That's especially true when the wagon is a beautifully scratch-built model made of wood. Someone has expendended a terrific amount of time and skill on this model. Presumably, they have then died and when the stash of models was cleared, this one ended up in a little cardboard box among a load of other stuff. People were so interested, it was still there on Sunday at a busy show.
I'm a sucker for this sort of thing and feel I have to rescue the model. I can't see all that effort thrown away.
What you see though, is what I got for my quid. I needed more parts to finish the project.
Total cost - £30. To save a £1 model. You probably think I'm mad.
I scored what I assume was part of a deceased estate, an incomplete brass model of a NZR S scale (HO gauge) K class, full chassis and boiler, no tender. These usually sell for hundreds even thousands of dollars when complete, so at $45 (~£22) it was a steal. It gets better. Having a better look at it later on I am blown away with the quality of workmanship, round keys locating the wheels on the axels that were just perfectly fitted, and it rolls so smoothly you wouldn't think it has a full working motion on it. No motor in the otherwise fully assembled chassis which seemed strange, exhaust pipes in the smokebox (why bother with detail you're never going to see?) and a flap on the sandbox revealing a threaded hole into the boiler with a small bolt in it. Took me a while but I eventually figured, it's freaking live steam!
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