markjj

A bit of a long shot but does anyone have any photos of the rear of Ais Gill Signal box. If not as it actually was situated photos of it in it's new situation at Butterly GF. I'm trying to see how the walkway at the rear attaches to the box and if there is another entrance.

I hope you are going to market them. It looks superb !

Without binding most Heljan stuff will. I have run a class 60 round Peco curves quite happily. Couplings are another issue though as most diesels overhang far more than little tank locos or shunters. You will need to add another link at least or wind the coupling out as far as they will go without dropping then off the threaded part. You may still get a few occasions where the loco will flip the wagons off if the buffers lock up. 

The Slaters tender is not as finely detailed underneath as the Finney or MM1/JLTRT tenders. If I remember right it has more etched parts and less castings.

As others have said Slaters does have the cast corners and the sides are all pre-formed but you do have to punch the rivets out if you need a riveted tender option. 

4 minutes ago, BrushType4 said:

Intentio have a two shed in development that could be made in to Hitchen, Colchester etc. Follow their facebook page for updates.

 

I thought it might have been you that has something in the pipeline  Phil I know you did a lovely single road one 

1 minute ago, philiprporter said:

Mark is this the one you were thinking of? It looks cracking although a lot less glass than Hitchin - not for sale yet, but does have a lower 'front door' by the looks of it - my concern with the Heljan one is that the front door is rather high - presumably in case people want to use it as a shed with OHLE?: 

 

https://railwaylaserlines.co.uk/product/rll704ss-two-road-servicing-refuelling-shed-in-o-gauge/

It could be. I remember seeing a post on Facebook I think it was that said it was in development. I'm sure there are a lot of other similar ones in the pipeline from others to. I know Intentio do some lovely kits one of theres is based on Peterborough I believe. 

I'm guessing the Heljan one is done so that it can be used for continental railways as well and many of them are OHLE now. 

145mm the measurements are on the Tower models site I hope this helps.

http://www.tower-models.com

I'm sure someone is doing laser kits based on bits of Hitchin have you tried looking at all the laser kit sites? 

2 hours ago, brossard said:

Interesting to read this.  I think as you get older the argument in favour of RTR gets stronger.

 

John

To be honest John the line between RTR and kit buying/building is getting shorter.

But RTR hasn't quite got it yet but it's very close now.

RTR still lacks some of the finer detail of decent kits but it's getting better all the time.

I guess it's something they have to let slip to keep the costs down to make selling them at a price people will pay for them viable. 

Most RTR looks pretty damn good from normal viewing distance now it's only if you look close and in detail you notice things.

The chassis differs slightly but as far as I'm aware the body is the same as it always was. 

Pheonix might send you some info if you contact them.

Some suppliers will email a copy of the instructions to see what's in the kit etc.

The MM kit is still available and nothing will beat it for detail and accuracy. The MM kit is available in its earlier straight tank form from the Churchward Models range now sold by Pheonix precision paints. 

21 hours ago, brossard said:

Ha yes Mark.  I am so happy to be doing 7mm.  Wheels are right, gauge is close enough (4' 6" ish), I can use proto couplings and indulge my detail fetish.

 

I think you are right.  Markits are essentially Romfords although I think Romfords were to a coarser profile.  Scalelink do similar wheels with plastic centers, but I never tried these.

 

I imagine the new Slaters wheels will be available as an option for kits for a price, unless the plan is to replace the old design.

 

Yes, well where I worked we made jet engines so mechanical fastenings please.

 

John

I like 0-gauge because I can do it without my glasses in most cases lol.

I love the real look couplings I did try it in 4mm but they look so overescale by comparison.

The new wheels are not properly released yet I believe but hopefully will be soon.

I got 3 sets when I brought 3 wagon kits from MMP last year so I'm hoping for more eventually so fingers crossed they might come out soon. They add a nice bit of extra weight to a wagon to being all metal. 

