Chinese made models

I had read with some interest (before it got mucky) over on GSM about the manufacture of LGB look-alike models made in China.

Without getting involved in a political ethical debate as has happened over there I would be interested in a no nonsense review of these items from a model perspective if anyone has bought any please.

Seems like they could be good value for money.

I bought some Hong Kong made Preisser look-alike figures a while back for a tenth of the price here and whilst of 'second' quality they were perfectly adequate for my use.

Aside from the news thread about the models themselves and the thread debating a possible UK retailer, there's a third thread on GSM which may be getting missed by now. It gives a more dispassionate and clear review with some good photos http://www.gscalemad.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=1327 and may be of more interest. Perhaps GWhizz would be willing to add to his analysis over here?

Thanks Bruce.

Without getting involved in the ethics and rights or wrongs - it has been debated well enough 'over there', I just want an honest modellers opinion of these products.

I didn't know Brian had bought some and I will ask him when I see him at RailExpo...unless of course he posts something here.

I know a modeller who has every item in this Chinese itinerary .... except the tank wagons. He seems quite pleased with them but to be honest, I personally wouldn't touch any of it. Bear in mind that I am totally against buying this tat for myself, but read the post carefully and there should be no arguments like there was on the other channel.

First the coaches and wagons .... they seem to be made of a more brittle type of plastic .... finish is unpainted but very good .... none of the moulded colours ars are prototypical though and will need painting into a requisite livery .... some fittings (e.g. door handles) are missing .... some parts that clip or screw on the LGB originals are gobbed in with glue on these copies .... wheels are out of true and NEED replacing.
My summary: .... now that the original LGB version of the coach is around £160, the Newquida copy works out at about a quarter of the price .... it is not a necessity to change the wheels on the LGB but it IS on the Newquida. Given that most will change to metal wheels anyway, this probably isn't too much of a problem and discarded LGB plastic wheels are ten a penny .... if you are handy with a spray can or airbrush and you want a prototypical or special livery, you should have a finished model at under half price if you are prepared to spend a little time .... also handy for chopping as you wouldnt really want to chop a genuine LGB .... regarding the wagons, these aren't so much of a saving and by the time you have repainted and decalled, you wouldn't have gained much.

The Radio Controlled Harz 2-6-2 .... sound is atrocious .... okay for kids but battery life is an issue (as with all cheap R/C stuff) .... wheels are plastic and out of true .... may lend itself to re-engineering (better wheels) and rebodying.
My summary: ....

The Radio Controlled ICE Set .... printed windows look like poor photocopies of the LGB printed windows, the driver and window reflections being EXACTLY the same but of a very poor resolution .... you get two ends (only one of which is powered through one bogie) and only one intermediate coach (no extra coaches are available) .... the LGB articulated coaches do fit if you want a longer consist but look far superior to the Newquida copies, side by side the difference shows .... again, battery life is an issue and eventually will work out expensive .... cheap pantographs are easy to break off and are best left down, they won't stay up anyway.
My summary: .... tested with four extra LGB coaches, the unit struggles and slips to a stand on curves .... a 3-car ICE just looks silly, so again not a serious piece of kit.

Thanks for the input Andy and there is no reason to dispute anything.
The blinded LGB passion is somewhat less here and the fewer concentrated people have less of an extremist view about issues. (But just don't mention Frank.... )

Well now a lot of the fuss so to speak has died down and also the availability I won't be buying any cheap Newquida models either.

Like many I raised eyebrows at the price and initial appearance but after seeing the models at close hand in the flesh the quality is far away from other brands of garden railway equipment.
I can see the attraction for some where quality versus price and value for money are considerations or those who wish to kit bash.

Brian bought some stock at RailExpo at a very good price from an Italian dealer who's never been heard of since.
But then he bought a neat little Stainz too for a snip....

I noticed too with the Accucraft (skeleton) Edrig that I bought recently the quality whilst adequate is less than that of the Caradoc I bought nearly 6 years ago. Both are made in China but not by the same company by the looks.....mmm.

This is not really my area of garden railway modelling now and I shall save my few euros for other things, probably brass and certainly crafted in Germany.

I'm probably one of those passionate LGB aficionados The argument I had on the issue was that not only were these a watering down of ones own funds (i.e. only buying because they were cheap and not necessarily because one wanted the LGB version anyway) thus being unable to afford a required model later on, but this also watered down revenue for the companies making new tooling for future models. I can't really see a need for duplicating models (no matter how cheap) .... occasionally there will be duplication when two companies release identical models due to secrecy .... unfortunate but the result is the same .... two companies chasing the same market and only recouping half their costs / profits, which means that the price has to rise and ultimately, less new models in the pipeline.

MzB wrote:

... I can't really see a need for duplicating models (no matter how cheap) ....

Exactly.....There are enough different, diverse and delightful narrow gauge prototypes out there to model and yet you get manufacturers making the same or very similar models especially when often one or at best a small handful of the real machines were built. The same goes for rolling stock......

I'd like to see all these manufacturers, cheap Chinese or otherwise open their eyes a bit and create a market for new prototypes.

I don't accept the argument that 'nobody has heard of it so it won't be a popular seller' holds any truth.

In praise of LGB very few non-francophile modellers (present company excepted) especially in the UK had ever even heard of a 'Corpet Louvet' until they produced one and now they are a popular feature of many people's layouts.....But that's another story.