Another that I admired so this is my Christmas from myself. As you can probably guess, I like the Steve Beattie kits. Now just to spend a small fortune on wheels for a class 21, 24, 29 and a 17. Not to mention the motors. Never mind ...... More pictures when it arrives. Cheers Toto
Toto wrote: Nice fleet you have in the making, soon you'll have more loco's than British Railways ever had Paul
They will give a nice bit of variety to choose from when built. All painted up in BR green..?. Just need to build them , that's all.
What ?? A class 21, Class 24, Class 29 and a Class 29, but no Class 22 ! ...and I expect to see some of these locos in the two tone green livery as well..! When does the build/s start ?? Cheers, Gary.
We can expect a surge in the wholesale price of 100 degree solder soon if Toto's got that lot to build as He'll need to corner the solder market! Keith.
They may have built the Class 22 in Scotland, but they punted as far down south as they could , and they were so reliable , none could make their way back Paul
You really are a brave soul in plumping for that many Steve Beattie kits before you have had a go at any of them Toto. Jim McGeown kit's I could understand, but sadly Steve's don't carry the same kind of reputation that Jim's kit's come with. I eagerly await the builds
They will be further down the line Rob, once I have done a good few others. I've seen a few pictures of the super structure frames and they look reasonably straight forward ( tell me if you know different ) however, I have read similar comments that they are not the easiest. I think some of his resin kits are less thought of. There are a lot of grilles and parts that look like they are laminated onto the main structure. That's something I will need to hone my skills on. The window frames also look a bit tricky. I think one of the key things for some of these parts is to remember that it only needs minimal solder. Plenty flux to get as little as possible to go a long way. Not sure how the Claytons super structure will go together as the bonnets and cab are all separate. I'D imagine the substructure will be a bit more involved in that kit. I have also been looking at bodies that come pre-built with Delrin drives already on ( can't remember where ) but all you need do is add a motor of your choice and your kit bogie furniture, which is another matter. These are really nice kits and I'D like to put a decent motor on each biggie. I was thinking the five pole version that heljan use on their heavier kits, complete with flywheel. What do you think ? Cheers Toto
Hi Toto, I have no first hand experience and I have seen some examples successfully built. But the consensus seems to be that they are not for the faint hearted and that a lot of work is required to get the result. A lot of work in this context seems to mean making things fit as they really ought to rather than there are lots of details to fit - if that makes sense. As long as you are going in with your eyes open and without the expectation that you will shake the box and it will fall together then you will be fine.
I had read an article on RMweb which had photo's with some over written comments about cutting here and there. I think the issues are small ...... If you know about them up front. I'll do a big research on them before starting. They look like they can make up into fantastic kits. Toto
Just tried to upload the DVD instructions but my player wont seem to read them. Not recognised at all. ..... not so good. I'm wondering if its a CD Rom. Still no good to me as my laptop is solid state with no disc reader. Hope this is not a sign of things to come toto
This kit arrived today along with my Class 29. I've had a quick check over and all seems ok. I'll get a couple of pictures up later. Cheers Toto
well, here is the first part of the deal anyway Paul ........ i give to you ........ the Clayton....... and the destructions ...... and the instantly recognisable bonnets .... of course of which there are two ...... and then we have the various etched frets for the bogies ...... and there is more ....... for the main sub-frames etc ....... and more for the cab and window frames ...... and yet more for ..... the cab, grilles and bonnet panels etc. and then the doofers ...... and some lovely white metal castings for the bonnet fronts and bogies etc ..... Markits sprung buffers hoses and bee bops and stuff and lastly the obligatory rods and wires etc. and there we have it. again, lots of wee bits that scare me at the moment but the main sub-frames and body panels look reasonable for building. I think the sub-frames and bogies etc are the starting point on this kit. we'll see what the destructions recommend. cheers for now. toto
If you haven't yet bought the Mashima motors for these kits yet, Toto, just remember that Mr Mashima has retired and closed the Company, so once stocks are gone, you're either stuffed, or looking around for suitable replacements, which might entail reworking to make alternatives fit, plus with limited stocks, prices will only go up if sellers know what they have. Keith.
Hi Keith, I will get on to buying up some motors. I know there is a Cannon equivalent as I have a couple of these already. Thanks for reminding me though. cheers toto