12 minutes ago, brossard said:

I did 00 for about 30 years Mark, so I am very aware of the wheel issues.  I had some Exactoscale wagon wheels that were very good indeed.  The axles of these were inwardly tapered and the only correct axles I've ever seen.  They were made for EM and P4 as I recall.

 

It is about time such things became available for 7mm so kudos to Slaters for continuing development.

 

I always liked Markits loco wheels because the square boss and nut felt comfortable.  The Gibson and Ultrascale method of friction/Loctite made me uneasy.  The Engineering director where I worked threatened to fire any designer who specified glue.

 

John

I have been there to John and in and out and back again many times. 

I dont think I ever used Exactoscale wheels though just Maygib and Gibson plus a few Romford ones. I believe the Markits are the Romford range I know they were the only ones that came with the square boss. There was one other that had a flat on that slid up and down the axle at will...

Those Slaters wheels are in the price list at £12 for 2 axles and 4 wheels but not on the website yet. They also do coach wheels in plain disc or 4 hole (BR Mark 1) style with correct profile steel wheels if you like building coaches. 

I worked in a company where just about everything got glued together with DP490 (like black araldite) most things were made in carbon fibre though. It didn't stop them sticking everything else down with it though lol..... 

6 minutes ago, brossard said:

OK, not immediately noticeable then, I thought you meant there was a standards difference.  Yes, Slaters do rust if you're not careful, don't get them wet.  If the Peco tyre comes off, then a bit of CA will fix it back I should think.  I don't think these are deal breakers for me.

 

Something I've noticed with FS 7mm, is that wheels are to a consistent standard wrt B2B and profile.  00 maufacturers all seem to have their own ideas forcing modellers to continually chase consistent standards.

 

John

It's often Peco wheels that cause problems with running though as the tyre moves slightly causing a wobble. Unless the tyre drops off it often goes unnoticed.

7mm wheels are usually fitted to a stepped axle which self gauges if pushed on properly. 4mm wheels are on a plain bar axle and the gauge is set for either standard 00 or EM gauge or they put a different tyres wheel on for P4 suitably gauged. There is nothing fixing them or stopping them moving. It's the same with most 4mm loco wheels apart from Romford as they have a nut contraption securing them.

Slaters are doing some new wheels that have correct profiles backs and proper shaped axles I don't think they are out yet but MMP did have them to try a while ago.

This is a photo of them and one of a Slaters wheel with a key. 

My photos do not do them proper justice the axle looks much better in real life.

Note the Slaters obligatory rust lol...

This is what happens to Peco wheels if you wash them in hot water Slaters dont but they rust instead lol....

8 minutes ago, brossard said:

How are Peco different from Slaters Mark?  I'm working with both at the moment and I can't tell.

 

Now Dapol RTR are totally different with 4mm style pinpoints and are not interchangeable with Slaters/Peco.

 

John

Peco are usually highly chrome finish plus they are not bonded onto the tyre. They are also a hard plastic where as Slaters are a black glass filled nylon. If you look at a Slaters wheel it has a point on the rim where the glass filled nylon keys into the wheel. 

Peco wheels dont like extreme temperatures try leaving them in a loft for a year or two attached to a wagon and the tyres often come off. It also happens if you wash a wagon in very hot water with the wheels attached. 

I believe Peartree do wheels to replace the 3 hole disc wheels on Dapol wagons. They dont do spoked ones though. 

Parkside wheels have always been Slaters wheels at least for the last 10 years or so. I used to live a few streets away from their factory in Scotland before it got sold to Peco and have been on a factory tour before it finally closed. I'm sure when Parkside got sold to Peco the agreement was to keep on using Slaters wheels. I have only brought a couple of wagons since Peco started making the kits and they still are Slaters as far as I can tell. Peco wheels are a totally different to Slaters.

The 4mm range wheels were I believe either Maygib or Gibson depending on what was available when. 

Drill tiny holes and use brass rivets or small bits of wire. 

Ask Dave Sharp at MOK if he will sell you his castings. Other than that try DJH I cant think of any other 9f kits on the market....

