Are any kits supplied with metal wheels

Hi All. I am considering having another go at kit building, but it may end with “ Bashing “. As I am worried about the type of wheels supplied with the kit,or not, my previous attempts at “building wagons “ have seen me opening the plastic with a 2 mm drill to fit bearings and Going too Far and that was by hand. The side frames weren’t very stable either, as for the brake gear? that was very fragile, or maybe that was me being too heavy handed. Please advise. Best wishes Kevin 

I assume you are still talking about wagons Kevin. And you mean standard kits sold at many model shops.
With standard OO wagons kits, many parkside Dundas kits come with wheels and bearings.
A lot of the Cambrian kits dont come with wheels but states on the packaging what wheels and bearings are required.

If you are talking brass kits well in that case you need to go to the manufacturer site to see what they supply with the kit.


Brian

Scale frames/brake gear/running boards in plastic kits are delicate compared to RTR ones. and not anywhere near as robust. That's the price you pay for scale accuracy and detail. 

Reaming out the axle bearing holes for the bearings is best done with a reaming/cleaning tool, which has the correct cutting angle. It also depends on the plastic used. Oversize holes can always be drilled out and filled with styrene rod, and a new hole made. 

Use a thin, fast evaporating model weld solvent when assembling a kit, otherwise the plastic details will soften or even melt. Ratio and Cambrian ones especially.

Plastic wagon and passenger carriage kits always benefit from having metal wheels and axles. Adds weight, runs better, stays cleaner, and can be used for lighting/lamp contacts.

Nigel

Hi Brian.  Thank you for your reply. Yes regular plastic wagons, I did buy an etched brass kit, and it is still tucked up in the original packaging. The kit manufacturers that sold the kit that you mentioned was one that I purchased. I wasn’t impressed with the wheels or flimsiness of the plastic. If you have built Cambrian kits or M and H? whatever they are called? You must have been luckier than me or had more practice?  Best wishes Kevin 

Yes on some of the plastic kits they seem to use plastic that is more polythene and flimsy on the underframes.

I assume they do that to allow you to bend the underframe out to get the wheelsets in easier if it were a more rigid plastic they would get complaints from customers breaking underframes putting the wheels in.

To be fair once the wheelset is in they do hold shape very well but i accept when you first look at the kit the plastic on the underframe does seem flimsy.

If looking at kits look at coupling types you intend to use and does the kit allow you to use that type of coupling.

Brian

[user=1632]BCDR[/user] wrote:

Scale frames/brake gear/running boards in plastic kits are delicate compared to RTR ones. and not anywhere near as robust. That's the price you pay for scale accuracy and detail. 

Reaming out the axle bearing holes for the bearings is best done with a reaming/cleaning tool, which has the correct cutting angle. It also depends on the plastic used. Oversize holes can always be drilled out and filled with styrene rod, and a new hole made. 

Use a thin, fast evaporating model weld solvent when assembling a kit, otherwise the plastic details will soften or even melt. Ratio and Cambrian ones especially.

Plastic wagon and passenger carriage kits always benefit from having metal wheels and axles. Adds weight, runs better, stays cleaner, and can be used for lighting/lamp contacts.

Nigel

Hi Nigel.  Thank you for your reply. I appreciate and understand most of your reply, but, Lighting/ Lamp contacts that beats me. Best wishes Kevin 

He means if you wanted to put working lamps on the wagon using metal wheels allows you to put pick ups on them to power the lamps Kevin ( Not many people would go to that length)

Great if you have half a dozen wagons but if you have 60 it would be a mammoth task


Brian

Actually not many freight vehicles need lamps. Brake vans of course, some cattle wagons and horse boxes that has an attendant compartment. Modern freight uses an EOTL. Adding pickups is not complicated, especially if axle rather than wheel rim contact is used. Even easier with half insulated axle sets. Unlike bogies, 4-wheeled freight vehicles have fixed axles relative to the body, so a whisker pickup is usually feasible if an axle one is not.

Always be prepared to change the wheels. Most kits come with metal wheelsets now, some older stock may not. I have given up using bearings unless the plastic is really soft (styrene-based) or the hole is so worn from years of use that the axles drop out.

Nigel

Thank you Nigel. One of the kits that I purchased it was recommended to purchase the bearings as a separate item, 50 per packet. What is an ETOL? The axles that you mentioned is there anything different with the  â€œ electronic Insulation “  from other axles, because with two rail tracks the wheels have to be insulated to prevent shorts anyway.Best wishes Kevin