Road vehicles and ships.

[andythenorth]

So...Sany tower crane, lifting a tug? 😉

[eldomtom2]

Scalemates is a useful tool for this sort of thing. Here's a list of everything they've catalogued that claims to be 1:120, though of course use with caution as not all kits are actually the advertised scale and some Kitmaster TT3 kits have crept in as well.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

A couple of TT road vehicles.  I’ve bought them second hand, but I’ve shared below the details I have:

 

 

(photo from my Layout Thread: Moorbach)

 

The Multicar on the left is a Reifra model that comes in a plastic blister pack, marked as distributed by Tillig.  It’s a neat little model but could do with some careful painting (and weathering - which is my usual term for bad painting).

 

The VW van is an Epoche model that came in a simple clear unmarked plastic box. It is also all plastic (not diecast).  Neither vehicle has number plates, but the van especially has been bought with one eye on future use on a UK layout.  I don’t know how old these are, or how widely available these ranges may be / may have been in the UK.  They are very much simple plastic models (layout accessories).  Having become used to being rather spoiled by the huge explosion in available high-quality diecast models for both UK OO and UK N in recent years, these are perhaps more of a reminder of how things used to be here too?    

 

I’ll also post some photos on the Comparison thread showing them against OO vehicles.  Thanks, Keith.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke

[rekoboy]

Those of you who have been following my account of my German TT layout 'Kirchheim' in the German section of this website will have seen some of my kit or model-bashing to extend the relatively thin range of TT-120 trucks. The MAN/RABA/Roman Diesel tractor units by Schirmer (formerly before re-unification MK-Modell Leipzig and then Klose) are a great starting point as are the bits and pieces from Schirmer's artic trailers and Herpa's modern artic tractors and trailers. A good source of truck and trailer parts can/could often be found in German model shops in the form of the bit bags produced by SES - those bags are the source of chassis and axle parts for my MAN adventures. See photos! The final photo of the MAN with the green cab shows the combining of a Schirmer cab with SES chassis parts and and bits of Evergreen profile! The Russian company Svezda (whose wares have probably now vanished from model shops!) do a nice range of basic kits in 1:100/1:120 for wargaming fans. In the range are a Russian/Ukrainian Ural 6x6, an AEC Matador(!) and an Opel Blitz which I have not only built but also use as a source of parts. The tracked excavator on my scratch-built low-loader is Japanese 1:150 scale, bought in Aachen - sadly, I have been never able to find another digger from the range, There are some Czech manufacturers who produce nice truck kits in 1:120 scale - see the photo of the grey LIAZ tipper and low loader trailer. The ES Pecky website in Czech shows some current models ...https://1185589887.s1.eshop-rychle.cz/es-pecky/eshop/1-1-Es-Pecky/8-2-Es-TT-stavebnice-aut

Edited July 17, 2022 by rekoboy

[JZ]

On 16/06/2022 at 21:56, Taigatrommel said:

 

 

 

Also 1:130 is Shell Welder, an old Frog Models kit now reissued under various Eastern European brand.  There is an etched detailing kit available.  I've got this far with it and decided that I'll convert it to a freelance bulker of about 500 tons.  It's not an amazing kit.

But with a little imagination and care, plus the addition of Scale-Link etched railings, it can be considerably tarted up.

Langley have anchors, though some of the specialist model shops my have more suitable ones. To keep it as a small coastal tanker, Knightwing do packs of pipes and joints.

 

On 20/06/2022 at 12:01, rodshaw said:

There's also the Revell harbour tug boat which may be near enough for some:

 

This is a US style tug boat. The maritime rivet counters will tear you apart if this appears in a British layout.😉 Seriously, this would also benefit from etched railings and some fine cord for hawsers.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

1 hour ago, JZ said:

This is a US style tug boat. The maritime rivet counters will tear you apart if this appears in a British layout.😉 Seriously, this would also benefit from etched railings and some fine cord for hawsers.

Good point:  I bought and built my Revell Tug Boat Kit (previous page) after seeing a completed one on an American Switching Layout that I liked - although from memory that particular layout itself was in HO (there’s always a compromise somewhere), Keith.

[natterjack]

Historically, the US Navy commissions a number of larger seaworthy tugboats to serve  world wide; in a 1/120 setting the Revell kit's hull size becomes plausible enough for it  to have crossed the Atlantic to assist in the logistics of  the Normandy landings (for example) and to end up anywhere in Europe.

[Rhys]

(Missed this topic the first time round).

Another source of ships is paper models. While they are a bit more work they are cheap and make an excellent base. It takes a bit of searching but there are a few out there (Shreiber-Bogen is a good start).

