Off the rails

[Hutch6390 3,292]

As my build speed lately has been slightly slower than Continental drift with lead boots on, I have shied away from partaking in Group Builds, with their ridiculously short time spans .  I've also avoided posting ordinary build threads - by the time I post part two, everyone has aged considerably, and forgotten what happened in part one  - sometimes, including me .  However, the continuous GB format gives me carte blanche to partake of the fun, and at my own pace.

So - here is the first locomotive I have built since I was about 10 years old*:

Dunno why it's rotated . 

Originally released by Kitmaster in 1961, it was re-issued by Airfix in 1964 (according to Scalemates).  The instructions are a real trip down memory lane - this steam locomotive was the last one built for British Rail, and is referred to in the instruction sheet as still being in service.  Modern instruction sheets have build stages which add 3 or 4 parts at a time, whereas this kit has (at a guess) about 120 parts, and the instructions have only 3 stages, plus one for the painting (and "transfers") guide.  Detailed text guides the builder through each stage - I'd completely forgotten about that!

Anyway - sprues:

None of your fancy "frames" or "runners" here - these are good, old-fashioned SPRUES, like what PROPER models was made from!  The subject is fairly simple in form, with very little by way of panel lines, access hatches, etc., so the details are mostly pipework, controls, and gauges.  That said, the parts are crisply moulded, seam lines are minimal, with very little flash and no sink-marks, or ejector pin marks where they will be visible.  Of course, when this was made, the moulds were still new!  I'm looking forward to painting the cab interior.

And, after picking this up to have a look at it this afternoon, I found myself examining the instructions and, before I knew it -

These parts clean up quickly, and the fit so far has been pretty much perfect - not bad for a kit that's a little bit older than I am!  There are a few parts which are very small and fiddly, notably some of the Cotter pins in the running gear - the Carpet Monster shall not have them!

I'm quite excited by this kit, and enjoying it so far - hopefully, it won't be next Easter before I have more progress to share 

 

*Yes, it was this one - I made a right pig's ear of the paint job, so I think I should try to make amends!

 

[RWG686 40,515]

6 minutes ago, Hutch6390 said:

and, before I knew it -

@mac1677 has got a rival ? 

Hopefully with that quick start, I won't be knocking on wood before you finish, so no pressure, right?

[Gorby 21,590]

Looking forward to this build. I like to see something different.