7mm On Heather's workbench - Western royalty

[Heather Kay]

The full gallery of shots is here...

So, my thoughts. This monster certainly looks the part. The shape, I believe, is pretty much spot on. I think it'll look splendid, posed on its length of track on a polished plinth in a glass case on the client's shelf. It's a big loco, and there aren't all that many actual parts in the kit - saving the brake gear and bogie details. The worst aspects I found concerned the resin moulding. There's a surface texture to the parts. Where the joins between cabs, sides and roof have to be filled and sanded down so they disappear, the surface texture is also rubbed away, leaving smooth parts and rough parts. I don't know quite how to overcome this, as effectively the entire body shell ought to be rubbed down to be smooth so the paint finish is as clean as it can be.

I had issues with painting, mainly due to my ineptitude. The final finish is a little too flat, and appears faded compared to the nice deep maroon I'd hoped for. One aspect I was not happy with is having to construct and fit the glazing and cab interiors before painting begins. It may be possible to work out a method of leaving the cab interiors out of the body until after the fact, but although I looked into it I couldn't work one out. Consequently, despite careful masking of the interior, particles still managed to appear inside the sealed cabs, and stuck themselves prominently to the glazing. I also encountered the wavy glazing problem with the windscreens, the head code panel glazing and the side windows. Ho hum.

Anyone building this kit to run on a typical layout will have to make some severe compromises with the bogies, brake rigging and skirts. I'm reliably informed in fully kitted out form, an 8ft radius dead slow is about all the loco will manage.

Would I build another? I'm not sure I would. It's hard to get the finish I would like, though a degree of weathering would help. The prospect of having to sand every surface, risking damage to moulded detail all the while, is enough to drive a modeller nuts.

 

[Genghis]

Without a doubt my favourite diesel class and your model captures the handsome lines of these powerful beasts well. I lived in Gloucester as a little'un and was always happy when the occasional trip to London or Swindon brought one of these at the head of the train. So much more exciting than a Brush type 4 and with their huge tractive effort a fast start was guaranteed especially if the driver was one who treated the throttle as a two position switch.