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Three Picture MiniReview: Ixion Hudswell Clarke


Matloughe

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Good Evening,

 

I haven't done a Blog Post for some time however I felt like this was a good time to do one. Welcome to my mini-review of the Ixion O Gauge 16" Hudswell Clarke model.

 

I decided to keep things very simple and limit it to three pictures. Now I have followed the Ixion Website for quite some time now and the photos on there were absolutely fantastic; however opening the box and seeing the product in the flesh was truly amazing. The packaging from Ixion is exquisite - both functional in terms of how it performs its function and has an adequate level of information on the box to be able to see at a glance what the product is - plus the overall red colour scheme is different to other manufacturers.

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The box lid is red and has a technical drawing of the locomotive on the outside plus all the information labelled on it. The box is in two pieces so sliding the red lid off reveals a white tray containing the locomotive securely packaged between a sandwich of moulded polystyrene - which is easy to extract the locomotive from and very sufficient to hold it in place during transit. I noted no movements whilst picking the box up, turning it upside down etc so top marks for well thought out, and not overly excessive packaging.

 

The Locomotive itself; as I said before I have done research on the prototype and been an ardent follower of the progress on the Ixion website - however none of this prepared me for opening the box and seeing the real locomotive inside - its a stunner! Weighing in at nearly 600g its much heavier then my other O Gauge Locomotive I have however I think from what I have seen of its performance the weight is an asset most certainly. Please ignore the odd pinky buffer beams - that was my camera not processing the red in the direct light properly.

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The model is straight out of the box; as shown on the Ixion Website it comes with etched brass Makers Plates, Number Plates & Nameplates I haven't fitted any of those yet this is the virgin out-of-the-box RTR engine and in all honesty I think its a beauty. Originally I had planned to get the green version, being a devotee of the Southern however after seeing the Livery photos the Maroon stood out as the 'must have' colour scheme. Also included in the box is a nice set of fire irons, coal shovels a bucket etc for personalising your locomotive.

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there is also some very nice cab detail including representations of the pressure gauges, regulator & reverser as well as a handbrake handle etc. As can be seen the locomotive is set up for Right-Hand Drive and the cab feels very light & airy and just crying out for a crew to be fitted. There is no moulded coal in the bunker however the bunker is about half an inch deep and a quarter of an inch wide so there is plenty of room for adding such a detail.

 

There has been some complaints over the running characteristics of the locomotive - however my example was tested prior to dispatch and although I was quite hesitant I was exceedingly pleased and relieved to see that it ran perfectly, first time out of the box with no issues. Especially important considering the only controller I had to hand was a Graham Farish N Gauge Power Box which produced some lovely slow speed running. The engine is wired for all-wheel pickup, between that and the flywheel I was unable to make the locomotive stall on my Peco Points at all, furthermore on its slowest speed the engine took just over 15 minutes to traverse a yard of track - such performance I have only seen before on 00 Gauge DCC Locomotives.

 

All in all I believe this is a fantastic locomotive; Ixion has ticked all the boxes I feel for this release. And although considered 'pricey' for a ready-to-run locomotive I feel its justified. For example a DCC Sound Locomotive in 00 Gauge would be a similar price - and generally speaking although an O Gauge Kit could be obtained & completed for a marginally more modest sum - it would be highly unlikely for that to happen in my book.

Over all a fantastic engine, great price-point, seems reliable from my testing and I feel I would recommend anyone thinking of looking into O Gauge to look at this locomotive as a great little shunter. Now if you'll excuse me - I am off to finish planning that Branch-Line Terminus in O Gauge. :D

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There is some vertical play on the rear driving wheels under the cab - the other two sets are fixed firmly. The cost of this one was

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Guest Isambarduk

Posted

Thanks, Gary, for the great review.

 

As I said on the G0G forum: Has anybody else noticed that all the Ixion promotional detail (line and CAD drawings, and photographs) shows a model with ten-spoke wheels and steel buffer planks - and, indeed, this is what you get - but that the line drawing on page four of the 'instruction' leaflet that comes packed with the model shows twelve-spoke wheels and wooden buffer planks, which would be have been ideal if you intend to model Easingwold No. 2 (as the promotional material suggests)? Just a small detail, I know.

 

David

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David,

The original CAD drawings we had done for the HC were of Easingwold No.2. However, we subsequently obtained lots more photos from a marvellous gentleman (thanks, Martin) which showed very few of the photographed models had the 'rivets all over and sandboxes above the running plate' appearance of Easingwold No.2. So we bit the bullet and had the loco redrawn to match the 1920s/30s style which you now see. The wheels altered too, so it sounds like one of the old images has snuck into the instructions, which would be entirely my fault.

 

And thanks Matloughe for a fantastic review. It gives us a genuine thrill to know that something we have made gives other modellers pleasure.

 

Cheers, Lindsay O'Reilly,

Ixion Models.

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