7mm LIMA 4F upgrade

[jivebunny]

Hi All,

 

A couple of years ago I acquired a 7mm Lima 4F which was admittedly a cheap impulse purchase. It's not the most accurate or detailed of models, to put it mildly, especially as this is the dark green SNCF version we're talking about (never existed and I don't think any 4Fs were even exported during WWII). Nevertheless I was happy to give it a new home and see what could be done with it, although I don't think I'll be going so far as replacing the frames, wheels and various other bits that are available.

 

After fixing a few broken parts and drilling an extra hole in the tender drawbar to reduce the gap, last week I bit the bullet and bought an airbrush so I could try my hand at my first ever respray.

 

I must say I'm happy with the outcome since I was half expecting to make a dog's dinner of it, so now I'm just waiting for a couple of transfers to arrive from Railtec and then I'll finish off the final details.

 

The old Lima motor still works but I'd be keen to replace it with something smoother and quieter. Has anyone ever done this on this particular model and if so what motor would you recommend?

 

Here's a before/during/after photo of the little beastie, next to a Dapol 3F which I treated myself to last year.

 

Looking forward to any advice you may have!

 

JB

 

Edited June 16, 2019 by jivebunny

[Chrisr40]

Pretty sure there was a chap selling motor conversion kits on eBay. 

Chris

[jivebunny]

Thanks Chris,

 

I can't seem to find the kits on eBay at the moment, if anyone has any further info I'm all ears! I did however find a second 7mm 4F which I somehow managed to accidentally purchase...

 

Red LMS jobby which will also be getting a repaint. Gonna have to start a small O gauge shed layout I think!

 

JB

 

 

[PatB]

IIRC the pancake motor in the 0 gauge 4F wasn't much bigger (if at all) than the ones in Lima's 4mm diesels. It was certainly rather small and feeble. If so, one of the popular CD motor conversions might be made to fit. Try Googling Susumotor. 

[SteveyDee68]

My dad spent years upgrading his Lima 4F ... first a new boiler, then he altered the tender, next he chopped the cab to size and created a proper backhead. Decided he didn't like the wheels - cut out all the spokes, detailed the under frame. By now, wasn't happy with the boiler fittings - white metal replacements came along, and then suddenly it was completely in bits again as he corrected lots of details he had previously ignored, including new wheels, before suddenly a brass chassis kit appeared which he painstakingly (emphasis on pain) built, gradually creating his own bespoke "Lima" 4F - I say "Lima" because I'm not sure how much was left at the end!

 

Dad is in a home, living with dementia. He's lost his skills and forgotten his knowledge. I have someone doing repairs to his locos that are beyond my skill set but one thing puzzles me ... what happened to his 4F? It's vanished! What I thought was "his" 4F turned out to be a brass built 3F!

 

He must have worked on it for 25/30 years to get it to a state where he was happy with it but at the end of the day, at day one, he traded his entire Fleischmann HO stock for a Lima 4F, some Lima mk 1 coaches, a few wagons and some (Lima) track and was more than happy with his loco.

 

All the best for your 4F journey, however far down that road it may take you.

 

Steve 

Edited June 18, 2019 by SteveyDee68
Corrected typos

[RexAshton]

This might be a bit expensive but take a look here at PFK60 and here at PR250

Edited June 20, 2019 by RexAshton
Wrong hyperlink

[RedgateModels]

On 18/06/2019 at 20:13, SteveyDee68 said:

My dad spent years upgrading his Lima 4F ... first a new boiler, then he altered the tender, next he chopped the cab to size and created a proper backhead. Decided he didn't like the wheels - cut out all the spokes, detailed the under frame. By now, wasn't happy with the boiler fittings - white metal replacements came along, and then suddenly it was completely in bits again as he corrected lots of details he had previously ignored, including new wheels, before suddenly a brass chassis kit appeared which he painstakingly (emphasis on pain) built, gradually creating his own bespoke "Lima" 4F - I say "Lima" because I'm not sure how much was left at the end!

 

Dad is in a home, living with dementia. He's lost his skills and forgotten his knowledge. I have someone doing repairs to his locos that are beyond my skill set but one thing puzzles me ... what happened to his 4F? It's vanished! What I thought was "his" 4F turned out to be a brass built 3F!

 

He must have worked on it for 25/30 years to get it to a state where he was happy with it but at the end of the day, at day one, he traded his entire Fleischmann HO stock for a Lima 4F, some Lima mk 1 coaches, a few wagons and some (Lima) track and was more than happy with his loco.

 

All the best for your 4F journey, however far down that road it may take you.

 

Steve 

 

Sorry to hear about your Dad Steve, going through the same thing with Mum

 

Your list just about sums up my thoughts on the Lima 4F. I bought one with the intention of doing a "light" detailing for use on Fourgig East - well the S&D had some and that's not too far from the West Country setting of the layout ....

 

In the end I've decided that it's too much work and I don't really like the loco anyway LOL So it's for sale to raise funds for the forthcoming Minerva class 14

[jivebunny]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for your replies.

 

On 18/06/2019 at 17:32, PatB said:

IIRC the pancake motor in the 0 gauge 4F wasn't much bigger (if at all) than the ones in Lima's 4mm diesels. It was certainly rather small and feeble. If so, one of the popular CD motor conversions might be made to fit. Try Googling Susumotor. 

 

Cheers for this, at £4.99 that seems like a reasonable investment

 

On 18/06/2019 at 21:13, SteveyDee68 said:

All the best for your 4F journey, however far down that road it may take you.

 

Steve 

 

Sorry to hear about your dad, Steve. A sad situation indeed. I have the feeling I may end up eternally adding bits too, starting with a bit of weight because it's far too light, particularly the tender which looks like it could come off the rails with a heavy shunt (not a problem yet as I don't have any wagons...). All in all it's a crude model but I think with a couple of improvements it won't stand out too much among RTR locos from viewing distance.

 

JB

 

 

[PatB]

Crude though the Lima 4F is, it got an awful lot of paupers started in 7mm back in the 1970s. It and the Triang Blue Flyer. I had two of the former and three of the latter, as did most of the 0 gaugers I met c1980. They were cheap and at least represented a starting point. A 4F and 3-4 Lima Mk1s (pretty much its absolute traction limit IIRC) made a decent train for that oval of Peco Streamline around the garden fence that we all seemed to have back then :D. From a distance it didn't look half bad.

 

I'm not sure how much effort I'd put into upgrading one though. Once you've replaced all the bits that really need to be replaced to bring it up to modern 0 standards, it might not have been any harder to scratchbuild. That's not to say that simple mods like proper couplings, a paint job and fretting out the wheel spokes won't make a world of difference though.

 

If you don't mind going diesel, though, the mech found under the 33 and the diesel shunter is way better than the 4F's. A much heftier motor altogether, which powered an awful lot of scratchbuilt diesel projects, which still turn up on Ebay from time to time. My own contribution was a sort of gigantic, mutated Ruston 48DS which was, basically, a shaped block of lead with a plasticard skin, sitting over a Lima bogie. It had fantastic haulage power and great slow running ability, but did occasionally smell of hot electricity and eventually wore out the axle holes in the plastic frames. There was also a rather crude DMU, using hacked about Triang shortie coaches and the ubiquitous Lima bogie in the guard's compartment. It did have directional and interior lighting though, which Dad and I were most pleased with.