Graham456 Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 (edited) And all that lovely whitemetal does wonders for adhesion. And NO mazak rot has ever appeared in a keyser kit has it ! Please note I talk of mazak rot. NOT thouse fun inducing rotten bits grotty bits or shoddy bits Edited June 23, 2017 by Graham456 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bike2steam Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 Although alloys, there's quite a difference between Mazak, and whitemetal. Mazak, mostly zinc, very cheap to produce, is brittle, reactive to air, and certain liquids. I know which I'd sooner have as a bearing material. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham456 Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 (edited) Although alloys, there's quite a difference between Mazak, and whitemetal.l. Yes your right! We know that's why I said there's no veneer in Eer! Doh! I meant rot in here (keyser's kits being the subject) Keysers not useing mazak Edited June 23, 2017 by Graham456 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted June 24, 2017 Author Share Posted June 24, 2017 K's kits seem to be the Marmite of the railway modelling world, you love them or hate dislike them. For all those who say they are better to be left to die out there is a great clamour for their re-release via the NuCast partnership, admittedly in most cases with updated etched chassis and better casting of the parts. Each to their own, we all have our likes and dislikes and I wish a few less folk liked K's kits as unmade ones quite often go for a kings ransom 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham456 Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 K's kits seem to be the Marmite of the railway modelling world, you love them or hate dislike them. Each to their own, we all have our likes and dislikes and I wish a few less folk liked K's kits as unmade ones quite often go for a kings ransom In my case I buy people's cast off's there much cheaper than. Unbuilt kits, and some times they come with bonus of better wheels or motors, (even portascrapes) the sadder looking the more appealing to me, as for some reason I feel sorry for them! If glued together all the better as people can't seam to mix aradite so you can just pull the bits off the rubbery glue, I have ended up with five 44xx never paying more than a tenner for most of them Haveing said that even the one I bought new in 1978 wouldn't have been more than that! I also find it amusing how little people know about what there building? Why else do they stick the safety valves on top of the saddle tank rather than through the underside of boiler so that there ON the boiler of the Cotswold L & Y 0-6-0st ? Must have corrected three or more of these and them moved them on The only trouble with Ks kits is what do you do with 72xx,52xx,42xx, 1363' coal tanks ectra now the new and improved RTR has come out......................still no mazak rot to kill them off I suppose! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killian keane Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 (edited) In my case I buy people's cast off's there much cheaper than. Unbuilt kits, and some times they come with bonus of better wheels or motors, (even portascrapes) the sadder looking the more appealing to me, as for some reason I feel sorry for them! If glued together all the better as people can't seam to mix aradite so you can just pull the bits off the rubbery glue, I have ended up with five 44xx never paying more than a tenner for most of them Haveing said that even the one I bought new in 1978 wouldn't have been more than that! I also find it amusing how little people know about what there building? Why else do they stick the safety valves on top of the saddle tank rather than through the underside of boiler so that there ON the boiler of the Cotswold L & Y 0-6-0st ? Must have corrected three or more of these and them moved them on The only trouble with Ks kits is what do you do with 72xx,52xx,42xx, 1363' coal tanks ectra now the new and improved RTR has come out......................still no mazak rot to kill them off I suppose! Buying locos you pity is a risky business! Last year I bought a 2 5/8" gauge Beattie well tank lookalike missing most of her bits, she still sits on my workbench in a sorry state awaiting proper attention Edited June 24, 2017 by Killian keane 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham456 Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 Buying locos you pity is a risky business! Last year I bought a 2 5/8" gauge Beattie well tank lookalike missing most of her bits, she still sits on my workbench in a sorry state awaiting proper attention O Dear ! Poor thing,even I think that might be dead. Unless there is some remains under the footplate? