Andy sent in a question, “hello, can you suggest an easy brass loco kit, i haven’t done one yet and would like to have a go so please can you help.”
I love this question as it’s so easy to answer. Build the Craftsman Model kit for an 02 Diesel.
While not a new kit, I think it dates from the 1980’s, this is a good and easy to assemble model. With only 4 wheels the chassis is as simple as you can get. Put a Branchlines gearbox and Mashima motor in and you can’t go far wrong. The kit recommends a DS10 but ignore this.
The body has a pre-formed bonnet and a sensible mix of etched and cast bits. The designer knew which bits worked best in each material so there is no folding of tiny parts that you wish were cast.
Best of all the whole thing is slot & tab construction so it’s easy to locate all the main bits. So many etched kits still don’t do this which makes building them so much harder.
The tough bits on this kit are bending the cab roof – patience is the key here and a good selection of round things to bend the bras around – and fixing the overlays on the front and back of the cab. I have soldered these in the past with low melt solder but to be honest it’s a whole lot easier to glue them on with superglue. And no-one will ever be able to tell. Neither parts are show stopper though and ought to be within the capabilities of a keen and reasonably patient newbie.
The downside to this kit, as with many others, is cost. I reckon that if you buy the kit, motor, gearbox & Romford wheels you won’t see any change from 70 quid. For that money you get something pretty decent in the RTR ranges. What you don’t get from these is the incredible satisfaction of building and running something yourself. I can’t explain the pride you sense from doing this. With less and less people actually making things you find yourself in an ever more rarefied club of modellers.
That said, this is not an expensive kit. Most importantly it will go together and that makes it a far better than a cheaper kit that needs a lot of work for assembly.
Source: Branchlines used to sell the whole lot but he’s running the range down at present. Shawplan usually has some in stock though.
Anyway, I hope this helps. Good luck to Andy and anyone else who fancies having a go. Let me know how you get on.
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