Pierview

Now painted and completed. Barry

In recent times on this forum there have been some superb examples of Z class builds from etched brass kits by DLT and others . By way of a comparison here is my attempt using the no longer available Millholme Z white metal kit. It is not in the same league as the excellent brass models but the kit is quite well designed and seems to me to capture the character of the prototype. Having followed DLT's etched kit construction I was on the point of ordering one for myself ,when, just after the first lock down, I saw an unmade Millholme kit on E Bay, and my bid for it was successful. I accepted that the kit was obviously inferior to the brass version but on the other hand it was £30 cheaper and this swayed the issue! The model is very much of it's time and it was quite nostalgic to re-acquaint myself with the construction techniques of the early 1980's. I didn't enjoy having to mark out and drill the heavy brass frames for brake shoes though and the cylinder castings were a nightmare. They also required drilling out for pistons and slidebars but had no accurate markings. I therefore had to resort to guesswork and bodging before I made the assemblies work. The cylinders also needed substantial packing away from the frames in order to provide adequate clearance. The frames were designed for the ubiquitous X04 motor and some heavy metal work was necessary to fill in the cut outs with triangular brass fillets soldered in place. The chassis was completed with a set of Markits drivers and a high Level gearbox fitted with a Mashima motor. The body was pretty straightforward and fortunately all parts save a couple of small bits were present. I added a small amount of extra and replacement detail and the paint shop now awaits. Barry

I have finished the USA kit and I am pleased to say that it runs quite nicely thanks to the excellent High Level gearbox and Mashima 1428 motor. The loco is of course a bit too clean for a dock tank, but as weathering isn't one of my strong points I am assuming it has just returned from overhaul at Eastleigh! Barry

Graham you are absolutely correct - the hole in the platform is to pass over the middle lamp bracket! Barry

I have now finished the body detailing as shown. The cab roof has just been placed in position and is not fixed yet. Lots of body components in the kit, some of which were a bit fiddly, and I struggled to identify others. For some reason the instructions did not have a list of etched parts and not all were mentioned in the assembly details. I got there in the end through studying photographs of the prototype but it slowed me down somewhat. I found that I had to keep alert as alternative parts for USATC and BR versions are included and it is easy to confuse the two! This is a very good kit in my opinion but the build needs more time than is usually the case with a more straightforward prototype. The paint shop beckons..... Barry

After what seems like a titanic struggle spread over several weeks I have finally managed to achieve a running chassis for the USA. Although I have built a fair number of chassis kits over the years, including quite a few with Walschaerts valve gear, this particular model seemed to give me no end of problems. Possibly I was too impatient, or perhaps it was unfamiliarity with the prototype, but for whatever reason construction did not proceed smoothly. In fairness this is quite a complicated little loco and the kit is very well designed. I did feel that the instructions could have been a little more informative though. I found a couple of issues with the slide bar assembly and the motion bracket. Each slide bar assembly requires upper and lower pieces to be soldered together and then the complete item to be sawn to size. The problem was that in making the reduction the soldered joint area was reduced to the minimum and i had to re-make the joint a couple of times. The other snag concerned the cast motion bracket. When offered up to the chassis this seemed to give adequate clearance for the leading drivers, but this was not the case as a subtle short developed. Naturally enough I only discovered this after the chassis had been assembled so I had to dismantle everything in order to file adequate clearance. Memo to self - test everything as you proceed in future! Surprisingly enough the pick up and brake gear assemblies were quite straightforward. Swings and roundabouts I guess. I used a High Level Load Hauler gearbox with a Mashima 1428 motor. Now on with the body detailing..... Barry

