Price: Medium (6 Coupled) Loco Builder’s Box £35 plus £3.50 postage and packing

8 Coupled Loco Builder’s Box £42 plus £4 postage and packing

Purchased and reviewed by Mark Pollard

I purchased a Poppy’s Woodtech locomotive building jig just over a year ago at the Langley O Gauge show. I have looked at various chassis jigs over the years and always had second thoughts due the cost and thought that the expenditure could go a long way towards another loco kit.

I had a kit for an Ivatt 4F ‘flying pig’ so I purchased the 0-6-0 jig. The jig comes flat packed in a bag with a double sided sheet of instructions. The laser cut MDF parts were glued together with PVA glue, they located well and formed a strong square jig. The jig has a fixed centre axle hole and two horizontal slots for the leading and trailing axle depending on the wheelbase of the chassis. These holes have measurements so you can double check that all is square prior to soldering the chassis up.

I assembled my chassis dry with clamps on the axles, and then located the coupling rods on the ends of the extended axles which are included in the jig kit. Once I was happy all was level and square, I soldered the chassis solid in the jig. The results when I took the axles out and located the wheels was a free running chassis with no fettling required - brilliant!

I used the jig throughout construction as it is also a good catcher for any parts that are dropped along the way. I found it also useful as it held the chassis and allowed me to fit the running plate in situ and ensured the body remained square and level throughout construction.

I have been so impressed by the jig that I have now purchased an 0-8-0 version to help create a free running chassis for a GWR 47XX kit I am building. The kits are great value for money and aid chassis construction greatly. My next kit is going to be a 9F so I hope Poppy’s bring out a five axle version before long. A copy of the review was sent to Poppy’s Woodtech and Anthony Garton responded:

I am very happy one of the band of enthusiastic buyers of our builder’s box has shared his experience and that we may be helping some cautious and hesitant builders gain a little confidence in their kit building. The article looks good to me, thanks for letting me know,

Anthony Garton