Golden Fleece 30

Hi David, The wheels above were from 2 different kits to show comparison only. The larger flanged ones came with the 2P kit, and were tapped. The finer flanged ones without balance weights came from a BR standard class 3 tank which I queried as again they are the 6'9" but the tank loco should have the 5'3" size so either the wrong ones were supplied or the owner bought the wrong size. These were also tapped. I may use these for an A3 sometime. The A4 is far more heavier than any other whitemetal kit even some 00 ones. Garry

Hi David, This seems to be true although I have a feeling for a short while Romford made a couple of wheel sizes specifically for TT but cannot verify that. In the old days the 00 sized ones worked well on the Tri-ang, Wrenn, Gem track of the time. The body and chassis castings do not seem to match up, not helped by me not getting the rear splasher/firebox piece up against the footplate but the casting fitted the top parts locating slots so I just soldered it in. It did allow the saddle part to fit correctly though. I did find in a 3SMR kit a set of Romford wheels supplied by them I guess for the kit which have a slightly reduced flange depth as the photo shows. Why a set of 6'9" wheels were in the kit I do not know as it needs 5'6"/5'3" ones. Although deceiving the wheel diameter and throw are exactly the same for the old and new versions seen here. Garry ps Just obtained a lovely very heavy whitemetal GEM kit for an A4. When finished that should pull some weight due to its own, it feels heavier than the Dublo diecast one.

The wheels are 20mm diameter with a crank throw of 4mm so there is a big issue there. 1mm throw would make a great difference but unlikely to find any smaller throw ones, cheap anyway. Thinking about it in reality a smaller wheel is no good if the crank throw is the same as it all relies on the distance between the axle centre and the footplate. This means that unless I use a smaller throw than the Romfords I will have to lift the body. I am guessing when Romfords were originally brought out they only had the one crank throw for any sized wheel. I dont remember in the old says being asked anything other than size, insulated or plain. The amount of spokes was immaterial too, which still is today for me. The coupled wheelbase is only 28mm yet too big for the splashers. I may move the rear wheel a little but not much space available at the drawbar, and then possibly an extra 1mm on the front one to align into the splashers better. Garry

Hi David, So very true lol. I did wonder about the crank throw but these wheels are already drilled and tapped, plus, in the old days I never managed to do that breaking either the drill or the tap so even if I got non drilled wheels it might be an issue for me. And, as you say getting the quartering right might be a problem. I think I will leave my chassis drawing as a direct copy size wise, just moving the front axle spacing backwards, because if anyone does have smaller throw wheels it will (should) fit correctly. With mine I may lift the body for minimum clearance and if necessary remove the buffers and drop their height to match other stock. Garry ps I did not know Hornby etc were using 3mm axles, that will be the 3rd size they have used from 9/64", then 1/8", all these things are sent to try us as the saying goes.

Has anyone got any knowledge of the BEC 4-4-0 2P kit when building it? I have started assembling it and in the process of drawing up an etched chassis, but, there seems to be a clearance issue with the rear wheels. This is a later kit that had the two piece whitemetal chassis and you can see that the crankpin is so close to the footplate that the coupling rods/holding washer when fitted would probably short out. This is with the body lifted 1mm by the way so in reality the footplate sits on the crankpin. Obviously I can lower the axle holes but all this is doing, by giving clearance, lifting the body higher. The wheels here did come with the kit and supplied by 3SMR many moons ago to the previous owner. I cannot take much of the footplate insides without fear of coming through the splashers. I know one possibility would be the next size smaller wheels but if the crank throw is the same then it defeats the object unless I then lift the body from the chassis more, partly this would need doing anyway though. I cannot help wondering if I have done anything wrong but I guess this issue would happen for all these kit 4-4-0's built, so, it may have been a design fault and I am not alone with the problem. I am not looking at later 3mm society wheels which MAY have different throws etc as 1) am not a member and will not be joining, and 2) I think the kit was designed before the 3mm society was born (see below) which rules out number 1. I also have a first issue version which has a slightly different chassis fixing and chassis design but the wheels are just as close in its axleboxes. I know the front driving wheels are too far forward but on my drawing I have moved them back to be closer to the splasher centres. Again this was a design fault as the same centres were used on the earlier chassis. Garry

Hi David, Since posting the video I have obtained (yet to collect in a few weeks time) a TT collection which includes 3 brand new kits 22xx, 57xx and a 94xx (I had hoped for a Standard 5 to do in black alongside my green one). At least now I can have one of each black and green 22xx's. The collection was good value as my offer made every item UNDER £6. That included v/good 3 car DMU, Britannia etc in total 11 locos and 3 kits, nearly all boxed items too although some wagons have been weathered. He wanted to sell as one lot and no dealer was interested so I made a basic offer which was accepted. I think the brass disc is like your 3 point suspension thank you, solid at one end and movement at the other. I will see how it goes next time I can get the layout set up to try. Garry

