Airfix body to Hornby chassis.

[Keith George]

How easy/ difficult  is it to fit a airfix/Dapol BOB plastic kit body to a early Hornby BOB chassis. ?.

 

Thanks in advance for any information.  Keith.

 

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Simple enough in principle, but you are on your own when it comes to issues such as whether the Hornby mechanism is close enough to scale to look well under the Airfix body, and how you choose to attach body to mechanism. Unless you luck into someone who has actually done it...

[Steamport Southport]

I've no idea. I'm pretty certain someone has tried it before today.

 

But it's worth pointing out that RT Models has the Albert Goodall range of detail parts made for the Airfix kits. May come in handy for anyone contemplating detailing or converting one.

 

http://www.rtmodels.co.uk/rt_models_024.htm

 

 

 

 

Jason

[The Johnster]

Did this many, many years ago with an Airfix Biggin Hill on a Triang Winston Chuchill chassis, so I can't claim any scale credentials.  It's a long time ago, but IIRC the main issues were that the Triang mech needed a good bit of packing out to attach to the Airfix kit bodywork, and that the result was very noisy; the slide bars on the Triang WT were a joke, and my attempt to replace them with the Airfix ones was deplorable; plastic is not designed for this sort of abuse.  One of many failures back in my 1960s teen years that I learned from; in this case what I learned was not to try it again!

 

None of which helps you with your project; modern Hornby BoB chassis are much better and have proper slide bars.  Is the Airfix/Dapol/Kitmaster body so much better than the Hornby as to make this worth the effort, though?  Current Hornby stuff is pretty good; if on the other hand you are replacing an old Triang or Triang Hornby body I can see the point.  Pack it with as much ballast as you can and it should be ok.

[Steamport Southport]

I think he means the old Hornby BoB rather than the new version.

 

Retooled in the early to mid 1970s as a better version of the Triang model and then they revamped it again in the 1980s as Spitfire.

 

 

 

Jason

[Keith George]

I think he means the old Hornby BoB rather than the new version.

 

Retooled in the early to mid 1970s as a better version of the Triang model and then they revamped it again in the 1980s as Spitfire.

 

 

 

Jason

 

It is a Spitfire chassis I wish to attatch a Airfix body to.

[Steamport Southport]

I should think it would be doable. At least it didn't have a Ringfield motor tender drive which many of the models at the time had.

 

As stated above the problem is finding a way to attach the body to the chassis and making it removable for maintenance. Maybe this is of use. I know it's meant for etched chassis but could be a way of doing it.

 

Click Loco Body Fixing

 

http://www.cometmodels.co.uk/modules/downloads.html#Loco body fixing

 

 

I would go for it. I was looking at an Airfix Schools not long ago to see if it was worth doing something with. I think the answer is yes. Dimensionally it seems accurate enough.

 

 

 

Jason

Edited August 3, 2018 by Steamport Southport

[Keith George]

Thanks Jason, that body fixing idea looks  very good. I would like to get rid of the southern circle on the firebox door  and seeing that I have a Airfix kit that as been hanging around for years I thought I would have a go at  it .

 

Regards,  Keith.

[SRman]

It is doable. I did one many years ago, but I can't recall exactly what the process was. It is relatively easy to modify and test-fit the kit bits before gluing them in place.

I also have a Merchant Navy I built using a Wrenn WC chassis with the Walschaerts valve gear removed. The body was made from two Airfix (ex-Kitmaster) kits cut through the firebox and rejoined to make the longer MN firebox. I widened the body a little by packing the base with spacers, but I did nothing about the narrow cab configuration.

In either case, file the insides of the leading, trailing and upper edges of the smoke deflectors down to present much thinner edges to the eye.

[Keith George]

I have noticed that Albert Goodall  as WC/ BOB firebox doors listed. Anyone know if the Hornby spitfire firebox door is removable or is it moulded as one piece with the rest of the body.?

[The Johnster]

Do you mean smokebox doors, Kieth?  The firebox door is at the other end in the cab, and the fireman shovels the coal through it.

 

Can't recall how I fixed my Airfix body but the thing was not let down by this; it was my teenage attempt to use the Airfix slide bars and piston/crosshead that doomed it.  This was the old Winston Churchill chassis, and Spitfire's might be a bit better in this respect.  My usual method, however, was (and still is; I've recently done it on a Limbach 94xx conversion) is to glue balsa or similar strips to the inside of the body, building them up until they make an interference fit on the chassis somewhere there are no moving bits; under the cab is usually a good place.  The Limbach has Motorway Service Station coffee stirrers cut to fit.  Another coffee stirrer forms a stretcher piece at the front; when you have got the 'sit' of the loco right, glue the body on with cheap glue; the idea is to secure the body so that you can pick the loco up and handle it, but to be able to break the glue bond should you require to remove the body; you can re-glue it on re-attachment.

[Keith George]

Oops, yes  smokebox doors ! If I was a woman i would put it  down to a blonde moment. i must just put it down to creeping senility.

[DCB]

The old BOB Winston Churchill used the Britannia centre drive chassis with 6ft 6" + 6ft 6" wheel spacing but different wheels. Its way out from the

proper 7ft 6" + 7ft 3" BOB spacing. The B12 / A3 chassis is better at 7ft + 7ft so maybe BOB wheels on a Bi2 mightb be a better starting point.

I think the 1980s "Spitfire" had the tiny motor.

[The Johnster]

Oops, yes  smokebox doors ! If I was a woman i would put it  down to a blonde moment. i must just put it down to creeping senility.

 

No worries Kieth; I've had a few similar 'senior' moments myself, and it's not so much creeping as rampant...

[The Johnster]

The old BOB Winston Churchill used the Britannia centre drive chassis with 6ft 6" + 6ft 6" wheel spacing but different wheels. Its way out from the

proper 7ft 6" + 7ft 3" BOB spacing. The B12 / A3 chassis is better at 7ft + 7ft so maybe BOB wheels on a Bi2 mightb be a better starting point.

I think the 1980s "Spitfire" had the tiny motor.

Hmm, you'd still be stuck with the flangeless centre drivers if you used the Winston Churchill wheels.  I'm not sure I see the point of this; if you want to motorise a Kitmaster construction kit WC/BoB with a donor Hornby chassis, then the only chassis that are any good come with a perfectly good Hornby body, which renders the construction kit body surplus.  You'd be better using a kit chassis, or possibly motorising the tender (though I do not like tender drives and hesitate to recommend this).  The Winston Churchill running gear will not fit on the B12/A3 if the cylinders are to be in the correct place.

[Keith George]

Thank you all for the help and information.

 

Keith

[6029 King Stephen]

Hi,

 

I have also done this conversion using the Airfix Biggin Hill loco body fitted to a Triang Winston Churchill that had a smoke unit fitted.  There was no problem securing the body to the chassis because, if I remember correctly, on the Triang WC there was a screw that went through from the top above the buffer beam in to the chassis.  The cab end of the body has a piece that slots into the rear of the chassis.  I also used the Airfix tender but fitted with metal wheels and bearings and made a goalpost from wire for the front of the tender to couple on to the rear bogie of the loco.  I painted the loco in Malachite green and used an HMRS sheet for the Bulleid loco and tender lining.  In fact, I still have part of this sheet of stripes if you want it.  The Airfix body length was the same as the Triang one.

 

I have a Dapol City of Truro kit and intend to use a Hornby Polly chassis to motorise it - I have an old Railway Modeller article explaining how to do it.  You may also be able to get hold of a Kemilway chassis for your BoB project or a Branchlines kit if you want to use Romfords etc.

 

Regards,

 

Steve