RexAshton

Having stripped down several white metal kits over the years I now have 100% success using a chef's blowlamp with the air hole closed to reduce the flame temperature. I would suggest removing the small components - steps etc with a temp controlled iron and then gently waft the larger parts with the blowlamp bringing the temperature up gently an evenly until the solder melts. Gently warming the model will mean that as soon as the heat is removed there will be no heat soak but the model will reduce to its component parts. Remember though that there will be a lot of cleaning up to do afterwards. When necessary I re-heat the castings until the solder melts then shake the part into an empty box. Centrifugal force removes most of the still liquid solder. It might sound like a disaster waiting to happen but a bit of practice on something that doesn't matter will provide the experience to tackle a loco.

Yes

These might help.

Spray cans are expensive and often put out too much paint especially car sprays. Better to buy an airbrush. It'll soon pay for itself and give a better finish as well.

The Duchesses appear to have them on the front frame extensions but I don't have any pictures of the original engines showing them. This might help though.

I'd agree with that with the possible suggestion of painting the bricks with enamels and then the mortar with thinned down acrylic or even artists watercolour (I've used both) so that a damp cloth can be used to remove the surplus.

These look way too fragile for anything other than a permanent home based layout. I remember some years ago being next to a layout using these at an exhibition. All weekend one of their team was behind the layout adjusting and resetting couplings. I agree they worked very well some of the time. Surely if you're fitting automatic couplings instead of using three link the most important consideration is not cost but reliability. Many yeasr ago I went over to DG couplings and have never regretted it.

0.7mm brass will look way too heavy - bear in mind that 1mm scales to 3 inches in 00 - Queen Mary anchor chain. Roxey Mouldings 4A111 look quite nice when they're done but you have to assemble them .and they're cheap at £2.50 for 4 pairs. I don't think you'll find a screw coupling with a steel botton link but Exactoscale do magnetic links for 3 link couplings 4CP 312A

Fair point about the Dean but you get what you pay for.

Having just read through the whole of this a few things spring to mind. The vast majority of contributors to this forum model in one of the commercial scale - yeah me too. 0, 00 and N are narrow gauge and in most cases run on track with the wrong rail section and sleeper spacing. H0 puts the gauge right(ish) but accepts the rest. In most cases the wheels are just plain wrong and loco frames and brake gear in the wrong place to match their prototype relation to the body above whether or not it's the right shade of green. when we've stopped complaining whether the colour's right or not we happily run the stuff through curves and points that are nowhere near scale radii into platforms that are generally way to short and/ or narrow - yeah I'm guilty of that too. There are modellers who try to get it right by going to 2mmFS, S4 or S7 but the compromises dictated by available space often apply to them as well and most modellers happily accept that they will have to use electric motors instead of hot fog - that'd me as well. At the end of the day most of us would I believe accept that we are big boys (and girls) playing with toy trains. They might be as close to scale as our respective skills allow but instead of debating 'double standards' maybe we should just accept the hobby for what it is - an enjoyable, constructive and highly satisfying pass time. If the colour of a rtr loco is wrong and it's a problem re-spray it - it's not hard and you can get most colours in rattle cans. Changing the lining isn't difficult either. It's called modelling and at least it creates variety. There are modelers spending countless hours getting every rivet on a pre-grouping scratch built model in the right place and there are modellers quite happy with, for example Hornby Dublo. Good luck to them all. The important thing is to enjoy what you've got. If you can or have the desire to improve on what's been offered go for it and enjoy what you're doing.

Use Evostick. If you pin it you run the risk of dog-legs particularly on sharper curves. I put two beads of glue directly below the rail line and lay the track immediately. This allows for enough jiggling time before the glue dries. It tends to make for a quieter track bed as well.

I think the Scalefour Society used to recommend ½ oz per axle for rolling stock.

It's worth remembering though that a Hornby Dublo 8f only actually has two axles in contact with the rails.

Have you thought of looking at the Scalescenes range for the retaining arches. They wouldn't take any longer than scratch building and look superb when complete - not that I'm doubting your ability to scratch build looking at the rest of the layout..

You could try sweating some brass tube into the w irons. File it flush on each side and drill to suit the bearings. Use brass washers to pack between the flange of the bearing and the inside face of the w iron to get the correct spacing. It's not an unusual problem and I've had to pack bearings on 4mm wagons before now - old Jidenco for example.

It's worth a look at these. They are good value and well made. You can have any gauge you want. No connection, just a satisfied customer.

On my current layout 'Newlands Farm' Gn15 I ended up buying 2mm brass rod and making my own 26mm pin point axles to replace the steel ones on Hornby spokes wheels. The wheels are not magnetic just the axles. It's a bit of a fiddle but do-able if you haven't got too much stock.

Hornby's wheels are generally very good but it's worth checking that the back to back measurement (between the inside faces of the wheels_ is correct. Check with a back to back gauge if you have one or if not compare them against wheels that you know are correct. If freely they're not spinning it points to them catcking somewhere. Adding extra weight will help running but only after you've resolved the other issues. Good luck.