Spot the Difference

No, it's not the head code, nor the missing coach. It is the chassis, not that you can see the detail in these poor photos.

The top photo is Battle of Britain 'Biggin Hill' comprising an Airfix kit body on a Kemilway nickel silver etched chassis kit. Both dating from about 1976.

The Kemilway chassis (no longer marketed) makes up into a highly detailed chassis with compensation that requires some skill to assembly. Provision is made for the wheels & axles, gear and motor that had to be purchased separately. 

I think Dapol missed a trick here in not obtaining the rights to the Kemilway kit as it would complement the Airfix kit, which is now marketed by them under the Kitmaster badge. It would make for a cost effective operating model for those not wanting to spend hundreds on a ready to run version.

I am sure my model once ran satisfactorily but after nearly 50 years the chassis is showing its age with parts becoming detached and prone to short circuits. It became a poor runner causing much frustration.

I intended to break and bin it but looking at it again the bodywork is decent so, why not keep it as a static model? The second photo shows the result. Not with a Kemilway chassis but with the original Airfix chassis, the parts for which I had kept in storage for the past 50 years! Except, half the front bogie was missing so I recovered and fitted the Kemilway bogie, only to later find the missing Airfix part in another place.

Why bother replacing the chassis you may well ask. Well, my reasoning is this:

1. The Kemilway has not aged well and every time I look at it I may be tempted to repair it to run again. I fear it would need a complete strip down, clean up and reassemble to give it justice which, I am not in the mind to do.

2. There in storage is all the parts to make the Airfix chassis. Whilst not as detailed as the Kemilway it should be easier to build. How wrong could I be.

The Airfix chassis was more weird and complicated than I thought. For some obscure reason the centre driving wheels do not have flanges, rather like early Tri-ang locomotives. I could not stand that so designed 3D FDM 'rings' that were glued in place - much better. Now, the instructions assume you will assemble it so that the wheels rotate and cranks operate. This I failed to achieve due to glue leaching to where it should not be. It truly is a static model now!

The ideal place to display the model is at the signal on my Battledown flyover embankment. The flyover is more of a diorama than a working layout. Whilst trains can be run across it, the track terminates at both ends.

Now I'll strip down the Kemilway chassis to recover usable parts.

BTW, I have another example of this locomotive class that is a working model so, this conversion is no great loss to my fleet.