DETAILS FOR 7mm MK2s

tomstaf

Western Thunderer
Hi,

I thought it'd be useful if we had a central resource for the various bit and pieces available from different producers for MK2s in 7mm. So to get the ball rolling here are some parts I've produced/in production presently.

AVAILABLE:
Passenger Communication cord reset keys. The is one on each side of a coach and they indicate to the guard which coach the emergency cord was pulled in. The guard rushes along, rescues person, turns key back round and everything is dandy. There are enough for 10 coaches on a sprue. Price is £5 per fret including p&p Drop me a pm if you want some.
Pass comm keys sml.jpg

Bogie footsteps for B4 and B5 bogies. They're etched in 0.9mm nickel silver (0.01 under scale thickness of foot step timbers but paint will remedy that) and were designed with the Easybuild bogies in mind. They fit the JLTRT ones too. If you want to represent the bolts on fixing brackets I recommend the Grandtline ones. There are half etched pilot holes which you can drill out to include these. There are enough for 8 bogies per sprue. Price is £18 per fret including p&p Drop me a pm if you want some.
FOOTSTPES ETCH.jpg
B4 FOOTSTEP.jpg
B4 FOOTSTEP CLOSE UP.jpg

Detail sheets 1 & 2 for JLTRT MK2s. Price is £16 per fret including p&pDrop me a pm if you want some. These etches have details for 8 coaches, covering:
  • door rust prevention strips;
  • plus a set with slightly different sized ones for a BSO;
  • Emergency door unloock handles;
  • Mounting brackets for bogie footsteps on B4 and B5 bogies;
  • lamp irons;
  • pipe support brackets;
  • BSO guard handrails;
  • Guards door handle;
  • Roe-vac roof vents;
  • BSO door handle blanking covers;
  • Door handle mounting plates, and;
  • BSO Internal window grab bars.
MK2 ETCH 1.jpg
MK2 ETCH 2.jpg
IN DEVELOPMENT
  • I did my first 3D print for the door lights seen on MK2 and MK3 coaches. These didn't come out quite as I wanted so I'm looking into alternative printers to see what can be done. Watch this space...
  • Roe-vac rood air vents.
  • Etches and 3D prints for converting the JLTRT MK2e/fs into the Class 488 Gatwick Exp stock.
MK2 lights 3 sml.jpg
OTHER SUPPLIERS
EASYBUILD - Do some very nice B4 bogies. They're basic but with some of my details and various other bits of plastic strip can be made into very good representations. They're very crisp mouldings and a set includes wheels and bearings.
Cheers
Tom
 

tomstaf

Western Thunderer
Hi,

I've updated the above post which now includes the B4 & B5 bogie footsteps. It's blue-tacked in place on an Easybuild bogie frame. The 2 grey bolts are the Grandtline ones. If you're interested in a set drop me a pm.

Cheers

Tom
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Anyone got any ideas of other useful MK2 parts to include on it?

Lamp brackets? I told you it was a bad idea to show me good sources of photos! :oops:;)

I've also been wondering whether an etch could form the basis for the coach lighting cables and sockets. The cable might be a bit difficult, but if a socket could be formed by a folded part, clamping a length of wire in between...

Unsurprisingly, both these items are conspicuous in their absence from the NQLTRT Mk2 kits.
 

tomstaf

Western Thunderer
Lamp brackets? I told you it was a bad idea to show me good sources of photos! :oops:;)

I've also been wondering whether an etch could form the basis for the coach lighting cables and sockets. The cable might be a bit difficult, but if a socket could be formed by a folded part, clamping a length of wire in between...

Which bits are those Heather - show me on a pic please;)

Cheers

Tom
 

tomstaf

Western Thunderer
As some of you may have noticed on Heather's MK2 build thread she's been making use of my etches. There are 2 more frets currently at the etchers and due within a week or so. The parts included are shown on the art work below.

MK2 ETCH 1.jpg
The first set includes the door prevention rust strips for trailer and brake coaches. There are BSO door handle blanks and the emergency door release handles. Finally, the BSO flat handrails with mounting brackets with half etched lines so you can fold the bracket round so it protrudes the correct depth from the coach side. There are 0.3mm etched holes so you can poke a bolt through to fix to the coach side. This is all etched in 0.1mm brass to simulate as close to possible depths of the real thing.
MK2 ETCH 2.jpg
The second set is etched in 0.2mm nickel as some of these parts need to be more durable. There are the BSO handles again in case the thinner ones above aren't up to the job. There are 2 types of BSO door handle. The first has a hole so you can solder 0.4mm wire into and attach to coach. The second type is deigned to slot through the mounting plate and be glued to the coach - choice is yours. There are the unused step mounting brackets for the B4 & B5 bogies, coach end lamp irons with a half etch so they all fold up to the same height. There are the interior BSO handrails across the windows. There are also the pipe mounting irons. I've designed these with a slot and tap system which will require one light touch of the soldering iron. Then twist the mounting bracket with round nose pliers and attach to the buffer beam with the pipe holding everything in place. I've included both types, the flat version and the angled version. The final part is the base for the Roe-Vac roof vent. It's got tap and slot design to locate and solder the end cross sectional pieces. Fill the gap with plastic to shape and glue the frame on top when complete. We'll have to see how these get on, if good enough they could be cast.

