The much loved 15F...brought to life in HO scale

[Adrian Hill]

A couple of pictures of my latest creation.

Some specs:
Mehano chassis.
16.5mm.
NMRA height Kadee couplers.
Custom front & Tender bogies.
Resin cast with lasercut plastic parts and lots of wire and brass bits.
Constant current lighting (no flickering or dimming).
Sub miniature plug connecting the tender to the loco so as to allow for the two to me seperated from one another.
Shipped in a Perspex and wood display case.

The model has been under development for a long time. I built one and showed it round for comment. A number of people highlighted various issues and I decided to scrap the first rendition. I stripped version 1 and used bits and pieces from it to create version 2. This, version 2, is a lot better, I think anyway. I am going to make only 15 of the 15F's and then switch over to 23's. We've already made and sold a small number and we plan to ship them at a rate of 4 - 6 per month. Each model is hand made so we are able to improve each time we make one. I plan to make them in "Display" black, blue, green and of course weathered workhorse matt black.

Please feel free to comment critically if you see a problem. The only way that I am able to create the the best possible models is with your input, but please remember that modeling is compromise, the wheels are a bit bigger than they should be etc....And for the rivet counters....there ain't any YET

Scalecraft 15F 1 (Large).JPG (73.58 KiB) Viewed 7454 times

Scalecraft 15F 2 (Large).JPG (78.8 KiB) Viewed 7454 times

Scalecraft 15F 3 (Large).JPG (72.72 KiB) Viewed 7454 times

Scalecraft 15F 8 (Large).JPG (59.94 KiB) Viewed 7454 times

Scalecraft 15F 9 (Large).JPG (63.06 KiB) Viewed 7454 times

[John Ashworth]

Superb! But when are you going to produce it in N gauge?!

[Adrian Hill]

My only constraint is the availability of a suitable chassis. I must spend spend some time on it.

[John Ashworth]

Thanks, Adrian. You'd certainly have one enthusiastic purchaser of any South African locos that you could produce in N gauge, but in fact I suspect there would be many more!

[Derek Walker]

Stunning. There is a definite shortage of SAR stuff in N gauge, but even seeing this in HO is great, maybe O gauge one day? aah, we can but dream.

[Fidel Naidoo]

Wow !!

I'm blown away !
It really looks good. I'm busy with a class 26 in N gauge, because I was lucky enough to find a 4-8-4 Fleischman on BidorBuy.

Just as a matter of interest. What do you charge for a model like the one in the photos ?

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

Excellent!

[Adrian Hill]

What does it cost - the eternal question !

Well, you see, I've come to a realization over the last couple of years. There was a time when we made models that I thought other people might like and then tried to sell them on the open market. This came with lots of issues, politics, nastiness, and having to deal with the various factions within the SAR fraternity. I've grown rather tired of all of it and decided to head in a slightly different direction.

I now only build the highest possible quality model for the highest quality customer. Don't get me wrong, quality customer does not necessarily equate to amount of money spent, rather, it equates to people who can appreciate craftsmanship. We no longer trade in a volume market but rather in a long term value market. I am only going to make 15 x 15F's and then move over to 23's. We've already sold 4 and are in the process of building another 4.

We will continue trading in the kit market (No, we're not selling 15F kits) so as to enable the guy in the street to create his own great models cost effectively.

I think that there are manufacturers who cover the volume market extremely well. Their model are good and fairly readily available.

OK, so to the price. The model sells for R10,000. Yes, I agree, it is a lot of money. I know the market and I know what similar models sell for (R7,500-R11,000). I do not believe that there is a manufacturer that currently produces anything of similar quality.

What's the bottom line - Scalecraft is changing tack - We've traded quantity for passion. We only build the models that we like for the people that we like.

I'm going to take the website down in the next couple of days and replace it with a website that has no online ordering. The new website will showcase our models and welcome those who wish to build long term friendships and relationships....

...and tell those who always bitch and moan to bugger off :-)

[John Ashworth]

Thanks, Adrian, and all power to you in producing high-quality models in limited quantities. There's nothing for anyone to bitch and moan about, and you should take pride in doing what you do so well. I'm afraid that it probably would be a bit out of my price range, but if ever you do produce any N-gauge kits for "the guy in the street to create his own great models cost effectively" I'd still be very interested. And who knows, once I actually see such a high quality offering in N-gauge, I might even be tempted to spend more than I can really afford...

[Fidel Naidoo]

Adrian,

just a matter of interest. Did you build this ??

1024674_110429175733_DSC02647.JPG (42.89 KiB) Viewed 7394 times

[Adrian Hill]

That model, the Red Devil, of course, was either built by Eric Bekker or Eric Tucker. Judging by the overall quality of the model I would lean towards a Eric Bekker build. The price you paid is also indicative of the builder, if you paid more than R7K then it would be a Bekker model.