The Evil Agenoria 1366 - An Update
This was the first 7mm loco kit that I bought and started to build. Not having tried anything like this before I was taken in by the shiny built example on a stand at a show and the proprietor's assurance that this was an easy / simple 0-6-0 design suitable for a beginner. How naive I was!
The build started reasonably well and I followed the instructions implicitly. As I progressed though, it slowly became apparent that the kit had three main problems:
1. Some of the etched parts were the wrong shape and size - something that should have been obvious to the proprietor from the test build.
2. The castings provided were a random selection of badly formed or totally inappropriate parts that bore little similarly to those on the real loco.
3. The instructions, although detailed, ignored the realities of the prototype and were wrong and misleading in places.
So this build has been an introduction the world of remaking and altering parts and sourcing replacement castings. A year into the build, with the kit fighting me at every turn, I gave up on it. I must admit at being quite angry at the time about the money wasted on such a poor kit.
The experience almost prompted me to abandon the 7mm idea and go back to 4mm. Obviously I was not cut out for 7mm. It was a close thing but instead I built a connoisseur LSWR O2 and a few etched wagon kits. These were all superb by comparison. Confidence restored.
Some two years later, after much prodding and ribbing, I picked up the kit again. During the break I've gained tools and more importantly experience. The battle has recommenced!
The last few months has been spent remaking further parts, sourcing further replacement castings and generally rethinking some of the naive ideas I originally had. The body is slowly getting there and starting to look like the prototype. The last body panel went on a few weeks back, the bunker rear, and I'm now into the detailing phase.
Tbc