There are also downloadable paper models that can be rescaled. I found a 1:400 scale model of the SS Californian for 9 Euro which I scaled up from A4 to A1 to give a scale of about 1:140 (ok, not quite 1:120 but when the model is this large I don't think its that much of a crisis). They were glued to 1.6mm card then cut out and assembled. Details have been added from plastic and brass.

 

 

Framing assembled. Shreiber-Bogen "Sirius" and a 30cm ruler to scale.

 

 

Most of the base structure added along with the masts and dericks.

 

 

The foredeck with railings (soldered brass rod) and winches (plastic and brass).

 

 

Stern with the additions as above.

The eventual layout plan is shown below. The prototype is New Zealand in the 1950's with TT on N gauge track to simulate 3'6" gauge.

 

[phil_sutters]

6 hours ago, natterjack said:

Historically, the US Navy commissions a number of larger seaworthy tugboats to serve  world wide; in a 1/120 setting the Revell kit's hull size becomes plausible enough for it  to have crossed the Atlantic to assist in the logistics of  the Normandy landings (for example) and to end up anywhere in Europe.

[andythenorth]

3D printed + painted TT:120 UK road vehicles (I have no connection, just might be useful to others)

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165750025688?hash=item269778add8:g:wfgAAOSwtt1jXWIm&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoBQXhXsZQ43cjbIp6Qd%2FDZWReRtd7%2B1rwFEenAJVhY8Ipg3g2q4YTN1lsGLYH%2FKukkgHM%2B6aDd8Klapbb4xnbaTtCPKuFTi9cAH5Pl9MSC7s1IrbQ7HOKcfwJgrdBzPDkhSLGOpAEeW365Cu5uoPxIwxABT27J21q9SgP%2FXnPVr44yuF4%2F584%2BALi4p4Lw%2Be2KNb%2F2%2F6djhj8Lup9eyF1Qg%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR8q5wq-FYQ

Edited October 30, 2022 by andythenorth

[rekoboy]

Take a look at www.railnscale.com for a very interesting range of 3D printed road vehicles of the recent past.

https://railnscale.com/modern-vehicles-tt-scale/

[rekoboy]

I thought I would share with you some more of my kitbashed/adapted TT trucks. My problem is that I am only too easily diverted from my layout (German TT, Kirchheim, in the German Railways section) once I see, hear or imagine the magic words 'truck' or 'tram'. Just of late I have been attempting to deal with a backlog of part-finished truck projects - this weekend I managed three! Quite a while ago some Czech friends gave me some lorry kits by ES-Pecky - all 4 are based on LIAZ prototypes - LIAZ which is, sadly, now defunct was the heavy truck division of Skoda Industries, which now concentrates largely on rail technology and power generation - their car division was, of course, sold to VW years ago. I built one kit for an artic tractor unit and was not impressed with the quality of the moudings - however, the finished product looks good. In my truck bit boxes are all manner of E bloc parts, including some spectacularly unrealistic Tatra heavy haulage trucks - which, though, have very acceptable balloon tyres. I was looking at some photos of a family holiday in Slovakia in the early 1990s where I had snapped by chance (foreign spy???) a LIAZ  army truck. Just what the forest enterprise on my layout needs, I thought, and once again carved up a couple of SES E German W50 chassis, added the balloon tyres from the unrealistic Tatra, the cab and air intakes etc from the original LIAZ kit and a flatbed body made from Evergreen sheet and profiles. A pity to stop now, I thought, and slightly modified  the tipper body from the LIAZ  kit to fit one of my many MK/Klose/Schirmer MAN chassis. With that truck there is still a good deal to do - the cab needs a touch of the airbrush, as does the chassis - but those MANs are great - no glue, all click joints if dismantling is needed. Finally I got round to assembling a Herpa artic trailer kit and pairing it up with an MAN tractor unit. The kit is all 'click together' - very straightforward. The only problem was that the king pin was too thin for the tractor's fifth wheel, that was easy to deal with. However, the Herpa trailer is going to be part of an experiment - a German acquaintance got me some photographic overlays for the Herpa trailers - as you can see from the photo the artic will be in the livery of a Liechtenstein haulier - chosen because my wife's cousin lives on the edge of Austria, a 20 minute bus ride from Vaduz in Liechtenstein.

[britishcolumbian]

Just discovered this outfit producing cars in 1:120, 3D printed and painted... interesting selection, including a number of British types, I may spring for a Lotus 7 and an E Type...

[natterjack]

Should anyone be thinking of an airport scene, Revell has a couple of 120/122 scale airliners in its range- that would excuse a baseboard extension or two (?).

