Hi, all. After several years learning the basics (building plastic scenery kits, then moving on to plastic wagons etc...) I've decided I want to actually start on building a loco kit. I know that a lot of people would recommend going for a simple kit first, maybe a wagon or something static, but I reckon I've got the basics of soldering down, and after years of building Kitmaster/Airfix/Dapol loco kits wanted to build something that might eventually move by itself.

I came up with a couple of criteria for choosing the kit:

• MUST be a complete kit - I simply don't have the knowledge to be able to buy wheels, motor and gearbox seperately yet! I wouldn't know where to start looking for them.
  
• MUST be "simple" - no tender locos, 4 coupled wheels maximum, preferably no outside cylinders but definitely no Walschaerts valve gear!
  
• MUST run on 16.5mm gauge track - My plank layout has 00 and 009 track on it, but I have a Hornby rolling road, and ideally I don't want to be chasing a loco around a layout trying to see tight spots when it's moving.
  
• IDEALLY a whitemetal top half/body - My soldering's ok, but I'd like the added weight, and I'm more comfortable working with a solid material than a sheet, after years of just working with plastic.
  
• PREFERABLY steam outline, but early/industrial diesel might work.
  

I had a look around, and considered a couple of kits.

The first ones to catch my eye were the DJH starter kits - a rather cute Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 and a BR class 02 diesel. Very nice, I thought, especially when someone brought the steam loco, built up, to the club. But... and there had to be a but... the price was a bit of a stumbling block. Being used to RTR prices, I baulked somewhat at paying £125 for a diesel shunter or £135 for the Barclay, especially given that they still needed assembling! On a student budget, these are not items I can afford to make a mess of.

Next, I saw the Branchlines chassis kits, designed to fit the Dapol bodies I know and love... At least I ought to be able to make a decent bash at the top half, even if the bottom never worked out... But lack of weight looked like it might be a problem.

Finally, eBay threw me a curveball I wasn't expecting, and I somehow ended up the owner of a Peco Talyllyn body kit and the "complete" Branchlines chassis kit to go with it. At £90 it wasn't cheap, and it didn't exactly fit my layout plans but it claimed to have everything in it (except solder, glue, tools and paint) and I'd heard good things about Branchlines kits, ran on the right gauge track, has plenty of heft (there's a lot of whitemetal in that body kit!) and is 4-coupled and steam outline. Besides, at 7mm scale rather than 4mm, the parts ought to be bigger and less fiddly, right?

The parcel arrived at my work, and my colleague was intrigued enough to ask to open it up and have a look. I'd just had my lunch break so couldn't really look myself, but told him to go ahead. A quick scan of the instructions, a look at the parts and he packed it all up carefully and walked away, muttering something about calling the nice men in the white coats for me. When I finally got a chance to look, I panicked and figured he might be right. The instructions are terrifying. A few days later, I bit the bullet, got out various tools and bits, and sat down at the table...