If you're interested drop me a line.

Cheers

Tom
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Tom, can I just say how impressed I am with the thought you've put into these etches? If you can arrive at an attractive price for the whole set, I am certain folk will snap them up.

:thumbs:
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
The first set includes ....

The second set is etched in 0.2mm nickel....
I am having difficulty in matching your comments about the contents with the fret images, what chance that you can add a few pointers to the photos?

regards, Graham
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Tom, can I just say how impressed I am with the thought you've put into these etches? If you can arrive at an attractive price for the whole set, I am certain folk will snap them up.
+1 from me.

How about an inidication of price please?
 

tomstaf

Western Thunderer
Hi Grahame,

I don't know prices yet but once the etches arrive I'll quote.

I haven't written guidance/instructions for them yet. The parts become more obvious once you've got a MK2 in front of you. If you're unsure about a specific item in the pics above just ask.

Cheers

Tom
 

tomstaf

Western Thunderer
Not if you have a Mk.1 with B4 bogies :oops: :cool: .

Well easier with B4s infront of you then. You'll need to look at pics of the prototype you're modelling because it's not a standard science. Pretty much all coaches with B4s have footsteps in the corners of each bogie on diagonally opposed sides of the coach. The unused mounting brackets are at the other end of the bogie but aren't present on all of them. I presume the removed some dependant on what work they did on them. Hence the need to check prototype pics.

Cheers

Tom
 

tomstaf

Western Thunderer
Hi,

Some progress and frustration. The latest batch of 4 frets came back damaged in transit due to no proper packing material between the frets. They moved around in the post and arrived sheared and bent :mad:
PPD damage sheet 4 28:3:13.jpg
However, I was able to test fit a number of parts salvaged from the frets. The BSO guards door handrails, handle (a dash of solder which self levels makes it more 3D), the rust prevention strip, and passenger communication cord key have turned out well.

MK2 ETCHED PARTS 1.jpgMK2 ETCHED PARTS 2.jpgMK2 ETCHED PARTS 3.jpg

Cheers

Tom
 

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mickoo

Western Thunderer
Very nice, they certainly add to the fidelity, three questions,

Who did you use for the etching
How big is each etch sheet
And most importantly, how expensive is a sheet

I was proffered in the region of £30 at Ally Pally last weekend for an A5 sheet, that being so it bodes well for my Class 40 etched bogies and other planned etches.
 

tomstaf

Western Thunderer
Very nice, they certainly add to the fidelity, three questions,

Who did you use for the etching
How big is each etch sheet
And most importantly, how expensive is a sheet

Hi Mick,

I used PPD in Scotland. They don't have a minimum size. As they say: "anything from as small as a postage stamp" up to A2 ish. Consequently the cost is variable dependent on size and material. The tooling set up charge is about the only thing fixed - I think it's about £25. That only needs to be done once though.

Each of my etches is about the size of a postcard. That way I can easily and cheaply post it to people keeping the cost down. I'd simply think about what you want to do with it after in terms of size.

HTH

Tom
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
Hi Mick,

I used PPD in Scotland. They don't have a minimum size. As they say: "anything from as small as a postage stamp" up to A2 ish. Consequently the cost is variable dependent on size and material. The tooling set up charge is about the only thing fixed - I think it's about £25. That only needs to be done once though.

Each of my etches is about the size of a postcard. That way I can easily and cheaply post it to people keeping the cost down. I'd simply think about what you want to do with it after in terms of size.

HTH

Tom
Tom, the size is fixed by the largest single piece, which is the whole bogie side, so I'm looking at A5 size (200 x 140mm) which is probably two postcards I reckon....don't actually have any postcards in the hours to measure LOL.

There's no point splitting it smaller, who wants just one bogie!, Actually I'm under no illusion that anyone else would want them so they are for my personal use at the moment and not some sort of subversive entry into the market place. They will help speed up production of several scratch built class 40s planned and some of the CAD artwork wont be for etching but to produce master drawings for a pantograph miller, Colin (eastsidepilot) and I were bouncing ideas around at WM for EMU body sides, ala class 306 and 506 etc.

I must of asked twenty or so people now and yet to have anyone come across and say I paid £xxx for this material this size and this thickness, all I ever get is sucking through teeth or vague mumbling and shrugged shoulders like it's some great secret :rant: , either it's very expensive or very cheap and they don't want other oiks to know LOL. I appreciate there are variables like material and thickness but it wont alter the cost by more than 20% for a given size I'd say from one extreme to the other.

I think the easiest thing to do is just send off the art work and get PPD to quote :thumbs:
 

tomstaf

Western Thunderer
Tom, the size is fixed by the largest single piece, which is the whole bogie side, so I'm looking at A5 size (200 x 140mm) which is probably two postcards I reckon....don't actually have any postcards in the hours to measure LOL.