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killian keane Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 O Dear ! Poor thing,even I think that might be dead. Unless there is some remains under the footplate?Nah, she is not dead but sleepeth! I'll have to make patterns to cast cylinders and wheels, but I'm determined she'll run again, what is under the footplate is a worksplate proudly stating that she was built by Stevens model dockyard of Aldgate 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 In my case I buy people's cast off's there much cheaper than. Unbuilt kits, and some times they come with bonus of better wheels or motors, (even portascrapes) the sadder looking the more appealing to me, as for some reason I feel sorry for them! If glued together all the better as people can't seam to mix aradite so you can just pull the bits off the rubbery glue, I have ended up with five 44xx never paying more than a tenner for most of them Haveing said that even the one I bought new in 1978 wouldn't have been more than that! I also find it amusing how little people know about what there building? Why else do they stick the safety valves on top of the saddle tank rather than through the underside of boiler so that there ON the boiler of the Cotswold L & Y 0-6-0st ? Must have corrected three or more of these and them moved them on The only trouble with Ks kits is what do you do with 72xx,52xx,42xx, 1363' coal tanks ectra now the new and improved RTR has come out......................still no mazak rot to kill them off I suppose! You sound more like me, especially with Wills kits, Dave Ellis keeps getting my requests for spares (I think he was one of the first to see the opportunity of selling parts) and as you say quite often they come with Romford wheelsets. With the Wills/Southeastern Finecast kits I am changing the older style whitemetal or RTR chassis for the newer SEF etched ones, also take the opportunity to fit Highlevel gearboxes. K's are a bit different as quite often the dimensions for the length and of wheelbase are out a bit for scale chassis But as you say quite a lot were put together with epoxy which if lucky was the fast set which degrades with either heat and or paint stripper/caustic soda I recently brought a M7 described as a brass & whitemetal kit, thinking it was a Wills, happened to be an Eames/ scratch built with a cast Wills chassis, needs a motor, coupling rods and pickups, all of which I have in my spares box. A bit more than your £10 at £27.45 inc postage. Also a very well built SEF Q1 (etched chassis etc) with meshing issues £39.85 inc postage, at worst I have bought a Highlevel gear box £16 and will need to swap the motors. I also keep an eye out for old (nickle tyred) wheels, either on their own or fitted to Hornby/ Hornby Dublo chassis, these can also be had cheaply My next issue is that I am changing gauges to EM, K's are an easy modification especially if they have Romford wheels, stick a piece of 40 thou black plasticard to the side of the chassis and change the axles. Or fit washers to the chassis spacers (even easier) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Dave Ellis has made SEF the Volkswagen Parts Department of the kit industry. Everything's available off the shelf, and it's a fantastic resource to have. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 Dave Ellis has made SEF the Volkswagen Parts Department of the kit industry. Everything's available off the shelf, and it's a fantastic resource to have. Dave is also a real Gent, always available for advice, nothing seems too much trouble and a pleasure to deal with. Now the old Nucast items are slowly being reintroduced perhaps there will be the odd ex-K's items available Not forgetting this is a great resource for sourcing parts for scratch builds, other makes, modifications to other kits/RTR, or just super detailing Anf old Wills kits can be updated to the New SEF revised level of detail 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bike2steam Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 The only trouble with Ks kits is what do you do with 72xx,52xx,42xx, 1363' coal tanks ectra now the new and improved RTR has come out......................still no mazak rot to kill them off I suppose! Well as long as my 2 K's 72xx can pull more than 60 Bachmann 16T minerals, I'll turn a blind eye to the superior rtr detail. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penlan Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) The only trouble with Ks kits is what do you do with 72xx,52xx,42xx, 1363' coal tanks ectra now the new and improved RTR has come out...................... ... Coal Tanks... I still use K's with LRM Chassis', then most of my stock is of a similar appearance, perhaps not 95% correct looking, but they blend in together. And has been said many times above, it's white metal, heavy, easily worked etc., When I visited and operated Peter Denny's layout (Buckingham), at both Newlyn East and Truro, it all looked very good, and is very much revered as classic and wonderful skilled modelling, but that was because it was all to the same standard, what I call a holistic approach, but put some of that stock next to current day good modelling, and, with respect, it does not look so good. Hopefully 't-b-g' of this Parish will understand what I mean. Edited June 25, 2017 by Penlan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killian keane Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) So exactly what models comprised the milestones range? Lion, gwr rover class, metro 4-4-0t, beattie 2-4-0, buddicom class, LNWR problem, armstrong 4-4-0... What am I missing in that list? Edited June 25, 2017 by Killian keane Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 ... Coal Tanks... I still use K's with LRM Chassis', then most of my stock is of a similar appearance, perhaps not 95% correct looking, but they blend in together. And has been said many times above, it's white metal, heavy, easily worked etc., When I visited and operated Peter Denny's layout (Buckingham), at both Newlyn East and Truro, it all looked very good, and is very much revered as classic and wonderful skilled modelling, but that was because it was all to the same