Monday, April 18, 2022

Review: M&S Thomas the Tank

Students of model railway history will know that Marks & Spencer have form on the model railway front. In 1946, Rovex were contracted by them to develop an electric train set. Christmas 1950 saw a Princess made available for lucky children who didn't mind fiddling with the unreliable roller pickups and warping plastic chassis. 

Lines Brothers, looking to exapnd their range, bought Rovex, and from this, the firm Tri-ang was born. 

With such a history, surely their latest railway venture is worth a review. 

On the workbench we have a LB&SCR E2 tank locomotive. The model is based on the second build series, featuring as it does, the extended tanks. 

Obviously, this isn't a straight build. Instead M&S have chosen to model the version made popular by Rev W Awdry and commonly known as "Thomas", though no nameplate was ever carried. Instead, we have the confusing number 1 - even though "Edward" is generally considered older and is the first locomotive to appear in the Railway Series books. 

Chosen scale appears to be 5.4mm to 1ft - slightly larger than S gauge but not an uncommon military modelling scale appearently. This is a shame as it limits the opportunities for a finescale conversion. It might be possible to cut'n'shut the model s the propotions aren't great, it's tall for its width, and if anyone manages this, I'm sure it will appear in MRJ. 

The chassis is moulded integrally with the body, although removing this shouldn't be too hard with a warm knife. 

There are some issues with the body moulding. A prominant seam line can be seen along the boiler top, and down the back of the cab. Worse, the face hasn't been attached very will is is several degrees off straight. While those aiming for a scale conversion won't worry about this, it's an issue for those planning to retain the "Thomas" design. 

Boiler fittings are poorly shaped and as for the lack of buffers. At least this saves use having to take them off for replacement! 

Raised lining takes us back to the 1960s, but could easily be scraped off as part of a repaint. PME Paint would seem suitable for this project. 

All in all, not an aspicious return to railway modelling for M&S. They are going to have to up theri game considarably if they wish to liberate the finescale pound from the purses of serious modellers.


5 comments:

I.A.Cooper said...

I look forward to seeing the model after you've finished modifying and detailing it.

....I just hope it doesn't break into a thousand peices as you start working on it - I hear they can be fragile.

Phil Parker said...

At least it won't be suffering from Mazak rot!

Seve said...

Great review, you are channelling 'the rivercounter' :-)
One key element was missing - what did it taste like ??

John New said...

Love it.

John New said...

Excellent, love it.