Ron Bell Posted March 24, 2016 Report Share Posted March 24, 2016 Seems I'm a broken record in this area with my Airfix locomotives. I get one a year and do them. Nice kits of interesting subjects and they are something different to build. This one is of a Battle of Britain Class locomotive used in the 50's and 60's. Each engine was named after a fighter base, or ace or something linked to the Battle of Britain. This one is the Biggin Hill, a fighter base around London. One quirk is that the name plate on the engine side should have an RAF blue background and not red. Other releases of the same kit have the blue, but I got 'lucky' and go the wrong color. The decals were old and yellow, so they spent sometime in a sunny window and then a coat of gloss coat to keep them from shattering. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 Nice looking Ron! Is this HO scale, or N Gauge scale, or 1/72? Also, just out of curiosity, were designed so they could be built to actually run? GIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRatzenberger Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 More properly, in British terms, they are OO which is HO to us. These were originally Rosebud Kitmaster, taken over by Airfix when KM folded and yes, most could be motorized but ran better the more of the running gear (and couplers) was swapped out as you might imagine. Ron, I use www.modelmasterdecals.com out of Scotland, I think, for livery decals -- you might find such things as the mis-colored logo there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Bell Posted March 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 The preferred sale in Europe is "OO", which is 1/76. That's why all the old Airfix vehicle and structure kits were 1/76 and not 1/72, they were marketing to the model RR crowd. However, in the US, the preferred scale was "HO", which is 1/87. So, Airfix marketed the kits to both. "N" scale scale is 1/160, much smaller. John,thanks for the tip on the decals. European railroad liveries are not readily available in the US, as I'm sure you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRatzenberger Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 John,thanks for the tip on the decals. European railroad liveries are not readily available in the US, as I'm sure you know. About as easy to find as paints .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildBill50 Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 Cool looking Locomotive. It reminds me of "Thomas the Tank Engine", when watching it with my son 20 yrs ago. We used to collect the ERTL metal ones. I just had a nice trip down memory lane...Thanks. Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyKing Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 I just acquired one of these. Any tips on building it? Also, is there a US retailer of Phoenix Precision paints (British rail colors)? I'll need some S.R. Malachite Green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Deliduka Posted July 4, 2018 Report Share Posted July 4, 2018 Wow, I never knew these kits existed! I'd love to start collecting these to build to. Sensational job Ron! That is a big beautiful beastie! Magnificent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roktman Posted August 30, 2018 Report Share Posted August 30, 2018 Very nice job, Ron! Love the clean, crisp look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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