4mm etch loco kits ... do they still appeal?

Then I noticed that the driving wheel sets provided in the kit were rubbish, one wheel had a larger crankpin and another wheel had two twisted spokes. The rest of the wheels looked like they had been painted with a stiff yard brush and there were traces of old glue residue over the centres. Clearly these had been added to the kit and had come from something else. So on the phone to South Eastern Finecast for new wheelsets of 23mm dia 18 spoke 5' 8" drivers... second cost incurred. I ought to have looked at the kit when it first came... never mind we live and learn.

 

So with the C12 waiting bits I turned my attention to the K3... hmm nice loco this one I perussed the parts with glee, yes I thought I'll start with the tender. Now this kit is an old Anchoridge offering and came from the same collection being sold by the nice man who was "thinning out his collection", everything went well I built up the inner tender frames nice and true and started detailing the tender back wall and soldering the coal space in the tender.

Then I though I know lets try the tender wheelset as a dry run fitting and guess what... loads of side slap which meant a dead short could occur between the wheel rim and the inner frame, so back to ebay for some 25mm brass wheel and axle shims. Unforeseen purchase number three ! So the K3 tender frame is on hold until bits arrive later this week, otherwise everything is good.

 

And finally another Anchoridge kit, this time a later one of a J39/1, here are the etches, they look very clean.

This loco and the K3 will have flexible compensation using Perseverance Models ones. As yet I may well fit these locos with the Anchorage gearboxes as supplied as I'm a bit reticent to fit the Portescap RG4s I mentioned earlier. Anyway as yet I haven't started on the J39 appart from drilling out the wheel centre positions on the horn blocks.

 

Thanks Rob I'll give it a scan and see, the K3 looks reasonably straight forward and when its finished it'll go on the well known bidding emporium. I won't sell rubbish and this K3 will leave here tested and nicely painted with decent detailing parts fitted and in a foam padded box, so the new owner will have a decent engine for their layout.

 

That is really interesting Pete, the Craftsman C12 is a great little kit and I've not encountered any problems at all... everything has just fell into place nicely and yes this one too is also a second hand buy. I think a lot of people buy kits which they never build for whatever reason. Right now I'm waiting for new 23mm driving wheels and Romford gears, I'm going with a simple X04 motor which is what the kit was originally designed to take, a bit old fashioned I know but if it works well then why change. So my next job is to fit side tanks, cab and boiler and then I'm stopped until parts arrive. I'll post a few pics soon.
York Paul

 

This is the 4mm Anchoridge kit K3 tender build, so far the main body is assembled with inner sub frame squared and fitted (abait temporarily) and the sprung buffers and draw gear yet to be fitted. I need tomake a cut out in the outer frame to allow the buffer shank to spring first then when the outer frame slots in nicely I'll solder the final fix along with the tender valance and some work outstanding at the front end.

 

And here is the front view showing the parking brake and water scoop columns just positioned in place for this photo. Front handrails and the tender drag box are still to be fitted along with the coal bunker door hatch.

 

Thank you for the compliments Rob, the 4mm is a bit fiddly for me but a nice little challenge all the same. The main reason for building up these kits is so they can be sold on to help towards funding another 7mm kit. It keeps me happy whilst the snow falls and the missus is away tending to the mother in law in hospital.
York Paul

 

So with all this snow everywhere making getting out near impossible up here in the hills I have time to crack on with finishing the K3 tender, here is where I'm at: the front footplate is complete now with detailing in soldered in place... a little error I've notoced is the right had side of the drag box front plate has been located a smidge too far back. I think I'll not take this off and resolder as that might affect other joints already fixed. Instead I am going to filler and flat the surface back at the painting stage, not being lazy as this bit of the tender isn't critical within the integrity of the build, however I do want the finished item to look right to the eye.

 

And here is the rear view with the beam and buffer collars soldered in.

 

Now the snow has a lot to answer for because I've got some brass .25mm axle shims coming but the postie hasn't been today. In order to place and align the tender wheelsets into the inner frame I need to prevent too much lateral side movement of the wheels, there is a real possibility that the tyre faces could catch against the inner frame and cause a short. I think each axle needs .50mm to .75mm shiming, this will allow the wheels to run unhindered and not catch the metal frame sides. The final job will be to fit the side valance then trim the outer frame at the back to allow clearance for the buffer movement, fit footplate and back steps, add the vacuum pipe and screw coupling and finally the cast details of axleboxes and spring hangers plus the brake rigging.

 

That is not bad value, however it is a bit on the high side for me also... funds stretched fully here as well.

 

So carrying on with some 4mm etch loco kits I'd like to build I went back to the C12 loco, the original plan was to fit an X04 motor as the frames were designed for that but on reflection I think the X04 would look nasty with the back end poking into the cab and readily seen... not good me thinks. So I going with a Mashima and 40:1 gear drive instead and pushing the build forward I've been focusing on the body etches now that the chassis is mainly completed, the picture shows the left side tank before fitting to the footplate frame. The hand rail and end steps now soldered into place.