Well it arrived today, finally, after a 30 year wait. For as long as I can remember....probably longer....I've always wanted one of these.
Back in my early days of modelling HO, these were impossible to acquire, there were no 4mm versions and the brass 7mm ones were eye stinging expensive, they still are!
I've seen a few on Ebay but they were going for top $$$, most don't actually sell as they've been pitched too high in all honesty, this one was going well right until the last few moments, where upon (whilst loosing the bid) I decided you only live once and went all in....to win by $10 and still inside my upper limit.
Then the tale began, although the seller said he would ship to the UK the price that came back was enough to spit your tongue out! Don't ever complain about Ebays global shipping prices, trust me they are 'significantly' cheaper then shipping yourself. There are cheaper shipping options, but given the cost and 'wantage' (mickooism again for I WANT THAT or to coin a favourite Finding Nemo phrase, MINE) I opted for a single door to door carrier.
Fortunately a second option was available, a friend in the US who by sheer chance lived just down the road from the seller agreed to collect in person and package up and ship to the UK, big
to him, you know who you are
I did half expect a postcard from Malibu with said person sipping drinks on a deck chair next to the model...wishing I was here
It actually worked out cheaper to split the model from the OEM box and ship the expensive bits in a more secure and smaller carton, then ship the massive model box empty by a cheaper carrier, that's still on it's way but the important bit has arrived, and with no further ado, here she is.
The Overland Ajin OMI Union Pacific Veranda turbine #75.
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That's just the power unit, it comes with a fuel tender as well.
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Overall it's in pretty good condition, given it's age; mind I'm not exactly sure how old it actually is. My gut is late 80's early 90's but the build quality and detail is much better than that era.
It looks to be factory painted and I think....factory weathered, it's not the best weathering....it's not the worst and it'll be a very big dosage bravery pill before I consider adding a little more, turbines got filthy very quickly.
On quick inspection there's a little damage, one post is bent on the rear pilot deck and has come away from the handrail, an easy fix, more difficult is the thin beading on the front pilot which has sprung clear from a dry joint, clearly the beading was not preformed, or at some point in it's life has been caught and pulled off. I may be able to get some heat behind and reattach without damaging the paint work, again....big bravery pill called for.
There are a couple of niggles with the factory build model at first glance, the turbine exhaust grill is not correct and the mirror/wind breaks are fitted at a jaunty angle, both sides too, basically the lower hinge is in the wrong place. It'll be hard to rectify both issues without damage to the paint job, so, I have to confess, unlike virtually everything else I've bought....this one will not follow that path.
In their early days they ran solo or double headed with steam, usually Jabelmann Challengers and Big Boys, later they ran MU'd with diesels, typically GP9's, A nd B units but sometimes F3's A & B. As such an extra set of hoses were added to the left rear of the fuel tender, they're not present on this model which limits the date to pre 1959, maybe 58, I need to check the books to find out the dates and if all were modified as I've a niggle some might not have been and I've no proof yet that #75 was.
The Verandas arrived in 1954 which is the last year most late era UP steam classes were still in operation, especially the SA-C 2-8-8-0 'Bull Moose's' which I kind of like...a bit
The priority now is to get some sort of layout for these monsters, something like Laramie but not Laramie would be ideal. Given Union Pacifics common standard policy it is going to be hard not to duplicate something that looks broadly similar, they even laid out all of their big depots in a reasonably common format.
It will mean a reshuffle of the workshop and the loss of a large work area, nor do I really have room for a full 135' turntable but I must try and get something to play trains with