c55 - 30 world kougei

[keitaro]

sure hope they do this baby in a completed kit. I won't be buying the kit as they are really hard as i have found ....

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10182450

 

http://tekkenweb.sakura.ne.jp/loco/locosl/lc55.html

[westfalen]

Looks like they did for a previous run, http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10178911, maybe they will again.

 

After trying one of their pre-assembled electric locos I'm tempted to try one of these to see what their steam is like.

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10182443

 

They can be expensive but not that much when you look at the work that goes into putting them together. I saw some pre-assembled steam locos in Japanese hobby shops and they are miniature works of art.

[keitaro]

i have the kit of the mitsui i am "trying" to complete it the mechanism is really hard due to gears not touching and being hard to get the spacing and adjustments right.

 

I do beleive i will get it one day haha but i got frustrated and dropped it for a few days now.

 

As it stands i have 2 completed shells with out a working motor  :laugh:

 

and the mitsui in progress.

 

but i can't pass of a c55 since there are not many ones out there that i fancy as MA have put me off their steam loco's for quite some time.

[Martijn Meerts]

I wouldn't mind a kit version, but not having a release date is a bit of an issue, especially considering the price. It's not something you want to all of a sudden have to be pay for :)

 

I still haven't done much with any of my World Kougei kits, been busy with other stuff. I still think using a micro torch to solder the shell and main structure, and then either epoxy or superglue for the smaller detail bits is the way to go, but I haven't actually tried it. Another option would be pre-tinning the larger brass pieces using a micro torch, and then doing the final assembly with a regular soldering iron.

[keitaro]

i don't have an issue with the soldering.

 

It's the mechanics they always hard to do and you have to get it perfect.

 

I wish they would make it simpler as the screws are tiny and some times don't hold tight enough causing the gears not to connect.

[Martijn Meerts]

Have you tapped the holes? Fairly certain that's required. They're not pre-tapped, and the screws aren't self-tapping either.

[westfalen]

i don't have an issue with the soldering.

 

It's the mechanics they always hard to do and you have to get it perfect.

 

I wish they would make it simpler as the screws are tiny and some times don't hold tight enough causing the gears not to connect.

I know what you mean, I just have to wave a screwdriver at a steam loco mechanism and it never runs right again.

[keitaro]

Have you tapped the holes? Fairly certain that's required. They're not pre-tapped, and the screws aren't self-tapping either.

 

sorry please explain?

[Martijn Meerts]

None of the holes have screw thread in them, so you need to use a tap to create the screw thread. That way the screws actually have something to grip.

 

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ja&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.world-kougei.com%2F&act=url says the kits need threading.

[Martijn Meerts]

I received my Mitsui recently and have started looking into the mechanism a little bit. I've tried translating some bits as well, and figured out that wherever there's a red dot on the building schematic, that means that hole needs to be tapped. Unless otherwise noted, you need an M1.4 tap, but I've noticed there are also some holes that require an M1.0 tap.

 

Since the metal is fairly thin, the tapping is real easy. You can just use a pinvise to hold the tap, and you don't need to use any oil or coolant or anything either.

 

I'll see if I can grab some pictures tonight of the tools and the holes pre-threaded and post-threaded.

[keitaro]

cool sounds good. i am stuck on it and really don't have the effort atm to get back into it maybe your pics can bring back the enthusiasm 

 

I don't think i am going to do anymore kits after the next tank loco coming up in kit form.

 

too much effort and time i just can't possibly find lately.

