dj_crisp

2 hours ago, Richy59 said:

I know this is going off topic, but is this an easy enough fix before I send the item back?

 

I watched jenny Kirk’s video and she bought replacement drive shafts which I can’t find in stock now. Is it more a case of removing the plastic cog and glueing it back onto the metal shaft?

 

thanks

If the plastic cog is split then a new drive shaft is best. If it looks ok and is just spinning then remove the cog, burr the driveshaft (where the plastic cog should be) with a file then superglue it on. TBH I think all Dapol driveshafts will have this problem at some point especially if grease gets in. So the fix will hopefully prevent this.

8 hours ago, Richy59 said:

Ah so I see, I could always buy the replacement top pcb as well including the leds for the headcode box.

 

I have been looking into the Dapol

issues, and bought online ‘new’ bit seems to have come out the box with issues. I can have a look at the drive issues.

If it helps the top PCB is the same... just Bachmann only solder on certain SMD leds needed for the model they're selling. You need a warm white SMD led and a SMD resistor and it all works OK.

6 hours ago, adb968008 said:

Bachmann shells are changeable with each other, but not interchangeable with Dapols, they are assembled very differently.

 

 

With a small amount of hacking a Dapol shell can be fitted to a Bachmann chassis. With the chassis being so light simple black sticky tack keeps the body on. 

53 minutes ago, Richy59 said:

Hi, I may get panned for this but here goes.

 

Been on the lookout for a single car DMU for a little while, ideally the Bachmann, but none have been coming up in BR Green second hand. Was hoping for a rerun in the recent announements but alas. I picked up a Dapol Class 121 on the auction site and it seems to be a dud - I think it's a common issue from what I've raed so far.

 

Question is, if I buy the Kernow GWR Class 121 they have in stock (for £100) and buy the replacment part from Bachmann Spares for the BR Green bodyshell would this be fairly acceptable? They seem to be from a similar era, and whilst the underframes and buffer beams have colour differences would it be close enough to pass?

 

I'm assuming the body shells are interchangeable, but there may be slight differences.

 

Thanks

They are very similar. The early green one does have some minor differences underframe wise (engine, exhaust and buffers off memory). If you're using the kernow 121 then the headcodes won't be illuminated as the LEDs aren't there. I've added a SMD Led and SMD resistor to the existing circuit to do exactly this. The remaining differences are cosmetic... bufferbeam and interior colours.

If your Dapol 121 is having the spinning motor but no drive issue then its an easy fix which I've done a few times.

Hope this helps

Will

1 hour ago, G-BOAF said:

 

a) did not the declassified FOs effectively still retain the first class interiors and seating capacity, just downgraded?

My book on MK2s certainly suggests that's the case so that's my plan :)

4 hours ago, adb968008 said:

Cant you just buy a 2nd class interior, paint out the yellow stripe / 1st markings ?

I'm having a go.... so far just primed. I was afraid laying blue over yellow might end up with an odd colour!

Have also flipped the interior around, added some headrests and painted the interior floor. Transfers came off very easily with T Cut... just got to do the windows.

Cheers

Willp

1 hour ago, ThaneofFife said:

Indeed saw one once fetch £220. I aint paying that!   I know the RRP on new stock is £95 but retailers dont have these TSOs for sale.

Yeah. I've no problem with people paying whatever they want for items though. I certainly won't be joining them! It's why I'm attempting doing a declassified first open ;)

2 hours ago, ThaneofFife said:

So no new Mk2fs announced so I thought I would check out Ebay and found a blue and grey TSO and within a matter of days its already up to £56!    Ridiculous second hand prices.......hope Bachmann rerun these in Autumn otherwise theres no hope......somebodys paying the silly prices though.

That's the DCC version retailing at £95 so current price is ok imo. I expect it'll however go for much more than £95 though!

3 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

 

I know we've discussed this before but that photo really shows what a huge difference your flush glazing makes to the cab. I'll probably give it a go on my 7mm one.

Brian's laserglaze is magic. When showing him this bubble we were chatting about doing the rest.... although I'm not sure I'd get the angles of the droplights right.

In 7mm yours will look ace. I'm now filing an angle on frames on all my glazing projects leaving the thickness of the laserglaze. Tricks the eye that frames are thinner than they really are.

15 minutes ago, Geep7 said:

Thanks, I'll give it a go then. I have some railway fonts on my PC which should be close enough.

 

I'm looking to renumber my 122 from 55003 to W55016 or W55018 as I know those 2 units operated on the Western Region in Devon and Cornwall....

Good stuff. I like your two choices! I really enjoyed having a crack at W55016

6 hours ago, Geep7 said:

So bringing this thread back to life. I've just availed myself of a blue Class 122 in the Rails sale, you know, the one with the upside-down W pretending to be an M....