John Thank you for your kind comments. Like yourself I enjoy the process of rebuilding damaged kits and agree that the process is sometimes more enjoyable than building a new kit! The sourcing of new and replacement pieces is also part of the fun I think. Last year I acquired a Wills T9 in a parlous state as shown in the first photo. A few weeks' work and a replacement chassis and cab roof from SEF produced the improvement shown in the second picture. As I was able to reclaim the driving wheels and had a motor in stock the exercise wasn't too expensive. Although this kit is Wills, rather than K's it does illustrate the point you have made previously that many of these old kits are well worth saving if suitably updated with a modern chassis. Regarding the 14xx , you are quite right in that it is the running plate that is too short. I think that I discovered it in attempting to fit the replacement chassis. Barry

Here's my effort from about 20 years ago. The body came as a bag of twisted and badly assembled bits which cost me the princely sum of £1. I enjoyed the challenge of stripping off the original paintwork and reducing everything to component parts before carefully re-assembling. I obtained a couple of missing pieces from Auto Com together with their replacement etched chassis. A set of reclaimed K's wheels and a DS10 motor came from my stock and gave me an extremely cheap loco. If I remember correctly I found that the body was slightly short and so I spliced in a piece of scrap white metal to bring it to the correct length. Barry

I agree that it is entirely up to the individual . In my case having discovered the incorrect wheel base I wanted the most accurate frames that I could get , but we are all different in what we deem acceptable - and rightly so! Just to clarify, however, the O2 kit already portrays the lower cab variant , and as such is incorrect for a G6. It actually needs raising for a G6 conversion.

Sorry, don't know how my last posting repeated itself 17 hours later! However I can confirm that the Gibson frames are accurate, and whilst there is a little more work involved I think the result is worthwhile. Incidentally, as well as Russell's book referred to by Hayfield, there is also an excellent article and plans by Ian Beattie and Len Wheal in the August 1997 "Railway Modeller" . As mentioned by Dunsignalling there is also an interesting article on G6 variations in the current South West Circular. It appears that one or two locos had a non standard wheelbase, so choose your model subject carefully!

The O2 kit has the lower height cab and no alternative part is offered. I got round this by sweating on strips of white metal to raise the height of the cab sides. The front and rear spectacle plates were merely re-positioned by moving them up to suit the revised height. Asking for a chassis swap for the O2 still leaves you with an 0-6-0 chassis that has the wrong spacing for a G6 unfortunately! Barry

The O2 kit has the lower height cab and no alternative part is offered. I got round this by sweating on strips of white metal to raise the height of the cab sides. The front and rear spectacle plates were merely re-positioned by moving them up to suit the revised height. Asking for a chassis swap for the O2 still leaves you with an 0-6-0 chassis that has the wrong spacing for a G6 unfortunately! Barry

The SEF replacement chassis is certainly an improvement but it mirrors the Hornby Dublo R1 wheelbase, which is incorrect for a G6. This is why I opted to build my chassis using Gibson frames. The O2 and the G6 are indeed very similar above the footplate, but beware the detail differences, including cab height. The attraction of the SEF O2 kit for me was that as well as the correct size tanks it also had a great deal more extra detail, including cab fittings. Incidentally, the Dublo R1 wheelbase is also incorrect for an RI ! The Branchlines chassis combined with a modified and detailed HD/Wrenn body makes a much more accurate RI. It is however still incorrect for a G6. Complicated ain't it! Here's my rebuilt RI of a few years ago. As well as supplying the chassis Branchlines also provided a nice cast replacement chimney. Barry

Phil The Wills G6 first came out about 1960 and was a bodyline kit intended to fit the Hornby Dublo RI chassis. It was the first white metal kit that I built and became a particular favourite . Like many, products of the time, however, it was compromised by stretching the dimensions to fit the proprietary chassis and the tank sides in particular are too high. This together with the overscale HD wheels has the effect of making the loco stand far too tall. You will see what I mean by comparing with plans . A friend dealt with the problem by removing a few mm from the bottom of the tank side castings and this did produce an improved appearance. Unfortunately I couldn't do this with my G6 as dismantling would have ruined it, and so I reluctantly sold it on. My version was much like DLT's except that I replaced the stovepipe chimney with a Drummond type, as the former is not correct for a BR era model. With determination you can probably make a decent model from the old G6 kit but I took the view that for me the O2 kit was a better starting point. Barry

