IRM Latest! The Hunslets Enter The Final Frontier - Delivery Update December 2025

[Warbonnet]

If you’re keeping an eye on our upcoming releases, then our NIR Hunslet locomotives are certainly in the minds of fans of all things 5ft 3'. Due to land around now, there has been a very slight delay, but the good news is that they're about to depart the factory in China.

We have Production Samples in hand but with our Christmas rush we've yet to take proper photographs of them, so look forward to seeing the final results in January! 

You might notice that the project took a little longer than expected. That’s because extra time was needed to refine the sound project. But trust us—it’s worth the wait. The attention to detail and the quality of the audio really make these models stand out, capturing that distinctive English Electric whistle which echoed along the Great Northern Main Line for so many years.

The factory has been incredibly busy lately, handling multiple projects at once. If you’ve been following our activity, you’ve probably noticed how packed it is with new releases right now. This makes the extra care they are taking even more reassuring—you know they’re focused on quality rather than rushing things out.

After the Hunslets they will begin on the Mark 2 coaches too, so you can expect a lovely matching train with matching paint shades hammering around your layout.

When you finally get your hands on a NIR Hunslet, you’ll see why it’s such a must-have. It's highly unlikely a Ready-to-Run Hunslet will ever be available again, and we highly doubt a second run will ever happy, so now is your chance to grab one. Pre-order below for a Q1 2026 delivery.

Pre-order Your NIR Hunslet Here!

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[John-r]

Stunning, really looking forward to these beauties, can't wait to hear the sound version.

[Jonathan Allen]

Some images of the Accurascale "Hunslets" on display yesterday at Model Rail Scotland. Paul Isles told me the models are about to dispatch and should (little disturbance in the Gulf permitting) arrive Q2 2026.

[Mol_PMB]

50 minutes ago, Jonathan Allen said:

Some images of the Accurascale "Hunslets" on display yesterday at Model Rail Scotland. Paul Isles told me the models are about to dispatch and should (little disturbance in the Gulf permitting) arrive Q2 2026.

Many thanks for the update and photos. 
I don’t suppose there were any Park Royals on show? 

[Jonathan Allen]

28 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

Many thanks for the update and photos. 
I don’t suppose there were any Park Royals on show? 

No.

[Patrick Davey]

Those white roofs will need weathering!  The locos look amazing!

[Horsetan]

Seems my Hunslet was delivered by DPD to the doorstep yesterday. Regauging should be gas.

[Mol_PMB]

15 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

Seems my Hunslet was delivered by DPD to the doorstep yesterday. Regauging should be gas.

I look forward to seeing what's involved - please would you post some pics of your process?

[Horsetan]

4 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

I look forward to seeing what's involved - please would you post some pics of your process?

If it's anything like the "A" and the BR Class 31, it shouldn't hold any surprises....

[Horsetan]

Well, here we are now....

The box is massive. Possibly bigger than it needs to be...

There's a bunch of paperwork that you get for free. And a spares diagram that shows around 200 parts went into the thing.

[Horsetan]

As someone who generally only goes for models of preserved stock, I went for 102 Falcon in fairly late NIR livery.

It has been said in the past that the Hunslets owed their styling to BR's Class 52 Westerns, but I'm not so sure. The general look of the Hunslet has much in common with metre-gauge diesels that were supplied to South East Asia, particularly Thailand and Malaysia, and there's a bit that seems to resemble the 5'6" engines that went to India and Sri Lanka.

For something relatively compact, the model is quite heavy. There's a mass of fine detail, much of it underneath, and a small bag containing even more detail to be fixed to the model.

Both bogies have chains, actual miniature chains, attached to brake levers on the bogie and on the underframe. These are likely to pose a problem if you’re opening up the bogies for general maintenance or regauging, as it means that you only get a certain degree of clearance to get into the geartrain or to remove the wheelsets.

[Horsetan]

Once we get underneath, there's a lot to like, but also a lot to be wary of.

The good news is that the bogie outside frames are easy to lever off. Mine lifted off in my hand, no screwdriver necessary.

The bad news is that the frames can only be lifted as far as the brake chains will allow. An initial try does suggest it's possible to lever the driven axles out without necessarily damaging anything.

Less certain are the brake rods that surround the lower part of each wheel - they're fine for standard OO, but unhelpful for 21mm gauge, so may have to be re-mounted further out or, if not possible, split before repositioning. 

[WRENNEIRE]

Still waiting for my delivery, another cluster*uck as DPD are looking for duty/tax payment to be paid before delivery!
You couldn't make this s*it up

[Georgeconna]

31 minutes ago, WRENNEIRE said:

Still waiting for my delivery, another cluster*uck as DPD are looking for duty/tax payment to be paid before delivery!
You couldn't make this s*it up

Sure you have loads of dosh lad. Pay up!! LOL!

Mines coming Fed Ex not DPD. Hopefully not the same shenanigans as DPD.

[Darius43]

Cheers

Darius

[Galteemore]

Wow wow wow. If that doesn’t make the case for an RTR WT nothing will - that scene deserves one 

Edited Saturday at 17:02 by Galteemore

[jhb171achill]

31 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

Wow wow wow. If that doesn’t make the case for an RTR WT nothing will - that scene deserves one 

I'm just thinking at this level of detail. a "WT" Jeep would have to have a fully-working Willie Graham, Barney McCrory and Frank Dunlop in the cab......

