Halvarras

6 hours ago, Darius43 said:

Just checked the other MTK 4-COR (actually a 4-BUF) kit that I have and the Buffet coach body is 3mm longer than the others in that one.

 

I have looked a bit more into the logistics of cutting and shutting the brass body of the Buffet/Griddle car and the resultant weakening of the body.  Getting two clean and parallel cuts and a decent strength connection of the subsequent “halves” is too great a risk to take.  
 

The coach will be longer than the others and only I and anyone else reading this thread will be the wiser…

 

Cheers

 

Darius

That's the conclusion I'd have come to - plastic, yes......fairly thick brass, no. 

Out of interest, does the kit come with 4 aluminium floor sections of equal length?! Not a problem when you're building your own underframes anyway (which you make look so easy, by the way!)

I've had one of mine apart, for the same reason, and IIRC there was little if any glue involve - the body is assembled by sliding the cab down onto the floor with the front panel engaging in a groove at the rear of the bonnet, and clips into place at the bottom. To remove the cab therefore these clips need to be released by easing the cab sides out with a small flat-bladed screwdriver - it may be necessary to insert something both sides simultaneously to get the cab to disengage.

One complication on reassembly is the need to get the two contacts for the cab lighting into the aperture at the top rear edge of the bonnet while sliding the cab down - I had to have a few attempts at that before I cracked it (um........not literally 🙂!)

On 18/12/2023 at 23:06, rodent279 said:

Is this one of Reddish's famed electric blue shunters?

 

 

Yes it is - a colour photo of it appeared in an issue of the short-lived 'Modern Railway Modelling' magazine (anyone remember that? I still have them all, in storage). Others were 3988, 4136 & 4144, all with the older block serif number style and IIRC all with cabside BR arrow logos. 4144 had reversed logos and still had them when renumbered 08914 in 1974.

1 hour ago, montyburns56 said:

08937 St James Park Exeter 1982 by australia3393

 

 

As D4167 this was the first BR blue Class 08 I ever saw, as Plymouth North Road station pilot in September 1968, and I recall being disappointed that it was already filthy!!

On 19/11/2023 at 20:25, Russ (mines a pint) said:

What about raising it to correct ride height then putting other stuff round it? either more scrap or weedy overgrowth, in a manner that would suggest the chassis is still there but you cant see it? 

 

Reminds me of that photo of a sorry-looking HS4000 'Kestrel' similarly dumped in vegetation somewhere in Russia.......☹️

On 11/04/2022 at 21:09, The Fatadder said:

 

 

Opportunities to see the real 50149 on clay hood wagons must have been very limited, and certainly not in a summer setting (9/87 - 1/88).......but at least it was possible, which is good enough for most of us - just keep the loco in ex-works condition for maximum authenticity! And there's always Rule 1 anyway......

Very nice layout, I recall seeing it in 'Rail Express' (I think) a few years back and at a show a while after. One of those which sticks in the memory......!

OK, but..........does the 117's power bogie pivot freely in the chassis? It won't take curves well - or at all - if it doesn't.

Is it just the pair of corridor connections you need? I have some spares if you draw a blank. Exhaust pipes too.

I had MU8 the bubble car & trailer kit in the late '70s, as a proposed follow-up to the Class 119 I did managed to build, but the arrival of the Lima Class 117 scuppered that as butchering those instead appealed more. However, much as I'd like to see yours completed, I feel the Bachmann and Dapol models have now taken the wind out of those sails. Maybe end of the queue then.

However I see that you have two '3T' DEMU kits, you can build half of the class with those! They're of interest to me due to the make-up - the four 2-car '2H' units 1119-22 were reformed as triples by incorporating former '2EPB' driving trailers from four of the six '3R' Reading - Redhill 'Tadpole' units, which I rode in frequently in the early-mid '70s, although these trailers were often locked out of use, the lack of a corridor connection to the other two 'narrow' vehicles being inconvenient for the guard (of course this meant only half of the train was available to carry passengers!) This gave the '3T's the curious feature of a centre car with a redundant driving cab end overpainted blue, and must have been an irresistible 'mix n match' opportunity for CM to add to his MU kit range with minimal effort.

It was the older (original) releases which didn't have sprung buffers. The buffer beams were retained by the elongated stems on the buffers themselves passing through the stocks and then through the holes in the casting where they were an interference fit. This was also how the snowploughs were fitted, the recesses to take these can be seen around the holes.

Assuming you have a set of sprung-type buffers, do these fit tightly into the holes in the casting, or are they a loose fit? And would you prefer to retain the sprung buffers?

B - the two-trunks and less-is-more arguments win it for me.

I have D5706 of the last release and it arrived in a Hattons box (from Kernow).

A very nice model but it caused me some grief because the Co end bogie pivot had too much slack, causing that end to ride a little low and the brake rigging on top of the bogie sideframes to catch on the pipework on the underside of the chassis. I managed to get a small 1mm-thick steel washer into position to cure it although it meant completely dismantling that end of the chassis, and IIRC when I removed the body the motor and drive shafts came away with it! Bit nerve-wracking on a brand new model but it was Kernow's last one in stock and purchased using my accumulated points so I decided to void the warranty and fix it myself. All's well that end's well, as they say!

12 hours ago, SRman said:

 

Many of these Heljan diesels have drooping coupling mounts, even though they appear to be set at only slightly above the correct height to start with (ignoring the droop). This means that even without the droop, they didn't need the stepped couplings. I always replace the couplings with Bachmann straight versions (Hornby would do as well, but I prefer the Bachmann ones). 
 

