chassis breakages

Hi AllAn,

Mini 1970 price - £600. Today - £10,500 (17.5-fold increase). Range Rover 1970 - £1998. Today £57,700 (28.9-fold increase). Lot safer now though. Minis crumpled like paper in a shunt unless time was taken to properly weld up the body and install roll-overs. and I won't get into the 'Moke" death-trap.

Hornby Hall in 1977 (closest I can get from my old magazines) - £8.50 from Hattons. Today - £67 (7.9-fold increase). DC, Railroad range (Design Smart). Average weekly wage 1977 - £70. Today - £465 (6.6-fold increase).  The result of manufacturing in China - cheap wages and cheap materials, along with questionable QC, although it probably runs better than the old one ever did. Bring it back home and expect to pay a lot more. Although I doubt the QC would actually be any better. 

Nigel

It's not fair to blame the Chinese workers, though; hardly their fault that the government there is complicit in allowing foreign corporations to not pay them what they're worth because said corporations want to cut every cost except top-level executive pay (which they'll happily increase) in order to keep the share prices high.

Nigel, you're a mine of information and obviously reared on the rust buckets of the 60/70's When 35,000 miles of uncertain motoring meant either a recon engine, new gear box, serious welding sessions or, and more than likely, all three.

Anyway,

Jidenco - remember them ? Japanese Brass and GWR Pannier Tanks.

Jidenco was founded by Graham Beaumont who, along with Colin Massingham of El Crappo Kit fame and both friends of mine, mortgaged themselves up to the hilt, sold their souls to the Devil and set out to introduce the first ever British outline locos in  Japanise brass so, they sent off the blueprints, the first batch was manufactured but the crate fell into the dock  which was followed much later by another crate that didn't and arrived in the UK only to find that little Japanise fingers had stuck the domes where the chimneys should have been and the chimneys where the dome was meant to go. This along with many other notable 'modifications' that the GWR knew absolutely nothing about where, for example, all the foot steps were fitted upside down and, IF they ran at all, it was only in one direction - either foreward or backward but not both.

After taking pre orders up, down and sideways all over the country when the long awaited all brass GWR Panniers finally arrived  not one was ever bought and not one was ever sold. 

Allan 

 

i have now fixed the broken chassis and have got it running after making up a strap to secure the motor then found something was binding - i found that the chassis is slightly banana shaped causing the coupling rods to jam - so after a few evenings work the chassis is now scrap- hornby should be made to refund every purchaser !

Hi Mark,

That's why any repair of ZAMAC with the "pest" is temporary (in this case fleetingly brief). Peter's Spares do a replacement brass motor mount (PS61) for £9.60 (which is a fatigue-related issue), but if the rest is banana shaped that doesn't help.

The Perseverance chassis (from Puffers) could be another option - "LC304R LSWR/SR/BR T9 class 4-4-0 (Suits the Wills body shell ) rigid chassis pack… £17.45" (2015 price list). Used in the Westward kits. Plus wheels, axles, motor, gears. SE Finecast also do a T9 chassis kit. Either will good for another 50 years though and better looking. And about 2/3 the price of a replacement T9 from Hattons. Or get an SE Finecast T9 kit (or a made up one) and just use the chassis.

I have the impression from reading the posts on a number of sites that this the tip of the iceberg re a number of China-made models.  Takes a few years for the problem to surface…

Nigel 

If you're feeling like a craftsman, you could also see about making a replacement from a block of wood, or pieces of cut styrene reinforced with a bit of metal.

found another problem with the T9 chassis - having put it all together and got ot running it now jams every revolution

this i found was caused by a slight bend in the chassis between the axles causing the coupling rods to jam

so after a lot of effort i think it may be scrap - did think of trying to straighten it but i might wind up with a

handful of dust !  rumour at the moment is hornby are releasing a new T9 - maybe they have cured the problem

so a new chassis might be available - under warranty of course 1

Hi Mark,

I'm afraid you have a lot more faith than me 're QC in China and warranty (which these days seems to be the seller's responsibility), especially as the problem takes a few years to surface. By which time the model is no longer being made and no chassis are available.

Nigel