ROSSPOP

Needed to give some thought as to how much cab detailing is to be fixed into place before the painting stage, as there will be difficulty in painting individual details once the cab sides and back are assembled. The cab floor will need to be glued in place before painting as it is impossible to drop it in past the narrower cab sides. The kit provides some very thin ply which I was concerned would warp during the scrubbing and cleaning preparation. So I first made a plasticard test piece. I preferred the look of ply so have decided to give it a coat of gloss varnish both sides to minimise any problems, although I wetted a test piece and no problems were encountered. I spent this afternoon assembling the cab sides and end, which I fitted guard irons to the windows. Basically , everything either side of the backplate is now fixed in place, the backplate is removeable to aid painting it.

The cab fittings are all lost wax but of varying quality. Some I have put to use...... These I have replaced from the HobbyDevelopment range. The instructions for the kit have a hand drawing of a 1P cab details arrangement. I based mine on photographs. What I am after is a `busy` looking cab as the cab sides are quite open and the view of the controls is fairly prominent. More still to be done..........

No longer available so lucky to have snapped this one up on Ebay. This project is to be a gradual enterprise as it was really an impulse purchase during 2014 when I had committed myself to building a GWR modular diorama/layout. The layout is going well but by the end of the year I needed a break from it as I have always been a solo railway modeller. This kit was calling out to me....... so I began construction January last year. Dave Andrews has withdrawn this kit for the time being as there are some niggling problems that some might find annoying. This is the most complex kit and largest loco I have started in 7mm . If you have read my other blogs you know I prefer a sprung loco chassis and I am prone to replace most visually obvious parts from HobbyDevelopments, PR Components and Laurie Griffin in order that all my loco stock are of the same standard. I`ve never made a `state of the art kit` so I`m not sure what that really means but the etches in this kit for both loco and tender are well produced. Dave advises in the instructions not to use the correct size wheels for his kit because of the tight clearances between the front drivers, but having asked about others experiences on the O Gauge Guild Forum many have used the correct size wheels with no problems. I find a cuppa and a chocolate macaroon highly advantageous at the very beginning....... As ever I start with the coupling rods...... There is absolutely nothing wrong with the etched loco springs but I need to fit cast white metal versions to match my other stock. Because of the issue with the front drivers already mentioned, I needed to markout as accurately as I can the frame cutouts for the roller bearings, any error here or wandering away from the kit designers intentions will be diasterous when it comes to fitting the crossheads and front wheel brakes. Not a lot of space !!! It`s always a tentative time marking up and cutting out the frames for hornblocks. It is the most significant action in determining whether you will get a trouble free chassis and perhaps the whole point of a loco`s construction..... a faultlessly running model. I usually power off the centre axle but this kit has quite a bit of detailing between the frames, so I will be using the rear axle . I have invested in a quality ABC Maxon motor and 38.1 gearbox. She will eventually be DCC sound. Everything goes together well. and using an axle jig ensures accuracy. I have replaced the inside motion bracket gubbins with HobbyDevelopment products. As expected not a lot of room between the drivers. All is well in the chassis dept.... No problems with the front bogie framework. A very workable and sure footed design. On to the cylinder blocks and crossheads. This assembly is very much part of the `face` of a GWR castle. There are enough parts to consider making a moving relief valve which connects through the front framework via a swivel linkage. Unfortunately we come across the kits first niggling problem as the etched holes in the fold up cylinder blocks are misaligned. Easily sorted once you find out how it should look. Some very nice lost wax parts to make the slide bars , but does require fettling and drilling. The relief valve rod is too short to make into a moving part so I needed to fabricate a longer length during my attempt at using the ` Guy Williams flicking link movement`. Some of the cylinder blocks detailing parts are also white metal so you need to prioritise the order of solder assembly to avoid melting them. Sorted !!! There are no problems with construction of the footplate. Annealing helps with forming the curved parts. The splashers need filing to get a finer top edge which will be left shining brass in the finished form. The firebox shaping is helped by the parts supplied and by annealing. The smokebox needs soldering with care as the front is a white metal. The boiler is soldered up in the usual fashion. All three boiler sections are bolted together. It will take time to file and fettle around the base of the firebox to get a level fit between the rear splashers. Care must be taken to get it all level with the smokebox and its whitemetal saddle at the front. Once this is achieved the boiler bands can be tinned and soldered in place. The second niggle is that nearly all the pre etched washout plug holes in the sides of the firebox are in the wrong place, mostly too low and this takes time to make good. An error of my own making is that I chose the wrong shape on the front edge of the extended frames and had to rebuild it into a curved front. The front bogie has its own central spring and so I had to balance the weight using lead sheet. these will not be finally used until completion of the build. Roof and cab is well detailed and care needs to be taken in bending the roof to the correct profile. At this point in the build I took a break........ Building recommenced this January commencing with adding some footplate details. Then a brief push by hand trial through my B6 turnouts. Encouraged by this I have pushed on with finishing the chassis detailing with fitting the braking system, and fitting the plunger pickups. She currently sits in my cabinet calling me to do further work........

