Rana Temporia Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 I was at the train and toy event at the Macron stadium, Bolton yesterday and saw a model I have never seen before. It was an assembled 00 plastic kit for a GWR 14xx and hadn’t been bodged from something else. It was with an assembled Italian tank and several other Kitmaster models, all of which I recognised. I didn’t buy it as I had no use for it but does anyone know who made it? I know there were some 00 plastic kit models given away with breakfast cereal but have never seen this one before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDR Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Interesting! I am not aware of a plastic kit for a 14xx, Ks made a whitemetal kit but you would notice immediately you picked it up. It is I suppose possible that somebody has bodged something up from parts taken from the Kitmaster / Airfix/ Dapol 61xx and City of Truro kits? They would however need to make up quite a lot of parts from raw materials. I have seen a rebuilt Battle of Britain created from Kitmaster components there are pictures in "Lets Stick Together" . Another possibility is a plastic moulding from one of the part-work series which consisted of copies of ready to run locomotives as plinthed ornaments. I haven't subscribed to any of these but maybe someone else on here may have done so. Did you take a picture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rana Temporia Posted September 24, 2018 Author Share Posted September 24, 2018 It definitely wasn’t a bodge-up and was all plastic. i didn’t take a picture and considered buying it for the simple reason I handn’t seen or heard of one before. All the other assembled kits were kitmaster and there is nothing in the book you mentioned on a 14xx As I had a good look through it when I got home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDR Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 One further thought has someone had an Airfix RTR 14xx body and made a plastic chassis to go underneath, using Airfix or Kitmaster wheels etc. ? Were there obvious glued joints between cab, tanks, boiler, smokebox etc. or could the body have come from a ready to run locomotive, which after all will have had seperate components during manufacture? Under a fresh coat of paint it might be hard to tell the difference. I presume it was painted? I am resonably certain there hasn't been a commercially sold plastic kit for a 14xx but if there has it will be a very very rare item, and maybe you should have bought it as a curiosity item, I know I might have! . There were a few 'might have been' Kitmaster models, the best known were the USA Tank and the LNER A3 neither of which ever went into production. Airfix never originally made steam locos until they purchased the Kitmaster tooling. It would be great if somebody re-introduced the old Kitmaster plastic kits and extended the range again. I had many hours of pleasure building them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rana Temporia Posted September 24, 2018 Author Share Posted September 24, 2018 It was definitely glued together from separate components kitmaster/Airfix style with a glued together plastic chassis obviously designed for the loco. The plastic wheels rotated and it was all complete. I regret not buying it now but then again I usually regret not getting something the day after an event like that. I did manage to get a collection of Jouef pantographs and some bits and bobs for spares so not too disappointed. I don’t think the stall holder will be there again as I think they were just clearing out model railway and car equipment and were asking for offers on anything. Live and learn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new lad on block Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Hi, Is it possible that it may have been a 'reworked' model from the Great British Locomotives collection. They had plastic chassis and running gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDR Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Yes but the GBL models had moulded chassis and the wheels didn't turn. I hope somebody can identify it, because this one has got my curiosity up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffnut Thorston Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Most of the GBL locos had a metal wheels/ chassis assembly.....and they certainly did not make a 14XX (only a version of the Hornby 8750 57XX, with a model seemingly based on the later Hornby Shunter's Truck.... Morst certainly a mystery.....nothing seems to be likely.... As said, the only plastic 14XX I know of is the Airfix/GMR/Mainline/Dapol/Hornby model! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rana Temporia Posted September 26, 2018 Author Share Posted September 26, 2018 This is why it’s so much of a mystery and it’s getting to me now that I didn’t buy it at the time. ☹️ All the other models in the box were 1960’s Kitmaster and the pug and Italian Tank had been motorised at some point with ‘Perfecta’ chassis parts but both had the motors missing and the original plastic motion parts. It was the 14xx that caught my eye as I had never seen or heard of one before and it 100% wasn’t an Airfix/Dapol/Hornby body fitted with a plastic chassis. The body had ben assembled from different parts and the chassis was made to fit with the correct rear bogie formed from plastic mouldings glued together. There wasn’t any metal in it whatsoever, the connecting rods were also plastic. I know that a plastic self assembly model was made for Lord of the Isles and ‘The General’ that were given away with some product (Kitmaster book again) so maybe someone made this as a ‘giveaway’. I know in the 70s the Hotspur gave away some plastic airplane kits occasionally with the comic so maybe it was somethings along those lines? As an added bonus of useless info, one of the plastic kits that came with hotspur had ‘made in Gnok Gnoh‘ on it as the manufacturer had put the letters the right way round on the mold but neglected to put Hong Kong the correct way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffnut Thorston Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 @ Rana TemporiaI know that a plastic self assembly model was made for Lord of the Isles and ‘The General’ that were given away with some product (Kitmaster book again) so maybe someone made this as a ‘giveaway’. I know in the 70s the Hotspur gave away some plastic airplane kits occasionally with the comic so maybe it was somethings along those lines? The Lord of the Isles, and the American type loco were from a French company I seem to remember (I have also read "Let's Stick Together a Little Bit More" (The 'sequel' to "Let's Stick Together"!). They were moulded in bright colours, and didn't have tenders, at east LoTI didn't, so people use a tender from the Kitmaster/ Airfix/ Dapol "City of Truro" kit... Still a mystery the 14XX.....I wonder if anyone made a model to tie in with the film, "The Titfield Thunderbolt", which had a 14XX take to the road! A bit of a wild shot that! 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Spare Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 As this model is drawing a blank with everyone who has responded, there must be very, very few of them around - possibly just this one example. Could it therefore have been a factory proving/sample model made by a design team for a production item that never came about, or are such models already documented?GS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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