A Review of IP Engineering's new laser cut Vale of Rheidol Matchboard Coach Kits
By Mark Thatcher
Anything which makes life easier is a good thing. Washing machines, fridges and power tools are all designed to take the fuss out of a boring job. What has this got to do with railway carriage kits I hear you ask? Well, what if I told you that IP Engineering’s new VoR kits provide you with all the detail you would get from a hand-planked model, with little or no effort and for nearly half the price of other kits. Now you might say “I like building fiddly stuff” and indeed many people do, but these kits really have my full attention because I think the end result belies the little work one has to do to achieve a professional result. These kits are a bit like one of these ads on the shopping TV channels claiming to be better, quicker and easier, for a fraction of the price – except these kits really do achieve this!
"Laser cutting is very, very accurate"
There are six kits in IP’s current portfolio, three metal sided carriages (although made in wood) and the three matchboard vehicles which I decided to build. Whilst I like all the kits in the range, it is always a challenge to replicate metal from wood. I have tried this is the past, with hours of fine filling to lose the wood grain and bring the sides to a silky smooth finish. Now I am not suggesting I would have to spend this amount of time with these kits – but I really was taken by the laser-cut side and end panels, giving a realistic impression of individual wooden match-boarded slats. Of course this technology was not available or affordable 20 years ago and it is great to see it being put to good use. What is even better is where the laser accurately cuts the wood, it leaves a small and very consistent scorch mark and it is this that helps to give the carriage side its depth. Laser cutting is very, very accurate, allowing for droplights, awkward shapes and holes to be cut with ease. Imagine making 14 separate window frames for each carriage – it would take ages by hand and I doubt many people would get near the accuracy of the laser-cut equivalent.
The Guards Brake Van
So first out of the box (well heat sealed bag actually) was the guards brake van. Now this may be hard to believe but in this kit you get the complete body, floor, roof, guard’s duckets and glazing all for under 35 notes. But read on – you’ll also get centre buffers, white metal cast handrails and door handles… but there’s more, you get all the running gear too and they also throw in the wheelsets, in either 32 or 45mm. Slipping out of Sellytellyspeak for a moment this kit is serious V4M.
Stock Photograph
Being laminated plywood it is straight and flat too. The wood used is strong and dense. It is quite hard to file, but as the parts are laser cut you won’t have too. This is the first wooden kit I have ever built that has required no filing, fettling and cleaning up whatsoever! This means, as soon as you open the bag you can start to build, with the smallest tidying up of the white metal components. The instructions are good too, with plenty of good quality photos to help the less-experienced builder, making this a serious kit for amateurs and pros alike.
Prior to building however I did stain and varnish the wooden sides and ends. I used Colron medium oak, applying a very light coat with a paper towel. I used one coat for the inside and two for the exterior, which I think provides a nice contrast and keeps the interior light and airy. This was then toped off with three coats of quick-drying Halfords clear varnish.
"I also added a set of safety chains"
The build itself is simple enough not to need explanation. The only modification I made was to drill and screw the axle boxes onto the underframes as I know from past experience, sooner or later, then will eventually become detached – usually at the most inaccessible point on the line. But other than this modification, nothing else was required. I did change the supplied centre buffers for sprung buffers from Brandbright as the ones in the kit are smaller and I have found sometimes they snag with each other whilst reversing back up a tight radius curve. I also added a set of safety chains, as per the prototype and vacuum hoses also from Brandbright. One final addition was a GWR crest, the transfers are available from Garden Railway Specialists. As I built the three kits in parallel to save time, it’s difficult to say how long the build took, but put it this way – I picked up the three kits from Glendale Junction at midday on Saturday and it is Monday morning as I type this, with only the three carriage roofs to paint.
The final thing to fit was the roof, which is the only tricky bit, which for me, got progressively harder to achieve when building the longer carriages. The instructions say to roll the flat piece of plastic roofing with a rolling pin to achieve the desired curve to match the profile of the carriage end. Well I rolled and rolled and rolled some more, but could only manage the slightest of curves. I would need a steamroller not a rolling pin! So I then dunked the roof section in boiling water for a few minutes, then rolled some more and just about got the right profile, but I thought at this point how challenging the longer roofs on the carriages would be – and I was right.
The Summer Coach
So with the guard’s brake on the line, it was the summer coach next. Exactly the same staining and building process took place, the only difference is this kit has two bogies to build, plus the wheel sets, all of course included in the price. The white metal castings for the bogies needed a little cleaning up, but nothing serious, and were sprayed black before assembly. I noticed even when screwed together they had a slight tendency to flex, once the wheelsets were in place, so once I had test rolled them along a bit of track, I Loctited the securing nuts in place. The Instructions say to locate the supplied bogie spacers at 40mm from each end of the carriage – this is 40mm inwards from each buffer beam, not at 40mm centres. The height of one of the spacers is enough to just about bring the height of the coach to match the guard’s brake, but I dispensed with these and used a slightly thicker wood off-cut I had lying around. This allows enough swinging movement in the bogies to negotiate LGB radius 3 curves without them fouling on the carriage sides. The enclosed carriage followed the same principles as the summer coach, the only main difference being that glazing for the windows was included. All I did to augment these three kits was to add the aformenetioned bits & bobs from Branbright, but in reality that is just icing on the cake and if you bought these and took them home, they really do include a complete set of parts to build the stock as shown – with no hidden extras unlike so many other kits currently on the market.
"a splendid rake of carriages for under £200.00"
So all in all, considering the three kits took only a day and a half from out of the bag and onto the line, all I can say is wow – they are just excellent and if you are one of the fortunate few to have a Roundhouse Vale of Rheidol, whilst there are more detailed offerings out there I can think of nothing that will provide you with a splendid rake of carriages for under £200.00 for the rake of three, which looks simply resplendent behind this loco. Finally a loco and carriage rake in G scale that is truly prototypical. IP Engineering – bring it on – you rock!