MINITRIX/FARISH A3/A4’S are they worth a shot ?

[Craigb302]

Hi all,

I planned on buying the Dapol A4 mallard and A3 flying Scotsman through the ages LNER apple green model however due to serving in the navy and being deployed for the last 7 months it looks like I've missed my chance.

There are several good examples listed on eBay of the named locos by both Minitrix and Farish, I was just wondering if these would be worth buying as my layout is both DCC and DC powered via DPTD switch So that's not a problem.

I have no experience of Minitrix as I'm fairly new to N gauge and only came across the older Farish 5 pole powered models in 2005 when I worked in a model shop Prior to my time in the mob but cant remember much about them as we didn't sell/stock many as we where primarily a OO gauge specialist.

I currently have 4 other Dapol A4's Silver fox, Union of South Africa, Golden eagle, Empire of India how do these older models perform in comparison to the dapol A4's ?

Any help and advice would be much appreciated as I don't want to pay £100 each for them to be disappointed.

Many Thanks

Craig

[ntpntpntp]

The Minitrix A3 and A4 were some of Minitrix's last British N locos and used a chassis design dating from the 1980s, later than their Britannia model which goes back to the 1970s.  As with all the British Minitrix locos the chassis was taken from a German loco, there were some compromises to get the body to fit.  The A4 looks a little "fat" to me, and the A3 has an obvious filled-in moulding underneath the boiler to cover the mechanism.  Some spares may be difficult to obtain now.  On the plus side, a well maintained example should run smoothly and quietly and have decent haulage.

http://minitrix.org.uk/The4-6-2Locos/

I have no experience of the Farish or Dapol models, though to me the Dapol look better.


[edit] £100 for a Minitrix loco that's over 30 years old is too much, I would be looking at more like £50 - £60 at most.  They are not particularly rare.

[Craigb302]

Many thanks for the reply, I had read that the Minitrix locos where a bit of a cut and shut job using European chassis etc, I will keep the bulbous appearance of the A4's in mind and will await to see if any one has any experience with the Farish variants of the models before deciding to make any purchases if any at all.

Thanks again

Craig

[Roy L S]

Many thanks for the reply, I had read that the Minitrix locos where a bit of a cut and shut job using European chassis etc, I will keep the bulbous appearance of the A4's in mind and will await to see if any one has any experience with the Farish variants of the models before deciding to make any purchases if any at all.

Thanks again

Craig

The Farish A3 has a disproportionately large boiler to cover the mechanism, disguised somewhat on the late crest loco that has the "German" smoke defelectors.

The A4 from what I have learned has a loco body that is very good in terms of dimensions and proportions.

Below the footplate both suffer the use of generic chassis with undersize driving wheels and wrong wheel spacings so don't to my mind capture an A3/A4 in terms of look or running gait at all.

They are both mechanically simple and quite robust, but very much of their time and don't hold a candle to recent models.

The Dapol models are both much more accurate and detailed representations of both locos above and below the footplate, I had a problem with one, fixed by Dr Al of this parish. More generally some have trouble with locating the loco-tender driveshafts and pickups from the tender are not especially well designed and can be intermittent, also the pickup wires between loco and tender are very fine and can break very easily so care is needed when handling. That said they are very strong pullers and the correctly scaled driving wheels make them look "right" when running.

Roy

[east anglian]

Personly  I   would   go    for   early   G/F   reason   is    they     may    not   have   the    fine   detail    of   Dapol   but     they    are     trouble    free   and     spare   parts    are   not   a   problem,   

[NeMo]

@Craigb302,

The Minitrix A3 has aged very well. There was one on the cover of the NGS Journal earlier this year, and while the pizza cutter wheels were very old fashioned, the rest of the model is very attractive. Almost certainly not perfect in terms of dimensions, but if you get the later ones with the proper Brunswick green (Minitrix took a while to get the colour right) it'll grace any layout it's running on. At speed they look a treat!

The Dapol models do look better, but I find the tender drives noisy, and I find the tender drive noise more irritating than the motor noise from the Minitrix (and Peco) models of the past. Also, like any finely detailed steam engine these days, they don't tolerate handling at all well. If you're constantly chopping and changing trains (as opposed to parking them in a fiddle yard) their delicacy might become a liability after a while.

