3mm Thought My Addiction Was Cured

[westernfan]

Back in 2000 Whilst attending a toy fair i came across some tt gauge wagons which I just had to buy. I had at the time just sold my n gauge models and was looking for somthing different to play with. Before long i had amassed various kits ,rolling stock and track systems from tri ang type A/B to Gem n/s track all being 12mm gauge . I played about with tt for about five years before selling it all off and waking up and smelling the coffee of O gauge

So why have I just bought some 3mm scale kits ( must not get bladdered and log in and buy things) Well at the time the plan was to build a micro layout . It still is but first of all I have to build up a loco body kit

I have Built these white metal kits before and i must admit that the George E Mellor ,Bec Esonal and Kays kits of the time went together well with very little fettling needed . I wish that I could say the same for this so called modern version . the masters for these castings must be over 50 years old now and boy are they showing it mega amounts of de flashing required,most components pitted , misformed detail ,the rear step resembled a blob more than a step wrong size brass wire for the hand rails etc. If i had bought this kit from the manufacturer it would have gone straight back with complaint. It makes me wonder how many potential return customers are put off by these standards or lack of but there we go .
so on to the build once all parts were cleaned up I assembled them with super glue gell then milliput was used to fill the gaps and cracks i also added extra details including lamp irons rain strips roof hatch and fashioned a new rear step from plastikard . still lot more to do

 

[westernfan]

yes sometimes a couple of tinnies to unwind , done a bit more to the 57xx fabricated some splasher shapes for the middle wheels and fitted some more hand rails .

 

[ceejaydee]

I like 3mm scale and after an introduction to Triang TT in my early teens joined the 3mm Society in around 1986 and was a member for two long stints spanning the following 20 years.
I recently had a sort through all my 3mm and TT collection and decided that after some considerable period of inactivity in the scale it was time to move it all on.
However regardless of all this I still like the size and have to agree that the modern versions of the old GEM, BEC, Esanel etc. kits are lacking to the point of almost being un-buildable.
Good luck with your 3mm venture.

 

[westernfan]

Done some more to the pannier ,got the modified chassis running on 14.2mm gauge to fit the body to a fashion I may need to file some more off the mazack chassis block for a better fit . things were going well until i took some images of the 57 against its o gauge big brother .Now i remember why i sold all my tt off . although tt is a nice quirky size when it comes to building a layout it doesnt really save on space compared to 4mm , perhaps another reason for its demise as well as the introduction of n gauge.

 

[marsa69]

I thought the attraction wasn't space saving just the fact that it looked better in the same space as 4mm?

 

[westernfan]

I thought the attraction wasn't space saving just the fact that it looked better in the same space as 4mm?

When Tri-ang launched their tt range the slogan went somthing like " TT gauge for the smaller home
http://www.tri-angtt.org.uk/ttcat8.htm
Their set track 1st radius curves were somthing like 11 and a bit inches radius , pretty tight, the trick to stop the loco pulling all its wagons off on the curves was to lub all the open axle boxes. Some of the triang tt loco range were pretty good the DMU , Britannia , and Brush type 2 but unless you used the steel track for the tm magnahesion to work their pulling power was pretty poor thats when the white metal body kits came into their own with the extra weight also the white metal body fitted over the triang chassis made for smoother , quieter running the early x03 motors are quite good imo i have had a few with 5 pole motors in the past and if a super neo magnet is fitted they run even better and draw less milli amps. Oh dear its all coming back to me

 

[ceejaydee]

I actually really enjoyed sourcing then stripping and re-building Triang TT locos back in my teens and spending time testing recently prior to selling on a popular internet auction site brought many happy memories flooding back.
3mm & TT is no longer for me though and there are only a couple of items left to go.
Some of the work carried out in the scale is amazing and individually cut and applied bolt heads wowed me back in the mid 1980's but I struggle to see the whole wagon to which they are to be applied these days.

 

[westernfan]

I actually really enjoyed sourcing then stripping and re-building Triang TT locos back in my teens and spending time testing recently prior to selling on a popular internet auction site brought many happy memories flooding back.
3mm & TT is no longer for me though and there are only a couple of items left to go.
Some of the work carried out in the scale is amazing and individually cut and applied bolt heads wowed me back in the mid 1980's but I struggle to see the whole wagon to which they are to be applied these days.

Yes, getting them going again, that smell from the motor, polishing up the wheels etc, and coming across someone
elses handywork on the locos . I tended to avoid the diy glossed over bits but i think that must have been a trend back in the 60s, to protect the paint and transfers . I liked the Peco tt wagon kits the detail on the chassis was excellent for the time

As you say there is good backup for the scale .Worsley Works do a 3mm class 121 and a Class 22 etched kit ,but as you im having to squint making this model .

I decided that some more detail was in order so I have added sand box filler covers,steps to the front smoke box ,steps to the cab side and fire iron brackets to the rear bunker. Dont know why im doing it all back to front , think its lack of solar rays wf

 

[ceejaydee]

I think that your loco looks very tidy and certainly the small size is apparent in the photo.
Maybe the RTR market has missed a trick with 3mm Scale and instead of developing seemingly every loco ever produced in 4mm scale a good basic range in 1/100 would be an idea.
No danger of a wish list for me though as it is firmly in my past.
Have to agree about the smell of vintage Triang and early Hornby (same thing I suppose) locos - the aroma of youth?
Fitted a TT3 Spares 5-pole armature to my EE shunter (08) and with new brushes it ran a treat and at slow speeds too - pity it was so ugly different to the prototype.

