It seems that a lot of people are interested in Union Mills N gauge rtr models, but pictures are hard to come by! (see N gauge society website for a LNWR/LMS G2) As I am shortly to embark upon a detail/re-paint of mine into GCR condition, I thought I'd post a picture of an 'out-of-the-box' model.
I can't praise Union Mills enough. The locos are well proportioned, run perfectly well, and would pull a 1:1 scale wagon. They are a very small company providing a super range of 'obscure' prototypes(which includes loads of LNER prototypes- no pre-group liveries yet though! Anyway- just in case anyone was thinking about the range but hasn't seen one 'in the metal' here we are!
(p.s- the wagon is my most recent 2mm scale p/o wagon, and so at 1:152 scale IT IS actually slightly smaller scale than the J11- The J11 fits nicely over suitably reduced drawings from 'Railway Modeller' magazine. The lettering is supposed to be for an iron company based in Frodingham, and honestly it doesnt look quite so wonky in real life!!)
and to put things into perspective- here's a Farish 4F. An old model admittedly, a common prototype, indeed one which was to the LMS almost exactly what a Union Mills J38 or J11 was to the LNER!
Will
Last edited by wehf100 on Thu Feb 19, 2009 7:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Well, you just call him up! He operates in batches so you need to keep giving hints if you want a particular loco re-entering production.
I find they can be difficult to clean. Also details tend to be generally lacking. They do haul a lot though - my B12/3 can haul all my wagons (50-60) plus a rake of Mk 1 coaches (that impressed a lot of the US modellers here who would have 2-3 diesels on a similar length train)
I think the detail is very good compared to i) Grafar models of up to about 18 months ago (and the majority of their ranges, exclusding diesels, are still very old castings) or ii) the very very tired whitemetal kits from Langley and to a certain extent, GEM which never really seem to properly fit the chassis they are designed for!
In terms of detail, the only slightly annoying thing with this J11 is the curve of the cab sides- the 'Robinson curve' is quite distinctive and this model just misses out by an indefinable millimetre. That said- Grafar has committed much worse crimes in the past! With handrail knobs, vac pipes, and a scrap-brass reversing lever I think it could rival most kitbuilds and a lot of rtr's.
anyway= rant over- I just know I was worried about buying my first one, given that so few details appear out on the www, so thought I'd encourage a quick ' show=and=tell' !
Will: I think I beg to differ on the detail front. To Colin Heard's credit, though, he deliberately chooses simple prototypes. Even so, my B12 lacks loco lining and is a funny shade of green!
Even allowing for this, I think it is very hard to argue that the detailing is better than the Farish A3 (which is in need of replacement).
As for Langley: Well, yes, all of their castings are all over the place as regards quality! The B1 is pretty bad - if they have any sense they'll retire it when the Dapol version is released. However, externally the N2 isn't bad at all! (there's an internal wheel clearance issue)
Yes, Union Mills products are lacking in detail compared to other RTR items produced over the last couple of years or so. However, I think that they are more than a match for earlier Farish offerings and the haulage ability is incredible. My current stud of locos includes 2 J39s, J11, 2 B12s and a Q1 all of which put my other locos to shame.
I also like the fact that Colin offers the tender drive as a separate unit which has been use in several of my 'other' models - I'm tempted to fettle a V2 using the Union Mills drive to overcome the terrible haulage issues I've read about (the K3 is a good running with the weight of a white metal body on top)... Now if only he did a GER and eigh wheeled tender drive....
Try the V2 first - you might be surprised. I found mine loosened up nicely. Some have also had some luck loosening the tender pickups. Mine will now haul a reasonable amount - less than the UM B12, but still enough.
must admit a neighbour of mine who has a V2 says it runs well- it is the deep boiler skirt (which seems especially prominent on apple green engines) that spoils it.
I have added a picture of a Farish 4F to the opening post. I'm not sayng UM models don't have their shortcomings, but as a quick comparision, it is quite interesting! That said- it shows the lightspeed progress modern N gauge has made.
The skirt is a problem - and I agree the apple green one is the worst. My example is a BR Green which isn't quite as bad.
In someways it is a shame that the V2 was the first - we probably won't see a re-issue with an easily DCC-able tender drive and no skirt for a long time! The A3 and A4 need fixing up first. I don't have an A4 but I hear the moulds are showing their age?
I find the V2 is fine at hauling when compared to a Dapol B17, which has the motor in the tender, but is loco drive, and looses most of it's power in the long drive shaFt, it hat had a tender drive in it, it would be great!
Also the V2 is the first Farish to have the Plastic Body, so there's no weight there to add to the grip.
Last edited by silver fox on Fri Feb 20, 2009 10:39 am, edited 2 times in total.
Hi Guys
It seems that there is a lot of interest in UM models and ,yes I agree there are very few photos. So I thought, with your indulgence, to rectify that. Here are a selection of some of my UM locos. I have been buying from Colin from the start when he brought out his first loco, a J39 with the original tender drive which was very,very noisy. I was living in the UK still then so it was prior to 1982 which was when I came out to NZ. I hope you enjoy the photos.
TonyM
B12/3 renumbered
Attachments
B12/3 as bought
J26
D20 renumbered to 1930s style
J39
Real Trains Run on Steam and have LNER on the tender.
As the site would only let me add 5 photos at a time I will try some more.
I think that there are a fairly wide selection of LNER liveries that Colin has produced. I am still waiting for him to re-release the J39 in greeen.
And I do not have a J11 yet.
With UM it is just a matter of patience. Yes the locos do need a bit of enhancement like lamps and vacuum/steam pipes and I have tried to do this on some locos but suffering from MS and failing eyesight I struggle. Don`t know why I model in N Yes I do I don`t have room for OO.
TonyM
Attachments
Q2
NER R class That became LNER D20 I think this is the nicest loco that Colin has released.
J39 Repaint and renumber
J25
D20 as bought in early livery c1920s
Real Trains Run on Steam and have LNER on the tender.
Is the D20 the re-release? I think he re-released it with new tooling - the original was out of scale a little bit. This is why it remained out of production so long.
All the D20s are at least 15 years old. I have lowered the loco body on one which sorts out the footplate alignment. The North Eastern one was released about 15 years ago and only had a short run.
I am in the process of adding lining/boiler banding to my D20s and B12s but it is very difficult getting the Fox transfers onto the boiler bands, I am using up more than I would like.
I may get a new D20 because Colin tells me he has fixed up the early dimension problems and also now fitting a Fleichman bogie. (I can`t spell Fleichman)
TonyM
Real Trains Run on Steam and have LNER on the tender.
