Heywood TOPS Kit from 6point5 minimum gauge

It's been a grey old day on the prairie, and once the Royal wedding was out of the way, and with little interest in the FA Cup final. I thought I'd try to assemble the pack of Heywood TOPS wagons from 6point5 minimum gauge. I've had them a while, I just hadn't had the time, what with moving house and everything associated with that. 

So let's take a look at the experience.
The kits arrive in a very nice looking box that belies the fact this is a small cottage industry.

A very nicely designed box.

The instructions too, are clear and well designed. I'm liking everything and I haven't even seen the parts yet.

Well designed instruction sheet

Then there's the parts themselves, all nicely presented in small clear bags. The 3D parts, wheels, etched brass detail and neodymium coupler magnets. I had no idea of the physical size of the parts or even what 3D printed parts looked like.

The 3D printed parts are small.

The parts were small, but perhaps a tad larger than I was expecting. As for my first impressions of 3D printed parts. I'd never seen anything like them before. They're not clean and smooth like injection moulded plastic parts, but rough and ridged from the 3D printing process. So I set to and followed the instructions by cleaning the parts up with varying degrees of wet'n'dry paper and cleaning them off in white spirits.

So, to the assembly. There's not much you can say about putting three parts together. The underframe and deck fitted together very nicely indeed. The locating ridges doing their job perfectly. These were my first kits of this type and I had no plans to make my tops removable so they were glued in place. As I put the parts together I noticed bowing on some of the surfaces, doubtlessly down to my bad sanding to start with. 

There was however one thing I had an issue with. Now I don't know if this too was down to my sanding to clean things up or what. 

The wheels fit in the frame with a lot of play (sloppy fit, I think is the technical term). The wheels fit really well and a wheeled up frame is very free running. I was most impressed. However, because the wheels fit so loosely, when the deck is in place and the wagon sits on the track, the wheels bind against the underside of the deck, and the wagons don't run at all.

The fix I came up with was quick, simple, and invisible. I glued a strip of .25mm x 1mm strip to the top of the underframe. See the video below for a demonstration of the problem and solution. 

Strips added to the frame to raise the deck to clear the wheels.

As I say in the video clip, I had one wagon assembled before I figured out the problem and how to solve it. I tried to disassemble the wagon, with little success other than breaking a buffer beam off. No worries, this is all a learning experience.

Next, was to add the tiny pieces of etched brass that represent the prototype locating ridges and corner strengthening plates. It was my first time gluing things this small with super glue, so that technique needs work as well. Still I was very happy with the way things went, so I make no apologies for posting couple of cliché photos of these OO6.5 TOPS resting on one of my Scratchbuilt Gn15 versions on Bachmann Thomas the Tank Engine troublesome trucks chassis.

TOPS in a TOPS

TOPS on top of a TOPS

I still have to add the end handles from brass wire, (the only thing not to come with the kit), the coupler magnets and then paint. I'll wait until I order another pack of the wagons then I'll do them all in a batch.

Overall, my first experience with 3D printed kits of any kind was positive. My experience with these from 6point5 minimum gauge just as much so, my one issue with the binding wheels aside. These are well thought out kits every single step of the way from the packaging to the kit construction. I recommend them. I will be ordering more soon.

UPDATE: I have since been informed by James Hilton, the kit designer, that indeed, It was my overzealous sanding of the top of the underframe that caused the wheels to bind on the underside of the wagon floor. Lesson learned for next time them.

Co-incidence?

After posting about the 6.5 minimum gauge Ruston Proctor, this old Pathé film was drawn to my attention. The whole film, as with all Pathé newsreels is an education in itself. A slice of times gone by, replaced by advancing technologies. Then pay extra attention from about 8 minutes and 50 seconds for a little narrow gauge industrial railway treat. Perhaps you may even find inspiration for a microlayout here.

The times they are a changin'

So sang Bob Dylan, more years ago than I care to remember. I don't even like the song, but it sprang to mind as I was considering some model making for this project. I have designs on scratchbuilding several things. A Heywood "Katie" for example, is a must. Several items of Heywood coaching stock would be nice too, as well as the Sand Hutton Light Railway 18" gauge coach and brake van.
It was then I started thinking about developments in the model making world. The last time I was making truly small railway models. (I think I have the dubious distinction of making the first scratchbuilt T gauge U.S. outline freight cars) They were made from embossed styrene sheet and other plastic bits mounted on T scale bogies. There was a lot of thinking involved to find the right embossed sheet and thicknesses of strip to get the effects I was after. It was one heck of an achievement to build and at the end of the day, I was pretty proud of myself.

Was this the worlds first scratch built T scale gondola?

The thoughts of what I achieved in T scale is spurring me on in OO6.5. The thought of making rather tiny trains has really got my model making enthusiasm going again. But in those intervening years how things have changed.
When I started working in T scale, 3D printing was in its infancy, if it even existed. Now it's the next big thing in modelling. Anyone with a computer can access 3D modelling software like Sketchup and produce their own parts for projects, and if they so desire, sell them to other modellers through companies like Shapeways. Some people even producing parts for a whole locomotive or rolling stock.
Indeed, this is what has driven OO6.5 development. Take a look at this magnificent Ruston Proctor from James Hilton at 6.5 minimum gauge. Admittedly, this kit goes a step further with the addition of etched nickel silver overlays on the body for extra detail. But the principle is the same. If you find a prototype you like that isn't available anywhere,  you can sit at your computer and make one yourself.

The Ruston Proctor from 6.5 minimum gauge. What a beauty. (photo courtesy 6.5 minimum gauge)

The Narrow planet kits look great, I have some of their Heywood TOPS wagons and I am looking forward to assembling them and trying some of the other of the models in their ever expanding range too. That Ruston Proctor in particular.
The fact a person can sit at a computer and produce models to such a high standard amazes me.
As for me. Do I want to sit at a computer messing with squares, curves, vectors and nodes or whatever to make a model? I don't think so. I have tried it. I started work on some T scale structures once.

Sketchup of a T scale gas station

Perhaps it was the learning curve or the struggle with the online instructions, but I just didn't get the same pleasure out of it as if I was measuring and cutting styrene and piecing it together. When I look at what I achieved in T scale I still glow with pride a little bit.

T scale lighthouse. A N scale flashing LED was used as a beacon

This T scale petrol station included some impossibly tiny petrol pumps.

Like I said, times are changing. I can see reasons to try my hand at Sketchup model making, my eyesight isn't what it used to be for example. But right now, for me nothing beats cutting and gluing small bits of styrene.

Getting things in order

You'll have noticed it's a bit quiet on the blog lately. Not that I'm not doing anything. Far from it. I've been messing with a few things that I'll report back on in a while. But mainly I've been agonizing over the track for the layout. Not so much what I need, more where I should get it from.
The Busch HOf system is pretty much unheard of here in the US and not many places stock it. Trainz.com and Walthers are the two places I've found online. But they don't have much in stock. I couldn't order all the track for my layout from both places and get everything I need. Joesmodelbahnlädle on eBay had everything I needed and at good prices but rather high shipping costs. I got my set from them so the shipping cost wasn't much of an issue. So after much umming and ah-ing and calculating and re-calculating I have ordered the majority of my track from Ngtrains.com They list a good range of stock and say they can get it quickly if they are out and the shipping is very reasonable. So I placed my order and promptly made a mistake ordering.
Busch reference numbers for the HOf track seem inordinately difficult when you need a 12432 and a 12323 and a 12332. I suffer with dyscalculia and processing numbers is difficult at times. Hopefully I have the order right now and the track will soon be winging it's way to me, so I can start proper work on the layout.
Then we'll see things happen.