Background
In this section I just wanted to give a bit of background into my research before committing to the Model Works Kit.
The Beginning
Where to start! Call it intuition but for whatever reason a few months before our trip to Castledare I had actually added a live steam link to my favourites list on my browser. When I came home from Castledare, I called this list up and was pleased to find a list of manufacturers that supplied rideable live steam loco's in kit form. I was basically resigned to a kit as have no model engineering experience nor the equipment required to build from scratch.
I ended up contacting a number of suppliers in the US, UK and Japan. Some of the kits were very expensive, one US supplier quoted me US$80,000 for a 4-6-2 Pacific in 7 1/4", the Japanese supplier quoted me US$20,000 for a Shay in 5". Other suppliers offered me diesel/ electric locomotives which were quite reasonable but I really wanted live STEAM.
In the end I stumbled upon Model Works International and sent them an email regarding their range. They sent me a brochure of the A3 in 7 1/4", its price whilst still not cheap was quite reasonable. After corresponding with the company for a while as well as a number of other people that I had sourced on the web, the general feeling I got was that they produce a good quality product and have many satisfied customers. I believe they are (unfortunately) still carrying on some of the stigma of Winson as this name kept on coming up. Winson 'burnt' alot of customers badly by requiring them to pay upfront for their loco's and then went into liquidation. Model Works bought some of their tooling and have been trying to satisfy Winson's old customers. Nevertheless Model Works is an entirely separate company and the general feeling I get is that their customers are satisfied with their quality.
The Boiler
In choosing a Model Works kit concerns over the boiler was the number one issue that I had to address. Model Works typically deliver the boiler complete; soldered and certified. However early on I discovered that whilst this may be certified for the UK, the rules for certification in Australia are different (where I will eventually return after Indonesia). In order to obtain AALS certification to run at Australian clubs, the boiler plans must initially be certified and there must be several inspections during the construction phase by a certified boiler inspector from a club.
Model Works solution to this is that they will deliver the boiler 'in pieces' including everything (even the silver solder). Apparently stay spacings and construction according to Australian standards are different for the UK so some modifications will be required. Model Works have stated that they will provide a copy of the plans so that I can have them redrawn in Australia to our standards.
The issues I now see are (1) getting the plans redrawn and (2) getting the boiler pieces put together. The solution to this is that firstly Model Works have put me in touch with a person in Western Australia who is constructing the Black Five. He is well ahead of where I will be so he will act as my precedent on how to deal with the above. Secondly I have been in touch with another club member in Australia who states he can assist me in overseeing the above. Hopefully between these two I will find a resolution to the above issue. Only time will tell...
Painting
Painting is an issue that I am also a little concerned about. There seems to be two schools of thought, some people recommend to paint as you go others state that wait until its finished and then strip in down and paint it. From my HO/OO modeling background I prefer the former approach.
My other concern is what piece should be what colour. I understand that Model Works provide a brochure from Phoenix Precision Paints in their first kit that addresses this issue.
The final concern will be the painting itself. Being in Indonesia, I am not sure of the quality of the professional spray painting here. In this regard I would prefer to do it myself but I have not tackled a project of this size before. I think its one thing to airbrush a model kit and another to spray a 1/8 scale loco. I will probably end up getting it professionally done but will have to do some research on the quality of workmanship before I commit. Again only time will tell...
Cost
Ah yes, probably one of the most important considerations. These things are not cheap! Firstly there is the initial purchase price of the kit from Model Works, to this must add freight, import duty, value added tax, paint, painting services, loco transfers, boiler plans modification and boiler construction. I shudder to think what this is going to cost in total. The good thing is that the kit purchases are spread out over 18 months and therefore its not one big hit. In addition, at the end of it am going to have a loco that is going to last a lifetime (and some). I regularly see live steam loco's on the web dating back to the 1950's and even 1930's still going strong. I consider it more an investment that just money 'going out the door'.
One way to reduce the cost would have been to go for the 5" gauge instead of the 7 1/4" gauge as I have selected. The difference seems to be about half the price. My decision to choose the 7 1/4" was predicated on a number of factors. Firstly at the time of my inquiry, Model Works were newly offering the "Flying Scotsman", who could resist the offer to own the most famous loco of all! Secondly, visually I prefer the larger gauge as you get to sit on the loco rather than sit behind it. Finally, at that time the Black Five in 5" was already up to kit eight, this would have meant outlaying the price of 8 kits to catch up to everyone else. I figured the initial one-off hit for the Black Five was worse that the steady payment stream of the A3 (albeit higher total cost).
Another way I justify the cost in my mind is that if I purchased all of the lathes and milling machines required and then spent the hours to firstly learn to use them and then finally construct a loco from scratch, I am sure the final 'cost' is not that different from just buying a kit. At least at this beginner stage the Model Works kit gives me the chance to participate in a hobby that would otherwise be beyond my skill.
This site was last updated Tuesday September 30, 2003