[rekoboy]

Voila! The Liechtenstein truck is more or less complete - the card overlays were stuck on with a thin layer of white glue. I think the trailer will need a spray of semi-matt varnish to finish, though, and the card edges need some darkening. And I think a new, as in more modern, tractor unit might be called for. Maybe!

[gc4946]

I bought four cars from ebay seller redandy767 recently:

 

90's Detailed TT:120 3D Printed Austin Mini Metro (Airbrushed) X2

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165750025688

 

90's Detailed TT:120 3D Printed Ford Fiesta Mk3 & Escort Mk5 X2

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165750019625

 

they arrived speedily and look OK.

However they're no longer available when I checked a few minutes ago.

The moral of this story - get stuff when you can!

Edited November 26, 2022 by gc4946

[natterjack]

Pulling an old Kader/Lincoln Fairey Rotodyne from the stash, I was pleasantly surprised to find it scales out at 1/115- close enough  for a 'white heat of technology' (Harold Wilson) scene at the turn of the 50's/ 60's?

[natterjack]

ICM  have just released a 'multi purpose boat' in 1/144 which looks very adaptable to a 1/120 harbour scene. Stock number ICM S012 KFK  at around  £20.

[Les1952]

On 26/11/2022 at 15:43, gc4946 said:

I bought four cars from ebay seller redandy767 recently:

 

90's Detailed TT:120 3D Printed Austin Mini Metro (Airbrushed) X2

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165750025688

 

90's Detailed TT:120 3D Printed Ford Fiesta Mk3 & Escort Mk5 X2

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165750019625

 

they arrived speedily and look OK.

However they're no longer available when I checked a few minutes ago.

The moral of this story - get stuff when you can!

 

He seems to do them in batches, coloured differently each time.  Worth bookmarking him if you are an eBay user and checking back from time to time.

 

Les

 

[J-Lewis]

The Herpa TT 120 trucks seem to be available again now.  There are a fair few on the usual auction site.  I just picked up one with a 40ft container load for my planned layout.

[MartinRS]

I have just found a couple of links on Hornby's TT:120 forum.

https://replitek.co.uk/product-category/tt-gauge/

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/redandy767

I've not bought anything from either of the two retailers though contributors to Hornby's TT:120 forum recomend them.

[jjb1970]

This is probably a very personal view, but ships date a scenic piece just as much as cars or trains, and can also be quite narrow in operating area. If people just want a maritime scene it might not matter but I see a lot of layouts where the ship and harbour scene is rather inconsistent with the railway part. The scale 1/120 is not so common for ships, it's a bit big for many sea going vessels and some of the few non-military plastic kits seem to apply a fit-the-box approach.

[Blefuscu]

On 17/06/2022 at 00:20, britishcolumbian said:

But I think it'll be a while till we see definitive British road vehicles, Bedford lorries, Rover P6, Marina, Viva, Velox...

One of my half finished projects is a printable bedford MK... from which a TK is only a small step. Only a cab so far, but I will come back to this one.

 

I have also recently printed a model of my dad's peugeot 504, but I haven't finished painting and assembly. My daughter has kicked me off the computer but I'll try and get an image up of it soon.

 

I have also seen packs of 70s and 80s cars on cults3d by RICHEMPORIUM. I haven't printed any myself yet, but they look reasonable. They would need rescaling from OO, but he's tagged them as N gauge too so 1:120 should be fine.

 

https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/austin-mini-metro-1980-to-1990

 

For some reason I only bookmarked the mini metro but you can find the others from there.

[britishcolumbian]

20 hours ago, Blefuscu said:

One of my half finished projects is a printable bedford MK... from which a TK is only a small step. Only a cab so far, but I will come back to this one.

 

I have also recently printed a model of my dad's peugeot 504, but I haven't finished painting and assembly. My daughter has kicked me off the computer but I'll try and get an image up of it soon.

 

I have also seen packs of 70s and 80s cars on cults3d by RICHEMPORIUM. I haven't printed any myself yet, but they look reasonable. They would need rescaling from OO, but he's tagged them as N gauge too so 1:120 should be fine.

 

https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/austin-mini-metro-1980-to-1990

 

For some reason I only bookmarked the mini metro but you can find the others from there.

Look forward to seeing your works! And thanks for sharing that link, definitely a good number of items there for a mid/late 60s scene!

[Blefuscu]

10 hours ago, britishcolumbian said:

Look forward to seeing your works! And thanks for sharing that link, definitely a good number of items there for a mid/late 60s scene!

 

Yes, there's a decent range there.

My Peugeot is still in the body shop! At this scale it's taken a few cycles of priming and fine sanding to get out the printing contours. It does have wheels, and an interior too, somewhere....