Dragon Model Railway Kits

[Fritzi Vanderweel]

Theirkits, in general, are aimed at the advanced builder. Many kits include high parts count and photo-etched metal details that make them complex and challenging. The attention to detail also means that there are many thin and fine parts that need particular care during handling.

The reputation of the kits is high, as the research for the attention to detail is comprehensive. They originally aimed to be more detailed than Tamiya and they have achieved that. Often their kits will be more expensive than a similar offering from Tamiya.

The surface details such as weld seams and rivet detail is of a realistic size. This means that the detail can be easily damaged with sanding and construction, but will look most realistic on the finished model.

This page lists the most relevant model railway scale standards in the world. Most standards are regional, but some have followers in other parts of the world outside their native region, most notably NEM and NMRA. While the most significant standardised dimension of a model railway scale is the gauge, a typical scale standard covers many more aspects of model railways and defines scale-specific dimensions for items like catenary, rolling stock wheels, loading gauge, curve radii and grades for slopes, for instance.

MOROP (the European federation of national model railway associations) is a European organisation which publishes NEM-standards. NEM-standards are used by model railway industry and hobbyists in Europe. The standards are published in French and German and both versions have an official status. Unofficial translations in English from third parties exist for certain NEM-standard sheets.

For instance, a metre-gauge model railway in H0-scale is designated H0m. In German text the letter "f" (for Feldbahn) is sometimes used instead of "i". The letter "e" represents the French word for "narrow", troit. NEM gauges are arranged conveniently to use the normal gauge of smaller scales as narrow gauges for a certain scale. For instance, H0m gauge is the same as the TT-scale normal gauge, H0e same as the N-scale normal gauge and H0i same as the Z-scale normal gauge.

The NMRA (National Model Railroad Association) standardized the first model railway scales in the 1940s. NMRA standards are used widely in North America and by certain special interest groups all over the world. To some extent NMRA and NEM standards are compatible, but in many areas, the two standards specify certain model railway details in somewhat incompatible ways for the same scale.

There are two NMRA standard sheets where the scales have been defined. NMRA standard S-1.2 covers the popular model railway scales and S-1.3 defines scales with deep flanges for model railways with very sharp curves or other garden railway specific design features.

In certain NMRA scales an alternative designation is sometimes used corresponding the length of one prototype foot in scale either in millimetres or in inches. For instance, 3.5 mm scale is the same as HO. For HO and O -scales, NMRA uses the letter "O" whereas NEM uses the number zero (H0 instead of HO).

The NMRA published alternative, more accurate and realistic standards for track and wheels sheet in S-1.1 These model railway standards are based on the full size prototype standards and the scale model operational reliability is therefore reduced in comparison to the models conforming to the normal NMRA standards. Proto and finescale rails and wheels are generally not compatible with the normal scale model railway material with the same scale ratio.

Proto scale was originally developed by the Model Railway Study Group in Great Britain in 1966 and later adopted into NMRA standards with modifications necessary for the North American prototype railway standards. Proto scale reproduces faithfully the prototype wheel tread profile and track work used by the Association of American Railroads and the American Railway Engineering Association.

Finescale reproduces the prototype wheel tread profile and track work used by the Association of American Railroads and the American Railway Engineering Association with minor compromises for performance and manufacturability.

When H0 scale was being introduced, the motors available were too large[4] to fit in scale-sized bodies and so as a compromise the scale was increased from 3.5 mm to 4 mm to the foot, but the gauge was not changed so other elements could be shared. For 00 therefore the track is about 12.5% narrower than it should be for the scale used. EM and P4 standards correct this anomaly by adopting a wider track gauge.

Live steam model railways are not standardized systematically by any single standardization body. There are, however, certain scales and gauges which have become de facto standards and in some cases correspond to either NEM or NMRA standard scales. One example is the "IBLS" (International Brotherhood of Live Steamers), an informal organization which has published standards for some of the gauges. Many clubs have their own standards, which also may vary slightly from country to country. Hornby Railways have pioneered commercial model live steam in 00 (1:76 scale on 16.5 mm gauge), the existing models are heated using a controllable electric current through the two running rails and have the steam pressure chamber in the model tender.

