44 class Loco's

Auscision 4402 all weathered up

I got my hands on an Auscision 44 class Loco. I am not going to review it as such. It is done pretty well. The underframe detail really looks the part. the paint finish is good. If I was going to be critical, I would say the quality of the tool making is not up to the usual Auscision Standards. Some of the fine detail is missing from the MU couplings. Some of the bolts on the rear highlight casing are misaligned. The nose door is not very well defined. The steps on the side of the fuel tank are not quite right. The nose windscreens and the roof profile above the windscreens is not quite right. It is really a small list of Criticism when compared to the Trainorama Model. I am happy with the model, it is a good buy. It runs well and the DCC sound is reasonable.  

 

Trainorama 4470 with added detail.

With the new chassis and added detail

Before the new chassis

Once I had my Auscision 44 class loco to play with I quickly compared it to my Trainorama models. They were first produced nearly 20 years ago. I looked at what it might take to make the Traino Model compare a little more to the Auscision Model. I decided to tackle some of the obvious differences. The ride height of the loco was lowered buy 0.6mm. I took that off the chassis bogie pivot points. I widened and raised the fuel tank and added chassis rails and framework behind the Pilots. I added some pipe work around the fuel tank as well. There was a lot more that could be done. Maybe one day, I will add the lift rings on the roof? 

This has all been done to one of the newer run 44 class Chassis from Trainorama. These are fitted with 21 pin PCB Boards and much more friendly to adding DCC and Sound. I will drill out the marker lights one day when I source some Optical Fiber to use. Since getting into DCC I have lifted my standard of modeling. I will not have masses of Loco's going into the future. Sound fitted Loco's are mostly over $400 to purchase today. I am going to put a lot more effort into making what I have, run well and look and sound good. 

Cheers Justin Moy