31 August 2022
|
With a new arrival from the Chirk manufacturer, initial impressions are very favourable, as Andy York shares in his first-look video.
Dapol has produced a newly-tooled model of the GWR Class 78XX 'Manor' 4-6-0 steam locomotive available in seven different guises, covering a selection of GWR green, BR green and BR black liveries.
Our review model, 7800 Torquay Manor (first of the class), wears the Great Western’s simplest livery with the ‘shirtbutton’ roundel on the tender, placing the model in as-manufactured form, which it carried until 1942, with a Wolverhampton Stafford Road shedcode on the front corner of the footplate.
Watch the video here:
The immediate impression, out of the box, is one of excellent quality, with a great rendition of plain GW green and crisp markings.
What we like:
- Superb detailing inside the cab, which is readily seen with small tender types such as the welded-side 3,500-gallon type on this locomotive.
- Great detail to the tender footplate end and we love the cranked tender top lamp iron.
- The detailing pack includes raised plastic number plate parts for the modeller to fit, which improves the appearance substantially.
- The £160.00 mark for the analogue version is excellent value.
- The sprung front bogie handled complex track well.
- The substantial cylinder casings haven't had material removed behind them to negotiate second radius trackwork., and look better for it.
Things we noticed:
- We like the dulled copper finish to the chimney top (which is of the original style with a capuchin lip), but am less keen on the high gloss of the brass safety valve surround – the two seem a little incongruous.
- This model is unlined, and we noted that the orange colour of the lining on BR green examples is a much better tone than on its recent large 'Prairie' – evidence of product refinement.
Read Andy York's review on this new model in the October 2022 issue of BRM, on-sale as a digital edition sooner from September 2 from www.pocketmags.com/BRM
