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Silver fox models, worth it or no?

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George

By George
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George Contributor

George

Posted
Posted

Hi all, at the moment I’m considering buying a ready to run model from silver fox models, however I personally don’t have any experience or knowledge as to how good the models are, so I’m wondering if they are worth buying.

 

I’d most likely go for the C class or something similar, possibly the AEC/2600 railcar (probably not the latter though)

 

Many thanks

jhb171achill Grand Master

jhb171achill

Posted
Posted

I've had several, and I have eyed up their impressive range of BR railcars.

In their favour - currently, but hopefully not always - the only supplier of ready to run models of a number of Irish prototypes ("C" class, B101 class, an approximation to an AEC railcar, and a number of CIE ? GNR UTA coaches).

Against - for what you get, flimsy, and in livery terms an utter disaster in most cases - light years from accuracy. despite being advised too, by myself and several others, they just refuse to amend this deadly simple error. In other words, they don't listen to the customer - not a good idea for a small niche manufacturer.

The price has been criticised as too high here and there, but to be fair, given that each model is hand-made, I don't think the costs are at all unreasonable in this day and age.

So, overall, a mixed bag. For some models for which the only other option is scratch build yourself, yet that supply RTR, the only option, thus worth looking into. I have several of their tin vans, which are utterly essential for any 1960s layout. I got a silver one, a green one and a black'n'tan one. The green one as I expected was completely the wrong colour, so I repainted it, and it survived(!)

Their AEC set is an adaptation of a British railcar. When they started doing this, to be fair the only thing that made it look Irish at all was the livery. However, again to their credit, they amended the look of the thing and what they do now is a great deal better. It is lacking in detail, though a bit of pockling about with it would solve that. You can get them in CIE black'n'tan, which looks very well. The green version of CIE is so bad that an entire repaint is necessary. It's no more accurate than if it was painted pink. The UTA and GNR livery versions are not right either, though seemingly improved from their earlier versions, i think. If you're not fussed about wrong liveries, and the fact that the model is not an accurate model, but more an approximation, then it's probably worth a punt as there isn't any alternative. On that basis alone, i had considered a two car set myself.

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DJ Dangerous Grand Master

DJ Dangerous

Posted
Posted

Silver Fox are grand if you’re not too fussy.

Kind of along the lines of Gerry Hoey / Millipede on Adverts.ie.

The models are not super high fidelity, they don’t hold a candle to Murphy Models or Accurascale, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that.

They tend to use relatively reliable Hornby chassis nowadays, plain DC, not DCC-ready nor anything like that, and definitely not 21mm-friendly.

I have two of their C Classes, some Mk3 EGV’s and some Mk3 DVT’s. Would definitely prefer A/S spec versions, but these do the job.

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Darius43 Grand Master

Darius43

Posted
Posted

Depending on how much work you are prepared to put into them the Silver Fox C Class can be made into a reasonably presentable model.  For me this involves adding details such as separate wire handrails, buffer beam hoses and some weathering to tone down the usually over bright paint schemes and chassis.

Silver Fox rtr NIR MV (ex C Class).

IMG_1443.jpeg.56ddf3879aa388994651cde94985f99e.jpeg

Silver Fox kit built CIE C Class

IMG_1442.jpeg.a8513c9946fbaf0d5fbb0b991a03d7a0.jpeg

Cheers

Darius

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ttc0169 Grand Master

ttc0169

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, Warbonnet said:

If you're happy to wait about 18 months for something a lot better to come out, then I would if I were you.... 

There goes the October announcement out the window…..

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DJ Dangerous Grand Master

DJ Dangerous

Posted
Posted
57 minutes ago, Warbonnet said:

If you're happy to wait about 18 months for something a lot better to come out, then I would if I were you.... 

I thought @BosKonay was the troll, not you!

Looks like he’ll be giving the Scold’s Bridle back to you this Christmas…

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jhb171achill Grand Master

jhb171achill

Posted
Posted

Ooooh boy. If this is to be the case, put me down for a couple of silver, one each green and black, and a black'n'tan post re-engining......! I'll sell the car. Make that two green, one with stripe, one without.

1 hour ago, Darius43 said:

Depending on how much work you are prepared to put into them the Silver Fox C Class can be made into a reasonably presentable model.  For me this involves adding details such as separate wire handrails, buffer beam hoses and some weathering to tone down the usually over bright paint schemes and chassis.

Silver Fox rtr NIR MV (ex C Class).

IMG_1443.jpeg.56ddf3879aa388994651cde94985f99e.jpeg

Silver Fox kit built CIE C Class

IMG_1442.jpeg.a8513c9946fbaf0d5fbb0b991a03d7a0.jpeg

Cheers

Darius

That black'n'tan one especially looks the business!!!!

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BosKonay

BosKonay

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Warbonnet said:

If you're happy to wait about 18 months for something a lot better to come out, then I would if I were you.... 

Don’t tell them we’re doing the D class ! 

 

jhb171achill Grand Master

jhb171achill

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

If you're happy to wait about 18 months for something a lot better to come out, then I would if I were you.... 