[Horsetan]

1 hour ago, Galteemore said:

Wow wow wow. If that doesn’t make the case for an RTR WT nothing will - that scene deserves one 

The Indians had a WT class as well - a substantial 2-8-4T, with a lot of the Stanier look about it.

[jhb171achill]

16 hours ago, Horsetan said:

The Indians had a WT class as well - a substantial 2-8-4T, with a lot of the Stanier look about it.

Indeed, and several other fast suburban tanks of 2.6.4T or 2.8.4T type…. I think maybe “E” class? I saw two out of use in Delhi but I can’t remember the details.

[Darius43]

Cheers

Darius

[Patrick Davey]

Fabulous scenes - the Hunslets fit right in.

[K801]

On 13/6/2026 at 8:38 AM, Horsetan said:

Well, here we are now....

The box is massive. Possibly bigger than it needs to be...

There's a bunch of paperwork that you get for free. And a spares diagram that shows around 200 parts went into the thing.

The box is the perfect size, loco well packaged, especially when some are getting mailed halfway across the planet.

[Horsetan]

44 minutes ago, K801 said:

The box is the perfect size, loco well packaged, especially when some are getting mailed halfway across the planet.

It's massive. 

[DJ Dangerous]

2 hours ago, K801 said:

The box is the perfect size, loco well packaged, especially when some are getting mailed halfway across the planet.

 

1 hour ago, Horsetan said:

It's massive. 

The perfect box is always goong to be subjective.

Some will find it too small and some will find it too large. Some will find it too tight to pop the loco in and out or get their fat fingers into. Some will find it too too loose.

Look at the MM 201 boxes, with the locos often tearing through the protective plastic.

Personally, I find the A/S / IRM packaging a little on the large side, but with the way couriers are dropkicking stuff around, it’s hard to know what’s best.

Heljan 47 arrived in perfect condition and the box is way smaller. Several A Classes arrives with slipping drive shafts and grinding gears, yet the boxes were massive. The way the O Gauge locos are screwed to a plinth inside the box is probably the way to go. Allows for smaller boxes but gives ample protection.

 

[Mol_PMB]

My Hunslet was thrown over a 2m high gate by the courier, landing on hard paving, and survived intact and working. 
That’s a seriously good box. 
Well done IRM / AS. 

PS These are big boxes…

[Horsetan]

3 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

 

The perfect box is always goong to be subjective....

 

It's massive. 

[DJ Dangerous]

1 minute ago, Mol_PMB said:

My Hunslet was thrown over a 2m high gate by the courier, landing on hard paving, and survived intact and working. 
That’s a seriously good box. 
Well done IRM / AS. 

PS These are big boxes…

I’m lucky enough to pretty much never experience that as there’s import tax to pay on pretty much everything, so the locos are usually handed over on paying.

[Horsetan]

10 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

My Hunslet was thrown over a 2m high gate by the courier...

Yodel, was it?

[Mol_PMB]

30 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

Yodel, was it?

DPD. After I had specified a delivery date when I would be at home, and they had acknowledged it, they ignored that entirely and threw it over the gate 2 days early. Didn’t even tell me they had done so. It was raining a lot too. 
Anyway, the loco survived thanks to its large and well cushioned box. 

[Robert Shrives]

Packaging is a game for all the family and a game of choice for carriers.  My main problem is that the pressures put on rural carriers is the time taken to find out of the way places - large parts of rural wales might as well be on another planet given the excuses given but by using friends in a local town does seem to be better. 

Plinths v. foam, poly foam,  blister packs  and plastic two part trays are all used by manufacturers in China depending on their favourite supplier and sometimes what the customer wants.  The important thing I guess is model cannot get damp, move within packaging so livery or parts cannot catch and get knocked off. Also they survive drops - some models I know have been while in transit packaging chucked off a fire escape - 5m drop.

The additional thing now is collector value for mint boxes over scuffed ones. I get at work requests for boxes to re box a model for resale, but quoted to make collection complete ! Sadly boxes are rarely available now. The IRM plastic sleeve on the Hunslets and Park Royal will help defray requests, even it means a little more faff before getting mits on a lovely model. 

cheers

Robert           

[John-r]

Fantastic photos, they really do the hunslets justice, what a stunning loco each livery is as good as the next, also not forgetting the excellent spoil wagons, the layout is something else.

[Horsetan]

On 13/6/2026 at 3:13 PM, Horsetan said:

...The bad news is that the frames can only be lifted as far as the brake chains will allow. An initial try does suggest it's possible to lever the driven axles out without necessarily damaging anything....

The additional bad news is that if you lever the driven axles out, the current pickup strips may part company with the exterior of the gear casing and fall off - this happened to me earlier today, so it's going to be a gas gluing them back in place....

The 2mm driven axles are plain ended, and pressed into insulating bushes which in turn are pressed into the wheel hubs. Completely different to the "A" class: you cannot reuse the axles as they're too short for 21mm gauge. For P4 profile purposes, that means all new "live" wheels (12mm dia) from AGW and new longer axles, but that means the wheels will have to be re-bored to  2.4mm or as much as 3mm to take the insulating bushes.