I am currently in the process of developing a couple of new products and I'm posting details here to give Society members some advance notice and hopefully gain some idea of possible demand. Please note that I will be launching these regardless of the level of response from this forum - this is *not* a case of me requesting X number of pre-orders before I'll start production, indeed I'm not actually taking pre-orders at all as I can't currently guarantee an availability date.
I'm currently working on:
i) An FR disc signal kit. This will be mainly etched with a lost wax brass base and lamp, and will include an alternative tunnel board to portray the Moelwyn Tunnel signals. Status of the kit is that the etcher is currently producing the first test etch, and one of the two casting masters is complete with the other one hopefully finished in the next couple of weeks.
ii) FR carriage 119-120 in original condition, i.e. before the recent complete rebuild. Resin roof master is done and the artwork is at the "nearly finished, how many can I fit on a sheet?" stage. It will be similar in construction to my current FR 104/106 kit, but with a cast resin roof. It will include ALL parts required to complete including bogies, wheels, roof, corridor connections, partitions, etc. It *won't* include the etched seating of my earlier kit as this made them rather heavy and considerably more complex to build. I may consider cast interior seating kits if there's demand.
If you're interested in either of these, please drop me a line at newkits<@>chrisveitch.co.uk (removing the <> brackets) and let me know. Hopefully this will enable me to make a more intelligent guess at production volumes. If you have any questions please ask.
Thanks,
Chris Veitch
PS I'm posting this in the Signalling and Rolling Stock areas as I'm not sure how the forum distributes new messages and the Signalling area is particularly sparse. Apologies if this upsets anyone.
FR signal sounds great, I will likely have some.
I can also tell members of the forum the the roof for the 119/120 kit is superb, I have used it in conjunction with worsley sides/ends to model the carriages as they are now.
Colin
Thanks for that Colin. Judging from the response, we're the only ones here...
Chris
I'd be interested in some of the disc signals for my new layout.
Chris, this may be worth posting on http://ngrm-online.com that forum is more active than this one, and I know there are some non-society members on there. Just a thought, but your target audience is much bigger ;) If you're not a member then I'm happy to post it there on your behalf if you'd like?
Thanks Tom. That's OK, I am a member but haven't really had a look at it recently . It seems to have changed quite a bit and as you say, has a lot more traffic.
I'll probably give it a go when I'm a little further on, but I really wanted to give Society members the chance to put in their 2p-worth before announcing anything officially.
Regards,
Chris
No probs, thought i'd mention it anyway.
I'm certainly interested as my new layout will be of the right era to use the discs! :)
Quote from: chrisveitch on October 03, 2009, 14:14
i) An FR disc signal kit. This will be mainly etched with a lost wax brass base and lamp, and will include an alternative tunnel board to portray the Moelwyn Tunnel signals. Status of the kit is that the etcher is currently producing the first test etch, and one of the two casting masters is complete with the other one hopefully finished in the next couple of weeks.
Sorry, but I assume you mean the 19th century ones as oppossed to the modern ones in use today?
Darren.
Hi Chris
Personally the signal kits are something I've been looking forward to for a while and with my work hat on the coaches will be great sellers too.
Cheers
John Wooden
Darren,
Yes, they'll be the old pattern. I took the details from the one outside Boston Lodge last year.
Regards,
Chris
(Cross-post from NGRM online - hope this is OK)
I've attached a couple of photos of a pre-production sample of my new 009 Ffestiniog Railway Disc Signal Kit. I now have the test etch and have started to build a pilot model so I've posted a few images below. The kit is in 0.012" nickel silver and will have a cast brass base and lamp. I don't have the castings yet so I've turned up a simple base to help me make up the sample. I don't have a launch date or firm price yet, but I'd hope to be able to release it around Christmas (this year...!). If anyone is particularly interested in seeing this pilot model I'll have it at Swanley next weekend - I don't have a stand there but mail me off list and I'll arrange to meet up if possible. Note that the model in the photos is not finished - it doesn't have disc clamps and one of the handrails and hasn't been cleaned up particularly well. The kit also includes (not shown) a Moelwyn Tunnel board - a pair of these signals were used at the tunnel entrances but with a large "flag"-type rectangular board rather than a disc.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrisveitch.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fjpg%2Ffullsize%2Fsig1.jpg&hash=4a82629e9d2419332cefa95c8c0b7fe6b288eb38) (https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrisveitch.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fjpg%2Ffullsize%2Fsig3.jpg&hash=505d43b969c875fa3cb767618b554f23ac4fa15e)
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I've also managed to squeeze in a couple of sets of narrow gauge style locomotive number plates on the etch and I now have a few available. There are two sets:
1. Set of plain plates "1" to "10", 20 plates in total for
hey chris, looking good!
can't wait.
