3mm scale Class 25 diesel kit

After the Warley show, I decided that our Class 26 diesel had been so successful, it should be joined by a Class 25 as well. I knew there was a kit advertised on the 3SMR website and it looked decent enough with etched sides and cast details. In my head this meant a quick build using the same motorising techniques as the earlier model.

The problems started when I rang the company to be told that the kit wasn't available any more and had been replaced with a resin body intended for a RTR chassis. The cost had risen to - my original plan would have come in at around 100 quid. Not cheap but then I'm working in an odd-ball scale and using read to run motor unit. The new version was half as much again. I want a loco but did I want it that much ?

I also didn't fancy the resin shell much. It was OK, but the etch version would be better, or at least I hoped it would.

Anyway, in desperation I stuck a plea on the 3mm scale mailing list to see if anyone had one of the kits in their stash of bits. 3 offers came in and I quickly secured a deal for the one you see in the photo.

One other reply pointed out something I hadn't spotted by fans of the class will see immediately. The model is unbuildable.

Class 25 locos were built by several builders. The early ones has doors in the nose and grilles dotted around the bodyside in a slightly random fashion. The later versions moved the grilles up into the roof and removed the nose doors allowing a bigger window. On the kit we have the early grilles and later nose. Putting the grilles in the top would be a nightmare, so it's a good job that I wanted the earlier version isn't it ?

Wikipedia article on the Class 25