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Kit building. Depends on manufacturer!

I hate Superquick kits. Every time I build them, it says something about some part of which I'm unsure, and then it takes me five minutes to scour the sheets for the correct part. By then, I've lost where I was on the instruction sheet (Normally, there are about four "instructions", each containing 30-odd sub-parts

)!

Plastic kits- love 'em to bits. A lot of the buildings in my possession have been hacked about from Airfix kits- they go together really well, and are the "other side" of kit building. I'm modelling a preserved rail centre at the mo', and the Airfix prairie is ideal- particularly when you add a bit of detail, and knock it about to make it look like a "bog standard" 5100 class tank, ex-Barry (of course!).

German HO kits are also a joy to build. They can be quite complex, but are very satisfying, and so long as you just keep on doing what it says in the instructions, you'll get what you want...

Kind Regards,

RM

 

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As to powered locos etc., methinks that DJH are the top range. Complex, yes, but you could build one of their Pacific locos out of the box without having built a DJH kit before- as long as you follow the (generally good) instructions. Alas, DJH stock is at the top end of the price range...

Nu-cast kits are quite good if you've built, say, the DJH starter kit and possibly the ex-LBSCR C2X or something simple like it first. They are cheaper and still relatively easy to build, with a massive range of engines for you to spend your life building. However, a lot of the kits are ex-K's kits, and are lacking on detail compared to DJH.

Etched brass- Uuugh! Too hard for me to build. I can stumble my way through, say, a side tank kit with metal or pre-rolled boiler, or an EMU kit, but more complex stuff, no. Etched brass sides are pretty good, though. Cheap way to build an EMU or odd vehicle round a redundant coach, and something I can do!

Kind regards,

RM

 

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QUOTE (Ben Manicom @ 4 Apr 2006, 17:44)Thanks I have tried two parkside kits one Plate wagon which is too light to b used effectivly on my trackwork and a Python cct which has a knack of derailing everywhere are brass kits and whitemetla kits hard to do as i have never tried
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Ben,

Depends on who made the metal kits. May I suggest you begin with a DJH kit? They are quite expensive, but their starter kit is £60 for the diesel (Cl. 02), and £70 for the industrial steam loco (w.outside motion). Both come with motor, wheels, gears etc., and can be assembled with glue.

You may want to progress to a DJH inside motion 0-6-0, or outside/inside motion tank loco before going any further.

SouthEastern finecast are another "good manufacturer" particularly for the S.R. or G.W.R modeller, whilst Nu-Cast (type either into a search engine to see prices, whilst www.sefinecast.co.uk lists the SEF+ SE Flushglaze range). Other than that, I suggest you ask someone else about whitemetal stuff- very mixed bunch. If you want an etched brass model, why not start with sides, particularly if you are a S.R. modeller (the best kind there is ), since there are lots of EMUs you can create from redundant coaches.

Your "too light" Parkside kit probably needs some weight. Model Rail (check this issue or www.model-rail.com) supplies some tiny lead balls called "liquid Lead" that you can hide under a load, or mount on the underframe. You can also stick 'em in locos (such as motorised Airfix/Dapol railbuses etc.) and coaches...

Kind Regards,

RM

P.S. One manufacturer I forgot to mention is G.E.M. models. They produce a very nice NLR 0-6-0T in whitemetal (as seen on Cromford and High Peak Line and now at Bluebell). You can get very easy to build G.E.M. chassis, and M.J.T. etched brass sides for those essential EMU conversions from www.mainlytrains.com- highly advised, with great service and prompt delivery!

 

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Metclafe viaduct looks good- RM says it looks like a SR viaduct...

Hmmmm... could do with an MN heading up six Pullmans across viaduct to harbour!

Metcalfe kits, whilst marginally more expensive, have vastly better instructions, quality and a better range than Superquick, though there are some things (e.g. Regency houses) that Metclafe don't do, but Superquick do offer

 

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QUOTE (spongebob @ 5 Apr 2006, 17:24)I have been put off some of the metal kits just by the way they look when finished. As a more modern image diesel modeller there is always the option of buying a resin body and using a suitable donor chassis. Considering that a lot will run from a lima chassis or more recently from bachmann ones You can have a one off loco for the cost of a full metal kit without the aggro of trying to make it look right which judging by some of the MTK kits I have seen is virtually mission impossible.
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Never buy MTK unless there is nothing else for it!

However, No Nonsense Kits (www.nnkits.co.uk) have refurbished some of the old MTK toolings, and have made them into decent models. They are your best source for a 313/314/315/507/508 family unit. Looks quite good from what I've heard of it...