A most awkward and troublesome kit. I can understand now why I spent those years in the early 1980`s trying to make all those 4mm etched Jidenco loco kits, it was to prepare the way for making this model in 7mm............. I had previously seen a few made by others and felt there was some potential for the kit and I had always fancied a 1930`s GWR diesel railcar also known as a `flying banana`. I knew it was likely to be a challenge and I had never worked with resin in a kit before, particularly resin and brass etch and the joining of the two together !!!! At least it is a complete kit with wheels, motor and seating....... Well, It certainly was`nt going to require sprung axles so a start with making a working powered bogie was the first step. The first surprise was that the etched holes were far too big for the bearings supplied. Luckily some left over bearings from the previous JM loco kit were a better fit. The motor suppled needs a worm gear attached to both shaft ends to power both axles, not an over easy task to get set up without motor and gear `growl` The bogies comprise of an inner frame to which the outer framing forms the dummy side frames. At this early stage I was aware that the one side insulated axles would give me a `` live`` frame which is a potential area of concern with DCC, but not impossible. By carefull adjustment and gentle running in I ended up with a fairly quiet powered bogie as per the instructions. The outer framework needed tidying up with files and extra rivet details were added using pictorial reference. The white metal castings were of reasonable quality and were superglued in place. The brackets are to be a nut and bolt attachment to the main chassis frame. Pickups are phospher bronze strip with a round brass contact point soldered on. The chassis as designed proved to be too weak and prone to bending. Because the body work is 75% resin along its entire length, the chassis needed strengthening. Also, the ride height of the bogies was far too high and the chassis needed lowering over the bogie centres by at least 5mm. As already mentioned the body is made up of resin ends and roof with etched brass sides and internal dividers. The ends are reasonably square and robust. But...... the roof sections have warped badly ( 1985 KIT) . I used several immersions in very very hot water and some judiscious tweeking to straighten them out. A dry run indicated potential weaknesses in the construction. And so I used brass rod spigots as a strengthening method. The etched sides were rolled to the same profile as the resin ends and attached to the resin roof and ends with superglue. However, the resin roof sections over the next week gradually returned to their bowed shape and began to detach from the etched sides. There is not much of a surface area between the brass sides and the edge of the resin roof sections to make an effective bonding surface. So my solution was to drill holes in the top edge of the brass sides and push through some interference fit brass rods, which would be soldered to the brass sides and fixed by Araldite to the inside of the resin roof sections. With the sides now securely fixed I could think about fitting the central and end doors which are recessed into the sides. Here , the kit is a shambles, with poor draughtmanship and etching. The kit suggests keeping the sides fairly flat when in reality they are curved at the lower edges , as are the doors. This all required a lot of filling and shaping with Green Stuff filler. The roof joins also needed filling and carefull sanding to maintain the correct profile. I used thin guaged wire to tidy up the roof above the central sliding doors. I also went to a lot of effort to solder on a moulding strip along the top, middle and bottom of the sides to improve the look of the model and match the moulding on the resin ends. There is a great deal of work to be done in tidying up the sides and roof. Once this was done I moved on to detailing the roof. The kit provides white metal roof vents and these need to be seated on square bases which I fabricated from plasticard. I also spent time in fitting the ATW cable,added in the 1930`s, and conduit to add some much needed roof detail. She was now beginning to look like a reasonable model. Some final detailing added...... guard irons to bogies which I fabricated from some angle strip. I tried to track down some decent brass horns but in the end had to tidy up what was supplied in the kit. The seats over the diesel engines are higher, so all this I fabricated from plasticard to keep the weight down as I felt by this time she was getting very heavy for a single motored model. I have organised the model to have a removable chassis with seating attached. After a thorough clean up, I proceeded to the painting stage. My usual preference is to prime with Phoenix/Precision two part primer. For this project however, I needed a primer that was a little thicker and for this I always use Teroson available from C&L. Expensive perhaps but always reliable. I also use Tamiya masking tape products, particularly their tapes with attached plastic sheeting. This project would need a lot of masking !!!! Here she is basking in the sunshine outside my `erecting shed` in her first coat of GWR cream. I have learnt the hard way , that you need to leave each finished coat of paint at least a five day week before re-masking for the next. You also need to use quality masking products. For this project I needed to mask for the GWR Cream, Chocolate, White and Black, so that took one month in summer !!! In the 1930`s some of these Railcars had either a two shades of white roof, or as in this model a central black painted section. Then it was out with the lining pen and transfers.......... Don`t you just hate being watched while you work? Well having purchased HMRS GWR coach pressfix decals I was annoyed that there are not enough to complete two sides of a railcar !!!!! I used plasticard strip to fabricate the wooden slatted blinds that you can just make out in photos. I also used plasticard for the white sun shades on the driving end windows. I prefer to use Yorkmodels Acrylic Clear glazing sheets..... expensive but very easy to scribe, snap and shape. Affixed to the model with Glu`n Glaze. A final coat of satin varnish and more plasticard fabrication for the roller blinds fitted to the windows in the 1930`s. I have now fitted her with DCC Sound.

