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.