Dai Davies

I saw Brian from Shawplan at York show. A few points, questions:

He has a flying banana on his desk back at the ranch.

He now has a Replica Collet 60' all 3rd. Is this the same as the Mainline or the Bachmann version? (I bought the Replica body at the show for £2.50p!!)

I shall be sending him a Centenary or two in the near future, but I don't have any more body shells for Colletts. Volunteers?

One area we discussed concerned ventilators. It would make his life easier and introductions faster if the ventilators were etched brass overlays applied to the Laserglaze window (this would not apply to the flying banana as the model is easier to work with). This is what he now does with his diesel introductions. Anyway, he is going to play around with the Replica bodyshell to see what is feasible. Are you OK with his ventilator approach?

Let me know your thoughts, and I shall push on.

Cheers, Dai Davies

Airfix B set, Mainline/replica Colletts Bachmann Colletts Hornby Colletts,  Airfix/Mainline Centenaries & auto coaches, Hornby/Airfix brake van, Mainline/Replica/Bachmann brake van 

Hi, FYI Laserglaze is already available for the B-sets and the Bachmann Toad. And they fit very nicely too! Edit. And also for the autocoach.

Both would be fantastic candidates for laser glazing, although the Collets would be a little more costly in development as it would require a scale sized set for the Mainline models and a short window height for the Bachmann ones...

 

I'm surprised no one has done it already

The reason I chose the Bachmann version was because this is still being produced and sold, so would be more commercially viable for Shawplan. When I reviewed my coaches, I have more Mainline in original condition than Bachmann:they are more prototypical.In the main, my Bachmann coaches have various Comet sides applied.

I would be willing to forgive the window inaccuracy of the Bachmanns if Laserglaze were available for them.

If Shawplan were to introduce flush glazing for GWR stock, which would you buy?

FWIW, my picks are Bachmann Collet 60' coaches, and Lima/Hornby flying banana. What's yours?

Shawplan Lazerglase

 

I don't know this supplier and I'm not getting on very well with the website.  I'm looking for illustrations.

 

It seems to me that if one is dissatisfied with RTR glazing, this has more to do with the thickness of the plastic body than anything else.  In other words, if your prototype was not 'flush glazed' what you really would like to do is file down the inside of the RTR coach until placing the window material behind it produces the right pre-flushglaze effect .  I see why SE Flushglaze went the way they did, but it leaves a kind of bulbous effect, regardless of whether you set them back or press them in fully.

 

In other words, if the thickness of the plastic was less, then the standard RTR method would be OK.  The new Hornby Colletts are fine in this respect, IMO..

I totally agree with your last comment about the new Hornby 57' (and also other recent coaches, such as Hawksworths, porthole stock,etc). I just wish that Shawplan would bring out glazing for older coaching stock: Bachmann Colletts, GWR railcar, etc. I am sure there would be a big market for these retrofit exercises.

I have an Airfix Autocoach in Custard & Cream which I have added a chassis upgrade kit to and want to run it with a Hattons BR 14xx.

Am also fitting Flushglaze windows and painting the inside.

Were any run with BR logo's on Choc &Cream or do I need to repaint the body ?

I wouldn't use the SE Flushglaze windows on your autocoach. I'd go for the Shawplan Lazerglase version instead: much better looking. If you're thinking of the A28 (not A30) diagram, then leave the windows as they are: the A28 windows were recessed in real life.

In fact one of Hornby Composites in GWR shirtbutton livery, split from the recent Bristolian set has sold on ebay today for £102 

Auction fever?! Tempted to buy a few Bristolian sets, mark them up and sell them on (insert emoticon of your choice here), but ,no doubt, I'd make a loss!

Thank you for your encouragement. I think I just panicked a little when I first read about the deficiencies of the kits. We'll just wait and see when the kits arrive.

 

Just to confirm for the 57' Corridor Third and 57' Corridor First and Third, are these offered by Hornby?

Yep, Hornby do both in the new range. Make sure you buy the new range, not the old (which is still sold under the Railroad range, second hand,etc). The new range is excellent, and includes all 3rd, composite and brake thirds; but does not include restaurant car, full brake. You would expect to buy this range new, not second hand, and you would expect to pay £35-40 each plus postage. They come in GWR and BR colours (crimson/c ream).

But to reiterate, you can make very good models from your kits, just make sure your rooves fit well! All the best.

How do you do that?

You can buy a scriber from shows, model shops, Eileen's Emporium,etc; but any sharp pointed metal device will do - even scalpel blades, though they lose their sharpness very quickly! The aluminium sides do scribe pretty easily.

Coming back to a few points others have been raising, eBay is as good a source as any for bits. The new Hornby coaches will probably knock the spots off anything that can be conjured up by normal people from kits. Your kits would be better for the earlier Collett 57' coaches where the sides weren't flushglazed.

These are the older versions if they have wooden rooves. That means they have different ends from the later ones. The later ones have metal rooves that fit over sides and ends, whereas the wooden ones fit over the sides but between the ends. In my experience, the wooden rooves are often a poor fit: warped, too thick at one end, etc. So I would look to see if another roof can be fettled to fit instead.

Also, the older models don't have scribed doors,etc, so look at doing that before you assemble and paint.

Re bogies,etc: you'll struggle to get 247 bogies, so I would look at Bachmann, Replica, Dapol bogies from b-sets, Collette, and others. Check whether you have the plastic windows frames and drop lights: I think you can get these from the current owners of the BSL range, Southern Coach Preservation Society or whatever they are called?

Well, I took the plunge and pulled out the existing wheels on their axles. Loco works fine, but had to rejig the brake rigging; and also remove some wheel arch plastic. Take care with this procedure: the plastic is quite thin thereabouts, and I managed to puncture it --- but not fatally! You could well see the outcome on Culm at ExpoEM North in a few weeks.

Thanks for your help on this.

No problem, I have an Ultrascale converted 57xx and that has had to have no surgery whatsover. I have a scrap 57xx chassis that I have been experimenting on prior to doing the 2MT, so I tried the original wheels for size. 

 

I tell you what I regret pulling the 2MT apart now, putting the valve gear back together is proving 'interesting'!

Yes, there is an extra benefit in modelling GWR locos - apart from 15xx and suchlike - regauging should be much easier!

It's the same principle as the 57xx but with brass bearings rather than just relying on slots in the diecast chassis. Pulling the wheels out can be done but you'd need to make new brake gear, Bachmann wheels are wide and have pretty chunky flanges. In a thread I started on the subject of regauging a Bachmann 2MT I was advised that skimming the backs of the flanges was a good idea - it is, with the flanges skimmed 0.3mm the brake gear on my test pannier merely needed trimming rather than removing completely. 

 

I tried earlier shaving them down to RP25-88 profile, but there isn't enough meat left in the flange for that after bringing the wheel down to proper width. (Not wasting these rejects, I'll be turning the tyres right down and fitting new nickel silver tyres and using them in a Cambrian 2-4-0T!)

 

EDIT to Add: if you were to strip it down and send Ultrascale the drive gear, I'm sure they'd fit it onto a 57xx conversion wheelset for you, which would then drop in.

 

Thanks for this: you've put me off 'simple regauging', and now I'll look at replacement. In the meantime, I shall clean up my EM 14xx and run that on the line!

Can anybody help on this please? I want to simply pull out the wheels on my 64xx on the current Bachmann axles to EM gauge. I am sure, however, that I read somewhere that this is not the easy solution as with other locos, and not to try it! So, I haven't!

Have I dreamt this? Or is it true? Has anybody tried this approach on this loco, and can they give advice please?

Thanks, Dai Davies