55018 Ballymoss

Top model

Stunning... if this is a sign of things to come from Accurascale then I can't wait for the 37's to come and blow the competition even further out the water.

When we think of railway history and that of Deltics in particular, one place comes to mind, Finsbury Park TMD.

When Accurascale announced that they were going to be manufacturing the iconic ECML machines, an FP example with the famous 'White Cabs' was an absolute must for me, and 'Ballymoss' fitted the bill perfectly. Sadly, I never got to experience the Deltics in the prime of their careers, but the opportunity to own such a fine locomotive in model form was an opportunity not to be missed. Accurascale really have done wonders with these Deltics.

The packaging, presentation, quality, and of course, the distinctive sound, is second to none. I was really blown away when I started her up. The complexity of both the lighting and sound functions goes above and beyond for OO gauge. Then again, given the fact that I own a number of their excellent wagons, it was hardly surprising that this was the case. Whether or not my neighbours approve of the Napier sounds each morning is open for some debate. :)

An excellent model and highly recommended, you won't be disappointed!

Very good product I can

It's a EE Deltic in model form, 'nuff said really!!
I've had 018 in various Model forms over may, many years and this IS the Top Shed Version and was worth the wait.

Like all my Accurascale Deltics, an amazing model, incredible detail and great fun to operate.

My latest addition to the fleet was three Accurascale Deltic locomotives, this review is for 55018 Ballymoss.

My first impression of the model was the string Finsbury Park white window surrounds which makes it stand out from the everyday BR blue locomotives, along with the crisp printing of the numbers and nameplates. There are additional etched nameplates in the accessory pack that can be fitted if you desire.
There are two full sets of additional pipework for the buffer beams to be added at the expense of the coupling on that particular end. These packs really compliment the nose ends and are reasonably easy to fit.
My model is analogue and all testing was done in this configuration. The locomotive can be driven at a crawl with no stalling or hesitation. Smooth and silent operation throughout the power and speed range was observed with a compliment of 10 Mk2 coaches. The locomotive negotiated pointwork easily at reasonable speeds too.
Conversion to DCC is simple with a removable central section of roof giving access to the blanking plate and 21 pin interface.
The locomotive benefits from working directional lights and tail lights, cab lights and illuminated dials and clocks. These can be switched to operate on analogue but are fully controllable on DCC.

All in all, a great model worthy of any layout. If you're considering purchasing one..... just do it, you won't be disappointed.

This model is an outstanding work of art. The shape, the fitted details, the colours, the working features, the sound, the smooth running and haulage power are all breath taking.

You feel the weight as soon as you lift her out of the box, then you see all the details both inside and out.. we are spoilt for choice with lighting options, almost as if each diode has its own switch. The sound is the sharpest on any of my sound fitted locos, as for grunt, she needs space to run, she will pull a house down and thanks to its flywheels and stay alives, she won’t stop suddenly on dead piece of track (or work surface if the track runs out!).

A model of this quality, needs a respectful owner. She copes with my track very well, but obviously she won’t be suited to loose fitted track on a carpet!
The bogies are scale width for EM/P4 conversion. As I do mainly southern in OO, I did find the guard irons catching on the 3rd rail (you can either trim them back a mm or avoid sections with 3rd rail).
One surprise are the separately fitted hand brake chains between the bogies and loco body. I had one drop off (they are detachable to remove the body) and I found a missing piece 4 days later stuck in a point frog! I reenforced these attachments on the body with diluted wood glue (to ensure the body can still be removed if required).

Of course an excellent loco comes with excellent support. Accurascale are second to none here, they are professional end to end.

My only slight gripe is the box it comes in. It is huge. Granted this helps to ensures the model arrives in excellent condition. The down side is my storage boxes can only hold 6 of them vs 20 of the big players. But that is really a small pathetic issue to complain about!

Overall we finally have a model that makes you feel like you are standing next to the prototype in miniature form. Both stationary and when underway blasting sound.

I received my model of Finsbury Park Deltic "Ballymoss", together with three green Deltics, last week. I was very impressed with the detail and finish of the models. These models really capture the character of the Deltic locomotives, a class I became aquainted with in service on a visit to England in 1980 and in preservation on subsequent visits. I would certainly like more if there is to be further batch produced ("Alycidon" and "The Green Howards" would be rather nice).
I was surprised at the generous size of the model's box, however. The size of the shipping carton when delivered (containing four deltics) momentarily made me think I might have been sent a 12 inch to one foot scale Deltic in error.
In summary I am very pleased with the models and look forward to further Accurascale locos and rolling stock.

First comment on packaging - the box is too big for the model - not quite sure why there is extra around the model - a smaller box could have done. The model itself is truely a masterpiece and as long as you do not touch it then everying would be fine but we are using these models in working environments and the delicate nature of the model can give problems. When I opened the box there was one piece detached and the next day after working with the model I found another piece had detached itself and strangely enough it was exactly the same that I found in the box - I have searched for breaks all over the model but cannot find where these parts go!!. The instructions are second to none. I removed the body to fit a crew and in doing so detached the chains - they were easy to take off but absolutely impossible to re-attach. The chains would have been better attched to the chassis and not the body. Three hours later with the aid of superglue they were re-positioned. The sound file is super but as noted by Holly Rushton I could not use all of the sound profle with Railmaster so will have to find a work around. The shunt/slow speed of the model is some of the best I have seen. Also buffer detailing was made some much easier with the instructions laid out and the gaps to fit the details were perfect which is more then I can say for other manufacturers where worst scenario I have to take a drill to the bufferbeam to make the holes bigger. Having said that, I do not understand why end 1 was not detailed at th factory (as with Heljan) . Well, I suppose you cannot better the model but if the user is expected to take off the body from the chassis then one could improve certain aspects to minimise the breakages or re-fitting