60163 Tornado

[John Bateson]

As a project for the near future, when can EditorJohn expect to print a picture in Scalefour news of 60163 Tornado built to P4 standards.
Surely we are not going to let those EM guys beat us to it?

EditorJohn

[Horsetan]

I have one under construction, and is a hybrid of various parts (some unobtainable now), plus a Dave Bradwell chassis. It's taking ages.

Tender: I've built the tender chassis, using the very ingenious Masokits all-sprung kit, and am trying to summon up enough courage to get going with the body (which comes from an old Crownline etched brass kit). The tender base will need opening out so that the S4 wheelsets will fit in without shorting on anything.

Loco: A new Diag.118 boiler has also been rolled from nickel-silver sheet, and I now have to draw the firebox development and get that rolled as well. The smokebox is derived from a Crownline etch. I have been playing about with footplates from both Crownline and Pro-Scale; having managed to impress rivets on the latter, it looks like I'll go with Pro-Scale's effort, as this has been etched full-length.

The overall message is: Don't wait up.

[Horsetan]

Some progress photos here

Also here

Thank God for GW Models' rolling mill and rivet press.

[John McAleely]

Now that time has passed a little, what are the options for building a P4 model of this loco?

I've been doing some research, and in addition to the option that Horsetan was following in June 2010, there seem to be three RTR products which might form the basis of a model:

Bachmann Class A1 4-6-2 60163 Tornado (eg 32-550A)
Hornby Railroad Class A1 4-6-2 Tornado (eg R3060)
Hornby Class A1 4-6-2 Tornado (eg R3098)

As for getting these to P4, there seems to be the Brassmasters EasiChass, which is designed for the Bachmann model, and also the Dave Bradwell chassis (elsewhere on this site). That also mentions it is for 'the bachmann or other accurate body'.

I've started looking for other kits, and not turned up any yet (that are in production).

The review I read of the RTR options seemed to think that the Hornby is actually a model of tornado (subtly different height & roof profile, correct bearings on tender), while the bachmann has some finer detail 'in the box' (handrails are separate, etc).

No major inaccuracies were noted for the hornby model, so I guess the Dave Bradwell chassis might fit? I'm assuming the EasiChas would only fit the Bachmann mouldings.

If the Hornby body is a donor, (and a repaint is tolerable), then the reviews suggested that the Railroad model (unlike some in the range) is the same moulding as the more expensive model, so would be a cheaper option.

I'm tempted to have a go. Hornby Railroad donor + Dave Bradwell chassis, and some fettling and detailing.

Are there other options?

[Horsetan]

Now that time has passed a little, what are the options for building a P4 model of this loco?

I've been doing some research, and in addition to the option that Horsetan was following in June 2010, there seem to be three RTR products which might form the basis of a model:

Bachmann Class A1 4-6-2 60163 Tornado (eg 32-550A)
Hornby Railroad Class A1 4-6-2 Tornado (eg R3060)
Hornby Class A1 4-6-2 Tornado (eg R3098)

As for getting these to P4, there seems to be the Brassmasters EasiChass, which is designed for the Bachmann model, and also the Dave Bradwell chassis (elsewhere on this site). That also mentions it is for 'the bachmann or other accurate body'.

Being someone who likes having a go at reversible valve gear, the Brassmasters chassis wouldn't be on my list.

I've started looking for other kits, and not turned up any yet (that are in production).

You have only three options:

Pro-Scale (via Springside Models nowadays)
DJH (throw the chassis away in favour of Bradwell)
PDK (I think this is meant to be re-released in the next year or two, but whether any upgrading / error correction has taken place is another thing; the base price will go up regardless. Again, you're looking at throwing the chassis away).

...or if money is no object, you can try to commission Tom Mallard to produce brand-new etchings for the body and tender at least.

The review I read of the RTR options seemed to think that the Hornby is actually a model of tornado (subtly different height & roof profile, correct bearings on tender), while the bachmann has some finer detail 'in the box' (handrails are separate, etc).

Yes.

No major inaccuracies were noted for the hornby model, so I guess the Dave Bradwell chassis might fit? I'm assuming the EasiChas would only fit the Bachmann mouldings.

It would tend to be a matter of shaving plastic to make room for the Bradwell chassis.

The Brassmasters EasiChas is for the Bachmann mechanism only, but the detail fret is available separately.

If the Hornby body is a donor, (and a repaint is tolerable), then the reviews suggested that the Railroad model (unlike some in the range) is the same moulding as the more expensive model, so would be a cheaper option.

I'm tempted to have a go. Hornby Railroad donor + Dave Bradwell chassis, and some fettling and detailing.

Hornby Railroad body has quite a bit of moulded detail that would need shaving off. Brassmasters detail fret would go some way to improving looks, but you may have to make some other bits yourself as Crownline-style detail castings for the A1 are a bit thin on the ground these days.

[John McAleely]

Links for the PDK kits:

http://www.pdkmodels.co.uk/PL%202.htm (the A1 is noted as not available)

And the Proscale/Springside models option:

http://www.springsidemodels.com/id22.htm

(I guess it is the PS22 "LNER pepper corn" which would be the right choice on that page)

[Horsetan]

Links for the PDK kits:

http://www.pdkmodels.co.uk/PL%202.htm (the A1 is noted as not available)

Forgot to mention that the PDK effort has a resin-boiler and firebox. The smokebox is an etch which you roll and then wrap around the resin (same as in the PDK A2 kit). Unfortunately this then makes the boiler and firebox look slightly undersized, because no recess was designed into the resin boiler to allow the smokebox to sit flush with the rest of the barrel.