O Gauge arrivals Dec 2016

We have four new Locomotives, 2 Dapol 08 Shunters (at last) for my son and two Ebay purchased steam loco for me.

Firstly the Dapol 08’s. These had been on order for well over two years and we were excited when they eventually turned up. The research for the 08 needs to be thorough due to the many variances in Door Handles, Footplate Cabinets, Door Hinges, Drivers Doors and number of Exhausters. These subjects have been covered many times and I do not intend to go over these yet again. However I will detail the work I carried out to each loco and also say which donor loco I used.

08141 Manvers

The donor loco was D3045. I removed the ladder as this is not required, ensure the ladder mounts are retained.  All engine room door handles were removed and holes filled. Foot plate cabinets are correct and need no alteration. The connecting rods were repainted ‘yellow’. The Cab roof was repainted ‘blue’

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The donor loco was 08202. It came with no ladder, that was OK. All engine room door handles are retained. The foot plate cabinets on 08202 are correct for this conversion although different to D3045. The buffer beams were repainted ‘red’ and the cab roof ‘blue’. An extra handrail was added above the front footsteps as per prototype. All handrails were picked out in white. Extra black lines added on the nose.

Dapol missed the windscreen wipers completely and the bonnet lifting lugs are missing. I have made no attempt to rectify this, hoping an industrious detailing supplier will come forth with an etch soon —–Please!!!

Overall this is a fantastic Model, the price is unbelievable and it deserves to be a big hit. However I will point out again that thorough research must be done if renumbering, a photograph of both sides and both ends is a must.

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The first steam loco was a kit built Connoisseur Models Class Y7. I purchased this on a BIN on Ebay for £125. I could see by the photographs that it was of a reasonable build quality, but it did have some body issues. The paint finish on the model also left a bit to be desired. The ‘verbal’ said it was an excellent runner, so I purchased it. On arrival I tested the running and it was as stated, very good. I separated the chassis and body and stripped the body completely, I then visited the obvious problem areas and re-soldered them after a thorough clean, all went well. I also made and added some small details that were not present. A full repaint and lettering then took place followed by a coat of varnish, I have not got around to weathering yet, but a medium level is anticipated. This loco was a Stratford, 30A pilot in the early 50’s.

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My final purchase was another Connoisseur Models kit built loco. This time it was a J71 and was made and painted to a good standard. Again the ‘verbal’ said it was an excellent runner, so I  purchased it for £300. On arrival I inspected the loco and it was indeed made and painted to a very high standard. I then tested the running, sadly it was a very poor runner. On inspection I could see that the pick-ups were in a very poor state. I decided to replace the whole pick-up system, it now works very well. Again I have not weathered the loco yet, and as it was an early BR York pilot, a light to medium would be appropriate.

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