You never quite know when you will come across a decent model!

 

I was in Beijing Railway museum (full review to follow) and stumbled across this little gem. Yes I know!!! this is a TOY!!!!

Bear with me on this one!

Its actually pretty Damn close to scale! the body is not too bad and the real gem of this model (and the real reason I shelled out a whole 100RMB (about £10)) is the tender!

Photo taken by Hugh Smith between 2001 and 2005 and remain his copyright.

This in another of my bucket list kits!

 

I have a bit of a soft spot for these locos. They are plucky little beasts that have been pounding the foothills of the Himalayas  for over 120 years! 

in an age when digital drawings can be sent across the globe in seconds and refined and tweaked by user groups, I find it amazing that little loco's like these were constructed in Manchester and dispatched across the planet and were so well suited to the task that they have never been improved upon despite a century of failed attempts!

It never ceases to amaze me how many kits get purchased and never even started.

I estimate that only 1 in 10 even get started.

I have got a bit of a soft spot for Japanese brass. For years I had looked in envy at the adverts in old magazines. And every time I see one in the flesh I am usually amazed at the quality of them.

The detail on models 30 years old is often superior to what we get on modern ready-to-run models.