At the time I started this kit, no one else made a 93XX Mogul. From what I had researched other modellers had made quite a decent example of the type. I was aware that the etches were well researched and produced but lacked a lot of rivet detailing. With the exception of the chimney and sefety valve, I replaced all the white metal detailing parts with those produced by HobbyDevelopments, including the tender springs and axle boxes. As is my preferred modus operandi , I started with coupling rods and roller bearing hornblocks to produce a sprung chassis. With this kit the cylindr blocks and crossheads were very well produced and needed no replacements. After soldering on the hornblocks I added cast white metal loco springs from HobbyDevelopments. Power was to be from a Mashima 1833 and fold-up 40-1 gearbox. The frames provided made a very substantial chassis assembly. The front bogie was a very nice fold-up etch. The etches are quite a thick gauge so some parts benefit from annealing to make bending easier. I slowly built things up from the footplate and added extra rivet detailing by referring to photographs. The firebox is mostly devoid of detailing and so this was fabricated by me and from parts from Peter Roles Components. Interestingly the smokebox saddle was detailed with 14BA screws and nuts supplied in the kit. Fettling was required to get the boiler unit seated correctly. From here on in it was down to slowly building up the extra detailing . The cab backplate was superdetailed with scale fittings I did`nt document the tender construction. The rivets were pre etched on the rear of the sides to help with the rivetting. I sprung the centre axle. Spray painted using Phoenix etch primer and GWR colours with a satin varnish. Plates by SevernMill. I have also fitted DCC sound.

