These were old kits, so this experience probably doesn't reflect on the current supplier of these models. The first problem was this - the aluminium supplied, though ready rolled, was the wrong size. Not only would there be a big gap along the bottom of the tank but getting the edges to be 'round' to match the tank ends would be difficult. Also, the aluminium was thicker that the (presumably) brass the ends were recessed for. Difficult to make the ends right.
Quite how the chassis was supposed to go together was a bit of a head scratcher since nothing quite fitted.
The brake block assemblies were missing from the kits, so I had to make replacements.
The instruction give the lengths the rivet strip should be cut too. Luckily the chassis rails (sole bars?) were right, and bits of the cut off rivet strip fixed the discrepancy invisibly.
My solution - it turns out that the tank diameter at 50mm is one of the standard sizes of perspex tubes. Result! It did mean filing away the recessed part of the ends, but the size being right made expoxying the ends on easy. Just a bit of filing and glass paper and all was good.
Eventually.
After an awful lot of faffing - two complete chassis.
Mobile aquarium?
Well, these were fun. I've outlined the problems encountered above. I got there in the end but I admit that at one stage these got put aside for a year while I calmed down. Luckily the junk expoxied to the perspex ok. Finding the center line on the top of the tank was fun. In the end I marked one end, put the other tank between me and the one I'd marked on a flat surface, then eyed over the top using the mark so that the front one gave a line along the other. Then I did some sums to get half the diameter, marked the measurement on a bit of paper, stuck one end of the paper to the drawn line and used it to mark half the diameter, repeat at the other end and voila, top and bottom lines. A grand plan. Buffers were sprung Dowty ones from Invertrain, another supplier now gone. After all the effort it was sad selling them, but they are way to long for my layout (buffer-lock and all that). What transfers to apply is a nightmare with these, even working out exactly which variant they are is hard enough - so I just went with Amoco TOPS panels and UN panels from Fox Transfers.
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