of a rather grand mutual help organisation. It's not, neither does it aspire to be a commercial operation. People are there trying to produce items for 2mm modelling, and loco wheels are one of the most complicated. We can physically only produce so many per year, and if one of the key men falls illin the chain (as happened quite recently) production falls to zero. If idiots like me start producing products that stimulate more demand, that only makes things worse :-) The fact that there is noone else out there producing things like loco wheels in either N or 2mm will tell you about the vaibility of them as a commercial product. The only solution to this, is to get more volunteers to produce items or do other jobs in the supply chain. And that means people like you. Because there is no them and s here. When you joined you became a part of the 2mm SA. In a legal sense as well as it happens. Chris

Yeh. move it somewhere else. But as to no right or wrong, be sure Hornby Dublo 3 Rail can never be counted as finescale. Chris

They are not close to 2mm scale. The etches are specifically designed to convert the proprietory bodies. That means they all have exact wheel spacings for 1:148 (except for the 4F which is a conversion chassis for the Raithby etched kit, so it is to 2FS). It also means they have strange cutouts where the boby mouldingd have bits sticking out. So they are not intene ded to be generic chassis for uses other that for which they are designed. I have has a couple of queries about doing 2mm equivalants, that might be possible given I have the artwork to rescale, but the cost of these would be higher than the conversion chassis. Chris

Here as promised are the other two chassis. The 14XX can either use the can motor shown, or an 8mm Faulhaber. Its going to need a pretty heavy boiler to counterbalance the motor at the back. The wheels are 10.5mm and do fit within the splashers, and I have to say are a bit of a contrast to what Dapol offered. I don't have any of the required 7.5mm trailing wheels to match. The 57XX is shown with 9mm drivers, and although 9.5mm would be correct I think some metal would have to be removed from the splasher insides. The less refined moulding of the Farish era body shows up here, as does the complete lack of daylight under the boiler. Rear axle drive with lots of metal removed as Julia did produces a much better result, but is too advanced for the entry level chassis that this is supposed to be. The chassis can take a 10mm Faulhaber/Maxon, but it has to sit further back than the can motor to clear the gear below and the inside of the body above. Chris

There isn't any, as the gearbox is all attached to one frame of the loco and so is live to that side of the loco. That's why you get the cantilever gearbox affair on 2mm locos. The gears themselves are on an insulating muff with stub axles either end, so there is no connection between the two frames. Chris

Yes it is. It's the only sensible option for the Class 03, the 08 will take the 10mm Faulhaber/Maxon, although I don't mess around with those when doing test builds. Chris

And here are some shots of the Class 08 chassis. This has a three stage reduction giving a total of 50:1, driving onto centre or rear axle (or both). It can also be built with a two stage reduction onto the rear axle of 39:1. I was hoping that the use of the etched outside frames (not shown) would be optional, but it turns out the Association extended axles do not extend far enough to cope with the massively overwidth Bachmann offerings. So the etched will have to be used, and the bonus is that will produce a much higher quality result. Chris (actually the etched outside frame can be seen lurking top centre in the background)

Here is the next chassis, for the Bachmann BR 03 and 04 shunters. Both this and the Class 08 are now ready for production. Chris

One thing you should not expect an RSU to do is to create those solder fillets used to reinforce the inside of joints. I have found them to be generally quite useless in that regard.

Almost no time at all. As soon as it fizzes I take the power off. But of course it depends on the volume of metal being soldered how long it takes. Like Andy, I also use the Carrs 179 paste - the idea of temperature-graded soldering is a bit of a joke with an RSU as it heats up so quick. If you can buy/borrow some of this, I think this may be the solution to your problems.

My RSU is from the now defunct Dean Sidings- I think the owner's brother made them in his garage. It just has a three position switch with no indication of the voltage/current. I tend to use the highest setting, except on small parts which will be simply vapourised on that setting! Avoid any temptation to apply more and more heat if it is not working. I find that one way or another that only leads to trouble. Have you tried normal soldering with your paste to prove it is OK? I have no experience of Eileens, the Carrs costs an arm and a leg but it is well worth the money, and lasts for years in 2mm modelling. Perhaps you should also start with some larger pieces of metal before working on smaller detailing parts. Loads of people tell me an RSU is only useful for small detailing work but it is not so. I use my RSU for all my etched kit assembly and getting admiring comments from people like Tim Schackleton about how neat the soldering is. Chris

Richard, I only ever use my RSU with the tin foil and hardboard method. Using a thick metal plate I generally find useless. I only use Carrs solder paste, which works fine for me with no flux (it has it in already). If you are burning the tin foil then you have it on too high a setting. Some solders, especially the cheaper ones, can be rendered useless by ioverheating them, which an RSU certainly has the capability to do. Other than that, I can only say that a lot of techniques you have learned with a nomrla iron have to unlearned with an RSU. I know with mine I have to work hot and fast to get good joints, and remember to stop your soldering by taking off the power, not by moving the iron away. Chris

I have indeed seen comments about some failing to maintain a consistent RPM at a fixed voltage. They are clearly cheap and cheerful. The 2mm SA has a new motor dimension 8x10x15 which sparkled in the tests we put it through before stocking it. At a tenner its a pretty good price and will go in a lot of smaller locos - being 8mm wide it will fit (just) between the wheels. Chris

You are not comparing a level playing field. The Fleischmann is a lot cheaper in Germany, where is comes from - they just rip you off in the UK with the prices for this stuff. My 146 bought in Dusseldorf was quite a bit less than my Dapol HST (bought in the UK), even using today's incredibly bad exchange rate with the pound so weak. At a more typical exchange rate from the past, I could have bought a couple of 146s for the price of the HST.