I always wanted a Dukedog when working in 4mm, so this was a kit I could`nt resist. I`ve based her on 3216 in 1945 condition as the kit had a plain tender and matched the picture I had found. I purchased replacements for the dome and safety valve and leading driver chassis spring detail , together with all the cab detailing parts from HobbyDevelopments. I hate etched lamp irons so replacements were obtained from Laurie Griffin Miniatures. I chose a Slaters enclosed gearbox and Mashima1833 motor. As always, I started proceedings with making the coupling rods. Then assembling and preparing the frame etches to take roller bearing hornblocks. This time I used the delux version. Assembling the chassis using axle jig was straight forward For the front bogie I used Slaters hornblocks as these could be shaped to match the inner bogie side frames and allow some ride height adjustment when set up in the main chassis. I opted for springy wire rather than the springs as these were too fierce for the bogie application. I ended up with a nice fully sprung chassis and proceeded with adding wheels and motor plus breakgear to make sure all fitted well with no potential for shorting out as she eventually will have DCC sound. Also, I needed the motor in place in order to shape and fettle the firebox around the motor at a later stage. Next up, was the footplate and cab. The kit instructions a pretty straight forward here. The firebox is an easy build bt you do need to add extra metal fillet at the front in order to safetly shape the top edge. Then on to fitting everything around that motor, in my case , making allowances for having a sprung chassis. Then it is on to shaping and soldering up the smokebox and fitting the brass tube boiler in between. I also had to fit and modify the whitemetal cosmetic `bearings`.There was a gap to be filled with scrap brass where the rear splashers enter the front of cab. Care is needed to make sure of squareness in all planes before final solder. There is a lot of detailing work around the front boiler and bogie From here on in it is pure detailing...... starting with marking out and soldering the boiler bands which are supplied within the kit. I`ve previously mentioned replacing the dome and safety valve for better examples, but that is a personal choice. I also replaced the buffers with more accurate versions from HobbyDevelopments. I think this where better quality lamp irons come into their own. The tender construction has only one potential challenge and that is soldering the half round rod to form the tender beading. The parts make into a very neat chassis. I opted for fabricating a sprung centre axle only. The rest of the tender build is very easy and enjoyable and overall makes into a very stable model. Etch primer finish from Phoenix/Precision and a final coat of their satin varnish. I have already mentioned replacing all the cab detailing parts with those from the HobbyDevelopment range and I think this is important with an open cab loco. I have now fitted her with DCC Sound.

The very first 7mm etched brass effort. Snapped up on Ebay complete with Slaters wheels. Certainly for locomotives , I am a follower of the principles of sprung hornblocks as a means of maintaining good electrical contact with the track, smoother movement through pointwork and track joints between baseboards and more importantly for me at least, springing enhances the `weight and shear presence` of a loco on the track by drastically reducing the wobbles of a fixed chassis. I have been convinced in 4mm modelling and so this was to be an essential element in my 7mm constructions. I have always been used to the Kean Maygib plastic hornblocks in 4mm, but could`nt get as much precision with regard to movement with the brass bearings in the 7mm version made by Slaters. I eventually came across these roller bearing hornblocks by HobbyHolidays that enabled me to continue with using a MetalSmiths axle jig to accurately set up coupling rods to hornblocks. Such a simple way to quickly assemble a trouble free working chassis mechanism and ridding the loco building universe from timewasting trying to find that elusive `binding` nightmare of a wonky chassis. The Scorpio kit was designed as a `beam compensated` chassis, but I`ve never been totally successfull at building one. Obviously, consideration has to be given to cutting out the hornblock positions. I usually base this around where the kit has got its bearing holes positioned in order to maintain the correct axle height, particularly in rgard to connecting rods and GWR crossheads. The chassis frames provided are accurate and have plenty of rivet detail to be added. Assembling the cylinder blocks and crossheads was hampered by the way the kit was organised. The crosshead castings are lost wax and poorly cast. They needed a lot of fettling and still looked wrong. The cylinder wrappers need annealing to make forming to shape more maneagable. The vacuum pump is a solid whitemetal casting but I fabricated a replacement from brass tubing to make it a working pump even though it is tucked up under the loco valence. You can see the wonky crosshead castings more clearly on this pic. I later disguised things by adding further detailing from the excellent parts from Peter Roles Components. To keep costs down I opted for a Mashima 1833 motor and fold up gearbox. If set up properly it will produce good performance, particularly with DCC control. Clearance is tight between the crossheads and leading crankpin. I shortened the Slaters bearing and made the coupling rod bearing hole a little thinner. The basic chassis completed and performing very well. I invested in a MetalSmith rivetter as there are many pre-etched rivets to form in the superstructure. No problems with assembling the footplate and valence. Care to be taken in making sure chassis and footplate are square before soldering the captive nuts in place. The more decerning modeller will not be happy with the cylinder block profile as the angle of the block is too severe. A fairly easy assembly of the superstructure, there was a poor fit between the saddle and smokebox that needed extra time and thought to solve. The rear corners and rear top section are lost wax castings of average quality, but a good fit. I always find lost wax more difficult to fettle if not right. The firebox is at least two millimetres too long and so the cab front plate sits too far into the cab. I did`nt know this at the time, but I had decided on `no heroics` and made the kit as it came. The roof is designed to be removable to be able to detail the cab and is a fiddle to get to sit correctly. Detailing parts are a mixture of lost wax and white metal and all need tidying, however, the kit is well provided for. The chimney is probably too small and the safety valve cover leans forward. Overall, it eventually makes up into an attractive model if you persevere. I use Phoenix/Precision two part etch primer to ensure that detailing is not buried under too thick a layer of primer. Precision paint was from a fifty mil tin I purchased in the 1970`s !! Cab details are provided for in the kit (not the figures). Finished with Phoenix/Precision satin varnish. This what I think differentiates between some RTR and Kits........ you don`t get those nice wafer thin metal edges in plastic models........ I have fitted her with DCC sound.......

