I've just acquired a rather nicely done hand-built version of the 5906 Harz Mallet, via Rails of Sheffield...
I don't know if this link will work, but if it does it should take you to the eBay pics of it as sold:
http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages...,905727319,905727337&formats=0,0,0,0&format=0
Anyway, I spotted it last Thursday, made an offer which was accepted, it was shipped on Friday and - amazingly - it arrived via Parcelfarce on Saturday morning while i was up at the Bressingham show!
That's the good news part of the story - the bad news is that it arrived in a bit of a state, with several bits broken off and damage to the frames of both power units, as a result of the loco being able to move around inside its nice wooden packing case during transit.... the outer packing around the box was excellent, but there simply wasn't enough padding inside to protect it from being hurled around at the PF depot....
Still, silver lining and all that.... Rails have been very good about it, and offered me a very fair partial refund to compensate for the repair work that I will have to do on it - which is most definitely worth doing, as it really is quite an excellent model.
From the eBay listing i couldn't really tell much about it, so it was a bit of a chance purchase, but it's actually much better than I expected it to be (damage notwithstanding) - it's a mixture of very thick plasticard (and plastic pipe for the boiler) and some parts in brass, including the upper half of the cab which appears to be built to very professional standards. Most of the boiler fittings (funnel, domes etc) appear to be either cast or turned metal. The builder couldn't use standard LGB power units because the model needed a much shorter wheelbase, so he's scratchbuilt the gearboxes and each unit uses an LGB Buhler motor standing vertically and driving the rear axle, the front axle being driven purely by the side rods. Pickups are on all eight wheels, but there are no skates.
Comparing the model with photos of the KISS 5906, the scratchbuild is actually a much more accurate model than I expected it to be - there are discrepancies, the most glaring probably being the undersized driving wheels (standard LGB wheels, which are not quite big enough) and the side tanks are perhaps a little short at the front (I don't think the real 5906 has the tanks ending quite so far short of the smokebox front) - but considering it has cost me, in the end, well under 1/12 of what a KISS model would have cost I think I can live with a few "inaccuracies"......
So, I have some repairs and repainting to do when I can get round to it, but once they are done then this 5906 can happily take its place in the Harz loco stable alongside the pair of TL45 Mallets (5901/5902), the LGB 6001 and 2-10-2, and the TL45 6101 Pfiffi!
Now, a question which is a VERY long shot indeed, but you just never know, in a relatively small group like the G-scale community..... does anyone here recognise the model and have any idea at all of who might have built it.......?
Jon.
I don't know if this link will work, but if it does it should take you to the eBay pics of it as sold:
http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages...,905727319,905727337&formats=0,0,0,0&format=0
Anyway, I spotted it last Thursday, made an offer which was accepted, it was shipped on Friday and - amazingly - it arrived via Parcelfarce on Saturday morning while i was up at the Bressingham show!
That's the good news part of the story - the bad news is that it arrived in a bit of a state, with several bits broken off and damage to the frames of both power units, as a result of the loco being able to move around inside its nice wooden packing case during transit.... the outer packing around the box was excellent, but there simply wasn't enough padding inside to protect it from being hurled around at the PF depot....
Still, silver lining and all that.... Rails have been very good about it, and offered me a very fair partial refund to compensate for the repair work that I will have to do on it - which is most definitely worth doing, as it really is quite an excellent model.
From the eBay listing i couldn't really tell much about it, so it was a bit of a chance purchase, but it's actually much better than I expected it to be (damage notwithstanding) - it's a mixture of very thick plasticard (and plastic pipe for the boiler) and some parts in brass, including the upper half of the cab which appears to be built to very professional standards. Most of the boiler fittings (funnel, domes etc) appear to be either cast or turned metal. The builder couldn't use standard LGB power units because the model needed a much shorter wheelbase, so he's scratchbuilt the gearboxes and each unit uses an LGB Buhler motor standing vertically and driving the rear axle, the front axle being driven purely by the side rods. Pickups are on all eight wheels, but there are no skates.
Comparing the model with photos of the KISS 5906, the scratchbuild is actually a much more accurate model than I expected it to be - there are discrepancies, the most glaring probably being the undersized driving wheels (standard LGB wheels, which are not quite big enough) and the side tanks are perhaps a little short at the front (I don't think the real 5906 has the tanks ending quite so far short of the smokebox front) - but considering it has cost me, in the end, well under 1/12 of what a KISS model would have cost I think I can live with a few "inaccuracies"......
So, I have some repairs and repainting to do when I can get round to it, but once they are done then this 5906 can happily take its place in the Harz loco stable alongside the pair of TL45 Mallets (5901/5902), the LGB 6001 and 2-10-2, and the TL45 6101 Pfiffi!
Now, a question which is a VERY long shot indeed, but you just never know, in a relatively small group like the G-scale community..... does anyone here recognise the model and have any idea at all of who might have built it.......?
Jon.
If you are short of an airbrush I could lend you mine at postage cost 
