Hall Class Display Model

[RICHARD WILLS 3Participant @richardwills3]

Creating the footplate that is the forward most part of the tender and showing the sides of the tender being glued in place .

[RICHARD WILLS 3Participant @richardwills3]

Top plate goes on for the fireman to sand on .

[RICHARD WILLS 3Participant @richardwills3]

Front and back steps layed out in mirror fashion to remind me to get both side the same !

[RICHARD WILLS 3Participant @richardwills3]

Tender finished apart from a few small details like the water tank dome and coupling hook .

[RICHARD WILLS 3Participant @richardwills3]

Lower shot of the axle box detail . Quite effective and appears " busy" enough to look believable .

GW is pre etched on the Tender sides , although this could be deleted or changed .

[RICHARD WILLS 3Participant @richardwills3]

Ok , so lets move onto the Loco itself . Starting with front bogie .

[RICHARD WILLS 3Participant @richardwills3]

As with the previous tender wheels , we are making the laminates up on one of the axles , taking care to minimise the glue and get none on the surfaces that show . Notice that these wheels have an additional front hub disc compared to the tender wheels .

[RICHARD WILLS 3Participant @richardwills3]

[RICHARD WILLS 3Participant @richardwills3]

While Im doing this build thread , what would be really helpful to me would be some feedback on who and where this kit might be popular . It is unusual , so doesnt really fit the obvious places , But I would be interested to hear your thoughts . I estimate the laser cut kit would be around £200 in production .

[Paul KempParticipant @paulkemp46892]

You could try approaching Hobbycraft (national chain of hobby stores the wife and daughters frequent!) I have never visited but I understand they cater for all tastes! Other than that you could market yourself through ads in the railway preservation mags?

Paul.

[Phil H1Participant @philh196021]

Richard,

A superb thread, thanks for posting. I am sorry to say that I would not be interested in a static model in wood or other board but having seen other models in places like hobbycraft etc – surely, there is some kind of a market. Whether the economics work is one snag that I can see because all the other stuff probably comes from China at very low cost.

I am also really interested in your methodology – specially for producing all the parts. My thoughts are how your methodology could be transferred successfully to metal? Yes, I know there are laser companies for the flat bits but you have also produced the wheels, horns and axleboxes that are normally cast.

Phil H.

[RICHARD WILLS 3Participant @richardwills3]

Hello Paul and Phill. Thanks for your comments . I have idly contacted Hobby Craft and the Heritage Railways . Apart from the Ongar and Epping Railway ,who have been great , they were generally uninterested . This is pretty common with most new and "out of the box " products . I could easily conclude that I am wasting my time , if it wasnt for the fact that everytime I have shown one of these models to a member of the public , they have been totally bowled over . I did show them at two model railway exhibitions for feedback, I probably could have sold some there and then if I'd had some in nice glossy boxes .(which they will have ) .

When and if the lockdown is over, I will simply take them to some more of the shows to get some out there and then market direct , which is what I had to do for my aircraft kits . I am amazed that the GWR at Didcot dismissed it as "taking up too much room in their shop " . But there it is .

Regarding Phils questions on methodology , this item probably shouldnt be on this forum because as real engineers , you are all going to want to turn it into a proper metal train . This is quite another tack and as a later spin off has crossed my mind . To that end I have made an equivalent model from resin which could be fitted with bushes and metal work for just the most vital areas in order to reduce cost . I know from my scale aircraft background that you can make wooden aircraft looked like they are made of aluminium , to the point where people come and tap on my Spitfires , so it follows you can make other stuff look and feel like painted steel and iron , If I just wanted to break into garden gauge railways , I would have simply made large scale coaches , which for us is pretty straightforward . Size is not a problem as we have made display model airliners with over twenty foot span wings as commission work . I am really aiming for the people who would like to make something really impressive but do not have a workshop full of tools , let alone lathes and milling machines . There are thousands out there who used to be creative but now , living in a flat, makes that impossible . Also , what do families buy Dad or Grandad when he retires ? Socks ? A lawnmower ? These kits are ideal .

Something along these lines is far more impressive and rewarding , and if you like the Hall Class , why not the Tornado next?

If you google" large Display loco" , you get Ochre (lovely but lots of skill required and not as big ) and U gears , clever but skeletal and unpleasant to look at .

Small well equipped British Companies can avoid competition with the Chinese , by communicating directly with the customer base and then rapidly doing smaller runs that are tailored to the UK market . The problem for this product is finding the forum . When you think about it , can you ever imagine the Chinese putting all this development into something so essentially British ? If it was an American Subject , well….

I do value all of your opinions because I come from the same background , but there are many more out there who didnt, but still want to follow with the rewarding sensation of problem solving and creation . I am trying to give them that reward without years of experience and a garage full of machinery

Keep the comments coming , I'm fascinated by peoples views , good and bad . ( Anyway , whats bad?)

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