Kingscale 5″ models

[Alan Marshall 1Participant @alanmarshall1]

I am surprised there is little posted on the new range of 5" loco's by Kingscale. The 14xx has been out for a while now and deliveries are happening on the Jubilee.

[Alan Marshall 1Participant @alanmarshall1]

[ChufferParticipant @chuffer]

I don't have a Kingscale locomotive or one on order, but if my memory serves me correctly when Winson and then Modelworks bought out their self assembly locomotive kits forums were soon set up.

So, like Alan, I'm surprised that one hasn't been setup to swap information and tips on setting up and running these loco's. It's rare for a loco' to run 'straight out of the box' so sharing via a dedicated forum is a good idea.

Chuffer

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I suspect more will happen when people have had a chance to steam them.

Neil

[Simon CollierParticipant @simoncollier74340]

A friend had a 14xx shipped from the UK. It arrived with the roof damaged, but the packing was excellent so it must have happened before packing. The engine was steamed but a leaking whistle valve to turret fitting stopped proceedings. Investigation showed that there was zero thread engagement of the M6x.5 thread. A member, the boiler inspector, took the engine home to silver solder on standard 1/4 x 40 fittings (the owner was unwell and had lost his confidence). We steamed it again and I took it round the track. There was no weight on the leading drivers which floated off the rails causing, unsurprisingly, derailments. I found a bit of steel angle to hang on the buffers as ballast and we had a few laps. It looked good, steamed OK and went OK. The regulator projected far into the cab and was in the way of everything, which was annoying, especially firing. The hand pump was useless, perhaps because of small capacity. The axle pump worked OK. No injector is fitted. The eccentric straps were a rattling fit on the eccentrics, at least up and down. The factory paint job is very nice, but fake pressed "rivets" on a 5" gauge engine are disappointing. The owner has since died, and the new owner, another member, is running it often. He is not a model engineer however, so yet another member is currently fitting an injector. These engines are built to a price so you need to be prepared to fix a few things up. But that is the case with pretty much any engine you acquire.

[Dave CuttsParticipant @davecutts35638]

I have had my 5" Standard 4 for a few weeks now, and have had 2 very successfull outings with it. It is a great model to look at and runs well "out of the box". However it is not perfect as it is built to a price, but I still think it is great value for money. As a model engineer I have picked up on several things, particularly in the motion work that I will be sorting to my satisfaction. For example the crossheads are a sloppy fit on the slide bars and the pins in the valve gear are a poor fit. Nothing that a few shims and new bushes and pins won't fix. A nice project for the winter. Checking the tightness of the linkage pins is a good idea, I found after the first run that the little end pin in the crosshead was loose… If I was to build something like this it would take 7-10 years and a shed load of cash on materials. When I have done the mods that I think are necessary it will truely be "mine"!! The other important things like the axle pump, injector, regulator and boiler, function very well and the boiler inspector at my club commented on how well the boiler was made, they must have a cheap source of silver solder!! Hope this helps anybody looking at a Kingscale model.

[ray rParticipant @rayr]

Hi,i may have the opportunity to buy one of these Cl.4 tank locos.I have heard conflicting reports about these.I have built & driven a Simplex many years ago but i wondered what other folk thought of them.

Ray.

[Old ElanParticipant @oldelan]

Some comments here…

https://modeleng.proboards.com/thread/12329/chinese-locos?page=1

[Dave CuttsParticipant @davecutts35638]

Hi Ray R, as I said above, the Kingscale Std 4 is a great looking model, mine has had about 5 outings now and it is getting better as I get used to driving it and I make more modifications. Don't get me wrong as it worked straight "out of the box" but as a long term model engineer I could see where improvements could be had. As I said above the main area is sloppyness in the valve gear and motion work but this doensn't stop it working. The boiler is a fantastic piece of work and the detailing is better than I ever achieved on any of the 3 locos I built. They are great value for money and I am happy with the quality/price ratio. Better quality always equates to more money and it feels great to be able to improve it. Take a visit to their showroom, very impressive.. If you are ever are around the Ipswich area come and see it running…. Hope this helps… Dave

[Boiler BriParticipant @boilerbri]

A club member has a standard 4. 2nd outing the axle pump gave trouble i think broke. The engine is now waiting for new parts and a design change to happen by the Chinese designers 🤔

I think when they have been out a while we will hear of other things happening

i have say though that the Engine is very nice

B

[ray rParticipant @rayr]

Thanks for the info,i must admit that they are a great looking loco.

Ray.

[ray rParticipant @rayr]

Posted by Dave Cutts on 11/05/2019 16:00:28:

Hi Ray R, as I said above, the Kingscale Std 4 is a great looking model, mine has had about 5 outings now and it is getting better as I get used to driving it and I make more modifications. Don't get me wrong as it worked straight "out of the box" but as a long term model engineer I could see where improvements could be had. As I said above the main area is sloppyness in the valve gear and motion work but this doensn't stop it working. The boiler is a fantastic piece of work and the detailing is better than I ever achieved on any of the 3 locos I built. They are great value for money and I am happy with the quality/price ratio. Better quality always equates to more money and it feels great to be able to improve it. Take a visit to their showroom, very impressive.. If you are ever are around the Ipswich area come and see it running…. Hope this helps… Dave

Thanks Dave,i live in Northampton not far from Braunston but i don`t think they have any left.I may be able to get one from another source.

