Found recently on Ebay, I recognized this model instantly as being built by my good friend and superb modeller, Nick Dunhill. I won the auction without competition. Nick built this model in 2003 using the North Star kit as a basis of construction. He doesn’t do anything by halves. Many additional details have been added, not to mention fully working inside Joy valve gear. The same year he entered it into the Gauge O Guilds “Guildex” modelling competition at Telford, where it swept the board, winning the big prize of the Chairmans Cup and the Marylerayne Cup which is for kit built models. The model is featured in the November 2003 issue of the GOG Gazette. Slaters wheels, driven by an ABC gear and motor unit on the third axle. The leading two axles are sprung with hornblocks and guides. Power collection is by wipers on top of all of the driving wheels.
Since purchase I have had to make a modification, however. Disappointingly after arrival I find that someone in this models dim and distant past had “improved” it by adding DCC control and sound. That worked well, but as no space was available in the boiler, that person had just placed the DCC decoder, speaker and stay alive with all associated wiring, in the cab space. Not an improvement for me, so I have removed it and the model works very well DC only now. A shame, I know, but I don’t mind my models having well painted crew in the cab, but not a ball of screwed up wires which almost filled the cab space. Also disappointingly the Ebay vendor managed to somehow take his photos without showing this “feature”. I left positive feedback as the model is just superb. I’m happy.
