[amateurherbalist]

Hi,

After a lay-off of some 25 years my interest in model railways has been rekindled by the birth of a son (any excuse) and a recent visit to my parent's loft, in which I found the carefully packaged remains of my former 00 'empire'.

I'd like to see if I can bring such modelling skills as I had back up to speed and maybe work towards producing something half decent. Loathe as I am to throw anything away I thought a good starting point would be to take the stock from the loft and see how far I can go with it.

Having said that, and having seen how far things seem to have progressed since I last opened a copy of Railway Modeller, I'm wondering how much life there is left in my old roster, or whether I should be simply consigning them to a slow demise at the hands of an enthusiastic toddler...

What I have to work with are (among others) are couple of Hornby '8751' pannier tanks and a LNER J83. All 1970's vintage and pretty much as bought, give or take the odd peeling decal. I'm wondering whether these, in contemporary terms, has any modelling value at all, i.e. is there anything that can be done to make them remotely passable as a half-decent model? I was thinking along the lines of adding handrails and cast parts etc, but given the obvious compromises in their manufacture (normal for the times I suppose, but not least that one-size-fits-all chassis with flangeless centre wheel!) I am I likely to end up with a complete, not to say disappointing, dog's breakfast? I'm not looking for rivet perfection obviously, but it would be nice to know how vaguely correct or otherwise these models were in terms of overall proportions and dimensions.

I've scoured the web for articles and advice but they seem non-existent, not surprising I guess given the standard of your average RTR these days. But if anyone has had a similar experience and maybe even seen it through to completion I'd be very interested to hear about it.

Yours from out of the time warp

AH

 

[dwb]

I'm in a similar situation but having regressed (in time) from diesel to steam, I don't feel the same need to tart up a bunch of mostly blue diesels. My advice is to consider where you think you will take your modelling over the next two or three years. If you are interested in operation and running trains, unless your old models run well on their old motors, the satisifaction of the detailing work will be lost in the frustration of poor running quality.

If you are taken by the opportunities offered by DCC for more freedom in operation, then the general consensus is that the 3 pole motors prevalent in the 60s and 70s do not run successfully under DCC, so either you remotor or start over again.

You don't have to "junk" your old kit. If you have a lot of set track and a mains controller, set some aside and give it to your youngster when he's old enough to put it together himself and have some fun.

David

 

[Ravenser]

There are better panniers around from Dapol , and they run better. I think from memory the old Hornby version was a bit basic.

By all accounts the J83 isn't great, (but I don't know the details, not being Scottish and being a modern image modeller). I suspect a generic Hornby 0-6-0 chassis was used so probably the wheelbase and quite possibly the driving wheel diameter is wrong

I don't think there's a kit available for J83, Hornby still make the model , and I don't think the motor is so old that it couldn't be made to run under DCC

Trouble is , 8751 panniers and J83s didn't mix , so the first question is - do you want to model Scotland or the West Country?

What you could do is treat one as an experiment in repainting and weathering. Treat the body with Model Strip, spray the whole lot matt black, apply BR crest , weather and seal with matt varnish. If done reasonably well it would certainly improve the look . And at this point all it costs is some paint and transfers. If it goes wrong - well you've not wrecked a new loco

Adding handrails might be worth a shot - again if you find the job's beyond you to do well, at least you've not wrecked an expensive model

 

[amateurherbalist]

Thanks, interesting comments both.

I like the sound of using them as a kind of test bed for sharpening some modelling skills, handrails, weathering etc. Funny you should mention blue diesels dwb - another loco from my motley collection is the old Hornby Brush 2, to which I applied a makeover as prescribed by an early-80s issue of Model Trains (although the article was aimed at the then-contemporary GMR Class 31). Didn't turn out too bad as I recall, although quite what to do with that cast-iron power bogie with the missing wheel...

On the subject of those generic Hornby chassis - do you think that would rule out an etched brass rebuild, i.e. the Comet one for a pannier. Would the Hornby moulding be so off that I'd be better off just getting hold of a spare Bachmann body?

Funny you should question the logic of panniers and NE tanks in the same location, ravenser. I was going to post separately but since its come up here - having been born in the year steam (if not the music) died, I don't have that great nostalgic yearning to recreate a bygone '48-'62 type set up, on the other hand I do really like the idea of building in minature something based on my own steam experiences as a visitor and sometime volunteer on preserved lines. Once again this seems to have turned into a pet quest on google with little return - modern image steam anyone? Got a great plan for a layout based on Ropley shed on the Mid-Hants but enough of that for now...

 

[DS239]

QUOTE (Amateur Herbalist @ 8 Sep 2006, 19:48) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Thanks, interesting comments both.

On the subject of those generic Hornby chassis - do you think that would rule out an etched brass rebuild, i.e. the Comet one for a pannier. Would the Hornby moulding be so off that I'd be better off just getting hold of a spare Bachmann body?

If you're thinking of going to the extent of building a Comet chassis,-for gawd's sake dont bung it under the old Hornby 8750 Pannier body,- it's far too innacurate [wrong wheelbase ,too wide,too short,etc..] stick it under a Mainline /Bachmann/Replica one,-which are spot on accuracy wise....

You could re-wheel the old Hornby one to run on modern track quite cheaply,and add seperate handrails etc....if you want to upgrade your existing model,...but,at the end of the day,-if you want a truly accurate 57xx Pannier,-start with the dimensionaly correct Bachmann/ Mainline/Replica body moulding....

 

[cig1705]

I think that someone at Mainly Trains 9www.mainlytrains) produces an extensive detailing kit for your J83...

 

[Captain Kernow]

If you want to keep your Hornby pannier, you can make significant improvements to the appearance of the body. Wills (now SE Finecast) certainly used to make an etched chassis kit which was intended as a replacement for the old Hornby 0-6-0 chassis. One problem with the old Hornby model was that it sat too high (ie. buffer height etc.).

In the mid 1970s, I did extensively rebuild one, gave it lots of extra detail, handrails etc., plus Romford driving wheels. Only thing was that I overlooked the buffer height issue. The buffers themselves are also wrong.

However, I still have the model in my 'museum of old things' and will endeavour to get a photo of it posted sometime.

Having said all that, if you want a more accurate pannier, everyone who has been extolling the virtues of the Bachmann product are absolutely right....