standard, what I call a holistic approach, but put some of that stock next to current day good modelling, and, with respect, it does not look so good. Hopefully 't-b-g' of this Parish will understand what I mean. This is exactly what makes some layouts great and lets others down, and perhaps where those in EM & P4 gauges tend to win out over 00 gauge as they have to build the trackwork rather than buy RTR products which are out of scale. Having said this there are some terrific 00 gauge layouts out there with stunning trackwork matching stock,buildings and scenery. Like most things in life, an item is as good as its weakest part Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach bogie Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 So exactly what models comprised the milestones range? Lion, gwr rover class, metro 4-4-0t, beattie 2-4-0, buddicom class, LNWR problem, armstrong 4-4-0... What am I missing in that list? GWR Dean Single. There were also continental milestones range Mike Wiltshire Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lofty1966 Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) Dave Ellis has made SEF the Volkswagen Parts Department of the kit industry. Everything's available off the shelf, and it's a fantastic resource to have.If it's a VAG parts store , there will be #### all to buy. They are useless , anything over 10 years old and they stop making/supplying!Try getting even basic stuff for Audi's iconic ur quattro. Grrrrrrrrrr It's BMW and Mercedes that have stock of just about everything they ever produced! Edited June 25, 2017 by lofty1966 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killian keane Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 (edited) Milestones Beatty 2-4-0 http://m.ebay.ie/itm/K-s-MILESTONES-KIT-FOR-A-LONDON-SOUTH-WESTERN-RAILWAY-2-4-0-FALCON-CLASS-LOCO-/112454167305?hash=item1a2eca6b09%3Ag%3AL0QAAOSw6ShZTXND&_trkparms=pageci%253A2b54e305-5992-11e7-97be-74dbd180c480%257Cparentrq%253Aded324ce15c0aa49389a4a38fffd15d6%257Ciid%253A25 Edited June 30, 2017 by Killian keane Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonman Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 To return to the original question, my (few) k's kits have mostly been melted down and recast as ballast weights... Sorry! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 If it's a VAG parts store , there will be #### all to buy. They are useless , anything over 10 years old and they stop making/supplying! Try getting even basic stuff for Audi's iconic ur quattro. Grrrrrrrrrr It's BMW and Mercedes that have stock of just about everything they ever produced! OT but never had any problems getting VAG parts for 10+ year old VWs. Current Bora TDi is 14 years old. Only time VAG hit a problem was in the late 1980s when I was looking for parts for my old K70L. Given that VW only sold 800 of these cars in Britain, maybe the parts difficulty wasn't surprising. I got the parts brand-new from a VW dealer in Hamburg in the end. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Fleece 30 Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 I think this was a K's TT kit. I bought it today in a collection equating to £6 an item so cannot complain. The body I feel is not very good so will be used for selling on but the chassis is a cracker so will be used on something else. It is the second K's prairie I have had and both have been poor in relation to other kits like BEC and GEM. I think they made the 97xx in TT too which is slightly better but still not good. The 97xx here came part glued which came apart easily and allowed me to solder it together. Please correct me if I am wrong about the manufacturers name. Garry 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham456 Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 To return to the original question, my (few) k's kits have mostly been melted down and recast as ballast weights... Sorry! Don't say sorry! Your loss! It would have been easier to sell them to us madmen on flebay and buy some car wheel weights all ready sized up and ready to go at your local tyre store! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 2, 2017 Author Share Posted July 2, 2017 I think this was a K's TT kit. I bought it today in a collection equating to £6 an item so cannot complain. The body I feel is not very good so will be used for selling on but the chassis is a cracker so will be used on something else. It is the second K's prairie I have had and both have been poor in relation to other kits like BEC and GEM. I think they made the 97xx in TT too which is slightly better but still not good. The 97xx here came part glued which came apart easily and allowed me to solder it together. Please correct me if I am wrong about the manufacturers name. Garry The top one may be a Graham Farish loco, is it kit built or a one piece haed cast metal ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John Isherwood Posted July 2, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 2, 2017 The top one may be a Graham Farish loco, is it kit built or a one piece haed cast metal ? .... in TT scale ? That's a new one on me ! Regards, John Isherwood. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 2, 2017 Author Share Posted July 2, 2017 Sorry Still half asleep when reading it earlier and missed the reference to TT scale, Both looked a bit odd for the 00 gauge models, K's kits are rare in that scale Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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