I love the Hobby Holidays chassis jig. The wheels were fitted to the chassis, rods fitted to the wheels, and it runs smoothly when pushed around
first time. I can't remember the last time I was able to say that.
The only hiccup along the way was losing the little bits of insulation I use to hold the rods in place until I'm happy. I'll trade 5 minutes making some more of those for a working chassis any day.
I was so happy, I test fitted the chassis to the body. It's supposed to clip in at the back and be retained at the front by a single screw. Rice (who designed this chassis) recommends this in one of his books as it avoids twisting things, something you might get by overtightening a bolt at each end. It also makes removal quicker.
I needed to remove a plastic pin beside the front screw hole on the body, but once done, the chassis sits where it's supposed to.
2 comments:
Phil, well done, it is looking good. It sounds as though you too have struggled to assemble a free-running chassis once or twice? This is something that Iain Rice takes up in his Etched Chassis Construction book. I agree with him: it is not rocket science to design a chassis kit that can be assembled on a kitchen table by someone with average abilities and have it work well first time. Unfortunately, there are (were?) a number of kits that need a pricey jig like yours in order to produce reliable results...
I am still working out the best way to assemble an old Comet chassis kit with flimsy brass (underscale!) frames for an LMS 4F, after a failed first attempt. Perhaps I would be better off scrapping it and buying something better?
I think I could have done this with my 6 quid aluminium axles from London Road and been fine. But I have a fancy pants tool, so I'm gonna use it.
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