Finished G1 wagon

 

And there we are - job done. If you didn't wait for paint to dry, the kit could be assembled in about an hour and a half, and even that would be a leasurely pace. 

I really like this kit. The finished model feels great. A little weight might me required, but I'll aim to match the Accucraft wagon when that is to hand. It rolls well and has that mass that only a large scale model can muster. 

So, I'll be shopping for more Northern Finescale kits then? Yes I will, but it's going to be tricky.A couple of messages on the G1 Facebook group explain: 

Heads up for this weekend. Chris Arundell will be at Gauge One North Bakewell with the last Northern Fine Scale wagon and van kits for sale, all at discount price, buy for future needs because this is your final chance. Snooze and you loose!

 *

When he died Roger was had turned 78 and wanted to do some Gauge 1 for himself. We were at the stage where parts were getting low so re-investment of substantial $$$$ for more parts was on the very near horizon.......at prices a couple of hundred percent more than before. We had already made the decision that it was no longer cost effective, so to assemble the final kits, I had 500 rims made and I fired up my own bench-top injection molding machine to make buffer heads on a home made mold. There is nobody capable of using the molds we have (some a two-man job to lift) and shipping them (to the UK?) would be prohibitive, especially as Roger was a demon at swapping over ejector systems and water cooling from mold to mold. No, NFS's time has come and just looking at the recent contraction of G1 commercial manufacturers, just confirms we have done the right thing. It's always best to quit when you are on top.

Now, Northern Finescale were at G1 North, and I did spend a bit of time on their stand, knowing that this was the last chance. The thing is, I couldn't work out how much anything cost. Sides were priced, but did they include the chassis? And wheels? And if they don't, how much were those bits? 

I couldn't ask, because both people on the stand were deep in conversation, and later in the morning, I ran out of car park time, and had to leave before I could answer my questions. I suspect that if I had, I might have bought more kits...

So, I missed out. A few more coins in my pocket and my car park time would have been longer (it didn't do contactless unfortunatly), but that's how the cookie crumbles. I'm sure there will be kits on the second-hand market, so I'll keep my eye out. In the meantime, there are other manufacturers, so I'll have to build my train up from a variety of sources.