And now for something a little different. In the latter years of steam, Darlington was asked to overhaul/work on some ex LMS locos and this Jinty when done was repainted in one of the ER styles with its number on the tank sides instead of the bunker. It makes a change from the usual and will be a bit of a talking point I guess so I will have to print off the real one to take to shows. Here is my model 47482 awaiting a smokebox number, coat of satin varnish then she is finished. I have gone against my usual scheme of all crests facing forward but only as this loco was painted like this late on in its carer. I know BR had to change from 2 crests (left and right) to 1 around 1959 by the Heraldic Association but I usually like to see them all face forwards. Garry

A turned brass disc might be the answer to the bogie "wobble". I turned down a piece of brass to fit in diameter between the wheels and parted off the thickness of the boss and it seems to have cured the wobble. I have only done one coach and yet to try a few out but looks promising, also gives a little extra weight. I am pleased I wired up the machines in the garage yesterday individually rather than using an extension cable to everything and tripping over it lol. Just need a cheap supply of brass now. Garry

On mine I shorted out the bogie making all wheels live with a simple wire across the two phosphor bronze strips as unfortunately the axles are nylon. The pick-up bogie that Grifone refers to was also used later on the Type 2 and the same design for the Hymek but yours Ray is the best option here with another 4 wheels live. I did think Buffet cars were only maroon, green etc but it is how some people interpret Restaurant, Dining and Buffet cars as there are a few variations. Garry

Here is a video of the EMU and Brush Type 4 running, also at the rear is the 22xx as untouched by me as yet. This was the first time the Kitmasters had a run and 1) they do wobble a little as they need some side supports, and 2) the internal frame fitted coaches are not as free as I hoped for, but, I have placed the wheels further out to look at the possibility of using on Peco track. I think this does limit their "free running" ability on the corners. A little more thinking is the order of the day now lol. Garry

I have read about Johnsons clear and was going to try it but understand it is acrylic and therefore not suitable to put on enamel if it is similar to the usual acrylic paints. I did read that after a couple of days it was okay but from personal experience after a few years I had the cracking up effect so will not put any acrylic on enamel at anytime, unless I forget what I used. Garry

This loco was sprayed blue then masked off with the Tamiya tape and then sprayed satin black with no obvious creep to the naked eye. Just waiting for the lining to arrive. I did try some fox lining but it was not very good, too "flexible" to keep in a straight line so I am going to use some Pressfix as the coaches seem to have come out fine with it. The only brush work this time is the red buffer beam. So far it is Fox transfers for steam loco numbers and crests, Modelmaster for nameplates and diesel numbers and Pressfix for lining. Waiting now for the new Modelmaster TT etched plates to appear before I name and number her. Garry ps the blue is slightly darker than the bottom view shows, as per the top view, but made lighter to see the black/blue edges.

Thanks Ray, I need some more numbers from Fox so will order some tape in a day or two. I have a couple more coaches already done in Sierra so it will be interesting to see how they turn out later. Garry

That is an interesting one Ray. I would be worried that the varnish would pull off the paintwork underneath it. One problem maybe is that TT is a fair bit smaller and raised door handles etc are closer together but the masking tape, Tamiya, is still the same thickness. I have masked of a Blue M/N and sprayed the black without one little bit of creep but moulded waist and cantrail lines plus hinges, handles etc all close together was in my opinion the reason on the coaches. For this Blood and Custard livery I did the Sierra Beige first followed by Ford Electric Pearlescent red which is metallic. Sierra Beige is available and I like the shade plus no where local to get any Sahara mixed, and its cheaper as a standard tin off the shelf. With my 00 coaches I did spray the reverse way round but that was due to acrylic (Blood) and enamel (Custard) use but had to use a white primer over the blood to allow the Custard to cover easily. If I do anymore I may look at painting in reverse colours as the mask line will not be over the handles etc but tried to keep away from using light over dark colours. Garry

Here is one method I have used for re-wheeling the Tri-ang coach bogies. I had some plates etched as the first photo then after folding up photos 2 and 3 the bogie was drilled and tapped. The front tab was to keep the plate against the frame and then screwed to the frame. The wheels were mounted on an axle and dropped in the slots. The two small prongs are used to hold the wheels in by bending over. Only one is used on each mount leaving the other spare in case one is bent up and down a few times and breaks. There will be a video in the not too distant future showing these running. I know they are not as free as pin points but easier to do and better than the Tri-ang version. Garry