Cheers,Ray.

[Tony FalloonParticipant @tonyfalloon30241]

I have just taken delivery of their 9F, which they referred to as 'Pilot 1'

I have been led to believe it was the first pre-production model delivered from the Chinese builder, there is also a 'Pilot 2' which they are using at various venues. The production build is due for import in September 2019, 50 models?

My model came very well packed in two packing cases, I've removed all the packing material but removing the loco from the box is a two man lift, if you can find some where to grip the model, needless to say it’s still in the box waiting for my mate to call around to give me a hand to lift it out and onto my work bench.

The paperwork is of three A4 sheets, a 12 month warranty, a certificate of conformity and a Boiler Shell test certificate. I will require a further boiler hydraulic test and steam test at my club before I can run the model.

I can give a progress report as it happens if anyone would be interested?

Tony.

 

Edited By Tony Falloon on 18/08/2019 20:56:42

Edited By Tony Falloon on 18/08/2019 21:00:22

[julian atkinsParticipant @julianatkins58923]

Nice bit of grained wood on the right hand side of the box – I could make a ukulele out of that!

Cheers,

Julian

[ray rParticipant @rayr]

Yes please.

Ray.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

I'm sure lots of people would like to see it in action. Which club are you a member of? Still time to do a summer tour of some other clubs, providing August decides to be a bit more summery.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I assume these engines need a steam test before you can go an run them anywhere just like any other newly built loco?

[Tony FalloonParticipant @tonyfalloon30241]

Yes Jason, mine has only got the Shell Test Certificate.

[Tony FalloonParticipant @tonyfalloon30241]

Posted by Bazyle on 19/08/2019 08:36:58:

Which club are you a member of?

I’m a member of TSMEE in Newcastle

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by julian atkins on 18/08/2019 23:32:20:

Nice bit of grained wood on the right hand side of the box – I could make a ukulele out of that!

Cheers,

Julian

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Very interested to see what people make of these locos.

I'm surprised there isn't more interest in bare boilers from the far east, as the cost of a boiler seems to be a barrier for some people.

Neil

[Tony FalloonParticipant @tonyfalloon30241]

Posted by JasonB on 19/08/2019 08:42:14:

I assume these engines need a steam test before you can go an run them anywhere just like any other newly built loco?

Yes Jason, the locomotive requires a Hydraulic Test and Steam Test. The only certification is a certificate of conformity and Boiler Shell Test certificate.

[Philip DurrellParticipant @philipdurrell90931]

Hi All. I have had experience now on 2 of their 5 inch loco's and own a 7.25 inch GW 14XX. Re the 7.25 inch GW 14XX – The workmanship and standard of finish is very good. The club I go to has a hand-built similar loco and it's owner is very impressed with the off-the-shelf version. The build quality isn't great though. We have run it 3 times and though it goes each time there is a niggling fault. We have lost spring hangers and pins so went under and found that they were very slack so luckily made up some more and got the Locktite out. The regulator is loose on the quadrant and won't close so that is the next thing to get to. The valve gear and timing is not so good and I am debating if its easier just to put up with it. It goes – forward and back so that's one thing but there is a lot of play and slack which looks impossible to take up. The boiler test was an adventure into the unknown and luckily 3 of us managed to sort something out. I am sure there is a good loco lurking in there and it I no shock that there are some engineers offering a fix it service but at a price. The 5 inch version of the same, off the shelf is an OK engine but the one I had experience of had the same valve timing issues and was exceptionally 'weak' for some reason. It steamed like crazy and the boiler etc was very impressive but the hand pump was not really very good and the axle pump needed to be on all the time to be sure. It would go very very fast. The other was a friend's brand new Standard 2-6-4T which for looks was excellent but again appeared to lack the last step of making sure all was OK and workable. There are a lot of teething problems. Little issues like overspill of paint, poor finish to machined parts, lots of slack from the mass-produced process on the motion. A re-bush would go a long way to tighten things up. Again though, it goes back and forward and if anything sounds a lot more square on the 4 beats. Any more comments, advice, issues etc. from anyone. If I can share happy to help.

[Philip DurrellParticipant @philipdurrell90931]

Just a quick word – These loco's are made to a price and for what you get they are very good. As one member says it would take a long time in the workshop to get anywhere near the standard of these and the cost of the components would probably be more than the price of the completed item. There are issues, niggles and things that could be better but those I have seen or made aware of are fixable.

[Philip DurrellParticipant @philipdurrell90931]

Hi there all. There doesn't appear to be much going on re the Kingscale 5 inch loco's on this site but I feel it deserves to be updated. I recently took delivery of one of their 5 inch gauge Black 5's and after a while in store ran one of the tank engines they produced. This was an exercise for the boilier inspector at our club before he went through the hydralic tests. The engines were excellent. They ran very very well once a couple of small issues were sorted (sticking cylinder cocks, stiff hand pump etc). The standard on the new engines is a lot, lot better and I would not say there was anything to say about them other than they are very good indeed. For the price and what you get excellent. I am happy to share any experiences with them.

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