I was really excited for this model. Having seen the real Caledonia Works engine at Beamish Museum, I had placed an order with Hattons and was relieved to hear that Accurascale was continuing production. I had also heard excellent things about Accurascale's quality, detailing and performance, and was looking forward to seeing what an Accurascale locomotive could do.
The initial first impression was a good one, as although the box was comically huge for such a small loco, the amount of foam and tightness of the plastic clam shell meant that the model seemed to have been well protected during transit. The model itself was also beautifully presented, with loads of tiny fine details, a beautifully rendered livery and a lot of weight for such a small loco.
However, putting it on the track and trying to run it in completely ruined this initial first impression. The model didn’t work on arrival. The tabs holding the motor in have insufficient retention, so within the first few seconds of running, the worm drive stopped meshing with the gears completely. I contacted Accurascale about this, only to be directed to a page on the website informing me how to fix the model myself. The fiddly process of dismantling the model to fix this was a nightmare, as you actually have to disengage several detailed parts and prevent them from bending and snapping in order to reach the mechanism. I have problems with hand eye coordination too, so this added to the frustration of having to repair a brand new model myself when this issue should have been noticed during production and testing.
Eventually, I re-engaged the worm drive with the gears and resumed running in. Unfortunately, the model continued to dissapoint as it turned out there was a fault with the coupling rods contacting the running board. In the end, I completely gave up and sent this model back for a replacement that I am now waiting for.
This has been a really dissapointing model, as it failed to perform the basic requirement of, well, performing. I won't deny that it looks wonderful, but unfortunately the actual internals of the model are nowhere near the same level of quality, and good looks are no substitute for poor design. A really underwhelming model, and an extremely dissapointing first impression from Accurascale.
