He'll be too busy reading the marriage contract to see if there is a get of jail free clause - I'll wait until he gets back to break the news there isn't .........
Andy 4 sets of drivers, 1 set of "bogie" and 3 sets of tender wheels all at rough £17-23 a go - it soon adds up to a serious heartbreak of the wallet.
There are a lot of axles on an 8F and tender, even more on a Gresley pacific... I was once quoted an eyewatering £400 to turn some castings I have for an A1/3/4. I now have my own form tool and plan to have a go at turning them myself. Even if I wreck all the castings, I can still replace them with Slaters wheels for less than the £400 Indeed as has been pointed out I could actually buy a Hattons A3/4 and still have change as the castings cost about £80 when I bought them.
They are even more than that these days, £25.50 per axle for Drivers and 18.50 per axle for bogie/tender wheels. I have just ordered wheels for my W Class/A6 and Q6 (the latter are a Christmas gift from Chris) Sit down Andy - they came to just over £289... I could have got two Dapol's almost, if I had the remotest interest in them of course...
I've always fancied a Class A, LNER F8, but its a basic kit effectively an 0-8-0 with 4 driving wheels and no backhead. Kit £190 Wheels £88 Motor £120 ish Backhead and fittings ??? Misc bits ??? And that's just for a simple tank engine, I shudder to think what a high end kit, wheels and motor would add up to - a second mortgage springs to mind!
Bad news Mossy - the 4 sets of driving wheels will be £102 The form tool sounds an interesting idea, create a steel wheel rim coupled (pun intended) with a 3D printed wheel center. Now the trick will be to create the axle bush. A better option maybe to get the 3D printed center made into a lost wax casting, for one loco it may be a bit expensive, but for multiple loco's may be an option. A recent check of my loco kits to be started only the J37 and K4 still require wheels a mere £282 at current prices The 8F wheels have arrived, I will save the photo's for the 8F build thread I will need to start - the most upsetting point is the drivers aren't much bigger than the tender wheels. Paul
Unbelievable! sorry we appear to have high jacked the thread and gone off on a tangent re wheel prices. It’s amazing that a kit can now cost less with much more design work etc that the wheels which will be somewhat more mass produced.. Makes you wonder.. is it captive audience syndrome? what’s the real cost and profit margin here? Or is it just a case of “did he see me coming? “??
Andy I've thought the same thing a number of times but never put it into words. I reckon it's captive market syndrome.
I'd agree with that too Mossy... what's the first thing we all do when we buy a kit... its order up the wheels from Slaters and motors from either ABC or Premier.
Slaters wheels are quite cheap when compared to the available alternatives when you take into consideration turning of cast wheels.
For what we get I still think they are over priced ....... however Slaters provide a large range of wheels, just in the 4'5" to 4'8" driver range there are 27 different versions, all requiring tooling etc etc, and the sales for each type will take some time to cover all the cost of all of them. Oh well back to the usual method ...... Dear Santa, I've a good boy this year - honestly, please please can have another set of wheels Toto - it's about time you pulled your finger out and took control of this thread - none of this condemed man malarky, just suck it up and hide in the shed, like a real man Paul
surely Toto must have a few spare boxes of the correct Slater's wheels hidden away somewhere in his vast emporium stash of kits he could let you have?
Toto, has plenty of boxes that also require wheels and motors, and we know him too well, although he has a stock of 1833 compatable motors, he'll feel the need to upgrade these loco's to something better. We'll keep his mind focused on locating the Q1, and saying I do, and that should be enough for the moment. Paul