First impressions are that this thing (things, there are four of them) is tiny. Properly small. I know there were some questions asked when the loco was announced - people wondered if it would be possible to pack everything into such a diminutive model and produce a reliable result.
Yes, there have been small 009 locos before, but they tended to be done on the cheap with the result that the mechanism isn't reliable, or capable of running as a realistic speed.
That's the not the case here. OK, the RRP of £134 is going to scare a few people who think an Iberton Cuckoo still costs a fiver because the last time they bought one was in the 1970s. For that money you will get a model that feels well made. OK, we weren't allowed near the thing with a screwdriver, but handling a loco, you feel the weight, and that it is properly screwed together.
Looking at the cabless versions, there's no sign of the motor. Quite how this works is a mystery.
OK, so there is a compromise - you can have DCC but not sound. There really isn't anywhere to put a speaker (OK, the cab, but the designer has kept that empty). Apart from that, the tooling suite allows for different detail options, both now, and in the future.
Aftermarket body options might also appear. The body on this can be removed cleanly, offering the possibility of additional kits from cottage industries. These are common in standard gauge, so why not in 009?
Anyway, the full interview with the designer can be found here:
Alternative bodies… common in 009 too, check Narrow Planet.
ReplyDeleteI know I’ve a few ideas for kits once I get my hands on one.
James H - I thought your eyes might light up when Steve said that!
ReplyDeleteAlready there with small loco kits for 009 including a Quarry Hunslet for the last 7 years
ReplyDeleteThey look staggeringly good. Two things are particularly impressive.
ReplyDeleteThe boiler appears to be round. IE, the lower half appears to curve inward below the saddle tank whereas on many small locos the boiler is slab sided, like an upside down U, to hide the mechanism. I assume the drive is via the smoke box or firebox, though I haven't figured out where the motor is if the chassis comes away cleanly from the body. Maybe what I think is the underside of the boiler actually is the motor.
The other detail I'm impressed by is the slide bar/bracket assembly. It actually looks like a miniature version of the real thing. The slide bars are shaped and have a thickness. The motion bracket is also shaped. It's not the simple metal stamping you see on the likes of Minitrains or even on the samples of the new Peco/Kato Prince.
The only downside I can see is it might outshine every other loco someone owns.