 

As it doesn't come with the decal sheet for the headcodes, and none seem to be available, has anyone made alternatives to this? I have thoughts to print off my own on normal printer paper, but would they block the light too much?

I've printed all my DMU destinations off on normal paper on my black and white laser - Seems fine to me light wise as shown in the photo.

Admittedly the Dapol body is sitting on a Bachmann chassis but the light arrangement is pretty similar to Dapols arrangement - In these case I just added an SMD LED to Bachmann's circuit board. Also I cut out a bit of glazing to fit the destination blind so discarded the original. If you're after headcodes for an early 70s bubble then I created some in Inkscape, printed them off and then weathered them.

It took me an age to get ok looking fonts but I did find them quite fun to do.

Hope this helps

Will

41 minutes ago, McC said:

 

Since you were told they were in the process of being sent, why would you now not get them?

 

We started posting them out last week  :)

Out of vague interest how many coaches were produced?

Well the recent fine weather (not) has curtailed any spraying plans I had. So I thought it best to sort out the layout to get it back up and running.

I've visited my TOUs and broken point ties that I've been putting off sorting out for ages. The theory goes that if I get these working and reliable then trackwork is pretty much finished so I can start on point rodding and signals! Of the 4 flatbottom points 3 have failed and as I used different methods a rethink is required.

I've adopted exactoscale tortoise mounts to drive the points and my initial view is they'll sort out my issues! Of course getting them to fit where my points are was a challenge (if I do another layout this will be part of the plan) but thankfully the mounts have a wide area they can be mounted.

Previously only a DCC concepts motor could fit here.... thankfully thats now banished and I only have tortoises on the layout thanks to a neat offset arrangement.

This is why you don't place a point over a cross support! Anyway the offset is very handy as I've drilled a hole to allow the slider through.

And finally the view from above prior to a false floor being added to hide everything! The brass tube is set wider than the rails so the bent 0.9mm wire attached to the points is always under the rail. It's preventing any rail bending up height issues and now I'll can fit some tie bars.... theses will be cosmetic and im going to try a glue thats not too strong so they can be removed should the pins fail. I'm think the point tie will also be fixed at one side only and allow to slide the other so the point remains flexible.

I have two mounts left so I'm now looking at doing 2 bullhead points using the same approach.

Feels a bit like some progress despite it all taking ages.... which on a new layout with proper planning probably would take 15mins or so to fit! 

I've found my older Bachmann mk1s tend to be too high... And its a bit of a fight to get them to run a bit lower. Anyhow I wonder if these ones match the older tooling.... or are more aligned to their MK2fs.

And I think they're re-releasing the TSO using the old tooling? 

I do like the sound of some new bogies though.... would be magic if they fit the Mk2f chassis ;) 

Revisiting the MK1 is definitely welcome. I can't really see the photos properly on my mobile but looks the FO is an original build and the RB/BFO more suitable for modern stock as has lost end steps and do they have window frames?

13 minutes ago, RBE said:

We are very much looking forward to attending Model World Live and excited to show the latest painted samples of our forthcoming Class 60.
If you are attending the show, this weekend please visit our stand, A30, for the latest updates on all of our projects and chat about model railways and modelling.

 

 

Regards

Cav

Stunning! Well done Cav and Alex!

9 hours ago, TyBryn said:

Many thanks SteveM666 and dj_crisp for your replies.  dj_crisp, what would you recommend to strip the manufacturer's paint without adversly affecting the plastic of the body?  If you have time I would appreciate it if you could expand on stripping the original paintwork.  Thanks.

Exactly as 25kv describes. I've tried many methods but for RTR (I caveat I paint diesels/DMUs) the slightly diluted IPA route has been best. I've bought several litres cheaply off Amazon (I think) and you can reuse it. Just soak your loco body overnight in a container and then brush it off in the morning.... with an old toothbrush. Then a simple wash in water (I try not to get any down the drain if possible).

I've settled on Halfords grey for black but I'm now preferring Tamiya fine white which has resulted in an excellent finish.

Cheers

Will

On 21/04/2024 at 14:48, James Makin said:

That would be grim! Bachmann didn’t model the Wipac light cluster at all, with just the two directional bulbs poking through a flat space, so I’m thinking a proper 3D print Wipac cluster could just replace that bit entirely and save a bit of frustration there hopefully! 😂

This is a great idea! Way beyond my skill set but I'd love a set (as I have a 166 in the long term works)

I go with... Strip to bodyshell, Strip paint, clean, prime, light sand, clean, top coats, gloss varnish if using waterside transfers... (sometimes I don't bother with this if using dry rub transfers), apply varnish (your finsh preference ) and then weather and if needed apply some more varnish to seal everything. 

