Rapido ‘Woolwich’ -ish

[Galteemore]

Rapido just announced an SR U class. Close enough to a K1a mogul as makes no difference for someone prepared to do a repaint and add a few decals….

Edited Friday at 11:13 by Galteemore

[GSR 800]

Beat me to it!

[Mol_PMB]

It’s remarkable how many new products they have announced recently, especially with rather niche locos. 

[DiveController]

I have the Bachmann originals, wonder how much better these would be if at all?

[Galteemore]

16 minutes ago, DiveController said:

I have the Bachmann originals, wonder how much better these would be if at all?

Bachmann model is of an N class - that’s the one with 5’6 drivers. This one is 6’, as per the K1a class. Very similar locos, different sized wheels 

[Mol_PMB]

I imagine this one will take advantage of advances in model technology and detail  since the Bachmann model was produced, and will have finer detail and more variants, plus more gadgets like sound and firebox glow.
Bit it’s likely that many of those finer details will be incorrect for the Irish variant, and gadgets don’t appeal to everyone. 
Neither will be easy to convert to 21mm gauge. 
So, pros and cons. You might find some cheap Bachmann ones on the secondhand market as a consequence? 

[DJ Dangerous]

Wondering if one could do a Frankenstein between the Bachmann N and Rapido K?

The Bachmann N is on the RMW Mazak Rot / Zinc Pest list…

[Horsetan]

3 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Rapido just announced an SR U class. Close enough to a K1a mogul as makes no difference for someone prepared to do a repaint and add a few decals….

Well, not quite. The preproduction photos suggests that there's still a problem with the depth of the footplate drop, especially in front - Rapido seem to have used the shallow "N" one, thus repeating the mistake that DJH made on their new-build "U" kit. It would look wrong on a Woolwich K1a as well.

The "U" and K1a had a very deep and noticeable drop from footplate down to bufferbeam - it has rarely if ever been modelled correctly, mainly because modellers assumed it was the same as the original N/K1.

The K1a used the same chassis wheelbase as the K1, 7'3" x 8'3", unlike the "U" which is 6 inches shorter between driving and trailing axles.

The other thing is that Rapido don't really cater for the finescale gauges. Clearances have tended to be insufficient and Rapido engineering has been quite unlike everyone else's - it's almost as if they'd deliberately designed them not to be tampered with.

People have already had considerable problems trying to convert from OO to P4, and there would be even bigger problems going to 21mm, especially with the extra 2mm between the visible frames to be grafted in.

I have a Rapido USATC S160 on order for end of next year, and I'm expecting it to be a nightmare P4 conversion.

[Galteemore]

Well quite. Hence my suffix of ‘-ish! ‘.

Edited Friday at 15:12 by Galteemore

[Horsetan]

2 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

Well quite. Hence my suffix of ‘-ish! ‘.

As things stand, I wouldn't try it. Not on a Rapido.

[Galteemore]

6 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

As things stand, I wouldn't try it. Not on a Rapido.

As a 7mm modeller I don’t have a dog in the fight. I just know that many modellers, who are quite legitimately satisfied with an impressionist rather than pointillist approach, will be happy to see a steam loco which can quite easily be adapted to a reasonable likeness of an Irish engine. If you want Irish RTR steam, the options aren’t many !

[BosKonay]

Bear in mind those aren’t photos they are colour CAD renders . 

[GSR 800]

2 minutes ago, BosKonay said:

Bear in mind those aren’t photos they are colour CAD renders . 

Has Accurascale a bit of a collab going on perhaps?

[DiveController]

6 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Wondering if one could do a Frankenstein between the Bachmann N and Rapido K?

The Bachmann N is on the RMW Mazak Rot / Zinc Pest list…

Mine seem to be good and they’re getting close to 2 decades I think. Repainting a newer one would have to be professionally done just to get the 6’ driving wheels and the are a few other minor differences which would persists in this if it’s true to British N class. Nonetheless possibly still an option for those who don’t have the Bachmann ones. Maybe someone will commission a few of these again in CIE/MGW or better again some niche 12 wheelers so I can make a boat train  

1 hour ago, BosKonay said:

Bear in mind those aren’t photos they are colour CAD renders . 

Miss those CADs like we had on the ballasts

[DiveController]

1 hour ago, GSR 800 said:

Has Accurascale a bit of a collab going on perhaps?

Bit of tooling variation and … maybe a bit late for that. 

[DJ Dangerous]

14 hours ago, GSR 800 said:

Has Accurascale a bit of a collab going on perhaps?

Accupido?

Accurapido?

Rapidoscale?

RapIRMascale?

IRMascido?

 

12 hours ago, DiveController said:

Mine seem to be good and they’re getting close to 2 decades I think.

Miss those CADs like we had on the ballasts

Yeah, I have one or two and they’re grand, too. Just be handy knowledge for “one day” either way.

Nearly sure that somebody here, possibly @Georgeconna, said that converting them to DCC was so unpleasant that he wouldn’t do another. Apologies if that wasn’t you, George!

The old CAD trolling was great for drumming up interest and building excitement and anticipation. Also gave a chance for feedback before it was too late, on things like the British buffer spacing on the IRM Bulleid range.

 

12 hours ago, DiveController said:

Bit of tooling variation and … maybe a bit late for that. 

Might be a surprise in tooling for us, who knows? If @BosKonay doesn’t unequivocally deny that, it’s certainly a possibility, as nobody likes trolling us more than him.

[Horsetan]

On 12/9/2025 at 9:03 PM, DiveController said:

Mine seem to be good and they’re getting close to 2 decades I think. Repainting a newer one would have to be professionally done just to get the 6’ driving wheels and the are a few other minor differences ....

You'd have to find some way of widening the footplate between the frames and letting in some splashers, but the good news is that the boiler and cab assembly doesn't really need to be touched other than maybe to add a tablet catcher on the cabside, and maybe to add (if modelling later CIE condition):

- extra pipe runs

- rivets to the smokebox

- a new door and handles, plus eight door "dogs" with opening handles to replace the original six. 

 

On 13/9/2025 at 9:53 AM, DJ Dangerous said:

Accupido?

....

IRMascido?

 

Sounds more like A Dios le Pido. Spanish practices?