But with that said: the Minitrix A3s are old models. Spending £100 seems crazy to me. Simply not worth the risk. If you want something solid in the 'moving kettle' department, perhaps look at Union Mills? These should comfortably have the 40+ year lifespans we associated with Minitrix models, but starting today. With a bit of weathering and detailing, they can come up a treat! The current ones are much quieter than the Minitrix models, let alone the Dapol tender drive models.

Cheers, NeMo

[Paddy]

I have the Minitrix A4 in BR green "Mallard" and preserved "Sir Nigel Gresley" plus "Flying Scotsman" (A3) in BR green.  They are beautiful made and quite robust although the chassis is a compromise.  In terms of engineering, Bachmann and Dapol could learn a thing from these models.

I also have a couple of Farish A4 which run OK and look the part except for those tiny bogie wheels.

In terms of fidelity, Dapol's A3 and A4 leave all of these for dead.  However, after my personal experiences with Dapol steam locos I decided to give them a miss.

Others mileage may vary. 

Kind regards

Paddy

[east anglian]

I   agree    with   Paddy,   Dapol   steam   models   look     good   but   the    tender   drive  shaft    to   the    Locomotive   causes   problems,   in   the   past    I   purchased    both    these   models   and   returned   them,   the    Dapol    diesels     on   the   other   hand    are    very     good    and    trouble   free, [up   till    now ]   Minitrix   are    also    very    good   but   spare    parts   and   repairs   can   be    a   problem,   G/F   are   about   the   best    buy   for    beginers   and    the     early  models    can   be   enhanced   and    converted   to   DCC ,   unfortunately    Union   Mills   don't   make    any    of   the    big   express    locomotives    but   what    they    do     sell   are   very    good    and    at   a    reasonable    price

[east anglian]

Afterthought    to   Paddy   you   can    purchase    slightly   bigger     bogie    wheels   for   your    G/F    A3s   and   A4s   from    B R  Lines

[Craigb302]

Wow thanks for all the replies some very informative information has been noted.

I think I will bid on the Farish variant By the sounds of it or give it a few weeks to see if a dapol model comes up for sale.

As I'm in no rush to purchase one, I could kick my self now for not pre ordering them before I got deployed.

If only Hattons had their trunk system back then.

Touch wood my current 4 dapol A4's have been problem free, however I see the point about the driveshaft I initially thought it was a poor piece of engineering when I bought my First A4 Union of South Africa last year, its definitely going to be the fail point in the model.

Thanks For all the advice

Craig

[Bealman]

I have owned a Minitrix Mallard for many years, and love it. Obviously a compromise, it is nontheless a lovely model with the solidness and lines of the real thing.



The tender is close coupled, and, at a time when it was the only A4 available in N, was really a must-have.



Unfortunately, as I write this, it's not in good fettle due to thrown traction tyres because of constant running at an exhibition in the nineties. I hate traction tyres!



The mechanism is sound, and I look forward to seeing the beautiful duck run again in the future. 

[Roy L S]

Touch wood my current 4 dapol A4's have been problem free, however I see the point about the driveshaft I initially thought it was a poor piece of engineering when I bought my First A4 Union of South Africa last year, its definitely going to be the fail point in the model.

Thanks For all the advice

Craig

Hi Craig

I modded the tender of my two A4s by cutting a section out of the tender floor and sticking it to the chassis. This allows you to fit the driveshaft with the tender out of the way rather than dangling off said shaft. Much easier!

In terms of point of failure I don't think the driveshaft is going to necessarily be the problem, in essence it is no different to early Farish China diesels, my bigger concern is reported drive-gear wear and the occasional duff motor.

That said, if you want an accurate model the Dapol one is the only game in town.

Regards

Roy

[NeMo]

I modded the tender of my two A4s by cutting a section out of the tender floor and sticking it to the chassis. This allows you to fit the driveshaft with the tender out of the way rather than dangling off said shaft. Much easier!

You did what? Can you explain to an idiot like me or show a photo of the modification? Are you saying you cut away some of the tender floor, glued it onto the chassis, and thereby made a bigger gap (from underneath) so you could fit the cardan shaft more easily?

Cheers, NeMo

[Roy L S]

Hi NeMo

I will try to post a pic later but basically yes as you say. It means that the cardan shaft can be refitted with the tender top out of the way and then once done you can pop it back on the chassis without disturbing the shaft. Much easier than trying to refit the cardan shaft with it poking through the hole in the tender body and that rattling around on it!

Regards

Roy

[mojo]

I find it very difficult to re-fit the shaft to the loco when it comes out.
Any advice?
Mojo