Before final fixing in place of the boiler there have been some extra work needed. This has comprised making a frame for push-pull fittings obtained from Laurie Griffin, replacing the Johnson whistle with a better example, and fettling a better sanding gear......... The kit provides very basic sanding gear parts.......... So I fettled my own version based on photo evidence........ The push- pull frame I made from some spare brass sheet........... And finally the whistle, which I replaced and modified to fit. The boiler is now fixed in place.......

I`m impressed with the fit accuracy of the parts, but there is not much lee way when it comes to tidying up the edges of individual parts. I`m finding that with the slightest of tidying up you can easily make some parts a tad too small. I ended up with todays work preferring to make my own frame extensions to give more generous proportions and to add some rivets that are not catered for in the kit.............. As you can see, I should`nt have bothered to tidy the sides of the cylinder cover, cos now I`ve got to fill the gaps !!! I hav`nt bothered with replacing the smoke box door either, I spent an enjoyable hour with files and wire wool cleaning her up.... filed of the awfull central loco number plate. Anyhow I`m much happier with her smokebox `face` now Before I finished for my tea and currant bun , I removed all excess metal behind the wheel splashers to prevent electrical shorting later on.....

I hav`nt been entirely satisfied with the look of the smokebox, so have spent today fabricating a new front plate. It`s not quite thick enough but that was all the scrap box had....... I think it gives a better profile....... Overall the boiler seems a very accurate fit and will provide plenty of weight over the drivers The kit provides either plastic strip or etched brass boiler bands which fit the milled slots, my vote will be the plastic strip as the boiler is 5mm thick !!! There is extra work to do around the base of the smokebox with regard to some rivetting not catered for in the kit for my particular choice of loco. Also, the white metal Deeley smoke box door provided is very poor, which is surprising as the kit has mostly top class lost wax detailing parts.

I sat and counted today, that I have made twenty four 4mm loco kits and including this project eight 7mm loco kits over a 40 year modelling journey. Only a Gibson 4mm loco kit that I never made was supplied with a turned brass boiler until this Slaters kit......... what a heavy beast !!!! The instructions suggested using Araldite to make up the smoke box around this beast of a piece of brass, but I set out to use solder. I marked out some reference points on the smoke box front and boiler top, then riveted the smokebox wrapper. This needed plenty of heat, so out with the flame thrower. I used solder paste, but it was`nt man enough in the solder or flux content to make a bond. So.................... Plan B was to use a seperate flux and my favourite low melt solder........... This has worked very well...... To make things easier I annealed the smokebox wrapper which made a much better fit around the boiler... I was then able to proceed and finish the soldering with an 80watt iron.

