Agenoria Kits

[PatB]

Having built a number of Connoisseur wagon kits and their Y7 loco it, I'm getting the itch for another etched loco build.  I've rather fallen for the Agenoria Z4/Z5 as a loco which, although limited in strict prototype usage, could conceivably have drifted southwards to a NSR-esque light railway.  I'm also attracted by the possibility of building two locos in parallel as offered by Agenoria at a reduced price.

 

Has anyone here built or seen a build of this kit and does anyone have any comments on Agenoria's kits in general?  I get the impression that their quality is pretty good and that I'd be unlikely to encounter difficulties as a result of the kit itself.   My own deficiencies being another matter, of course .

[Mike]

Here's one of their kits I built earlier. Not difficult, reasonable instructions however, the pickups are a bit of a fiddle.

[Buckjumper]

If you felt comfortable building the Connoisseur kits and are happy with what you've made, then those from Agenoria (especially those originated by the previous owner, Pete Stamper) are definitely now within your capabilities. I built one of the Manning Wardles a few years ago and it was a pleasant build - I found there was just a little more fettling required in one or two areas than you'd expect from a Connoisseur kit, but really no more than a few extra stokes with a file to get things to fit just so.

 

One area I'd take particular care over is forming the tank - the half-etched lines on the inside to aid forming the shape were a little wide and without care could turn it into a series of bends rather than a smooth curve, even with rollers. I'd now probably fill the half etched lines with 145 solder before running it through the rollers to reduce the effect. In a worst case scenario some wet & dry with a lot of elbow grease will remove the ridges.  I added a few extras including some repair patches on the tank from brass shim to add verisimilitude.

 

[PatB]

Thanks gentlemen.  At some stage I'd be looking at one of the Agenoria Manning-Wardles to represent Bamburgh, the NSR's first locomotive and so seeing completed examples is interesting.

 

Yes,  was reasonably happy with my efforts on the Y7.  Of course, as always, there are things I might have done differently or will be able to do better next time but I was quite pleased with the overall result.  One of the reasons I'm attracted by the Z4 is that it has outside cylinders and a pony truck to stretch my building repertoire a little further without being excessively large or implausibly heavy for a lightly laid light railway.  One of the other reasons is that it's a side tank and so doesn't require me to form a smooth, large radius curve in the top of a saddle tank.  That particular skill is another couple of builds away I think.