I am seeking the hinged fold down front step from the Bachmann USA dock tank accessory pack. It is a small rectangular item which I believe comes in two pieces. Does anyone have a spare that they no longer need? Barry

That's a good idea Jason. I'll ask on the wanted page. Barry

Morning all I am currently building the SEF kit for the USA dock tank and the photo shows progress to date. Thinking ahead, however, I will need to fit the hinged front platform which was a BR early 1950's modification and is not included in the kit. I think it could be produced easily enough from brass but I wonder whether anyone has the relevant dimensions? If not I will make a guesstimate from photographs. Any help appreciated! Barry

Not up to DLT's exquisite modelling standard but here is my attempt at 30258 from a few years ago. I had been waiting forever for either the Falcon Brass or Alan Gibson kits to reappear on the market and I was unaware of the existence of the Connoisseur kit. Eventually I brewed my own G6 using an SEF O2 kit, which required a couple of small modifications , including shortening the footplate length and raising the cab height. Fortunately the G6 frame set was still available from Alan Gibson which I built and fitted with Gibson wheels, high level gearbox and Mashima motor. Certainly far from perfect but a massive improvement on its predecessor, which was the inaccurate old Wills kit on a HD chassis. Barry

Both of my Airfix O4 kit motorisations in company with an 03 . A line up after being fitted with tramway bells!

No glazing was ever included with this kit. Not aware that there is laser cut glazing available but for my two motorised versions I used clear plastic from Ferrero Rocher chocolate boxes cut and filed to size. A bit fiddly but quite effective. Barry

With the aid of the instructions kindly copied for me by Tom I have now completed my Westward kit. As shown, I chose the 74xx option with my subject being 7421, as allocated to Weymouth in 1953/4. It is always something of a chancy business when you buy obsolete kits on the second hand market because of the risk of components being missing. In this case I was fortunate in that all the major bits were there, although annoyingly the buffers, whistle shield and handrail knobs were not. Fortunately I was able to source suitable replacements. A previous owner had made a start on the chassis and included with my purchase were a set of plastic centre fine scale wheels and and an ECM motor and mount. Although these were all perfectly serviceable I chose instead to fit Markits wheels, Branchlines gearbox and a Mashima motor. These days High Level are my gearboxes of choice but as Chris Gibbon is temporarily closed, I used a Branchlines product instead. I modified the frames by soldering in triangular fillets to get rid of the X04 type motor cutouts. The only other Westward kit I have ever built was a Royal Blue coach back in the 1970's but I was very pleased with the 54xx/64xx/74xx kit. I found the castings to be very fine and flash free and there was a thoughtful amount of fine detail. I found it unnecessary to add much else apart from a bell on the left hand side as 7421 was a Weymouth tramway engine. The only thing that I didn't like about the kit concerned the cast brake shoes. These are intended to be glued into holes drilled into the frames but I felt this method of fixing was insufficiently robust and this proved to be the case as a couple came adrift during construction After this happened a couple of times I ditched them and fitted a set of etched Mainly Trains ones instead. An interesting little build and whilst I could have achieved a similar result by modifying a Bachmann 64xx it's not as satisfying is it? Barry

I can't help with the exact wheels you need but I have found similar 14mm coach wheels in my scrap box. I have 4 axles and you are welcome to these if they are useful. Barry

That's a very kind gesture Jim and I would be happy to take it off your hands! The steps are not important as I would replace them anyway. if you can send me an e-mail with the necessary details I will get the payment to you. Best Barry

I am seeking a reasonably priced Tri-ang L1 body for a project to see it fitted with a scale chassis and replacement tender. I am not after a collector's item and the condition of the original finish is not important as quite a lot of remedial work will need to be done on the body. Scruffy is therefore quite acceptable but it must be otherwise undamaged.

Safely received Tom and exactly what I wanted. Many thanks for your trouble and thanks also to the others who responded. I have no excuse for not getting on with it now! Barry