Body kits - how to source 'the rest'?

[Danny252]

Thanks all for the thoughts - the info on various kit/body shell manufacturers is also useful.

Chassis wise I'd venture the bulk come from 'cheap' non runners or NQP sales (Not Quite Perfect) but you have to know what you're doing with them.

Since the original post, I have noticed that there is at least a smattering of "rescued" motorised chassis out there for sale, though if one needed a particular chassis that just doesn't appear, that'll put you out of luck. I'm one of those who is reasonably happy to buy an older loco and give it some TLC, but finding a not-quite-perfect model for a price that isn't silly can be difficult, at least online - how I miss a good chance to browse second-hand stalls at exhibitions!

I've also since come across the TramFabriek site, offering various motors and associated parts. While many of their other products are based on continental models, there are a couple of UK-based upgrade kits. One does wonder what you could do with the components or upgrade kits in terms of scratch/kit building.

https://tramfabriek.nl/motors.html

[martyn]

Sven of Tramfabriek has posted on the Forum several times-he has some conversion kits specifically for British models; eg

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=50392.msg656164#msg656164

Martyn

[maridunian]

Sven of Tramfabriek has posted on the Forum several times-he has some conversion kits specifically for British models; eg

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=50392.msg656164#msg656164

Martyn

He also sells some Kato motorised chasses.

Here's a useful list of dimensions of motorised chasses for diesels/electrics/coaches/trams from Tomytec, Kato and a few other suppliers.

Body-shell vendors really should be offering chassis guidance with their products....

Mike

[Dr Al]

What chassis is the OP looking for particularly?

Cheers,
Alan

[woodbury22uk]

Body-shell vendors really should be offering chassis guidance with their products....

Mike

Although all of my 3D print offerings are linked directly to specific chassis etc. I think there is room in the market for those like rue d'etropal/Recreation21 who produce a common body design across several scales and leave the modeller to work out the chassis. Simon at Recreation21 is prolific in his output and covers a eclectic mix of designs. Most would not exist at all if he had to design in every scale to fit a commercially available chassis. I would not expect him to test print in every scale either.

[Southerngooner]

As I am in the middle of a J50 build from a 3D print and Jinty chassis I thought I'd post a couple of photos to show how I've tackled the "rest" question.

The body was sourced from Shapeways from Chapel Design, who note that most of the detail parts are available from N Brass. They do not recommend a chassis but note that they are trying one from a Dapol Pannier. I had looked at the Farish Jinty chassis and thought this would also work, with the proviso that this has an equal wheelbase where the Pannier may be a bit more like the real J50 with shorter front wheelbase to rear. My Jinty was a good runner and hadn't cost a lot (£40) so I thought I would stick with this if it proved viable.

When the body arrived I tried in on the Jinty chassis which had had the body and footplate removed. It wouldn't fit in the right direction but fitted fine once reversed, with the PCB and DCC socket tilted to one side. As I didn't need the latter I could remove this and direct wire the motor, reversing the terminals so it runs in the normal direction. I made a couple of connectors from scrap brass strip from etched kits (I have a box for this and it's surprising how useful it is) and reconnected the motor. It ran fine so I looked at fixing body to chassis. Fortunately the body sat at the right height with the ends of the chassis resting on the ends of the body. The chassis was about 3mm short, so I aligned it so the front drivers lined up with the splashers. This meant a 1.5mm extension would be needed at each end.

Martyn and I have just finished an Atso N2 so I used the same method to fit the chassis to the 3D body. I trimmed the chassis width to 4mm at the front and fixed 1mm square Evergreen strips either side to align it correctly. These were a little too low so I added strips of 20thou plasticard to level these with the chassis. I then put another square of 20 thou over these to create a slot to fit the front into.

At the rear I made the chassis extension from pieces of plasticard and glued it to the chassis. I drilled a hole through this to take a small screw, and marked where this should be on the underside of the rear body mount. I made a piece of 1mm plasticard to fit the inside of this and drilled a hole through it to match that in the body. I melted a nut into this and then fixed it inside the body. I find thick superglue ideal for this. This meant the body could now be securely fixed to the chassis. There is a lot of clearance inside the body so there were no problems with rubbing of the body on the chassis.

I added lead in the tanks, bunker and smokebox to ensure the body weighed about the same as the original Jinty body. I could have added more but wondered if this would overload the motor. The N Brass parts provided chimney, dome, smokebox door, safety valve, whistle, buffers and vac pipes. I am using 0.2mm brass wire for handrails, making knobs from twisted fuse wire as this is less obtrusive than some of the overscale brass knobs available. I have found a couple of good photos of my chosen prototype and am adding any other details that I can see from brass or plasticard as appropriate. I am currently on the footplate steps and have tried to cut these in plastic using my Silhoutte cutter, but I think they will be better made in brass. I will sweat two pieces together and make two at once then separate them.

Hopefully this will be done by the end of the month and the model will be ready for spraying. It has been quite a quick build so far and has taken around ten hours to get to this stage, spread over a week or so.

I will use the same fixing method to fit an N chassis to a Rue d'Etropal W (as per my other thread) which has been put on hold pending finishing the stuff I have outstanding for James Street. We are in the throes of moving back to the UK so I suspect this will be project for next winter.

Dave

[Danny252]

What chassis is the OP looking for particularly?

As yet, none in particular, though it would be BR Blue era to match the layout. I'm still working out what's readily available on the market as RTR models, and what's particularly rare - Class 24s in the relevant livery seem particularly sparse. Separately from locos, I've discovered that Mk 2 coaches are rarer than hen's teeth, despite twice as many having been built in real life vs. Mk 3 - it always surprises me what common rolling stock is rare, and what one-off rolling stock is on every layout!