Everything is progressing gradually......... Slaters use a thicker gauge metal for most of the superstructure, so it has needed an 80wattt iron for plenty of heat. Most of the bending area has been etched thinner, but not all. Having said that it is a well thought out kit and its a great help having all the beading pre etched. The slot and tab accuracy is really good and it has all fitted together well...........

Hi Focalplane Yes I have considered Poppy`s builder box and have followed it on Tony Wrights blog, but I`m a modeller of habit and once I find a reliable method that suits me I tend to stick to that. It looks very usefull though...... In both 4mm and now 7mm I use Metalsmiths axle jig and Hobby holidays sprung hornblocks and Slaters plastic version ,although these have been upgraded but in my view are now useless to me... I like David Andrews kits I`m halfway into his GWR Castle kit but he does`nt seem to produce any small LMS locos so I`m loooking at a Gladiator LMS 2P (Lemon) 4-4-0 tank or maybe another Slaters 0-6-0 half cab...... I`l add some more pics........

As you all know, in my other blog, I found a previously unfinished 4mm version of a Johnson 1P in the attic stored away and decided to finish it...... Now that I`ve moved into 7mm modelling, but entirely GWR, I had been bitten with an LMS bug and decided to investigate the Slaters 7mm version. There were no real negative comments about such a kit that I could find, and so, I sold some stock to fund the purchase. The Slaters 7mm Johnson 1P kit dates from the mid 1980`s. so it is`nt a, so called, state of the art kit. Having said that, it is supplied as a `complete kit` so no extras are needed. It`s not supplied with a Belpair boilered option , but I`m happy to build her as an LMS 1930`s push-pull version in beautiful all black with intermediate passenger livery and a few polished brass bits!!!! She will be No 1260 based at Bedford , my home town. Way back in the early 1980`s I discovered for myself at least that sprung hornblocks provided a most reliable way of improving loco performance whereby all wheels are on the track despite any track irregularities. I think it also maximises electrical pickup provided the right type of pickups are fitted. I have carried this preference forward into 7mm construction. I also like the idea of using the loco coupling rods as a jig for establishing accurate axle and hornblock alignment at all times which in turn eliminates all those hours wasted trying to find out why a chassis binds or works in one direction better than the other.....for me at least it means I can get it right everytime..... With this slaters kit,however, I was unable to follow this tried and tested method in full. The kit makes up into a fully sprung system, but the hornblocks are etched foldup tabs as part of the chassis etchings and do not have any form of screw adjustment to ride height either....... so new territory for me ...... I decided to begin with making the rear bogie as a way of assessing the kits accuracy and also discover any failings on my part in making up the Slaters hornblocks The bogie hornblocks differ from the main chassis as the hornblocks are assembled by soldering on the axle box guides as seperate units However, if you take your time at each stage and read the instructions making sure everything moves freely with NO SLOP, you will find few problems that can`t be solved with a minimum of fettling. I think it makes up into a very clever designed sprung bogie mechanism. with both axles at 90degrees to the chassis with no lateral axle movement. A very free running set up. I opted for black foam between the two brass washers instead of the plasticard provided as an extra level of adjustment. The only problem encountered was a wrong drill size written in the instructions. So... on to the main chassis fret.............. As already mentioned, the hornguides are attached to the chassis etch and the instructions suggested folding and soldering these first before bending the main chassis into its U shape. I did`nt feel this suited me at all and chose another way.......... I opted to fold the chassis sides first and then fold up the hornblocks as there is plenty of room between the frames to solder easily. I had also at this stage made up the coupling rods to check on the accuracy by lining them up with the fixed spring stop etch...... all looked to be accurate..... After reaming the axle boxes and preparing the main drivers I assembled the coupling rods and was amazed and pleased that the chassis ran absolutely faultlessly with no fettling of the rods required. No slop at all and a very free running design. Still plenty of detail to be added later on but now I have a solid chassis to work with I will now proceed with the loco body and make sure every thing lines up....... These are my preferred sprung hornblocks, although the plastic Slaters have been upgraded and are not adjustable... I prefer to make coupling rods first and then after cutting out the frames use them with a Metalsmiths axle jig to solder everything in place........

