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Post by 92220 on Nov 4, 2018 9:10:32 GMT
Hi Rob.
They are bad! Can't you end them back under The Sale of Goods Act, or the Consumer Rights Act which superseded it?
As far as the original question of this thread is concerned, I'm pleased to read that there are others, like me, who are prepared to pay for perfect castings. I've always fought shy of telling how much I paid for my wheel castings because even to me it seemed way more than just 'a bit over the top'. I wanted perfect castings and got them but had to pay for them. Yes, I made the moulds for the waxes, out of thick Perspex (big mistake), but the casters gave me the shrinkage factor and when I got my castings, the inner diameter of the rims was within 0.003" of scale, on all wheels....2 pony truck, 10 coupled and 6 tender wheels. They were worth every penny of the £2k I paid. I did get given 2 extra sets of castings, by the casters because the cost of 1 set was the same as the cost for 3 sets, so I was able to sell the 2 spare sets to offset the cost a bit. I didn't get what I paid for them but the buyers were happy to pay double the cost of a commercial set of cast iron castings, which in 1998 was around £150.00. Bob.
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Post by Rob on Nov 4, 2018 10:37:39 GMT
Bob, I should have. Unfortunately, I bought these 5 or 6 years ago, probably longer, so the opportunity has long since passed! At the time I thought that perhaps I could salvage them, and it's only after the 3D modelling work and studying photographs that I realised they didn't look particularly to scale either.
Talking about wheels, I discovered yesterday that my driving axle set are not handed, but have asymmetrical counterweights so should have been. As a result, on one side of the engine the counterweight is in the wrong position by one spoke. I'm assuming when selling these they hope that no one will notice, as I didn't until it came to assembling them.
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Post by ettingtonliam on Nov 4, 2018 13:22:58 GMT
Thats awful! Who did you get them off? Particularly for the wheels, its worth raising the matter with them, though in my experience the model trade is not receptive to feedback. The reaction I got when I pointed out that one dimension on some axlebox castings, as cast, was only a couple of thou over finished size was 'Nobody else has complained'. Fortunately, with some careful work, I managed to get away with it. For the wheels, I suppose you could machine/file the excess from between one pair of spokes, then lead fill the empty space at the other end of the counterweight.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2018 14:07:28 GMT
Thats awful! Who did you get them off? Particularly for the wheels, its worth raising the matter with them, though in my experience the model trade is not receptive to feedback. The reaction I got when I pointed out that one dimension on some axlebox castings, as cast, was only a couple of thou over finished size was 'Nobody else has complained'. Fortunately, with some careful work, I managed to get away with it. For the wheels, I suppose you could machine/file the excess from between one pair of spokes, then lead fill the empty space at the other end of the counterweight. I had the same response when pointing out that the 'cut' axle slot in the trailing frames I purchased for 4472 was 1/4" to far forward, when they allowed for the toggle bend they had added extra length after the slot, not before where the toggle was? I got the same response, 'no one else has mentioned it'? in their defence they did send me corrected frames FOC after I drew it up and sent the drawing as it should have been. BTW, this was not MEL who have done the majority of my laser cut parts. I wonder how many A1/3/4 models are out there on the circuit with the trailing axle in the wrong position? Pete
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Post by Rob on Nov 4, 2018 22:15:37 GMT
Thats awful! Who did you get them off? Particularly for the wheels, its worth raising the matter with them, though in my experience the model trade is not receptive to feedback. The reaction I got when I pointed out that one dimension on some axlebox castings, as cast, was only a couple of thou over finished size was 'Nobody else has complained'. Fortunately, with some careful work, I managed to get away with it. For the wheels, I suppose you could machine/file the excess from between one pair of spokes, then lead fill the empty space at the other end of the counterweight. I can't actually remember now, but it was one of the big names. I've been mostly happy with the other castings, braces aside, just wish they paid a little more attention to detail. Much like the subject of this thread I suppose! I think in hindsight I'd have preferred a prototypical wheel and to have made counter weights myself.
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