Models which have stood the test of time

[Craigw]

I am going to be a bit different to the norm and suggest The Martin Finney range of kits as models that have stood the test of time. The earliest models date from the 1980s. They raised the bar on kit accuracy and quality at the time and even now are still up with the best.

 

Regards,

 

Craig W

[Invicta]

17 hours ago, 'CHARD said:

From Italy, with the exception of bogies, the LMS 'short' 42-ft CCT (presently half a dozen on allocation, Bachmann Stanier bogies and replacement buffers work wonders).  

 

I don't quite run to half-a-dozen (IIRC 4 at last count, including my original from my teens circa 1980), but the CCT is definitely still a useful model.

 

Sticking with ex-LMS parcels stock, although it's been superceded by Hornby's take on the same vehicle, I never felt the urge to replace my Mainline/Bachmann LMS 50' BGs when the Hornby version appeared

 

10 hours ago, 313201 said:

Hi Cypherman

 

I'm curious, as I have never owned a wrenn locomotive mainly due to the high prices being asked for, can I ask please, what are they like in terms of tractive effort for the load they can haul and what are they like in terms of maintaining them ( easy or difficult ).

 

Although it doesn't inhabit the same planet as modern RTR, I must admit I do like a bit of Wrenn- on the experience of my own Duchess and various Bulleids, 8Fs and 2-6-4Ts I've run belonging to former clubmates, they'll pull pretty much anything you'd want to hang on the back of them, and like the vintage Hornby Dublo they originate from, they do have a certain presence and charm of their own. As for maintaining them, I took a long break from modelling between my teens in the late 80's and the early 2000s, and pretty much the one loco that ran immediately straight from the box when I revived my teenage collection of Hornby, Mainline, AIrfix, Lima etc from about 15 years slumbering in a drawer, was my  Wrenn 'City of London'. 

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by Invicta
missed a bit!

[Nick C]

Another 90's release that still looks good today is the Bachmann Ivatt 2-6-2T - the chassis has been retooled but the body hasn't changed.

[mike morley]

Another vote for the Triang 31.

['CHARD]

55 minutes ago, Invicta said:

 

Sticking with ex-LMS parcels stock, although it's been superceded by Hornby's take on the same vehicle, I never felt the urge to replace my Mainline/Bachmann LMS 50' BGs when the Hornby version appeared

 

 

I never realised that Hornby had released it, for some reason I imagined it was a warmed-over Airfix model, which is preposterous now I reflect on it.  Like you I have a healthy collection of the Mainmann/ Bachline variety, although rather too many blue ones for 1968.

[Steven B]

Airfix (now Dapol) wagon kits  - over 50 years old but still of value!

 

Steven B.

[Robin Brasher]

My collection of Hornby Dublo and Wrenn Pullmans and rebuilt Bulleid Pacifics illustrated here have stood the test of time well. When I bought my Hornby Dublo Barnstaple in 1965 it was my fourth 00 gauge locomotive and it has run many hundreds of scale miles with a rake of Pullmans on several layouts. I think that these locomotives have got the weight and presence of the real thing although it is clear from other posts that other makes also enjoy long lives.

[cravensdmufan]

OK, so I just did a quick stocktake of my stuff and here is the list of older items which I still happily run on the layout alongside modern items.  Most have been just lightly weathered, and to my eyes none of them look dated or out of place.

 

All these were purchased pre 1995 which is the year I left actual railway modelling aside for around 10 years (though I kept buying magazines throughout).  Of course when I came back it was like a different world with all the wonderful stuff which had become available.

 

Traction:

 

Lima Class 73

Lima Class 92

Bachmann 03 (the old version)

Lima Class 156 (just added a tiny bit of painted detail)

I hard wired decoders to all the above (including the split chassis 03!) and with good maintenance they all run sweetly.

 

Coaches:

 

Airfix Mk2Ds ( as I mentioned above)

Lima Mk3s (correct colour Intercity executive colours to my eyes)

Hornby Mk4s again, correct Intercity shades from Hornby back in  the day; what went wrong since?!  I will still run these with the new 91. I replaced the wheels with finer metal ones and will paint interior seating.

Mainline RBR

Lima Mk1 GUV

 

Wagons:

 

Lima Blue Circle Cement 4 wheel PDA

Lima 4 wheel Grainflow

Hornby VIX ferry van

 

 

 

 

 

[jessy1692]

Hornby 25 still stands up with a bit of detailing, the Hymeks too are pretty deceny still

[adb968008]

For me its the Trix class 81.

 

it stands up very well next to the Bachmann class 85, even down to the details of the class 85 wheel rims (which is often overlooked even today).

other points include:

Flush glazed

lighting

Pantograph detail

Depth of grills

Shape

Dimensions

 

All ive done is put it on a Bachmann chassis, but in reality I didn't need to do that.

 

 

if the tooling was still extant, i’m sure it could stand up to use today as an acceptable model... Not bad considering the tooling, 60 years ago, is as old as the real thing !

Edited October 2, 2020 by adb968008

[cypherman]

17 hours ago, 313201 said:

Hi Cypherman

 

I'm curious, as I have never owned a wrenn locomotive mainly due to the high prices being asked for, can I ask please, what are they like in terms of tractive effort for the load they can haul and what are they like in terms of maintaining them ( easy or difficult ).

