Accurascale Deltic.

I succumbed to this after literally years looking at the website on the progress Accurascale were making with this long awaited project which was heralded as being the best Deltic ever produced. The Deltic is one of those iconic diesels that replaced steam and took British Rail passenger traffic into the 80s when the HST's took on that role. It is popular with many railway enthusiasts so the model had to be special to meet up to the makers claims. Have those claims been fulfilled in the final model? Well like many others who have received their models you cannot be anything but impressed. The packaging is superb. The accompanying literature is fully detailed and comes complete with a sheet of alternative head codes. The model itself is hefty at about 800g or just under two pounds for those of us with long memories. As you start looking at the model itself you realise this is something else. For the price or even less than the price of some Hornby and Bachmann locos you get a level of detail I have never seen on a mass produced model.

It looks great but start moving in to see just how detailed this is.

Sprung buffers compliment the model but things like the finesse of the windscreen wipers, the sliding cab windows, the way the door is correctly recessed are all things that you really do not find that well done on other models.

Move in closer still and you see the chains that run between the bogies and the body which I have never seen modelled before. You also see the manufacturers plate above the loco number and through the window the dtail inside the engine compartment.

However the biggest surprise is the cab. My camera is not good at close up shots but this photo at least shows the level of detail just in the cab. Regulator, recessed dials, doors for the electrical cabinets. If there were such a thing as a 4mm real life driver I think they would be fully at home in that cab!

I have the DCC sound version and the sound of the real Napier engines is fully captured. They really have a unique tone.

Any downsides? Well I have to be honest and say on unpacking there were a couple of small detail parts that needed to be reattached. After some running I have also collected four other detail parts that need to be reattached. And this is the quandary. If we want models this well detailed they are going to be fragile and parts will fall off if they are used which is something your 1980 Hornby Deltic would be hard pressed to replicate as there was only the body moulding with no other detail to fall off. 

I am not sure where I stand on this quandary but for the moment I am just going to enjoy this model and appreciate the detail it has. 

Different types of water!

Not an experiment but this morning I had to unfortunately join the Sunday Car Washing Club which seems to prevail in the UK. Mrs. Woody had decreed that her car needed cleaning and today was the day to do it and who am I to disagree? So it was the soapy water type that saw use and several hours later the car had not only been washed but waxed as well! 

With several other things going on today as well that did not leave much model making time but I made the most of it by examining the resin water I had poured into the river on the 009 narrow gauge layout a few days ago. Having waited literally months for it to dry when I poured the first layer back in January, I was pleased to find it dry and solid after just three days - Result!. So another type of water in my life today as I poured the third and probably last layer of resin water into the river. Hopefully dry in three days time too.

Not water related was the assembly of the second Egyptian tanker for the T34 MiniArt kit. A nice pose and one where he looks at ease on the tank itself - well he would do if he had his head but as I explained yesterday I will probably paint the heads before mounting them on the bodies.

Finally something that could get me into the type of water that is very hot if Mrs. Woody finds out about it is the arrival of this which I have not had a chance to sit down with the time to properly unpack and set up. The reviews are good and it appears that Accurascale have indeed produced the ultimate Deltic locomotive - I just need the time to find out myself!

Having completed this blog it is time for the final type of water for today - the washing up type of water as I have the job of doing the dishes after dinner!