Cheers
I still don't have a date for the castings, but here's a shot of the lamp pattern. It's a bit of a cruel enlargement - bear in mind that the sides of the lamp are around 3.5mm across.
Chris
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrisveitch.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fjpg%2Ffullsize%2Flamp_pattern.jpg&hash=5c47db4085f0c5ae4e12e66b006195a688210a57)
Looks nice. Do you think it will be possible to drill it out and put an LED or grain of wheat in it?
Cheers
Quote from: Isle of Stoner on November 03, 2009, 21:41
Looks nice. Do you think it will be possible to drill it out and put an LED or grain of wheat in it?
Cheers
I've been thinking about that, I was wondering about running a fibre optic up to it with a LED beneath the baseboard.
I had a discussion with Tom about this. I think it is probably possible, but may take a bit of serious micro-engineering. The rod for the disc is 0.7mm brass and I speculated that it could be replaced with a hypodermic syringe blank (I think a firm used to sell these through an advert in MRJ). The fibre cold go up that and you could drill the lenses out and replace them with tiny lengths of something like acrylic rod.
The pattern isn't the same as a finished lamp - the base that you see is just to mount it in the milling machine and the castings will just have a short boss with a starter hole to take the 0.7mm drill. It could be drilled out for a grain of wheat but you'd have the problem of wiring the two poles and mounting the lamp on top of the syringe tube without the benefit of the boss.
I'm sure someone will do it - somehow...
Regards,
Chris
Just a thought but it might just be possible to make the optical fibre the rod by using stiff plastic and painting it. It could be a trade off between stiffness and brittleness.
It would be fiddly, but the lenses and optical coupling to the end of the fibre might be formed by drilling out and filling the cavity with epoxy resin or possibly even a PVA or acrylic varnish that dries nice and clear.
Quote from: GraemeD on November 05, 2009, 10:12
Just a thought but it might just be possible to make the optical fibre the rod by using stiff plastic and painting it. It could be a trade off between stiffness and brittleness.
It would be fiddly, but the lenses and optical coupling to the end of the fibre might be formed by drilling out and filling the cavity with epoxy resin or possibly even a PVA or acrylic varnish that dries nice and clear.
That's pretty much what I had in mind, Graeme. When they're available i'll be having a go at that. I'd not thought of using epoxy resin to fill the cavity in the lamp, that's a good idea! ;)
Blimey! I was just thinking simple stuff as usual...
I've attached a quick-and-not-very-good photo of the first pre-production etch for my new FR carriage 119/120 kit - just to assure everyone I'm actually making progress with this one. Hopefully I should be able to get one built before Christmas and give you a better idea of how it goes together. Until then, see if you can work out which bit is which? I'll be doing the same...
Regards,
Chris
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrisveitch.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fjpg%2Ffullsize%2Fx4052.jpg&hash=6412ef3b18c96abb5658d58561b68cdc2484f7f6)
Here a couple of photos of the first test etch for my new FR119/120 carriage kit. Yes, can't digital cameras do really cruel enlargements well?
The underframe isn't shown as there are quite a few tweaks needed to get this right so it'll need at least one more test etch.
Regards
Chris
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrisveitch.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fjpg%2Ffullsize%2FFR119test1.jpg&hash=c20d16629327de41ad0ea6638149ddd20cfb6bb8)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrisveitch.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fjpg%2Ffullsize%2FFR119test4.jpg&hash=24fe9445b3f5e67d0a10caac6e7db57614900ea5)
My new FR carriage kit is fairly long by 009 standards so I've given some thought to coupler mountings and adapting these to suit various couplers and radii. The photos below show some of the variants possible, set up on a kit from the current test etch.