In addition to these scales, the United Kingdom has, over the last forty years, fathered a scale that is based on the predominant British narrow track gauge of 2 ft (610 mm). Using 32 mm (1.26 in) - 0 gauge - track, there is an extensive range of 16 mm to the foot scale [1:19] live-steam and other types of locomotives, rolling stock and accessories. Many of these models are dual gauge, and can be converted to run on 45 mm (1.772 in) track (gauge 1), and radio control is common. Locomotives in this scale are generally large and "chunky", and can range from the tiny 0-4-0 seen on Welsh slate quarry lines all the way up to the very largest found in the UK, such as the ex-ACR NG/G16 Beyer-Garratt locomotives, seen running on the Welsh Highland Railway in North Wales. The hobby is supported by a number of 16 mm live steam and electric traction builders, dominated by the likes of Roundhouse Engineering and Accucraft UK.

The National 2.5 in Gauge Association continues to support live steam passenger hauling in 2.5-inch gauge using MES tracks. They use a "scale" appropriate to the original prototype modelling both standard and narrow gauge locomotives to run on 2.5-inch track.

There have been many short-lived and often promising model railway scales which are very much defunct nowadays. Quite often these were backed by only the company that created a new scale in the first place.

Our model department offers quality brands such as Airfix, Hornby, Revell, Scalextric and Games Workshop. We're one of the most comprehensive stockists of plastic kit models in East Anglia. Visit us to see our stock, or just phone for information.

We stock a varied range of plastic kits from Airfix, Revell, Tamiya, Italeri, Hasegawa, Hobbyboss and a few other manufacturers. For the young modeller who is just starting in the hobby, we stock the Revell range of Easy Kits - kits that clip together and do not need any paint or glue. For the more experienced modeller to finish their kits we have Humbrol Enamel and Acrylic Paint, Tamiya Mini Acrylic Paint and Revell Aqua Color paint. For those that like to do their own thing and scratch build we have a range of plastic, metal and wood shapes. For those who like to build and fly their aircraft kits we have balsa kits from Guillows and West Wing.

Although we predominately stock the Hornby range of goods we also have model rail bits and pieces from Peco, Wills, Ratio, Dornaplas, Graham Farish and a few others. We stock both OO and N Gauge sets, locos, rolling stock, track, buildings and accessories.

We stock good old traditional Scalextric range of sets, cars and track, as well as the Scalextric Micro for the younger enthusiasts. We also stock the Carrera Go range. This is a smaller scale than the Scalextric (1/43 scale) so it is ideal for those that would like to have a decent lay out, but does not have too much room. Carrera has been around for nearly as long as Scalextric and they have a full range of back up items such as cars and track.

*** We no longer stock Scalextric - we are slowly selling through the stock we have and once it's gone, it's gone. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but we arrived at this decision after sales of this product has been in decline over the last few years. ***

As well as stocking the Games Workshop range (Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000), we also have the World War 2 Flames of War figures and books. We also have Magic the Gathering cards, Yu-Gi-Oh cards, Dungeon and Dragons rule books, and for the board gamers we have Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne and Wings of War.

The model department is managed and run by Philip Cox who has been at City Cycle Centre since he left school in 1980. He started working in the DIY department and before moving to the cycle department and running the warehouse. Philip was then given the opportunity to create the model department. It has grown in size over the years, evolving from just a corner of the shop with a few Airfix kits and a little Hornby & Scalextric to two rooms packed full of kits, model railway, Scalextric and many other goodies.

We're open from Monday to Saturday from 08:30 to 17:30. We'd love to see you, but if you're not able to visit us in person, or want to discuss our stock, or just want to speak to us before making a trip, don't hesitate to get in touch using the information shown below.

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