Evalutation and closing remarks

Evaluation

Am I happy with this project's result? That is a question I always ask when I close a project. In this case it is undecided. It was a quick job in between, waiting for the paint for my Fairlie to arrive. There are too many small things that went wrong and from which I decided to leave it, as the project would have been twice as long if I would done it all in the way I wanted it to be. Sometimes I just feel like pushing on. And I did, at least for my standards. I started at 23 February and finished the loco on 9 April 2018, which is just under seven weeks. Most of my projects take well over a year.

The good

• Using an existing donor locomotive gives you a head start. Especially when you are a novice builder it saves you from the worry of having to construct a trouble free frame. No chassis aligning, no gear box tuning, no valve gear to build.
• Resin is an easily workable material, so drilling, filing, scraping is all easy and can be done without much effort yet with sufficient accuracy.
• The mix media build hones your gluing skills, a construction method which may seems easier than soldering to many but that is a point of view with which I strongly disagree.

The bad

• Being a budget kit (less than €100) parts that are usually turned (handrail knobs, whistle) or cast (lamp irons) are now provided as flat etched parts. I replaced them immediately.
• Resin is brittle so do not drop it (I know!)
• Resin being easily workable, also means easily damageable. Overdoing a file stroke is all too easy. Cast resin also needs great care in removing casting errors like flash, creases, dips and bubbles.
• The brass of the running plate was very soft. In the end it did end up in a good result, but that needed more care than usual.
• Although the kit seems cheap, adding a donor locomotive adds up. I bought mine for just €25 because it was in need of repair but that is a true exception, most go for at least €75 and buying second always involves a risk reducing the advantage of getting a head start with a trouble free mechanism.

The ugly

• One thing I definitely hate about this locomotive is that it retained its Allan valve gear. When I bought the model I did not think it would be much of an issue, but it is. Although beautifully modelled on the original T3 model and almost a shame to remove it, it is so conspicuously out of place on a Crefeld-type 0-6-0s. I do appreaciate that it makes the building of the loco much cheaper but even more so easier. As this model is intended for the low budget and/or less experienced builders, it is understandable and defendable to leave the valve gear alone. But for me, I might just attempt and build a Walschearts valve gear in my own. But that is another project.
• The resin is by nature less accurately cast. The window rims with their adjacent rivet ring are just not crisp enough

Conclusion

Would I build a mixed media kit like this again? If I have the choice between a resin kit or brass: no, I would choose the brass kit despite the higher price. If it is the only option: I probably would, but replacing many parts in the process.

The price

Direct costs

General supplies

If you bought all of the items above, you are not done yet. You need more but all these things are necessities for which it is very hard to calculate the value per model. You buy a pot of green paint, costs €11.00, you need three colours, €33.00. But how many locomotives are you going to spray? I have done five locomotives in black so far and I am only halfway through with my pot of black. Yet at any one time you must buy new...