A look back at Will's opening post includes a quote from a well know advocate of CSB's that
"I would suggest that trying to get ...flexichas to work well has put more people off finescale than just about anything else."
I would suggest that recommending the use of CSB's would put off even more people. One of the benefits of compensation or "Flexichas" is the ability, with only a little care and planning, to get the loco "ride height" correct. If you get it a little wrong then "tweaking" the beam(s) will take care of it. Of course, I am willing to accept that as all my locos so far have been four or six coupled (bar one 0-8-0), they are all fairly straightforward. Despite proclamations elsewhere that Flexichass locos are less"stable" than sprung or CSB chassis, I haven't found that a problem and would suggest that, for most of us, it is something of a red herring.
Despite the claimed benefits of CSBs, using them does appear not as straightforward as some would have us believe. Firstly to have to identify the CoG of the loco "body", which means building it first (or at least stick all the bits on a piece of thick plasticard in their final positions to weigh it and find the point of balance). I have always preferred to build the chassis first so as to be able to check clearances on the body as I assemble it, something critical with those kits originally intended for OO alone - although the later generations of etched kits don't usually present those difficulties.
You then need to input your data to a spreadsheet to identify where the CSB mounts should go. Not too difficult, but more complex than working out where to put a compensation beam pivot. Next, where to put the vertical location of the CSB mounts? What if you get it wrong, especially with the recommended "drill holes and insert handrail knobs" approach? Even the full size thing often had the ability to adjust spring mounting heights though threaded J hangers. Why haven't soldered mountings that can, if the need arises, be un-soldered and moved, found more favour?
I have considered using CSB's but other than for 0-6-0's (I have only one of those left to build) the complication of arranging it for a 2-4-0, 2-2-2-0, 2-4-2T with radial trucks at each end, a 4-6-0 where the kit chassis design has the front frames and bogie pivoting ahead of the motorised bit of the chassis as one unit, together with several more 4-4-0's with sprung bogies, doesn't exactly inspire me to change what is for me, a pragmatic and sensible approach to P4 loco chassis.
I shall know go up to the workshop and do some model making, while the high priests denounce me as a heretic from their temple steps.