Richard Slipper
On Paul Willis saidA group of us modellers in the Great Eastern Railway Society have been discussing these.
The general consensus is that Rapido is launching a massive leap back to the 1970s, when you could have the Flying Scotsman it LNER green, GWR green and LMS red…
There are a large range of prototypical kits available covering a wide number of pre-Grouping companies. For the GER, that is through D&S primarily.
Why would we want to have something that is less accurate?
Best,
Paul
To suggest this is a return to the Seventies is perhaps a little exaggerated. And I wonder if you mean 50s and 60s. I don’t recall GWR Green or LMS Red ‘Flying Scotsmans’ in the 1970s. There were certain locomotives which appeared in various guises and I recall the Wrenn BR 4MT 2-6-4T being one, no doubt there were others. But Tri-ang particularly who I think made 4472 were trying to do things better. I’m sure somebody will have all the facts.
The carriages from Rapido – like the Genesis 4 and 6 wheelers – will it seems have differences to address some of the differences – roof vents, roof styles, underframe equipment etc. I imagine for all but the most educated in rolling stock of all companies they will all look the part.
While some elitist modellers may look down on these coaches and will not want something that ‘is less accurate’ there will, I am sure, be many who for various reasons – time, ability, age, disablement perhaps or are just happy to compromise, will welcome the additional variety and opportunities afforded while accepting those compromises in full knowledge that what they have is not exactly right.
Even at the elite levels of the hobby there are compromises – plastic imitating metal and wood, couplings, non-working vacuum brakes (perhaps they should) locomotives with electric motors in their boilers and computer chips to enable operation not to mention fake loads in wagons (Does anybody have liquids in their tanks wagons? If not why not?) and no miniature people getting on and off carriages. Authentic smoke and steam emissions remain elusive. Resin water, nylon grass, copper tree trunks, cardboard/styrene houses. The list of compromises is legion.
It’s all a case of degree, some will settle for less while others demand more. 🙂