Magna Models

[Prometheus]

This obsession I have for building old white metal kits is bordering on the pathological. The disorder continued today through the eBay purchase of  an unbuilt Magna Models ex-MR / LMS 3F loco [not the tank]. I looked online for information about this manufacturer but, apart from a load of resin-based aeroplane kits [some extremely obscure, eg the Miles Monitor and the Gloster F9/37], found nothing. I believe that Magna also produced an LNER loco however.

 

Can anyone shed light on this outfit for me? It hasn't arrived yet and so I cannot comment on the quality of the castings. If it's only fit for fishing weights though, at least I'll have 6 20mm Romfords with axles and fittings, an Anchoridge 5 pole motor and an empty box. It cost £33, so I'll not be too distressed.

 

It does have a one-piece cast chassis of course. I've made quite a few of those work well enough though, so that isn't a worry [yet....].

 

Thanks all.

 

Tony

[Steamport Southport]

A Great Central 0-6-0 I think it was. A J10?

 

One pictured here.

 

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/magna-models-loco-kit-unbuilt-gcr-167878078

 

 

 

Jason

Edited February 23, 2020 by Steamport Southport

[MikeCW]

I recall having read about Magna Models elsewhere when I was stumbling around RMWeb.  I found the topic here:

 

I believe this might be another copy of your recently acquired 3F kit  which is illustrated in the thread.

 

Good shopping!

 

Mike

 

[Prometheus]

Thanks, that's it! I did like this quote from the old topic:

 

I seem to recall a club member saying many years ago when describing one of their kits "Take a lump of white metal and file it into the shape you need"

 

I'm rather hoping that it's just a little better than that!  I'll have to explore an alternative to the motor-in-the-cab issue too. The paperwork [in the eBay picture] gives a date of 1980. Nobody seems to know anything else though.

 

Tony

[45568]

They also did a GC/LNER D11 Director class. I had the misfortune to purchase one via EBay some years ago, (before the Bachmann rtr release).

 I have to say that 'woeful' would be high praise, the castings were dreadful! I put it straight back on Ebay and made a slight profit, I received positive feedback so the buyer wasn't too disappointed!

Cheers from Oz,

Peter C.

[great central]

I have one of their D11, ex GC Director, kits. 

Built many years ago, possibly late 70s or could have been early 80s I suppose. Fairly rough castings from memory, it came out more or less Director shaped, but always looking rather spindly alongside a BEC version.

Comparing with photos it looked to have more dimensional similarity with a D10, the boiler looking definitely undernourished for a D11.

I did always think of altering the cab to look more like a D10 but like many things it got overtaken by other stuff, long distance memories having just been reawakened by Nick Quinn's pictures posted in our (Nottingham) show thread of Deepcar. I started working on DC kits class 76s in the late 80s and they're going on show again in a couple of weeks, yikes!!

[Prometheus]

Oh dear........

 

Tony

[Mike Bellamy]

11 hours ago, Prometheus said:

Thanks, that's it! I did like this quote from the old topic:

 

I seem to recall a club member saying many years ago when describing one of their kits "Take a lump of white metal and file it into the shape you need"

 

 

 

 

Ha!  I posted that  . . . . . . !

 

Mike

[hayfield]

11 hours ago, MikeCW said:

I recall having read about Magna Models elsewhere when I was stumbling around RMWeb.  I found the topic here:

 

I believe this might be another copy of your recently acquired 3F kit  which is illustrated in the thread.

 

Good shopping!

 

Mike

 

 

I sold it on about a year ago when having a clear out, the builder did a good job on it and I don't think I ever motorised it. Like you I wanted to see what the kit was like. Wrong region for my current interests

 

When now buying something I am not familiar with like you I work out the spares value. The drivers alone would cost you £45 new now, D11's sell for £15 ish. I have done a similar thing with a DJH kit built loco and an unseen GEM kit (may be incomplete) so I based my value on what I could see and ignored the brief description.

[t-b-g]

I may have been lucky but many years ago I built the Magna J10 kit. Perhaps mine was an early one out of the moulds but the castings were crisp and fitted well. I made new frames as the cast one was designed for an XO4 type motor which would have been very visible and I made a new cab roof from thin metal as the kit one was very thick. I recall adding a few details as the kit was basic. The loco body only had about a dozen parts.

 

Overall it was not nearly as bad as the experience others have had.