Dapol LMS Jinty Class 3F 0-6-0T
Described and photographed by John Cockcroft
Jinty as it comes out of the box. You have to fit some vac pipes and some under footplate pipes
that are detachable to get the chassis out.
Transfers and plates fitted and a thin varnish coat has been applied to protect them all
I got this model from Tower Models for about £190 which is a really amazing
price, and makes you wonder what sort of wages the people who made it are
on. This engine is the first of the new generation of mass produced RTR locos
that is for LMS enthusiasts and is a very good choice. These engines were
introduced within two years of the formation of the LMS and lasted well into
the 1960s. I model the earlier LMS period and so ordered one of the unnumbered
examples with the vermillion rectangle with the company letters in
gold on the bunker side. This example has the later version with rounded
corners, not the earlier one with indented corners. This livery was replaced in
1928 with LMS on the tank side and the number on the bunker, but many
examples of the earlier livery lasted into the thirties because, being humble
shunting locos, they were only repainted when things got really shabby.
The model runs superbly and there is no point in rambling on about the
technical specification because it is Chinese, and if the thing blows up I will
simply get a new chassis because nothing appears to be standard on these
RTR efforts. The top of the motor has a load of wiring for attaching DCC and
noises, but you have to pay over another £100 for that bag of delights, so that
is up to you.
Without doubt the model really catches the look and feel of these attractive
Jinty as it comes out of the box. You have to fit some vac pipes and some under footplate pipes
that are detachable to get the chassis out.
Transfers and plates fitted and a thin varnish coat has been applied to protect them all
The coal platform made from balsa, prior to gluing the coal on top.
engines and it is amazingly well detailed. It represents one of the batch built
by the Vulcan Foundry as evidenced by a transfer applied builder’s plate on the
bunker. I asked Guilplates what plates for one of the 16xxx Jinties they had on
their list and they chose No 16453, built by the North British Locomotive
Company in 1926. The plates arrived and consisted of the smokebox number
plate, two NBL builder’s plates and a tank capacity plate for the bunker rear.
Many of these locos did not have a shed plate in the 1920s which is a good
thing, as I have no idea where 16453 was shedded other than on my railway.
I carefully removed the transfer builder’s plates and stuck the new NBL plates
on the bunker. There is already a mounting plate for the front number, and the
tank capacity plate was simply stuck over the top of the transfer version. I used
HMRS Pressfix transfers for LMS 14in gold shaded black numbers.
The full size spacing (from Jenkinson’s LMS Liveries, etc.) for these is as follows:
- Between the centres of any two 1’s = 13 inches
- Between the centres of a 1 and any other number = 15 inches
- Between the centres of all other numbers =19 inches
As the block of numbers is central on the tank in both directions, the 4 has to
be a bit off centre towards the 1.
I then gave the model a light spraying with satin varnish and left it for a few
days, then applied a reasonably heavy weathering finish which really
transformed the shiny little model into a real engine in miniature.
To finish off, I made a platform and legs out of balsa and stuck real coal on
top and dropped it in the bunker. I now have a really convincing shunting and
trip working engine for my layout with minimal expense and very little trouble.
As a final thought, some of you may remember the days when kit bashing and RTR bashing was the order of the day in 4mm scale. I wonder if anyone will convert one of these into the Midland version of the Jinty, or use the Mercian kit to drop a new body on the top – or even use their kit for the round top firebox version of the Midland 3F tank. Of course, if the Chinese chassis conks out you are back to the kit built version. But, they might prove to be very durable and shunting is not too onerous, not like hammering a pacific round a garden layout with ten coaches behind it. Those proposed Heljan A3s and A4s will have to be able to take some stick. Interesting times!
The coal platform made from balsa, prior to gluing the coal on top