First is the bogie with the provided extension to fit a Liliput/Bemo style coupler. The extension bar is screwed into a projection from the bogie as the coupling won't fit through the shallow slot in the top of the headstock. If you don't want to use this method, there are half-etched lines on the inside of the headstock to allow the centre section to be cut out and the coupler and/or bar to be permanently attached to the bogies. You can just see the end of the 12BA screw which has been cut off flush with the surface of the bogie extension, just between the wheels. The 10BA nut on the left if on the bogie pivot screw - this has two nuts (the other one is a captive nut soldered onto the floor under the bogie cover plate) and the second one which you can see on the top is a locknut to allow the builder to adjust the amount of vertical bogie play and then lock the pivot screw in place.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrisveitch.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fjpg%2Ffullsize%2Ftest02-3.JPG&hash=5963e9de685ea7ce38766ef29bf26f8e6d206503)
The second photo shows the inverted bogie with the coupler bar screwed into the bogie extension. The coupler bar can be mounted above or below the bogie extension and can be installed with the channel on the top or bottom to suit whichever type of the coupler you're using. Both the bogie extension and coupler bar have a number of half-etched holes to allow a wide variety of spacings. The coupler bar can also be mounted direct to the end of the carriage floor if desired. The photo shows the bogie with one of my new lost wax brass bogie side castings attached.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrisveitch.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fjpg%2Ffullsize%2Ftest02-7.JPG&hash=ed58df26b3b9625341a6c866ad382d58bb712c1d)
This is a Greenwich coupler mounted directly on the carriage floor. This can be made to pivot although it isn't set up for that here.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrisveitch.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fjpg%2Ffullsize%2Ftest02-17.JPG&hash=653b9abae3dc987b549b9f16e6d4d02fc80cc405)
This is a Greenwich coupler set up on the extension bar. This is probably the most discreet and effective installation and when mounted like this, the coupler has exactly the 6.0mm height above rail recommended. The kit has full corridor connection and fallplate detail but the builder will have to select how much of this to install based on their required coupling arrangements and what sort of radius curve they need the carriages to traverse. The headstock has a half-etch on the inside which can be cut away to allow a much wide degree of pivot than shown here.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrisveitch.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fjpg%2Ffullsize%2Ftest02-19.JPG&hash=374fe8b9531b8a60706555c72cc507e9b81a999e)
I hope to post a few more photos of the current test as construction progresses.
Regards,
Chris
Here are a couple of photos of the test of my new 009 FR disc signal kit with its lamp and base castings in position. (I'm sure I posted a message on this forum about this, but I've lost it......)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrisveitch.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fjpg%2Ffullsize%2Fsingalcast2.JPG&hash=1e9240ba04f29ca0a66e81e27e9572c681b2633e)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrisveitch.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fjpg%2Ffullsize%2Fsingalcast4.JPG&hash=4f2bb64f1dc264a5a5771a44e17113ba69c7d7f4)
Hopefully the production castings should be here in a couple of weeks and I can get the costings done, set a price and start to churn out some kits for sale.
Regards,
Chris
Looks great. Can't wait. Spent the morning filming Spooner's Boat in action. Great Fun. Surf along to Youtube and have a look. Its off to NRM for bit and this is the video to go with it but I've posted it as an add. The prototype for the signal pops up a couple of times too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jP7uTC6FIc
At last - the disc signal kit is now available. Details are on my website at http://www.chrisveitch.co.uk/009kits.htm (http://www.chrisveitch.co.uk/009kits.htm). Please don't forget postage if you're ordering, details are at http://www.chrisveitch.co.uk/order.htm (http://www.chrisveitch.co.uk/order.htm).
Regards,
Chris
Picked one up at port fr shop. Looks fantastic!
How goes the development of 119/120 going? And are there any plans for the next additions once it's available?
J
Quote from: jaymzhatstand on June 24, 2010, 09:39
How goes the development of 119/120 going? And are there any plans for the next additions once it's available?
J
J,
To be honest, it slowed down a bit due to various domestic pressures, holidays, spending a weekend milling a new set of crosshead slippers for Linda (the
real one, not a kit), etc. It probably won't speed up for a few weeks as I'm off to Boston Lodge to do a bit more work on the old girl early next month. Well, you
do want to see her back in traffic, don't you..? ;-)
Seriously though, I did have a few "Doh!" moments when building the last test, so there's going to be at least one more before it goes into production. And yes, I do have plans to do some (or all, if I get the time) of the newer FR coaches. Once this one is done the other later coaches shouldn't be too different. I've made the floor/chassis assembly of this one quite a bit more sophisticated than the one I did for 104/6 so this should hopefully carry over to the others, and the roof moulding is either common or similar to several coaches. I'm intending to do lost wax brake pipes, electrical connections and roof vents so these should be common too.
The only thing that concerns me about doing this and other FR coaches is the demand, of which I'm not certain - they're only 20-odd years old and I'm not really sure how many modellers want one, despite most 009ers probably having travelled in one.
Incidentally, since the ad for the signal appeared I've been surprised to find that I'm getting a few orders for the number plates as well. These are basically produced as a filler on the signal etch to use up the small corners so they're in fairly limited supply - if anyone wants a set, I'd suggest ordering sooner rather than later! (Reminds self to update website to cover the number plates...)