In all seriousness, if this is the case, it will be one of the most important announcements from IRM so far. These workhorses had a long enough life, but a very varied work schedule. In their various liveries (eleven that I can think of) they were to be seen in one of the widest varieties of scene that any Irish diesel was.

-  Unchanged Victorian branch lines hauling 1880s and 1890s six-wheelers (Mountmellick, Banagher, Ballina, Loughrea, Foynes, Baltimore, Clonakilty, Courtmacsherry, Fenit, Castleisland, Kingscourt, possibly Athboy, etc etc.)

-  Main lines and longer branch and secondary lines, passenger and goods (including Cavan, West Cork, Valentia)

-  Crossley era, B233/234 variants, GM era

-  NIR ballast trains

-  Main line passenger

-  Main line goods

-  CIE ballast trains (I had a cab ride in one from Clonsilla to North Wall on a ballast train)

-  Pre-DART intensive Dublin suburban push-pull

-  Shunting

-  Multiple working with GM classes

The 141s are often seen as the go-everywhere workhorses of CIE for some forty years or so. The C / B201 class (MV or 104 class to NIR heads) were if anything more widely travelled even than these.

Thus, when this sinks in, it would be single most important thing for anyone to have on any layout based between 1957 and 1986. I would think these will SELL LIKE HOT CAKES!!!!!!!

Edited by jhb171achill
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DJ Dangerous Grand Master

DJ Dangerous

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

0 gauge, with another "0" added, I believe, as in "00"!

N00, I d00n’t think s00.

34 locos that ran thirty odd years plus another five or ten up north, definitely a popular model!

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leslie10646 Grand Master

leslie10646

Posted
Posted

This is very good news for you youngsters.

My Silver Fox C Class will be adequate for me - I'll be 82 (DV) when the iRM one comes out - and it's sound-fitted already - noisiest loco on the layout thanks to whatever John planted the body on.

John has done us older guys a big service in that he produced reasonable replicas of Irish locos long before anyone else.

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murphaph Grand Master

murphaph

Posted
Posted

I'll be in for silver and green ones and probably the last survivor of the MVs, 106 I think it was. Anyone have any photos of MVs visiting Inchicore after painting in NIR livery?

Mol_PMB Grand Master

Mol_PMB

Posted
Posted

I believe the prototype list of liveries/variants would be:

Crossley-engined

  • Silver
  • Brilliant green with waist line (NB some had black roofs, some green)
  • Light green without waist line (NB some had black roofs, some green)
  • Black and tan with deep tan band, no roundel or bodyside number
  • Black without roundel, large bodyside number in centre (214, 219, 222 only)
  • Black with roundel, 2x small numbers behind cabs
  • Black without roundel, large bodyside number in centre, yellow end panels (219 only)
  • Black with roundel, 2x small numbers behind cabs, yellow end panels (NB 203 also had yellow bufferbeams instead of red)

Maybach-engined

  • Black and tan with deep tan band, no roundel or bodyside number (233 only)
  • Black with roundel, 2x small numbers behind cabs (both)
  • Black with roundel, 2x small numbers behind cabs, yellow end panels (233 only)
  • Black and tan with deep tan band with roundel, 2x small numbers behind cabs (both)
  • Supertrain (NB did not have GM-style headlights) (both)

GM-engined:

  • Black and tan with deep tan band with roundel, 2x small numbers behind cabs (206 only)
  • Black and tan with shallow tan band with roundel, 2x small numbers behind cabs
  • Supertrain
  • NIR

Note that there are also some subtle variants of bogie details, train heating provision, multiple working cables etc.

We can't expect IRM to do all of those, but hopefully a reasonable selection. My ideal livery shopping list would be:

  • Silver
  • Light green without waistline
  • Black with roundel, 2x small numbers behind cabs
  • Supertrain
  • NIR (maybe)

 

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GSWR 90 Proficient

GSWR 90

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

GM-engined:

  • Black and tan with deep tan band with roundel, 2x small numbers behind cabs (206 only)
  • Black and tan with shallow tan band with roundel, 2x small numbers behind cabs
  • Supertrain
  • NIR

Note that there are also some subtle variants of bogie details, train heating provision, multiple working cables etc.

We can't expect IRM to do all of those, but hopefully a reasonable selection. My ideal livery shopping list would be:

  • Silver
  • Light green without waistline
  • Black with roundel, 2x small numbers behind cabs
  • Supertrain
  • NIR (maybe)

 

And, of course, re-engined C231 in green 

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leslie10646 Grand Master

leslie10646

Posted
Posted (edited)
8 minutes ago, west_clare_wanderer said:

And maybe we can G you up to do something else in 2028 @Warbonnet.... 🤭

Nah, got that one - another noisy little "Silver" thing, which looks OK.

BUT - an E Class would be something else ........

I remember them well - the tented variety and the "normal".

By way of a PS, you guys at Accurascale realise that you sell three times as many "C"s as B1a?

Edited by leslie10646

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