Hi 313201,

Maintenance is very easy. The motors are basically bullet proof as long as they are well looked after. The Duchess of Atholl in the pictures would pull 10 Triang/Hornby BSK/SK coaches with power to spare. The engines I have posted here except for the 2-6-4 which is Wrenn are all earlier Hornby Dublo. They are all about 65 years old now and still work as well as the day they were made. Ok yes due to their age I have converted them to 2 rail and given them full repaints but they are mechanically still in original condition. There are lots of videos on Youtube of peoples H/D layouts where engines like the 2-6-4 are pulling 15 wagons. Now remember that  the early wagons are all metal and not plastic. Plastic bodied  wagons only came in much later. So that will give you some idea of their pulling power. So here is something for you to look at.

Like Robin I took a very long break from model railways. About 25 years and when I went and get out all my old H/D and Wrenn engines with just a little oil they ran perfectly straight away. This was not just one or two engines. At that time i think I had about 15 and they all worked as said.

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by cypherman

[tomparryharry]

4 hours ago, Steven B said:

Airfix (now Dapol) wagon kits  - over 50 years old but still of value!

 

Steven B.

 

Quite agree:- Still building 'em!

[The Johnster]

I once build 40 of them for a club layout, in production line mode one operation at a time x 40.  Never again...

[adb968008]

29 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

I once build 40 of them for a club layout, in production line mode one operation at a time x 40.  Never again...

As a student on placement I once got to make them too.. at the factory, cutting sprues and bagging them.

[James Makin]

I really like the old HEA domestic coal hopper of Mainline/Replica/Dapol/Bachmann/Hornby/just about everyone-parentage..! 
 

The body is superbly crisp and chassis moulding on some of the oldest examples I’ve got is very fine indeed, a new brake lever, wheels and buffers and it still looks the part!

[Jeff Smith]

23 hours ago, Craigw said:

I am going to be a bit different to the norm and suggest The Martin Finney range of kits as models that have stood the test of time. The earliest models date from the 1980s. They raised the bar on kit accuracy and quality at the time and even now are still up with the best.

 

Regards,

 

Craig W

RTR does seem to dominate this thread but there are some pretty old kits out there that are still being supplied, albeit with more recent chassis.  The Gem North London 0-6-0 tank with Branchlines chassis makes up to an excellent model.  Similarly the three Peco O-16.5 locos with again Branchlines chassis are still great.

[PatB]

12 hours ago, Steven B said:

Airfix (now Dapol) wagon kits  - over 50 years old but still of value!

 

Steven B.

It's not to be forgotten that, for decades, if you wanted a correct wheelbase 16 tonner, the Airfix kit was the only game in town. 

[Wheatley]

If we're talking about models which don't need re-doing to 'modern" standards (as opposed to ones which stayed on sale way past their best before date) then I agree about the Bachmann Std 5. Shape and performance-wise there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, same with their Std 4. 

 

Lima GUV holds its own against Bachmann's too, above the waist at least. 

[The Johnster]

17 hours ago, PatB said:

It's not to be forgotten that, for decades, if you wanted a correct wheelbase 16 tonner, the Airfix kit was the only game in town. 

And both Hornby and Dapol still persist in making these and RCH 7 plankers on the wrong, but conveniently generic, wheelbase.  

[Mark Saunders]

2 hours ago, The Johnster said:

And both Hornby and Dapol still persist in making these and RCH 7 plankers on the wrong, but conveniently generic, wheelbase.  

If people keep buying them they will keep production going rather like the Mainline Iron Ore hoppers!

[hmrspaul]

In 7mm the Peco range of wagon kits remain very good quality and they go back many years. 

 

And I like the Mainline rebuilt Patriot which must be all of 40 years old. 

 

Paul

[cypherman]

On 03/10/2020 at 01:35, Wheatley said:

If we're talking about models which don't need re-doing to 'modern" standards (as opposed to ones which stayed on sale way past their best before date) then I agree about the Bachmann Std 5. Shape and performance-wise there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, same with their Std 4. 

 

Lima GUV holds its own against Bachmann's too, above the waist at least. 

Sorry I got my engines mixed up and it is not the newer std 5 I am talking about.

The big problem with the Bachmann std 4 is that the driving wheels all warped. This is not the newer one, But the one they took over from Mainline and added plastic wheel inserts. Not the current std 5. Not an auspicious thing to happen as they ran like drunk duck until the wheels were sorted out. So imho they failed the reliability test. But that's just my opinion.

Edited October 4, 2020 by cypherman

[spamcan61]

On 03/10/2020 at 01:35, Wheatley said:

If we're talking about models which don't need re-doing to 'modern" standards (as opposed to ones which stayed on sale way past their best before date) then I agree about the Bachmann Std 5. Shape and performance-wise there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, same with their Std 4. 

 

Lima GUV holds its own against Bachmann's too, above the waist at least. 

Crikey, I regard the Bachmann Std 5 as a "modem" loco anyway ! It's all relative I guess.

[Wheatley]

I know ! It must be getting on  for 20 years old now though. That makes it as old now as the Mainline Jubilee and Hornby Compound/Hunt/Schools/County were when it appeared and it was a quantum leap over those. By comparison, externally at least the basic Bachmann steam loco spec still looks like the Std 5. (Is it split chassis ? Can't remember). 

 

Can't say Ive had warped wheel issues on mine but thanks for the heads up, I'm looking for another second hand so I'll look out for that. 

Edited October 4, 2020 by Wheatley

[cypherman]

13 minutes ago, spamcan61 said:

Crikey, I regard the Bachmann Std 5 as a "modem" loco anyway ! It's all relative I guess.

Hi Spamcan,

Sorry a miss type there. Should have typed STD4 MT and not 5. My bad. I have corrected my post over this.

The ones I am referring to are the split chassis locos taken over from Mainline with the plastic wheel inserts. Not the later 5MT's. I never could tell the difference between the 2 engines.

Edited October 4, 2020 by cypherman