Last Christmas I was given an RT Models sentinel kit and I have to say it was thoroughly enjoyable to put together. Also, given that the kit comes complete with a gearbox and motor, I thought it represented excellent value for money. Readers of this blog will know that there aren't many kits that I build which don't involve remaking at least some parts, either having to get bits etched where the original design is wrong or 3D printing components where features haven't been supplied. With this little Sentinel this was not the case, the kit and the instructions were very good and I had a very enjoyable month or so putting it together.

I opted for a green livery, I wasn't confident enough to tackle wasp stripes or similar and I am pleased with the way it came out. The photographs show a gap between the roof and cab which closes up when I tighten a bolt which holds them together! Obviously I have no real prototypical purpose for a Sentinel on my model of Clare but I will probably have a works shunter at my mill siding even though it is too smaller system to justify it in any way - Rule 1 will be applied.

I fitted a Zimo chip and a stay-alive capacitor and it runs rather nicely. I still need to add coal and a crew and apply some weathering but it made a nice change from having to dive into CAD to remodel/redraw things. Having a kit which could be built with all the bits in the box is rare and this was a real pleasure to put together.

Now what hints do I drop to my family for this year?

David