Kitmaster Collectors Club

Signal Newsletter

Signal journal of the Kitmaster Collectors Club

Every year the Kitmaster Collector's Club produces a journal containing historical information, diary dates, the sales list and articles from readers about their kits and collections.

Here is a sample of what you have been missing:-

 

For Kitmaster Collectors Everywhere

Kitmaster Collectors Club - "Actively Promoting Collecting" 

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 Swapmeet Express - News Round up – New artwork –HobbyLine kits - Sales List

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The Models in Detail - Part Twenty-Four

No. 37 Canadian National U-4-a Class 4-8-4

 

 

Artwork: Lawrence Blake / Ken Rush  Photo: KmCC collection

The Canadian National Railway took delivery of its first 4-8-4 locomotive (road number 6100) in 1927 and used the name "Confederation" (to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation) for this wheel arrangement from the very beginning. In all, 40 "Confederations" were delivered to CNR in 1927,

20, Class U-2-a, from the Canadian Locomotive Works and 20, Class U-2-b, from the Montreal Locomotive Works. In 1929, another 20 "Confederations", Class U-2-c, came from the Montreal Locomotive Works and in 1936, another five, Class U-2-d, also from Montreal were added, making a total of 65.  Also in 1936, just five very special streamlined locomotives, the Class U-4-a (road number 6400 through 6404) were built by the Montreal Locomotive Works. These high speed locomotives had 6’ 5" drivers, 24 x 30” cylinders, a 275 psi boiler pressure, a tractive effort of 52,500 lbs and weighed 155 tons. Between 1940 and 1944 a total of 90 more 4-8-4s, in four batches, were added to the roster giving CNR a total of 160 "Confederations".  There are six surviving "Confederations"; number 6153 at the Canadian Railway Museum in Delson, Quebec, number 6167 near the CN station in Guelph, Ontario, numbers 6200 and 6400 at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa, number 6213 at Maritime Museum Exhibition Park in Toronto and number 6218 at the Fort Erie Railroad Museum.

With just five units built, it is hard to see why Kitmaster would have chosen this locomotive except for it’s outstanding streamlined design. The sleek lines are so redolent of 1930’s culture both in North America in the UK that these are perhaps the epitome of

large express locomotive styling. Shown in the catalogue and on all the boxes issued from 1961, the locomotive was much looked-forward to, especially as it would have been in HO scale. Rosebud came late to the conclusion that non-British prototypes should be in 3.5mm rather than 4.0mm, but they did concede this with their final locomotive release – the NYC Hudson . Their earlier mistaken idea had been that “collectors” would want to build a complete collection of models all to a constant scale of 4mm to the foot. Of course, the “Collectors” were far out-numbered by the modelers who wanted their Continental prototypes modeled in the universally-accepted HO scale. Whilst the first Kitmaster US loco was indeed HO (The General) this waa only because Rosebud had shamelessly ripped off an existing kit by US-based Advanced Molding Corporation in their 1957 Trailblazers series. After that, they returned to a “constant scale” of 1/76th. Ironically, it was Airfix Products Ltd who pioneered “Constant Scale” with their 1/72nd scale aircraft line. In trying to adopt the techniques of their main competitor, Rosebud sowed the seeds of their own destruction – the OO continental kits failed to sell, clogged the warehouse and never recovered their tooling costs, ultimately contributing to the financial meltdown that demanded a sell off to – none other than Messrs. Airfix!  

 

Our Latest Projects

 That Kitmaster Q1 in detail!

 

When member Lawrence Blake sent us this superb illustration for a proposed Kitmaster Class Q1, it coincided with the issue of the brand new Hornby model. We rather liked the Kitmaster-style illustration and much preferred it to the rather anodyne photographs used on modern Hornby boxes. Lawrence says he deliberated accentuated the perspective and threw in a couple of customary flaws in order to emulate a typical Kitmaster box illustration of the period. Apparently, it’s the extraordinary highlights that distinguish early Ken Rush work from later Roy Cross-style boxes. Not content with one Q1, Lawrence then went on to sketch out what Airfix might have made of it had they inherited such a mystical tool. The mouth watering prospect of a retooled Airfix Q1 with Roy Cross artwork had my heart racing for a few seconds before I came back to Earth with a bump…. Gaze and dream on, people….

 

 

 Second Limited Edition Wagon

“Raunds” 5-plank coal

 

Following on from our first Limited Edition, the Raund Co-operative Society 7-plank using the Dapol wagon, we commissioned a second wagon, as predicted in Signal 23. This time we chose the other wagon which was clearly visible in the photograph in the book “Raunds – Picturing the Past”. The basis for the second issue was the ex-Wrenn Railways five plank wagon. Although it is supposed to be smaller than the 7-plank, in fact this ex-Hornby Dublo tool is rather on the large side and when side by side with the original seven plank, they look rather good.

 

The Raunds Co-Operative Society Ltd had a small fleet of coal wagons based at Raunds station, the town where Rosebud Kitmaster models were first made. Livery was  once again black-shaded white lettering on a blue background with black strapping, only here the word RAUNDS is capitalised across the whole upper side. As with the previous issue, it proved very popular and the issue of just 100 units sold out very quickly.

 

Above – The Actual Artwork from which the wagon was prepared

 

It is likely that we will therefore commission a third wagon from Dapol in due course. The choice this time is to renumber either the seven or five plank Raunds wagons, look for a new coal merchant in the same area (for example Higham Ferrers or Thrapston) or do something completely different such as a closed van in the livery of Ashworth Sugar, another prominent local company. One factor influencing our decision is that since moving to Chirk, Dapol have raised their prices for special-run wagons. In addition, complex liveries such as the multi-coloured Ashworth are considerably more expensive to apply.