No.111 Silk Purse? – Airfix tender drive County
There have been questions about the mechanism of Hornby’s Hawksworth County. I was inspired to revisit an elderly Dapol County - ‘one that I made earlier’. Dapol County with Airfix Tender Drive My original model, County of Stafford - Dapol D4, dates from May 1984. It was purchased from the Oxford Publishing Company for the then not inconsiderable sum of £34.50. I think it was the first ready to run engine with a tender fall plate. I do believe the shape of the cab roof is wrong and that the fire box detail is incorrect. However I think it can still make a presentable model. 1013 County of Dorset Fitting sprung buffers, lamp irons, new smoke box door handles and a set of etched plates makes for an improvement. Sprung buffers, lamp irons and new door handles What about the mechanics? The Dapol County came with a huge lump of lead in its smokebox. However even with all its ballast there was lots of noise and lots of wheel slip and it could n