Personally I prefer enamels and only spray outdoors. Firstly keeps the wife happy, but also means I don't spray when it's too damp, cold or even hot! My best results are when I can wear shorts ;) Also enamels allow more post spraying adjustments... eg removing overspray. Although I'm preferring acrylics for final weathering these days.

Enjoy! (It can be quite good fun!)

I've fitted several bug eye illuminated models kits to Hattons 66s and they're excellent. A really straightforward forward fix that i recommend.

Also I changed around the wiring on all my 66s to end up with 10 seperate functions for lighting as that's my preferred setup.

I haven't yet come across any other circuit board issues with the Hattons versions but I guess that'll be seen with time.  So unless they die I have all the 66s I can ever have the use for.

6 hours ago, XChris said:

As much as I think that the Mk2.f from Bachmann is a good example of the coach, the lack of variety of releases makes me think it’s could be done by someone else. I think every other Mk.2 type can be done because the gulf in quality and detail is massive compared to these new ones.

There are some suspicious holes in the chassis of the Bachmann Mk2f that could very easily be for Mk2d/e bits. Only subtle differences in bodies to tool.

A Mk2a/z would be very welcome. For me the Bachmann Mk2a only misses due to its roof shape otherwise it looks fine to me. So I'd much prefer these to be done by Accurascale to match their Mk2b.

39 minutes ago, James Makin said:

Thanks ever so much Steve! I did wonder if everyone might get bored of the ‘47’s!
 

I know it’s generally things like class 37s and 60s etc that seem to grab a lot of enthusiast attention but modelling the location and time period here, one can’t move for ‘Duffs’!

 

Though having worried about boring viewers, just you guys wait until I get onto the ‘Thames Turbo’ DMU fleet 🤦‍♂️🤣

Sounds cool.... Looking forward to some turbos!

A fair review in BRM this month. Hopefully the next model from Heljan (what ever it may be) gets the basics better.

1 hour ago, Flood said:

From what I have seen the vent positions didn't change between any of the Mk2C TSOs, just the style of vent.

 

The positions of the vents on my model were based on the B.R drawing and photographs, measurement of an actual Mk2C would be completely accurate. In addition, I have made the access hatch slightly smaller than those on the Bachmann Mk2F coaches. Thinking about it there is no reason why they should be any different but I originally made it to the Bachmann size and when compared to photos it seemed to wide (in comparison to the door and window positions).

 

Excellent photos are on Flickr from Steve Jones, here is just one taster:

 

Taking the centre of the small centre-line disc as a datum point, the far left end in the photo above, my vent positions are as follows:

 

23.5mm (near edge in the above photo), 60.5mm (far edge), 89.75mm (near), 130.5mm (far), 157mm (near), 196mm (far)

Seeing as they probably should be equi-spaced then my dimensions are a bit out.

 

The vents are in line with the original vents positions when viewing across the roof width.

The circular plate at the nearest end on the roof is around 3 to 3.5mm diameter (it is in fact to thin plates together which is what Accurascale has modelled). The photo above still does not seem to have this plate on the centre-line as far as I can tell (due to the slight dip in the angle of the top but that may just be perspective).

 

So you now know as much as me folks, happy modelling.🙂

 

Edit: one thing I've just noticed, M5505 has a Western Region style train description board frame still in place in 1980. The real question is why did it ever have one in the first place as it was never due to go to the Western Region? The British Rail Mk2 Coaches book has a photo of M5498 with one of these frames as well. I guess that nobody had told Derby to stop fitting them.

Many Many Thanks! Loads of great detail and help :)

20 hours ago, Flood said:

To help out all those that will be wanting a TSOT here is the full list:

 

NSE 6500, 6502, 6522, 6527 small toilets and Roevac vents as per the Accurascale model to come

B/G 6504, 6506, 6511, 6520, 6523, 6524, 6525, 6528, 6529 small toilets and Roevac vents as per the Accurascale model to come

 

NSE 6501, 6513 Mk2B toilet windows and GM vents (like EE cab roof vents)

B/G 6505, 6516, 6519 Mk2B toilet windows and GM vents (like EE cab roof vents)

 

NSE 6503, 6517 Mk2B toilet windows and G vents (taller version of EE cab roof vents)

B/G 6507, 6508, 6509, 6510, 6512, 6514, 6518, 6526 Mk2B toilet windows and G vents (taller version of EE cab roof vents)

 

NSE 6521 Mk2B toilet windows and Roevac vents

B/G 6515 Mk2B toilet windows and Roevac vents

 

Obviously all those in NSE originally carried Blue and Grey.

In my 1992 Platform 5 book theres a nice shot of 6521 in NSE - I couldn't quite work out what vents it had based on an annoying background so thanks for clearing that up! Do you know if the layout of the roevac vents is the same as the Accurascale version?

Many Thanks

Will