Playmobil radio control diesel

 

One of the joys of working from home is spotting ebay alerts when they drop into my InBox. Most of the time, the deletion process takes a few seconds, but every so often there is something good. Such as an excellent condition Playmobil diesel. 

Introduced in 2012/13 (according to Walt's excellent webste), this diesel was part of the range that replaced the original LGB-based items when metal track full of electricity was deemed unsafe for children. Plastic track is good, but it means the G scale locos have to be powered by batteries, and controlled by radio. 

This is good news for garden railway buffs, and they are perfect for dead-rail setups, or when you want to make a train move without faffing with controllers, or steam engines. That point when young visitors arrive and a well-meaning member of the family suggests they would like to see a train. Generally, the young visitor maintains interest for about 20 seconds, so no-one wants to spend hours preparing. 

Anyway, I spotted this beauty on sale for a very reasonable £70 as a "Buy it now" and snapped it up. A few days later, the model arrived, and I took it down to the club to test on the new track. Then, later in the day, I took it down with the controller I'd forgotten, and gave it a run. In the dark.

First impressions are good. It's heavy, 1.1kg, and the pizza cutter wheels mean it should handle most track. The Cliff Barker stuff at the club is perhaps a little fine, but we are getting away with it. Range from the 2.4gHz controller is easily enough for out massive circuit and control is easy. 

Top speed isn't too high, so on open days we'll be happy to let kids try drive, it is a toy after all. 

Best of all, the sound is brilliant. There's a start-up sound effect, just like those hundred-quid sound cards in DCC models. It has a horn and lights. 

OK, the detail is Playpeople level, not finescale. I could do some work on this, but probably won't. The shape is nice for a modern locomotive though. 

Dimensions: 260mm long over buffers, is 105mm wide, and 145mm

Best bit: Normal batteries. 6AA in the loco and a PP3 in the controller, so no special chargers to lose. 

OK, it's not finescale, or serious, but a useful bit of kit for the garden railway fan who has stock with LGB couplings. I can see our "Toy Train" range wagons being hauled by this, and looking great.