Regards,
Chris
I guess the problem is the availability of the worsley works basic kits. Perhaps a model of 103 the new super barn would be worthwhile given Allen doesn't do that one. ?? Colin
The new coach looks excellent, I have one of your 104/6 kits to build soon & have been most impressed with the thought that has gone into it. The resin roof will be a great item in itself, speaking as one who is midway thro a coach 100 & struggling a bit with the roof contours. I look forward to seeing the kit on sale (Linda permitting!) :)
Thinking about sales potential, wouldn't an obs car (eg 102) be the most marketable as the most recognisable FR tin car, the others being essentially just "variations on a theme" (except to we cogniscenti, obviously? ;))
Quote from: nigelk on September 08, 2010, 14:42
Thinking about sales potential, wouldn't an obs car (eg 102) be the most marketable as the most recognisable FR tin car, the others being essentially just "variations on a theme" (except to we cogniscenti, obviously? ;))
Probably - but I've found that you can never really predict how 009 stuff will sell. For example, where do all my brake vans go? I must have sold literally hundreds of them over the years and I think I've probably see two on exhibition layouts. I'd agree that the observation coaches are the most distinctive and, let's face it, all trains have to have an end...
My thoughts re "tin cars" are that doing one would probably get of the one-off costs out of the way and subsequent variations would be reasonably easy. The major cost is really the amount of time that goes into designs and test builds - the bought and manufactured components are a relatively small proportion.
Regards,
Chris
Quote from: rhydddu009 on June 24, 2010, 18:21
I guess the problem is the availability of the worsley works basic kits. Perhaps a model of 103 the new super barn would be worthwhile given Allen doesn't do that one. ?? Colin
Colin,
Sorry I missed this one a couple of months ago. I'm not sure that the availability of Allen's kits is really an issue for me - we already both do the bug boxes and mine sell well enough (and I assume Allen's do as well) - as I think they're probably bought by slightly different modellers. I try to sell a complete kit whereas Allen's buyers know they may need to source some of their own parts (which they may already have) and that they should probably have a bit of etched kit experience already. Also, I sell the trade and Allen doesn't so the range of outlets is slightly different.
Regards,
Chris
true thanks Chris - any thoughts on a 103 though? she's a 'super' barn!
I was pleased to see you have sold lots of brake vans & John Wooden says the coach kits would be good sellers. I have great respect for anyone prepared to put the time in to producing a decent 009 kit; I'm sure it won't be for the financial reward. And if you produced bogies, seat castings, roofs & vac pipes etc as seperate detailing packs you could sell them to worsley works kit builders as well & double your market!
Quote from: rhydddu009 on September 13, 2010, 10:28
true thanks Chris - any thoughts on a 103 though? she's a 'super' barn!
I wouldn't rule out any of the current FR stock and 103 certainly looks attractive. It's just a case of getting the spare time to selflessly devote to producing the artwork... ;-)
The carriages fall into two basic groups - those with simple curved roofs and those with domed ends (which includes all the observation cars). The domed roofs will need to be resin (somehow I think whitemetal's a bad idea) but the "flat" roofs could be plastic or brass. I've been toying with the idea of preformed brass roofs as it makes things simpler for the builder and saves me faffing about with bits of plasticard, although I'd have to get a decent rolling mill. Anyone have any thoughts or preferences?
Also, I've debated over whether or not to provide interior detail such as seats and tables. PArtitions are necessary as they define the areas of light and shadow within the vehicle but in 009 seats don't tend to be very visible. What are members' thoughts on a cheaper kit with option interior details?
As Nigel mentions, there is market for other detailing parts but it's generally small (i.e. even smaller than that for the kits). I did market the FR bogie sides separately for a while but had few takers.
Regards,
Chris
Sorry, not wishing to monopolise the discussion or anything......
Provision of rolled roofs would be a "nice to have" for a straight roof but presumably have an added cost & the feeling that "I could do that relatively easily." Domed roofs would be a "value adding" item, by which I mean it would make the kit less daunting.
I think seats & tables are pretty visible in these coaches. They have large-ish windows & end windows. Seats are straightforward to scratch-build but tedious. I saw on Colin Leas blog that he had some resin seats produced as some sort of repeating unit, something like that could be used as a common component?
Personally I would like as many pre-formed bits as possible & would like rolled roofs & seats but I have no feeling for how price sensitive the market is.
Bumped up for 009 news