Australian Modelling

[Grant Newhouse]

Hi all

I been sercing for some ( afordable) australian loco/ rolling stock kits. One name i herd of is lloyds model railways. Ive seen a few finished kits an love whay i see. ( small 2-4-0/ 0-6-0 tanks) Ive tried to get onto the website and just got a 404 error. Im woundering is lloyds out of buisnis, and does any one from down under know where i might be able to find them? Attached are the pics of the kits i like. does anybody know any thing about lloyds?

cheers grant newhouse

 

http://www.lloydsmodelrail.com.au/ ( cant get it to work)

[dajt]

Have a look at this site. It is the only one I could find still selling NSW HO loco kits. A few years ago they were everywhere, but the latest issue of Australian Model Railway Journal I have (Oct 2010) doesn't have a single advertisement for loco kits. It's all RTR these days in HO.

 

http://www.arkits.com/files/djh_products.php?p=20&c=16

 

Regards,

David Taylor.

[Grant Newhouse]

Rats... I ve seen some of the prices for RTR aussie steam engines. 5,6,7,8 hundred (aud) is out of my price range. Ah well. Have to do some kitbashing i guess.

[DavidB-AU]

I used to live literally around the corner from Lloyd Sawyer of Lloyd's Model Railways. He retired several years ago and closed the business. The Lloyd's range of kits was taken over by AR Kits.

 

DJH also does some NSW steam loco kits for AR Kits. The cheapest are the Z20 class 2-6-4T ($375) and Z12 class 4-4-0 ($395).

 

Outside NSW, the South Australian Railways F class 4-6-2T is available as a kit from SAR Model Company for $399.

 

Cheers

David

[Grant Newhouse]

shame he closed down. Unfortunitly i cant afford any of those kits. Guess i'll have to get creative and build my own engines.

[hollywoodfoundry]

There is also the range of locomotives from Steam Era Models, catering for the Victorian Railways enthusiasts: http://home.waterfront.net.au/~sem/

 

The J Class steam locomotive is a particularly good example, one of the best kits produced entriely in Australia. All the other steam locomotives are produced by DJH for Steam Era Models. Take a look around the site, as his other models are of excellent quality and not too expensive. By the way, this is the company who make the famous Black Beetle.

[brian777999]

This is the very reason I decided not to model any Australian railways. There are not enough steam locomotive kits and certainly no steam locomotives RTR. A few years ago there were quite a few on the market but most seem to have disappeared so I have gone with British OO gauge instead.

[dajt]

I think plastic RTR HO steam is pretty common now for NSW modellers.

[Brisbane King]

Keep an eye on ebay and get to as many local (or indeed interstate if you are serious shows (air fares are cheap) for second hand steam stuff.

 

The Trainorama 32 class is 450 RtR from Tom's at the moment.

 

This is just one of the things we have to deal with when modelling something in Australia.

 

Guess i'll have to get creative and build my own engines.

You mean scratchbuild Australian prototypes or model a freelance railway in an Australian setting?

[Grant Newhouse]

"You mean scratchbuild Australian prototypes or model a freelance railway in an Australian setting?"

 

I was thinking more along the line of some Australian style stock running on my own little free lance railway. I have found I like too many world railways to model each separately so I figure I might as well have a railway worked by all sorts of world locomotives and stock. I don’t know if I can scratch build a locomotive, but I’ve done the odd wagon and building.

 

The only problen i have with getting to australian shows is the fact that i'm a canadian without a passport! I've never seen any australian stuff over here, but i'll keep my eye open

 

 

[hollywoodfoundry]

This is the very reason I decided not to model any Australian railways. There are not enough steam locomotive kits and certainly no steam locomotives RTR. A few years ago there were quite a few on the market but most seem to have disappeared so I have gone with British OO gauge instead.

 

Pardon? There are more RTR steam locomotives around of Australian prototype now than ever in the past. And there are more planned and soon to be delivered. And the same applies to steam locomotive kits. There would be around 4 to 5 new ones released every year.

 

These are RTR products from Eureka Models:

 

 

Or these from Austrains:

 

 

 

[Gene]

Those Austrains r-t-r locos are very expensive 269 UK Pounds for a non-sound DCC steam loco seems a bit pricey to me

[hollywoodfoundry]

Those Austrains r-t-r locos are very expensive 269 UK Pounds for a non-sound DCC steam loco seems a bit pricey to me

 

Not really, the population of the UK in 2010 was around 61 million, Australia was 21 million, so the market is considerably smaller. In fact only a third. It still costs the same to build a model in China, but when the run size is considerably smaller, the unit price goes up. Basic economics.

[Gene]

Not really, the population of the UK in 2010 was around 61 million, Australia was 21 million, so the market is considerably smaller. In fact only a third. It still costs the same to build a model in China, but when the run size is considerably smaller, the unit price goes up. Basic economics.

 

 

Geoff...I knew the economics of it and understand why the cost is higher and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying its unjustified or ranting on Austrains ....but at the end of the day its still pretty expensive for a non-sound loco IMHO.

[asmay2002]

Those Austrains r-t-r locos are very expensive 269 UK Pounds for a non-sound DCC steam loco seems a bit pricey to me

 

Have you looked at the price of Roco or Fleischmann stuff lately? In the UK they can be getting on for twice the price of the Australian example you quoted.

