Kit Corner: ‘OO' ZFV ‘Catfish'

Cambrian’s ‘OO’ gauge BR ballast hopper wagon kits are now decades old and the ‘Dogfish’ has since been produced as a ready-to-run model by Heljan. With no commercial model available for the ‘Catfish’, however, the Cambrian kit is the only way to model them. This article looks at the techniques and pitfalls of building this kit.

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CAMBRIAN MODELS remains an important source of kits for wagon models not currently available as commercial models in ‘OO’ gauge. When they were at their peak, modelers relied on them for signature wagons such as the SSA scrap steel wagon and various ballast hopper wagons. Many a West Highland line was populated with OTA timber wagons built from Cambrian’s plastic kits.

Quite a few kits from the range have been superseded by ready-to-run models, yet remain available to buy. They offer the chance to model wagons when the ready-to-run version is unavailable and variations within wagons are often easier to incorporate by kit-bashing rather than converting a commercial model.

The ZEV ‘Catfish’ is not available as a ready-to-run model, making the Cambrian kit the only way to model this distinctive 19-ton four-wheel ballast hopper. The kit is far from perfect and a recent purchase shows that the moulds are showing their age, requiring some careful preparation of parts before they could be used. It can be tricky to build, but does make up into a reasonably accurate model if care is taken.

Naturally, the kit can be enhanced with etched brake wheels, sprung buffers and different pattern of axle boxes – the original tooling having self-contained buffers and oil axle boxes. How you finish it is entirely up to how much time and additional money you wish to put into the project.

The prototype