Agreed - replacing Heljan's stepped couplings with Bachmann straight ones is standard practice on my models - did a Hymek just a few days ago.

Actually I need some more short couplings, best get them in now while I can as when they sell out the wait for new stock can be a long one.......

Lest we forget, you only opened the box on Christmas Eve, less than a month ago!

You are (rapidly!) building up a collection of models of unusual multiple units, thanks to MTK and your obvious skill in assembling these kits.

You never fail to impress! Can't wait to see what's next.......🙂

9 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

DJM never did any work on the 74 and his 71 was amazingly low geared so would need a rework to make a saleable 74. 

I was also wondering whether a head start on a Class 74 could be achieved by employing the DJM Class 71 chassis (wherever it is) - however I was unaware of the cause of the poor performance, if it was the motor that could be replaced, but gearing issues would not be so easy to resolve without unwelcome additional investment. As it is, with virtually everything else having to be tooled from scratch, for a Class of ten locomotives in one livery which were in service during one of the least popular modelling eras (1967-77 - even if I like it cuz I was there), I can see Class 74 going one of two ways - not at all, or KR Models [backs quietly out of the room, closes the door and runs for it.......!]

8 hours ago, Graham_Muz said:

........ in due course. 

Graham, don't you mean.....

......although I suspect normal Cornish time has been temporarily suspended in a warehouse in Camborne 😀!

11 minutes ago, vikingsmb said:

regarding what you said about the warship motors being 26/33 etc, I had a look on ebay and the wheels look smaller or am I mistaken?, I found the extra pickups on the 47s etc lima fitted were a nuisance with running. so removed them

Like wot Andyman7 said (and I was just about to!) I've done a lot of Lima motor bogie swapping over the years (including into a pair of Hornby Hymeks which the 26/27/33/42/87 bogie wheelbase fits perfectly as Hornby helpfully shortened the Hymek's ringfield bogie wheelbase by a scale 6 inches.......which was better than the original model's 15-inch discrepancy I suppose!)

I also found Lima's later extra trailing bogie pick-ups a nuisance, the inelegant 'design' had all the appearance of a bodge to meet 'market expectations' and tended to make the centre axle track at a peculiar angle. 

The OP says it will be on the newstands from 22nd January, if this helps.  

I assume the modelling content will in effect be absorbed into BRM, as this is where it is sourced from anyway. As a long-time subscriber to Traction but a different modelling mag I'm going to see how this goes - I may be won over but my main interest is in the 1960s/70s and Traction's coverage of late has generally moved on to the 1980s onwards (as clearly illustrated by this front cover), but there is usually something of interest. If the combined magazine appeals and the subscription rate stacks up (and one sub should be cheaper than two) then yes - one reading source may prove convenient. Awaited with interest.......

Or........repaint it into blue/red livery and letter it "RDB999901 - RTC Derby Unspecified Coupling Research Vehicle - NO BRAKES" 🤪!

13 hours ago, vikingsmb said:

interesting, 

I've remotored all my westerns with the later motor, and find they run much better, i've also re-wired them as well which helps, but would like to get additional motors 

Yes, I added extra pick-ups to my four but chose the somewhat unconventional method (I suspect!) of turning the middle axle of each bogie around and adding a pick-up formed from a single piece of nickel silver wire bearing on the axle, so the loco picks up from both rails at both ends. Did the same with a pair of Class 47s. Only problem is remembering that isolating the loco via one bogie no longer works!

Does the power bogie pivot freely in the chassis? They can get a bit 'sticky' requiring a little attention with a file to restore free movement (not restricted to the Class 117 DMU, other Lima diesels can be so affected).

I always visited this shop when holidaying in Brixham, and usually came away with a purchase. Unfortunate but the reason is understandable, and increasingly common.

1 hour ago, Denbridge said:

Still listed on the website as being available to pre-order.

With a wait measured in an indeterminate number of years.......?

On 07/01/2024 at 21:47, Nearholmer said:

My betting is that if BR had continued to shunt things, rather than follow Dr Beeching’s wise advice not to, there would probably have been a BR Class NN, consisting of RR-Sentinels. Portuguese Railways bought a class of license-built ones:

 

 

 

In these days of 'what ifs', fictitious liveries and Kernow flogging the Hornby model at £55 I am already imagining one in BR green livery........oooh 'eck......help 😲!!

I think - but I may be wrong - that the furthest South West a Bristol Bath Road Class 14 ever travelled (i.e. not allocated) was Taunton (??)

2 hours ago, Robin Brasher said:

In the 1960s hardware shops or local village store often sold model railway items.

 

Quite so, in 1967 I pre-ordered my Tri-ang-Hornby Hymek in Langdon's Hardware Store, located a short distance behind Truro Cathedral. Still have it, but the store is long gone. On visits now I try to figure out where it was, as everything has changed so much. I can still recall the thin, smiling gent in his traditional brown dust jacket who used to serve me - the "59/3d" price hand-written on the model's brown outer sleeve must be his writing. So long ago.......

The Western is not so easy as it has an unusually short 3-axle bogie wheelbase. The only other model it may share a motor bogie with is the Irish '201' class produced by Lima for the Irish market, and there may be other continental models which used it. Perhaps somebody out there can confirm or deny this.

I think I'm right in believing that any Lima diesel which has raised centre bosses on the wheel faces has the later gearing. I have four Westerns but they are all first production run with earlier gearing and flat wheel faces. I've never owned a later version.

On 30/11/2023 at 14:44, No Decorum said:

It does look stumpy but I think that’s the nature of the beast.

Also I think it looks odd because seeing an "A4" with a whacking great driving wheel under the cab looks so........well, unnatural!