Don`t know if this helps but this one I made from an airfix kit with upgraded chassis parts...........

https://www.flickr.com/photos/139721082@N05/24479458974/in/dateposted-public/

Sorry CK ....no longer have the Bachmann 7F, but I can confirm that the Gibson replacement rods are/were 24mm x 22 x 24mm and they could`nt be fitted. My impression at the time was that perhaps the overall length of wheel base had been shortened by a couple of mm to get her round tight curves. Certainly Gibson vs Bachmann are not the same wheelbase (my vote goes to Gibson) and that is the first time I failed to fit Gibson connecting rods to a Bachy RTR. Now the Hornby 8F was a perfect fit !!! as was the Hornby Black 5 and Baachmann class 5, Bachmann class 4 tank. Now interestingly zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Bachmann BR Mogul my second favourite RTR model took the Gibson rods but there is so much slop in the axle housings that will probably take a 1/8th axle !!! my only failure. Although I`ll snap up a Kemilway Mogul chassis if one comes up

Yes CK that Kemilway etched chassis is a joy to build....I missed bidding for another on ebay last year, I`m pretty sure there is a whole Kemilway kit on ebay as we speak, but as I`ve said previously I try to use the RTR chassis if its got potential. Yes Focalplane, having been swept away,as it were, with all the quality RTR that tempted me I`d forgotten all about the achievement and all the skills I`d gained in making all those good and bad loco kits. This thread is`nt just about P4 is more about me realising that a model does`nt just make the grade because its off the shelf and stuffed with every detail, be it in brass or plastic/mazak and niether does it mean that you need to dismiss that kit built experience because it has`nt got every rivet in place. I mean, this Bachmann 7F is a cracker, particularly the cab detail and if I modelled in 00 guage `I`d be perfectly happy. But I dont and my attempts to re-gauge to P4 was OK up, literaly, to a point whereby she would de-rail in the goods yard. And the wheel base is a compromise for the toy part of the RTR market and far from accurate, hence I could`nt replace the coupling rods with a Gibson example. But locked away in a far flung corner of my modeling universe I had a kit built (Gibson) 7F Not as much rivet detail and the cab needs a revamp , but she`s a sheet metal model of a sheet metal prototype and the wheelbase is spot on. Sprung suspension so no de-railment.s. I think this was the moment I decided to re-evaluate all my kit built locos

Yep train fan............... your right....I think in another 15 to 20 years, particularly in 4mm there will be less kit builders and less kits(decent). Mind you I still think a half decent kit build is still a much better runner than RTR and better looking /realistic below footplate...... I`ll never need to kit build a BR Standard class because of the high standard of what is currently on offer RTR , but I do wonder if we have had the very best now as we Brits seem to baulk at paying mega bucks for quality detailed stuff . Anyhow as long as Comet models, Brassmasters, Alan Gibson, Finecast, London Road Models, C&L keep going until I breath no more.......I`ll be alright Jack !!!!!

