DETAILS FOR 7mm MK2s

[mickoo]

Tom,

That's ok, it was only a ball park figure I was after and yours is the first out in the open figure I've seen or heard since beginning my enquiries, so much obliged, I do have an email sent to PPD asking for an updated price list, will post if and when it is forth coming.

The Yorks would certainly profit from a 3D printed cab, as you say some complex curves going on there when you look closely at them. The other thing Phil and I were chatting about on Sunday at Ally Pally was DMUs and I do have a soft spot for the 123 class which like the 124 are basically Mk1 coaches and there's more than enough info on those around, so adapting for a 123 wouldn't be hard and again the cab front would benefit from a 3D print.

The 123 would also sit well with the class 40 and 506s and maybe some 76s LOL.

 

[mickoo]

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

Jon

Nickel Silver takes solder much more readily and generally solder flows better on the surface of NS as opposed to brass. NS is also stronger for a given thickness which is why many use it for fine fiddly details from thin material, or you can use it for structural parts as well.

I think NS is two to three times stronger than brass so you can work in thinner material and preserve strength, especially if you want prototype steam loco frame thickness etc.

 

[ZiderHead]

thanks, that makes sense

 

[adrian]

I would choose nickel silver over brass every time for plate work, for turning fittings then brass has it's advantages. As Mick says Nickel-silver takes solder so much nicer than brass, I believe this is because brass oxidises much quicker than nickel silver. So brass has to be thoroughly cleaned before soldering where as nickel silver will solder straight away. Also brass work hardens and age hardens quicker than nickel silver. So rolling boilers, tender flares, cab roofs etc. are so much nicer to achieve with nickel silver.

 

[Simon Dunkley]

Nickel silver also takes paint better than brass.

 

[JimG]

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 , 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 got an etch of approximately A4 size done on 15thou NS by PPD in 2011 and the charge was in the region of £38 which included making the tool. Subsequent etches from the tool were going to be about £12. I was surprised how inexpensive it was after hearing the tales of the process being expensive. Before doing it I had actually queried Jim Smith-Wright about how much he must have spent on etching on another forum and he then gave me some idea of how comparatively inexpensive it could be - even for one-offs.

Jim.

 

[Bob Reid]

Mick if you send PPD your CAD file / phototool they'll quite happily give you a quote for the work. I've always found them very amenable. There prices might be outdated, but there not a kick in the pants off it.

Bob.

Tom, The only bit of advice I could have given you is you could have compressed the spacing between parts down quite a bit and saved yourself some money... (p.s. I know, yes I'm Scottish)!

 

[mickoo]

Jim, Bob,

Much appreciated, will finish the 08 doors and Class 40 bogies today and send to PPD for quotes

Tom,

I'd go with what Bob said I too thought there was a lot of 'free' space, I know I've got to shuffle mine a lot to maximize usage

 

[JimG]

Much appreciated, will finish the 08 doors and Class 40 bogies today and send to PPD for quotes

Mick,

In fact I found their invoice in my email archive for that A4 sheet - September 2011.



I also remember that they were very good to talk to. I remember having a very productive phone call with them when starting out. I get the impression that they are a sort of family firm.

Jim.

 

[tomstaf]

I get the impression that they are a sort of family firm.

Jim.

They are indeed a family firm as the proudly state on their site. Wonder if they're all modellers too

Cheers

Tom

 

[Dan Randall]

I do have a soft spot for the 123 class which like the 124 are basically Mk1 coaches and there's more than enough info on those around, so adapting for a 123 wouldn't be hard and again the cab front would benefit from a 3D print.

Mick - I'm also a huge fan of DMU's particularly the Class 123 and on a trip to Oxford with my dad in the early seventies, a kindly guard allowed me to ride in the rear cab for a short while between Slough and Reading!

Although outwardly similar in appearance to Mk1 coaches, they did not share the Mk1’s body profile, but (and I stand to be corrected), had the same profile as a Mk2. With this in mind, a couple of years ago I was attempting to fashion a casting master for the cabs from a Tri-ang Big Big Mk2, but it never progressed very far.

More recently, I’ve been having a go at doing a 3D drawing with a view to getting some cabs printed, but it’s very much early stages work in progress at the moment (and I have lots of other irons in the fire!). Without the benefit of any official drawings of a Class 123 (do any exist?), I have been attempting to draw my cabs by studying photos of the real thing. It's not an ideal method and how they’ll turn out is anyone’s guess....!


Regards

Dan

 

[mickoo]

Dan,

I noted the slight profile deviation last night as I wandered through my collection of images, it doesn't have the curvaceous lower tumblehome of the Mk2, more Mk1 below the windows but the sides where the windows are are flat unlike the Mk1 which continues to curve a little, thus the profile is even easier to replicate.

Good luck with the 3D, that skill set is something I have little issue with due to past work, but accurate drawings I've not seen yet, nor looked that hard, sometimes you just have to wing it, often with shapes like that true scale looks odd, sometimes you have to add the personal flair to get it to look right.

 

[Bob Reid]

Believe it or not Mick - it is the same basic (Swindon) profile to the bodyside. The biggest change with the Mk2 of course is that the lower bodyside continues down past the top of the solebars at a marginally tighter radius giving that rather more curved appearance.

 

[tomstaf]

Tom, The only bit of advice I could have given you is you could have compressed the spacing between parts down quite a bit and saved yourself some money... (p.s. I know, yes I'm Scottish)!

Hi Bob,

Closer together?? Most of the parts are almost touching as it is. Do you mean on both sheets or is there a specific gap you're looking at?

Cheers

Tom

 

[Bob Reid]

Mainly the first set Tom (though the second can still be squeezed up a bit) as an example the gaps around for example the anti-corrosion strips don't need to be much wider than the strips themselves. On the second there's a good opportunity to make use of the otherwise lost space by filling them in with the smaller parts...

If you're happy to send the CAD file I'll re-arrange them.

Only a thought from my own experience....