# Kitmaster... How to motor it???



## trainguru (Jun 28, 2011)

Any ideas, if so, then post! God bless and thanks!


----------



## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Uhh ... can you be much more specific???

http://www.kitmaster.org.uk/Locomotives.htm

TJ


----------



## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Gee, all you need is a frame, steel wheels, and a drive assembly with gears.

Basically, all you have is a shell that needs to be fitted to an existing motorized frame.

An alternative is to run it as a dummy, powered by a tender or box car.

If you enjoy assembly start looking at brass kits.


----------



## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

Yeah without knowing the engine type we can't help much but for the most part it is just getting a running chasis and then mounting the plastic shell to it. Brass is nicer then the plastic kits in the sense that it is easier to assemble and get a nice finish on the job as well as normally has more detail but they are more expensive.


----------



## trainguru (Jun 28, 2011)

Any! Like the Rosebud 9F, the Garret, the Hudson, any of them! How about it, what are some possible answers!


----------



## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

How about the fact the plastic for models are brittle and for show. They are not made to be handled and may not last the first collision. It could be done, I guess with your effort. Thinking of trying it?


----------



## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

Well you are going to need to get the running chasis of the proper type like a 4-6-2 chasis but no boiler or cab parts on it for it to work and the only way to get those are from broken ones on ebay or getting others that run but are of an older age. which would be about 20-30 dollars for a non running and can go to 50 for a decent running one. Then you add in the price of the kit and you need to decide if it is really worth it. If you like building the engines then it is worth it but if you are just trying to get a running engine for cheaper it may not be.


----------



## trainguru (Jun 28, 2011)

*EUREKA!!! Thank you God for friends!*

Tender Motors!!! Stick the whole motor works in the tender! Kitmasters from Rosebud Dolls, had a motorizing unit which hid in a box car or coach, apply the same idea, but stick it in the tender! Ebay UK's filled with reasonably priced units, and with a little fineggeling, I think I could do it! What do you think??? I was already going to lay code 100, so I might as well go onward to do this crazy task, right?


----------



## rgmichel (May 25, 2012)

I remember pouring over the Kitmaster models in shop windows in the 1959 period and a few years after that. They stopped making them, but many kept gathering dust in shop windows for years. They were alway a bit expensive, and when Airfix took over some of the models they were a bit more reasonable. I bought the GWR prairie around that time, and fitted a Hornby 0-6-0 chassis to it. Also, I added some lead weights to the side tanks. I spent a great deal of time painting and lining it, and it turned out beautiful. However, as I kept using and it and improving it, I noticed that the rivets, and other details were becoming a bit smoothed out over time, because I think the plastic was a soft. At the time, these models were really well detailed and worth motorizing. I loved them. However, in recent years Hornby, Bachmann and the others are making such great models that I would only tackle a Kitmaster or Airfix model for nostalgia reasons. I do remember that they had a Garrett articulated loco that I wanted to work on, but I think there is a manufacturer coming out with one of those pretty soon, if they have not already done it. I must do a bit of exploring to find out about that. They had a blue prototype deltic that was interesting to me at the time too. Bachmann has done of one those, which I do intend to buy one day. So, Kitmaster was great, and I think that if you don't want to do soldering on the body, then it is still a good option if you just want to make something yourself. However, if you like soldering, then the brass kits do make a great job, or just scratch build it yourself.


----------



## D1566 (Jun 8, 2012)

Many of the old Rosebud/Kitmaster kits are still being produced by Dapol in the UK (http://www.dapol.co.uk/)
There are chassis kits available form various sources for some of them (example: http://www.rtmodels.co.uk/rt_models_021.htm) but most of the subject locos are available in RTR form too.


----------