I suspect , like a lot of railway modellers, I could`nt see the point in struggling to build a locomotive kit to the same standard of finish as Bachmann and Hornby have been producing since my first purchase of a 4mm Bachmann Jinty, in the new highly detailed standards, back in 2005. For a long while I drifted away from loco kit building in 4mm, not that I ever made larger locos of 4-6-0 or 4-6-2 types, I did`nt need them for my end to end set-ups. It did`nt matter that nearly all of the RTR locos purchased with outside valve gear had dog leg coupling rods and trembling piston rods and linkages when powered up on the test track. Binding and poor running did`nt matter either as I needed to change the wheels to 18.83 guage in any case which immediately improved their performance. Having had a preference for P4 modeling since the early 1980`s there was an added bonus in that the RTR locos I was interested in had one fully sprung driver axle ,so providing a small amount of compensation and maintaining good electrical contact with the track. All such converted RTR stock has run faultlessly through my P4 pointwork. Sadly, my more recent RTR purchases have lacked the provision of a sprung driver and those with a long wheelbase have proved to be too unreliable when converted to scale profile rims ( Bachmann SDJR 7F). With the onset of retirement has come the opportunity to rationalise my 4mm loco collection and with it the realisation, to me anyway, that my kit built stock still hold their own with the quality RTR we have had available to us over the past 10years. There are a couple of provisos ,however, and that is the kit built locos superstructure should be in etched brass or nickel silver. RTR locos should have replacement coupling rods ( usually using the Alan Gibson etched replacements). Etched brass kits emulate more realistically the sheet metal fabrication of the protoype, particularly the edges of footplate and cab cutouts etc which photograph much better in closeup. Likewise, when looking at the motion parts of RTR locos the coupling rods are far too thin and unconvincing especially the crankpin boss profile. A lot of RTR locos in close up appear to have running plates a scale 1 inch thick or more and overall look `plasticky` Cast white metal loco kits , for me , do not produce a fine enough finish. So, for me, I have purchased my last RTR locomotive, sold my last whitemetal loco and constructed my last etched brass kit in 4mm scale at least. The last Whitemetal Kit..................... A Kemilway BR 3MT with portescap motor. Good for it`s time (1980`s) but a lot of errors in bodywork design. Has sprung compensation. A beautifully designed etched chassis kit . Constructed about 7 years ago and sold last year. Replaced by the far superior Bachmann Class 3........ Replacement Alan Gibson wheel set and coupling rod set which fit the models wheelbase precisely, enabling me to re-work the movement of the working parts. She does`nt have a sprung driver, so has no compensation at all. Yet being a short wheelbase is very surefooted through P4 pointwork. All my other non sprung RTR converted stock has been sold. To me she is the best RTR Bachmann production......perfection would be that missing sprung driver........... Here she is with the last etched kit.

Thanks for your kind comments John. I`m surprised she does`nt look right in EM....not even with Ultrascale wheels ??? I agree that making something yourself has more emotional value than some RTR I`ve owned. Now that RTR mechanisms are better quality I try to still use the same chassis, even if the brake blocks don`t line up with the wheels, whenever I can. I found that the Bachmann Jinty was fairly easy to take apart and to widen the chassis sides using plasticard and refit the brakes to line up with the wheels. Like you I also favour building Comet chassis kits for RTR bodies........ Still hav`nt managed to refit the glazing !!!! This is an old Airfix body on a comet chassis and comet tender...... These are part of my P4 collection I`m keeping for future projects...all put together over the past 15years or so. Regards john

It has taken me a while to get this model to work and look right. I hope this has been achieved. It was important to dig in the two gate mechanisms and then to lay the track. The servo`s worked well once I had callibrated them to be in crossing gate mode. However, I had not realised that first you needed to cancel out the bouncing signal mode and so although this short video looks reasonable, both gate hinge mechanisms broke when the servo flicked back into signal mode and slammed the gates agains the posts !!!!!! This mayhem did, however, lead me to completely redesign the hinges and make simple shock absorbing joints below baseboard. The blob of fluid is sweat from my brow !!!!!!! I guess one comment would be `dont use heavy white metal crossing gates in 7mm ` having said that, these Springside models crossing gates are an accurate GWR representation and it is a pity that a pedestrian side gate is not included. Studying the one picture of Sarsden Halt crossing that I have you can just make out those charactristic bars of `kissing gates` so I have had a go at representing these as accurately as I can. The white metal gate is from the Duncanmodels range. Obviously, everything awaits painting and ballasting in.....................

Sadly....... No gear changing though........

Many thanks Mike and `civicman..... ........even though I`m a GWR fan the coach is something different from the many GWR auto coaches..... I`m waiting for a `certain package` from Digitrains......to finally complete the Johnson 1P loco and to then make them a working pair...........

As I`m Bedford born and bred........ You might like this........