The DJM Austerity has never been a true friend of this blog. It was always what OTCM needed, a true highly detailed Austerity. It was our bread and butter, our raison d’être.
Unfortunately the model in reality was a bit crap, especially in comparison to the latest mass produced gold from Bachmann and Hornby. You can sort of forgive the chunky bits, sort of, but what you cannot forgive is the fact you’ve known cars from British Leyland built better and be more reliable.
The last DJM Austerity came the closest to being involved in any kind of model train domestic abuse incident. It was like a girlfriend who promised everything only to turn out to be a raving bunny boiler. It’s still banished to Chris’.
So why on earth did I buy another one? The answers quite simple, I am as tight as a duck’s arse. Hornby’s current version of the Dapol model, is well the Dapol model, with all its fables and compromises. And it’s expensive.
The eBay mentalists have seen prices of even second hand ones rocket to levels just shy of brand new items. eBay continually surprises both Chris and I with insane prices paid for absolute shite, to understand why people pay what they do on eBay is to understand the very fabric of time. It’s just impossible.
So I am Warley and DJM is flogging Austerities fresh in box (as if that’s a guarantee of quality) for £60.
Sixty raving quid! One thing is immediately obviously, we’ve been ripped off previously. This model detail wise is spot on for £60. The RT bits cost a tenner. So for £70 you are on the home straight. What about it running like a two legged dog? Well if you run it in, and I mean leave it all night running in, and then chip it with a capacitor and turn the back EMF off you can get it running like a three legged dog. Which is just slightly above enough. Hopefully with time and not a single lump or bump or incline it might one day to get to a full proper four legged dog.
The RT etch and injectors gives you everything you need, and it’s quite a fun job for a novice who fancies detailing something. It’s probably worth replacing the smoke box door dart as it looks a bit like you do when you go outside on a cold day in only a t-shirt. The etch consists of a few fold up steps, which can all be done with glue if you are not into molten metal and with the other bits you’ll end taking the chunkiness out and bringing out the finer points of a good looking engine.
So you’ll need:
RT Models Austerity Steam Injectors
RT Models DJ Models detailing Etch
RT Models smoke box door dart.
Smith’s Three Links
And crew, but even I don’t have them yet.
That’s just a reminder to always clean you windows, I cannot handle sprayed filthy windows.
Thanks folks and happy modelling,
Oly
The Model Railways of Oly Turner and Chris Matthews 
That’s now a pleasant looking model, well done.
When DJM announced this, I was hopeful that we would get a seriously good quality model that ran as well as Continental H0 ones do and was extremely disappointed when it turned into the dog it is. It put my C&HP railway ambitions into a cocked hat.
Do you know if anyone produces a chassis kit for it, please?
Cheers, John.
John, firstly thank you…RT Models also do a lovely chassis. My ambition one day when the skills allow is to mate one of those to an old airfix plastic kit.
If the RT models chassis is as good as his Sentinel kits then it’ll go together really well.
Hi. I think white metal kits have also been available in the past? e.g. NB Models did one at one time. Of course finding one is a different matter! But maybe worth keeping an eye out for one at swapmeets, exhibitions etc. No idea if it is any good or not, but other NB model kits seem to have been good, at least body wise.
Interest in industrials seems to be increasing, so maybe someday someone will produce a better running one? I thought I had read about improving running of DJ models, but turns out removing part of the internal gearing still doesn’t help, see: https://albionyard.wordpress.com/2017/08/21/removals/
No doubt you are already aware of this article!
This looks superb!
Though with your recent found fame, I would have thought you’d have ‘people’ to sort out the duff models for you! 😉
Would rewheeling and new coupling rods help with the running, or would it be throwing good money after bad?
James the chassis is an utter pig, you’ve got to buy one just to take it apart because it’ll blow your mind mate. Oly
Good money after bad. Its a split chassis with wheels on stub axles onto a central plastic gearset. There aren’t any suitable wheels/axles as replacements and I doubt its financially worth anyone tooling them. The best option is likely to be the RT replacement chassis, you’ll be buying new motor/wheels and gears as well, but at least you’ll get a viable chassis at the end. I’ve now got two in stock as that’s the path I’ll take one day!
You could probably engineer a solution – maybe turning the wheels to take Gibson tyres and opening up the gauge as appropriate but for the amount of effort it would take a new chassis would make more sense. The ability to use a decent motor and gearbox combination would solve the running issues people have reported.
However, for a brand new model to require this amount of work, seems utterly ridiculous. It seems to have discarded accepted logic and engineering to achieve no advantage seems foolish at the very least. Possibly even arrogant.
The motor and gear train compatibility is the core of the problem, rather than the wheels. The concept works but the engineering quality lets it down.
It does seem like the whole mechanism is flawed – I guess this is a similar story with the 14xx you posted about?
Yup, they work ok on the flat and going uphill, going downhill though they ‘fail’. Not tried any other DJ chassis but expect similar performance. Interestingly Hattons now have a WS 3% gradient on their test track, and the Barclay video shows it descends under load with no issues. It is however a ‘conventional’ chassis design.