[Martijn Meerts]

Time is a bit of a problem here as well, there's just too many other things I have to do, and since I don't have a working layout yet, building the kits isn't really top priority :)

[Martijn Meerts]

Couldn't get a decent shot of a threaded hole, I'll try again once I have more light and find my macro lens, which seems to be lost somewhere ;)

 

 

Image 001:

My tap & die set. The bits on the left are the taps, the circular ones are dies. Taps are used for internal thread, dies are used for external thread. The large handle is used when tapping fairly large/deep holes, as they can require quite a bit of force. This specific set is a modelers set, so the taps/dies range from M1.0 to M2.5. Most tap & die sets start at M2.0 or even at M4.0

 

 

Image 002:

Top is the M1.0 tap, bottom the M1.4 tap. The 1.4 is too blurry to see any detail, but then again, it looks exactly like the M1.0, just bigger =)

 

 

Image 003:

M1.4 tap in a standard pin vise (this one happens to be from Tamiya, but any pin vise will work). The pin vise only works because the metal sheets are thin. You'll usually want to use special handles like the one included in the set, or a pin vise type handle with a large, easy to grip handle.

[keitaro]

thanks.

 

yeah i need to buy tools i guess. I'm going to put these on the list till june. I have a goal to complete either the hitachi or the mitsui by 15th july.

 

The deki is complete but i busted the motor. so i am going to use some one elses idea and have a motorised flatbed disguised as a battery or maintainance load.

 

luckily the wheels work like a charm without the motor in their so pushing it should be a breeze just need to fill it in with some weight.

[Martijn Meerts]

It requires a little of practice and experimentation to get the kits built right, the only problem is that the kits aren't cheap, so experimenting with them gets somewhat costly :)

 

I'm fairly certain it's possible to get a new motor from World Kougei, so that might be an option as well.

[keitaro]

yes you can get a motor but the ones they offer are different to the deki.

 

To be honest though the deki will inevitably run shit mainly because it is so tiny therefore i'm happy to try a flatbed motorized unit to pushi it fro mbehinf and maybe permanantly attach them. or just use the regular tn coupler.

[Martijn Meerts]

It's not likely to run very well, although I've seen small locomotives like that run real well as long as the track work is decent. The little "Glasskasten" locomotives for example run really well, even in N-scale, although they do tend to stall on turnouts with insulated frogs (one reason I went with electrofrogs for the new layout).

 

For some odd reason I'm using the Mitsui tank loco as experimentation object for the mechanism at least. Once I've put it together I'll likely try the Deki before moving on to the bigger ones I have.

[Martijn Meerts]

Been working on the Mitsui loco a bit. The problem is, I'm missing some parts :) HS already mailed me about the fact that the kit might be missing parts, so I guess they'll send them over at some point.

 

I've done some soldering using the micro torch (definitely need some practice there :)), and started on the mechanism. It's not easy considering I have to spend a LONG time trying to translate the instructions, but it's fun working on the thing. Because of the missing parts though, I can't finish the mechanism.

[keitaro]

yeah they emailed me i had 2 times of each ring type i assume you only had 1 set of each?

 

or is the part they reffered to different.

 

So far i have got the body done mostly and still working on the gears... the motor goes but jerky because gears are jamming.

 

the rods look a touch tricky too.

[Martijn Meerts]

The parts I'm missing are plastic washers I believe.

[keitaro]

ahh they are metal ones painted white. i have 2 sets of rings each i have 2 off not at home but by memory it was a 2 x 4 rings and 2 x 5 rings ? one painted white.

[Martijn Meerts]

I have one sprue with 6 washers for the wheels, and 2 sprues with 4 washers each for the gears. I don't have any white ones, so I'm guessing those are the ones missing :)

[Martijn Meerts]

Well, that's interesting.. I seem to have misplace 1 of the etched brass sheets of the Mitsui loco, and I can't find it anymore ... I'm fairly certain it was in the box at some point, although I'm starting to get some doubts there...

[keitaro]

lol yeah it's hapened to me i misplaced one sheet it popped up randomly a month later. that was the deki.

 

also missing parts is apparently common

 

It happend to me i had a missing gear HS are sending with my next preorder this month.

[Martijn Meerts]

I haven't checked my other kits in detail, but I don't think any of those have any missing parts.

 

It does look like all the World Kougei stuff gets packaged by hand though, so I'm not surprised things are missing occasionally. It's nice of HS to send an email about possibly missing parts though, I just wonder what they're going to do about the ones I'm missing.

 

I also wonder if I can get single etched brass sheets, just in case I can't find the one I'm missing =)