Several times on here I've mentioned that last year I bought one of the special ultra-basic versions of the TL45 V3 diesel from Germany; Modell-Land have this version as a special model made just for them, it comes with all the detail parts of the "full" versions but the body is unpainted, moulded in a dark green plastic (reputedly the same BASF Luran S that LGB use), the cab roof being unpainted grey and everything else moulded in black. In addition, the stripped-down version has no lights (except for one single little marker light in the hood, above the radiator grille) though it comes with all the lamp parts except the bulbholders.
Whether it is worth the price in this really basic form is a point for discussion - ML sell this version for around £150 or so, which is still not cheap but a lot less than the fully painted and lighted version. For your money you get a nice little diesel that appears pretty sturdy, sufficiently different in appearance from anything in the LGB stable, and using a Buhler motor - something that I confirmed by opening the top plate of the gearbox:
As mentioned, the body comes in a dark olive-green unpainted plastic (sorry, forgot to take a "before" photo!), and really needed painting. It took me a while to decide on the colour, and I actually sprayed the hood in yellow before deciding that it just didn't look quite right for me, so I re-primered it and finally sprayed a coat of a rather nice medium blue (actually "Crystal Blue" from the very useful Army Painter range of aerosol cans). The end result is good, I think, and it might get either a white or yellow stripe at waist level - probably trimline tape rather than painted!
The cab roof is still grey, but sprayed in grey primer rather than the rather shiny looking unpainted grey plastic. I'm unsure at the moment as to whether to paint it further (or what colour), but that is something that can be left till last.
More pics soon as the installation and reassembly progresses!
Jon.
Whether it is worth the price in this really basic form is a point for discussion - ML sell this version for around £150 or so, which is still not cheap but a lot less than the fully painted and lighted version. For your money you get a nice little diesel that appears pretty sturdy, sufficiently different in appearance from anything in the LGB stable, and using a Buhler motor - something that I confirmed by opening the top plate of the gearbox:
As mentioned, the body comes in a dark olive-green unpainted plastic (sorry, forgot to take a "before" photo!), and really needed painting. It took me a while to decide on the colour, and I actually sprayed the hood in yellow before deciding that it just didn't look quite right for me, so I re-primered it and finally sprayed a coat of a rather nice medium blue (actually "Crystal Blue" from the very useful Army Painter range of aerosol cans). The end result is good, I think, and it might get either a white or yellow stripe at waist level - probably trimline tape rather than painted!
The cab roof is still grey, but sprayed in grey primer rather than the rather shiny looking unpainted grey plastic. I'm unsure at the moment as to whether to paint it further (or what colour), but that is something that can be left till last.
More pics soon as the installation and reassembly progresses!
Jon.
