Hattons Model Railways

<GaugeOGuild|tradeinfo|Hattons>

Purchased and reviewed by James Aitken

I have a particular interest in mixing my railway hobby with the military. I find the equipment that was used fascinating, and am amassing a collection of kit built planes, tanks and other military hardware for my layout which will feature an airfield and an amphibious landing. Of course I’ll need to transport my tanks on the railway. I was more than pleased that Hattons have decided to get in on the act with their first O gauge wagon, the Warwell.

The prototype was built in the middle of World War 2 when it was realised that the incoming Sherman tanks were too tall to be placed on the usual flat wagon, such as the Rectank or the Warflat. The Warwells were built for the War Department, but loaned to the operating companies.

The model is a marvel. It’s heavy, weighing in at nearly 500 grams. The body has a base of finely cast metal incorporating plenty of underframe riveting, as well as vacuum cylinders and runs of pipework, little of which you see with the wagon on the track. The top sheet of the body is plastic which clips into the base and has lots of fine detail. The centre of the model’s floor has been modelled with wooden planking, this was done later in the life of wagons when they were used for general goods. It would be good if Hattons could produce a version as it was when first built, without the wooden floor, and with the large gaps in the centre. The base has been cast that way, so perhaps there is a plan to do a variant with a different floor moulding. It would have been nice if the chain fixing points on the floor were not moulded flat but had a small ring in them so chains could be attached.

The bogies are simply modelled, and look good. Brakes shoes are moulded on the inside of the bogie side frames, so do not quite line up with the tyre centres but are effective viewed from the side. The wheels are blackened and are the correct diameter. The buffers have the correct flat top and do not rotate. Buffer springs are a little light, but the coupling spring is just right. Working screw couplings are provided, with left and right hand threads as per prototype. You can actually screw them together as it would have been done on the real thing. My only criticism here is that there is no end stop on the screws so the coupling can come apart completely. End chains are provided on each buffer beam and are very fine. The end jack assembly looks good.

The lettering is top notch. There is even some tiny lettering on the top edge of the bogie. I bought the model lettered as ‘Loaned to the LNE’ which was painted in an olive green colour. They were all sorts of colours in their life, but I read that initially they were painted grey. They were army green later, but whether you’d get the ‘Loaned to LNE’ lettering and army green at the same time I don’t know. There are other versions available, some fitted with alternative bogies and in a selection of liveries.

I’ve run the wagon on my layout, which is still in embryonic form. There is currently a 31 foot run through points and double slips and the model performed flawlessly. I have recently assembled Warwells from two different kit manufacturers. Comparing the models, the Hattons one incorporates the same level of detail as the others, but with more detail under the floor, and is identical in size. Cost wise, the Hattons model is the same price as one of the above kits, and less than the other, but neither kit comes with wheels, paint or transfers. Factor the cost of these items in, and the Hattons model becomes a bit of a bargain.

This is a wonderful model of an interesting prototype and Hattons are to be commended on producing this. Thoroughly recommended.

The photo shows the Hattons model with a Tamiya 1/48 scale Sherman. The tank is a little under scale, but then modeller’s licence and rule 1 applies!