A1A chassis update: Brazilian validation

Over the weekend just past, the annual Matariki Modellers’ weekend was held, hosted by the team at VCC Models. It was a great event and it was good to catch up with modellers from across the country.

Andrew Peters had just received a parcel from a Brazilian manufacturer, Marumbi Modellismo, consisting of a locomotive and a grain wagon in 12mm gauge HO scale (which I call HOnz).

This was great validation of the approach I’ve taken to both the A1A and DL class chassis, and future HOnz chassis I plan to bring to market.

The Brazilian chassis (the top one on the left-hand side picture) consists of a five-pole 13k RPM 12V motor with dual flywheels, cardan drives and a number of other similar components.

The chassis itself is 3D printed, by the looks in resin and has a circuit board holder as well. I’m in the process of designing this for my chassis.

For the chassis themselves, there are several tasks for the A1A chassis to go:

• I’m continuing to work on the clearance issues; I am making progress on resolving these, although it is a very slow process.

• The redesign of the pickup swipers is now complete. Future iterations of the design will feature two clips on either side for the swipers to fit into.

• As mentioned above, the circuit board holder and weights are in the process of being designed.

At the moment, the new ETA for the A1A chassis is the end of July. I will be in touch with everyone who has ordered with a special offer as well!