N Gauge Forum

Apologies for the quick straw poll, but I'd be interested in people's opinions on the following options for metal bodied wagons:

1. Injection or resin moulded complete box/hopper (no assembly)
2. Injection or resin moulded separate sides/ends ie requires assembly
3. Etched components (require assembly but much thinner (ie more accurate) for metal bodied wagons)
4. You prefer not to make kits

From an accuracy/realism stand point option 3 is perhaps the best, but it obviously makes assembly a bit more difficult than 1 or 2.

Thanks, Mike

Needs an 'Any of the above' IMHO ...

How do ou indicate a mix?

Resin sides but with detail etches?  Similar to model aeroplane deailing kits..

Hi Guys

I'm not really thinking of detail on the sides but a combination of how it looks (ie plastic/resin is thicker generally than an etch) and how easy it is to build.

Etches over plastic/resin superstructure would be option 1 or 2 (depending on your preference).

I've added in no preference/any of the above.

Thanks

Mike

no fair adding another category after a small number have already voted.
i would have chosen any, if it had been there.

50% 2,  35% 1,  15% 3

My guess is that anyone confident to build brass kits would also be happy to build easier kits if they were available and were of a prototype they wanted to model.

LOL, a year back I would never have touched a brass kit ... now ?  Why not :)  Although I'm still leery of loco kits !

Its a bit of an odd poll.  Often the best material is entirely dependent upon the protoytype. How and what the material is used for is also critical as is design.

I'd rather build a well designed etched kit than a badly designed plastic one, but equally I'd rather build a plastic kit for anything with lots of curves (etched tanker.. no thanks!). Equally an open wagon body is basically four folds and some gluing in etched form so trivial to build and looks way better.

In fact for a lot of kits I'd rather it was using a mixture of appropriate materials and techniques.

Hi Alan

As the poll mentions I was asking for particularly open and hopper type wagons where the wall thickness and appearance are very obvious.

I completely agree with you that the best approach is to mix and match where appropriate.

Thanks, Mike

In my case voted any as if the kit is available in N so long as it is one I want I am not bothered what format- even 3D printed.

It would  be nice to be able to build kits manufactured in any  of the above but I cannot mainly due to a tremors in my hands so stuck with r.t.r.

I'd prefer injection moulded plastic (I've seen some very fine moulded flat/thin parts in modern plastic kits recently such as splinter shields) rather than resin (no choice between the two?) and it's rather dependant on the prototype with regards to plastic or etched metal. For example soldering a thin lip on a top edge is no fun, and even though some can be designed as a fold, still some kits have them separate.

H.

I will add one further comment to my previous post.
On Box vans etc, I do like the option of a ready formed roof - only cos I'm  :poop: at curving them.