 

[westernfan]

Ah yes one of these , well it was made back in 59, the chevrons were a challenge . I was quite pleased with a mod that I did on a castle chassis block using the chimney fed body fixing screw thread as a pilot hole ,I reamed out the mazack and fitted a seuthe smoke unit, got some images of it somewhere .

 

[D6356]

The 08 has undergone an upgrade with Worsley Works producing an etched chassis kit and body for 12 and 14.2 options, Chris Higgs did a very limited run etch and resin kit in 3mm around the sametime. I have the chassis in the gloat cupboard but never got further.
Whilst I have G1 for going to GTG I have more 3mm much to be said and recent RM exposure has improved our scale - still the best for making stuff. On my Train TT display out I put an 4mm Hornby 31 along side the Triang 31 - the first version on this had metal wire handrails in 1957!! or thereabouts. The second version had moulded on handrails to cheapen production.. Always rasies comments on "progress"
Robert

 

[westernfan]

Thats the fun with non mainstream scales no rtr backup . i really enjoyed making the buildings from scratch and the experience certainly helped me when I stepped up to 7mm modelling

 

[westernfan]

Put some brass paint on the model ,made up some fire irons, reduced a 4mm scale shovel ,madeup some rear cab window bars from microstrip , added two more lamp irons to the rear bunker and added some coal . I have drilled the base of the tail and head lamps so that they fit on the lamp irons . All that remains now is to order some number plates and give the loco a misting with the airbrush.

 

[Stuart in OZ]

HI..

Thats come up very nice.. good to see it finshed at last.

Stuart

 

[ceejaydee]

Still looks like a tidy loco apart from those hideous couplings
Mind you 3-links in 3mm scale are unusable and BB couplings are unmakable (if that is a word)

 

[westernfan]

HI..

Thats come up very nice.. good to see it finshed at last.

Stuart

Hi Thanks. The chassis needs some detail maybe some sand boxes and brake gear but I will leave that to a later date once some track has been laid . I need to find out more on whats required to re wheel/gauge up from 12mm to 14.2mm did you convert any rolling stock ? I have inmind to use a T81 brake as a donor for a Collett Driving trailer . I suppose its a matter of filing down the inside bogie frames?

Still looks like a tidy loco apart from those hideous couplings
Mind you 3-links in 3mm scale are unusable and BB couplings are unmakable (if that is a word)

Hi Yes those tension lock types are in its face maybe a piece of wire just behind the buffer beams I hadnt come across B B couplings so I looked it up . They are a bit like the Winterly auto couplings that I use on some of my 7mm stock . Winterley couplings evolved from a 3mm design

Oh don't.... I tried an etch of BB's 3mm couplings when I started in British HO... I struggled for over two hours with just one etch, trying to hold three pieces "together but apart" whilst trying to fold one part over the other two
In the end I gave up and went for Kadee #58's... I nearly wept with relief as the first one went together in under 30 seconds...

Yes Kadees or Spratt and Winkle .Maybe just a wire and hook affair . There wont be much stock a single coach and maybe five or six wagons including the two 6 wheel milk tank kits I have yet to build need to buy some track first . I see you can buy 14.2mm gauge flexi track in five yd packs and pointwork has anyone seen this track ,whats it like?

 

[Stuart in OZ]

Hi Thanks. The chassis needs some detail maybe some sand boxes and brake gear but I will leave that to a later date once some track has been laid . I need to find out more on whats required to re wheel/gauge up from 12mm to 14.2mm did you convert any rolling stock ? I have inmind to use a T81 brake as a donor for a Collett Driving trailer . I suppose its a matter of filing down the inside bogie frames?

No, I brought them from the second hand stand already converted ...

Stuart

 

[westernfan]

Yes, yes, we all say that at the start of a new project... we quite understand.. welcome to the Day Care room and a nice big comfy chair...

Got my number 118 . Err well I just won 4 tt wagons for £3.21 two of which i want for their peco chassis the other two will find their way back on the auction site in a job lot . I needed the day care room the first time round with my little venture into 3mm . One thing though this 3mm distraction has highlighted is the need to improve my o gauge 57xx time for another make over with some help from oven pride

 

[westernfan]

My lucky dip of wagons arrived today via the bay , not what I was expecting but a pleasant surprise none the less, instead of the expected peco 3 plank wagons a pair of kit built grampus wagons turned up, lucky for me the wheels had metal axles so to change the gauge from 12mm to 14.2 mm was a simple case of pushing the wheels out on their axles . I judged the back to back measurement of the wagon wheels up against the panniers wheel flanges, need a 14.2 mm back to back gauge for exact measurment , also added some micro stripery to the grampuses The image I have posted shows a so called oo trackside Moggie 1000 van up against the pannier ( loco not on any track ) I have read on the internet that its a bit small for 4mm scale so perhaps it might look ok in a 3mm environment perhaps its 3.25 99999999recurring mm scale . Points of veiw invited

 

[westernfan]

I think that british outline 3mm is approx 1/100 so as you say maybe place the post van on the platform . some of the lesney matchbox models are around 1/1ooth scale namely the Thames Trader lorries which will fit into my late 50s-60s era project. I converted a compressor lorry into a flat bed and it looked the part last time around with tt