[Gene]

True...and they too are pricey compared to UK or US locos

[Brisbane King]

I was thinking more along the line of some Australian style stock running on my own little free lance railway. I have found I like too many world railways to model each separately so I figure I might as well have a railway worked by all sorts of world locomotives and stock. I don’t know if I can scratch build a locomotive, but I’ve done the odd wagon and building.

 

The only problen i have with getting to Australian shows is the fact that i'm a canadian without a passport! I've never seen any australian stuff over here, but i'll keep my eye open

 

Well there are plenty of options once you decide to go down that path and indeed freelancing can be just as rewarding as following a prototype location or road. There are a number of quite well known freelanced examples in an Australian setting, such as the Dutton Bay Tramway or Brindabella Railway. The latter using mostly American motive power but Australian rolling-stock in n scale.

 

 

 

[Grant Newhouse]

The idea of Australian rolling stock with American locos sounds good to me. Modified of Corse, to make a hybrid loco. I have 2 roundhouse 4-4-0’s an old IHC 4-6-2,4-6-4,0-8-0… Add some buffers, get rid of the cowcatchers, add a belepair firebox, some shunters steps and give it all a repaint and I’ll have some nice aussie locos.B)

 

[LSWR]

"The only problen i have with getting to australian shows is the fact that i'm a canadian without a passport! I've never seen any australian stuff over here, but i'll keep my eye open

 

 

I have been able to buy quite a few used older Australian models for reasonable prices here in the USA including all three Lima C38 pacifics. They are toy trains compared with the latest Eureka offerings but they look the part.

 

Another thing to remember is that much Australian equipment was built under license from American manufacturers. In fact a lot of the low cost models of Australian equipment are "rebadged" versions of the model manufacturers American product (made in China, of course!)

[hollywoodfoundry]

Another thing to remember is that much Australian equipment was built under license from American manufacturers. In fact a lot of the low cost models of Australian equipment are "rebadged" versions of the model manufacturers American product (made in China, of course!)

 

Actually, I dont think that is the case? Can you elaborate on that? The only one I have seen is a Powerline 'starter' pack, but no-one takes it seriously. Very little of the Australian prototype locomotives were the same as the US locomotives, and all of them were built in Australia for Australian conditions. As a result, the models were built from those designs and not simply rebadged American models.

[ejp]

Actually, I dont think that is the case? Can you elaborate on that? The only one I have seen is a Powerline 'starter' pack, but no-one takes it seriously. Very little of the Australian prototype locomotives were the same as the US locomotives, and all of them were built in Australia for Australian conditions. As a result, the models were built from those designs and not simply rebadged American models.

 

There are a few models of Pilbara iron ore locomotives where repaints of off-the-shelf US designs aren't bad representations.

 

On the other hand, this model is to my eyes even worse than Powerline's repaints of cheap F series locos. Cheap, though.

[hollywoodfoundry]

Yes, the more recent Pilbara locomotives were direct imports of US locomotives, so a repaint nails them.

 

Actually, that el-cheapo locomotive IS a Powerline product - awful.

[LSWR]

Actually, I dont think that is the case? Can you elaborate on that? The only one I have seen is a Powerline 'starter' pack, but no-one takes it seriously. Very little of the Australian prototype locomotives were the same as the US locomotives, and all of them were built in Australia for Australian conditions. As a result, the models were built from those designs and not simply rebadged American models.

 

Exhibit A

 

 

Flat car on left is a new US Model Power offering; Flat on the right is an older Freightline product. I have noticed that particularly with low end freight cars that the Australian version is often a "rebadged' (half the price) US product. Lima even went so far as to slap a V/Line sign on a SNCF bogie curtain car. I have examples of both cars.

 

An enterprising modeller could even hack an old Rivarossi E9 (right, about $25) into a passable model of a Class 42 (left)

 

 

I am only suggesting that our Canadian poster should not be put off modelling Australian railways

[hollywoodfoundry]

Exhibit A

 

 

Flat car on left is a new US Model Power offering; Flat on the right is an older Freightline product. I have noticed that particularly with low end freight cars that the Australian version is often a "rebadged' (half the price) US product. Lima even went so far as to slap a V/Line sign on a SNCF bogie curtain car. I have examples of both cars.

 

 

Yes, as I said. The Freightline model on the right is a Powerline product. The also have Modellersline, made in India and by their own admission on their web site, not good quality. Then there is Linkline, strictly for beginners, again by their own admission. Serious modellers do not usually take any of these offerings seriously.

 

My point is that other than Powerline and their multitude of el-cheapo products, most Australian models are not simple re-badging, but specially commissioned models.

 

You could go back to Lima and some of the Hornby products sold in Australia, but that was a long time ago and the Hornby products are generally seen as an insult that Hornby would try to pass off that rubbish on us.

[Horsetan]

Have you looked at the price of Roco or Fleischmann stuff lately? In the UK they can be getting on for twice the price of the Australian example you quoted.

 

 

.....and European locomotive kits are generally twice the price of RTR, or more. You're easily looking at about 600 to 700 quid for a Weinert kit of most large German steam engines, for example.