12 minutes ago, brossard said:

 

No lottery for us, they shut it down as non-essential 

 

John

Luckily the national lottery still runs lol... 

9 minutes ago, brossard said:

I remember doing a Bill Bedford Conflat L as a match truck for the Bachmann 03.  I didn't do anything much to it other than adding station pilot lamps.  I made some custom transfers.

 

If you buy the conflat by itself, isn't that it?  I'm probably missing something.

 

John

A conflat L was another wagon kit that has been tossed around for years there is no doubt a thread on here discussing its values and virtues lol...

The conflat carried containers that often held paint and other liquids I believe and I stand corrected with various manufacturers names on them.

Hornby did them some 30-40 years ago it was one of the most highly detailed wagons they did at the time.. 

33 minutes ago, Luke Piewalker said:

They should do a version as a shunter match truck. Would go well with all those Heljan 03s

Like all things the RTR manufacturer's need to follow up with all the options it's all down to doing the homework. I can remember the DJH 03 kits coming out about 10 years ago and people wanting to find the converted conflats that where used to make the shunters trip the signalling systems in use at the time.

47 minutes ago, brossard said:

Thanks for your perspective on kit makers.

 

It's a conundrum.  On one hand, I want to support kit makers but on the other I also want to support Dapol.  Hmmm, what to do?

 

John

I have tried it all ways but to no avail I just hope I win the lottery tonight and I can flood one or the other with the orders they are looking for..... 

All the best 

Mark j 

25 minutes ago, brossard said:

You are right, plenty of differing views in the hobby.

 

I've tried my hand at many kits, including MMP.  I fell down miserably when trying to do the working leaf springs but Peco's chassis kit saved me.

 

Off the top of my head I can't remember when a kit maker announced a new kit.  So looks like we are stuck with what's already available.  Still, I have a long way to go before I exhaust the kit offerings.

 

John

Lots of things were promised but the RTR market has killed them. All I'm saying is they now have to step up to the mark and fill what was to come but now never may be..... 

I knew several kit suppliers as friends but know how RTR has changed their view on things. Just look and see what was and what's gone.....

1 hour ago, brossard said:

 

Well, again, Slaters do the large 20T LMS brake (and I have one to build).  The ex MR shorter brakes would be welcome though.  Parkside do plate, tube wagons and two types of LMS brake.  There are loads of different types of wagons not already done by kit makers I think.

 

The broader point is that I would prefer to see Dapol focus their limited resources producing wagons that are currently unavailable in kit form.

 

John

Slaters did the brake van, the box van, and most of the minerals were covered along with any of the wagons so far produced. Big problem many people cannot and will not build kits.

Look at what has come so far it's all available.

I'm not looking for RTR I'm just saying it's what needed for those that cant make kits.

A lot of kits need an engineering degree to build them.

My days are filled with the likes of MMP and MOK kits plus the odd Finney or Finney 7 as it now is and ex JLTRT/MMP kits.

A lot of these are killed off by RTR so the place now needs to be filled by stuff gone and what now will never come because kit producers will not do kits anymore.

I doubt any RTR manufacturer will produce new wagons that dont fit on existing chassis so all we will get is re-runs with new numbers and evolutionary paint changes......

45 minutes ago, gardenwall said:

Indeed  of the original 8 wagons announced at Guildex it is just the gunpowder van and southern pattern box van to go. The illustration used at the time was of a GWR iron mink improvised gunpowder van, and Minerva have in the meantime  produced one of those. It could be they really meant the BR type gunpowder van, which is different, but whether that is viable now remains to be seen.

 

Here's hoping for the SR box van though.

It would also be good if they did the LMS type brake van and some longer wheelbase mineral wagons, plate wagons,Tube wagons and box Van's. I'm sure they would all sell for them and increase the possibilities for 0-gauge.

Another winner would be more modern image wagons especially those that run with the Class 66's as without stock to go with them they will just end up as shelf queens and paper weights. 

We can all dream and live in hope though lol......