The TGR V Class is primarily a British Drewry shunter. Four V Class locos were imported from Britain in 1948 with a further four to follow and in later years an additional four units manufactured in Launceston Sops.
A few models have been produced over the years all with the in correct gauge for Tasmanian modelling. Airfix produced a static model that is now owned produced by Dapol. A umber of mechanisms have been produced of the years and various scratch built version to upgrade them to a running model.
I ordered two mid last year and waited patiently for the mail to arrive (mid covid I wasn't expecting anything for a month or two).
Once they arrived I opened them with anticipation only to be bitterly disappointed by the crudeness and poor quality of the parts. Essentially the two kits I had ordered might result in enough parts to build one loco. The photo below shops what I am dealing with.
There are bent floors, two hood sides with minor bends and large twist. Loco side frames that are twisted and various other parts with poor injection. I'm not sure if it was storage of the kits or manufacturing but a large amount of it is un usable.
Loco Floor - Side and top view.
I decided to push on and salvage what I could. I read on a resin car building blog that a low oven weights and a flat surface can be used to straighten out castings and other kits parts. Loading up two of the hood sides into a cool oven it started to work. Only to be distracted by my 3yr old and result in a pile of mush when I rememebred..... Scrap Bin...
The remaining sides how ever appear to be workable. They need new hinge detail and door handles. I'm considering casting a matched pair to replace my failed attempt.
I also made a start on the top of the hood. The model has moulded on railings and an overlapped centre section on the cab. I started to work these back to a flat hood to begin detailing again. The below shows an un touched hood and one I have started.
For now the models are sitting on my shelf in a bag again as I contemplate scratch building the underframes before I go to much further.
Hi, do not despair, its not too hard to straighten the warped pieces, but not in the oven! I have built a couple of the Dapol 1/76 Bungalows recently and had to straighten quite a few of the pieces, including the roof. I use a flat steel baking dish and magnets from slot cars (another hobby) to hold the parts flat. I also have a flat piece of 1/4" steel about 10cm x 20 cm that is useful for parts that have ridges on both sides. Once I have the parts in the dish I boil the jug and cover them with hot water. I use a cooking thermometer to check the temperature and try not to exceed 80 Celsius. Let it cool naturally and the parts should be flat. I don't pour the water directly onto the parts. I have also ruined the wing of a very old Airfix Bristol Freighter so you do need to be careful. You can always do it again if the part is not straight. Regards Allan C. ChCh NZ
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