There's no point splitting it smaller, who wants just one bogie!, Actually I'm under no illusion that anyone else would want them so they are for my personal use at the moment and not some sort of subversive entry into the market place. They will help speed up production of several scratch built class 40s planned and some of the CAD artwork wont be for etching but to produce master drawings for a pantograph miller, Colin (eastsidepilot) and I were bouncing ideas around at WM for EMU body sides, ala class 306 and 506 etc.

I must of asked twenty or so people now and yet to have anyone come across and say I paid £xxx for this material this size and this thickness, all I ever get is sucking through teeth or vague mumbling and shrugged shoulders like it's some great secret :rant: , either it's very expensive or very cheap and they don't want other oiks to know LOL. I appreciate there are variables like material and thickness but it wont alter the cost by more than 20% for a given size I'd say from one extreme to the other.

I think the easiest thing to do is just send off the art work and get PPD to quote :thumbs:

Hi Mick,

I follow, I just meant consider how they'll be posted when you design it. As you say, no one will want 1 bogie but if all the parts are covered on a postcard (ish) sized fret then you can get 4 frets in an envelope.

It's hard to actually give you the exact price because my bill simply says £76 for 4 frets. So taking the £25 off for the phototool works out at £12.75 each. But they're different thicknesses so I don't actually know the precise individual price. Either way, that's how much I need to recover so I just add the postage and postage materials on top so costs are covered. I'm happy to produce these for whoever would like a set but I've only done them because I wanted a set. No big plans to enter the market etc. I've got a few other projects on the go which I'll sell on the same basis.

As you say best way to get a precise quote is email the artwork off.

Cheers

Tom

PS - if you feel like changing the numerals in those master ideas so you end up with classes 313/5 then hello:D
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
Hi Mick,

I follow, I just meant consider how they'll be posted when you design it. As you say, no one will want 1 bogie but if all the parts are covered on a postcard (ish) sized fret then you can get 4 frets in an envelope.

It's hard to actually give you the exact price because my bill simply says £76 for 4 frets. So taking the £25 off for the phototool works out at £12.75 each. But they're different thicknesses so I don't actually know the precise individual price. Either way, that's how much I need to recover so I just add the postage and postage materials on top so costs are covered. I'm happy to produce these for whoever would like a set but I've only done them because I wanted a set. No big plans to enter the market etc. I've got a few other projects on the go which I'll sell on the same basis.

As you say best way to get a precise quote is email the artwork off.

Cheers

Tom

PS - if you feel like changing the numerals in those master ideas so you end up with classes 313/5 then hello:D
Tom, that's more like it LOL, just some ball park figures is all I was after, the phototool works is a given price as is the postage and I've had a look at PPDs outdated prices and it's not much between thickness's and materials, I am considering nickel silver as it solders up better and is a little firmer, certainly for the main side frames, but then I hope to get it all on one sheet so thickness will need to be calculated carefully to suit for the main side frames to MU brackets and steps etc.

Basically the whispered £30 for an A5 sheet wont be to far adrift and probably at the top end of the quote for say 12thou (0.3mm) A5 sheet, personally I think that's a bleedin bargain for two 7mm Class 40 bogies minus inner chassis! Next up some 3D axle boxes and springs.

315 is a little too modern for Colin LOL, he don't do blue and grey and yes I'd like one of those too, used to ride them to college everyday so are a strong part of my history, the cab fronts could be a little of a nightmare but a resin casting would help there and the tumbleholme end chamfer could be a pig to replicate and the deep recessed doors might be a problem as would those air bag suspended bogies.

The other units that would be pretty easy to do are the 302 and 307 and the pantograph miller would eat those sides with their high density door layout, plus some of the bogies are Gresley stock so existing kit parts can be used and the motor bogies are battle ship plated designs which are easy to CAD up as an etch. Same really applies to the LMR AM4 which I'd love to model, pretty much the same as the GE 305 and 308 and you'd probably need some clever work to get that cab front from an etch and replicate the subtle curves and angles.

All require a lot of thought and work for working pantos as well and roofs could be trouble some being that long and triple radius affairs, not sure I can manage to bend a constant cant rail radius on something nearly 16" long!

If I finish the Class 40 bogie artwork tomorrow I'll try and get some 2:1 sides done for a class 302 or 304 as those sides are the easiest classes to do to begin with.
 

tomstaf

Western Thunderer
Mick,

The reason why I wasn't screaming the price is because I didn't get a concrete one so didn't want to mislead. On the whole etching is a cheap process though. Mine are done in nickel silver because it's tougher and equally as easy as brass to solder - much needed on models I think. I've only used brass where I want an uber thin size which nickel doesn't go down to.

313s are complex indeed. 302s are nice (so long as they're 302/2s - the ones with corridors) because I remember those. You could certainly etch their cabs but I wouldn't want to try a 305/8 style cab from an etch. Too many curves going on there. Draw it up in CAD and print in 3D I think would be far easier. Can always add etched window frames etc to enhance it after.

Cheers

Tom
 

ZiderHead

Western Thunderer
What are the pros and cons of Brass or Nickel Silver when it comes to etched kits? Looking at various kits some seem to use NS for just fine detail etches and others use them for the structural stuff :confused:

Jon
 
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