A bit of batch production going on here with the Kitmaster coaches. There are 6 more maroon and 2 blood and custard unfinished ones not seen. The blood and custard here has come out nicely although there is some touching up with creep under the tape and me catching the blood trying to get the tape off lol. Because of this I decided to do the 2 more and MAYBE get another couple for this livery. I have cheated and put Y/B/Y lining above and below the windows due to the better clarity than the Y/B lining. All coaches here are slightly darker but shown lighter to see the finish better. It is going to take weeks to do the windows though at approx 2 hours per coach, thankfully I managed to get all the windows out of the 2 brakes. At the moment I am thinking of having some interiors etched as the overall sight through the windows seems to look better with something inside, as per the Restaurant cars. I have just counted up my metal wheels and have enough left for 50 coaches and 51 wagons (or an equivalent combination) so may have to stop buying as I still have 5 Pullmans and a few Tri-ang coaches to re-wheel yet plus a few wagons, these wheels certainly run better on Tri-ang track. Garry

Sorry, I also forgot to say that I had removed the chip mounting plate and 3-railed it too so very much doubt it would have been covered under its standard warranty anyway. Thanks for the advice though. Garry

My problem was I did not run mine until 18 months or so after buying it so it was well out of guarantee, but, when my motor melted I sent photos to Heljan who did send me a couple of replacements without any issue so I cannot fault them in that respect. I have fitted one but not run the loco since so cannot comment anymore about it. The photos are on here quite a few posts back but here again for you. Garry

With all the good intentions this means you seem to overlook the point that the Heljan Garratt has been a very big problem for lots and lots of people. Why should anyone want to spend anything on more rubbish. There have been far too many issues that should never have happened with this loco. I accept a "rogue" loco might get through the assembly line but not 99%, possibly 100%. How many people have a dud (and MAYBE a good one) and not on here? We will never know the answer as to exactly how many were bad or good but for me the phrase "once bitten twice shy" means I will never have another Heljan loco. I did comment like this on the Tango 2-8-0 thread of which people said "its okay they have learnt and this is fine" only to start putting some faults on months later. Garry

The EMU is practically finished and here it is. The bogies have been fitted with metal wheels and it runs a treat. Due to the thicker glazing which fits nicely under the side lugs the roofs do not clip on as normal so I may resort to fitting some screws in place, time will tell on that. The buffer beams may not be too good but I painted them red before realising very soon into BR days EMU's only had black beams, especially with a yellow warning panel. The destination blind does say YORK as that is what all my layouts are based around. There are two very slightly different centre window styles but as all cutting and filing was done freehand I cannot complain. This unit is a nice shade of green that I like and another different style (4 car) set is now on the horizon although I am on the look out for a DMU motor bogie to power it. Anyone know of a reasonably priced one? Garry

Hi Robert, I was talking to someone yesterday who confirmed no spoked small wheels were made by Tri-ang and it was most likely fitted wifh Romfords. The large Prairie was later fitted with the Britannia /Castle spoked wheels and these wheels make a loco considerably more expensive. Garry

Sorry Nigel, I was the one who got those 3 at £21 which was actually my maximum and saw the Royal Scot but let that go early on thinking it would get high. I have just got another 12 which should be enough now although I could do with a couple more brakes. £5 is a reasonable price so well done. Garry

Hi Robert, I do admit to being quite lucky recently. I have to also admit I did not see the unmade kit the deal as I was only looking at the G6 and accepted the J11 came with it. At £35 I thought the pair were good value as I would have paid that for the G6 on its own ao when the 57xx arrived it was an even better deal. I do have one made by someone else which is a nice runner. The G6 is a really good runner, smooth and quiet, but the J11 I think needs a good service. Regarding open spoked Jinty chassis, were any produced? I thought I once saw one about 40 years ago but never seen any mention of one so thought it was my imagination. I guess if one appeared it would be more than I would pay for it. As you say it would certainly look good. Garry

I managed to obtain these 12 Kitmasters knowing that only 2 had been started, which two would it be? Of all of them I was hoping any brakes in the 12 would be unmade but, 2 out of the 12 were brakes and both have their windows in, I would not have minded any others but I was hoping to have a couple more matching brakes for my others as I only have one so far. If I cannot pop the windows out (as they used to do easily in the 60's) I will have to try to brush paint around them. Also in the deal were the J11 and G6 which both require a repaint and an unmade 57xx so still a nice bargain. Garry

I think I may do a slightly elongated version with the chassis kits and then there will be some adjustment. At last with the backing plate soldered on afterwards it will stay in mesh if the motor is removed. There is a bit of free play as standard with the 30:1 set but I have some spare gearboxes where I can play around with like the 60:1 set. Although both ratios seemed to be the same, the 30:1 had some play, albeit small, but the 60:1 was too tight for the motor to turn. Garry