MODULAR COACH PARTS FOR O'GAUGE

These parts were originally developed to enable me to batch build coaches in O gauge which could be sold at a reasonable price. After spending more than twenty years running a business which mass produced model railway kits I felt that I was due for a change and although I intended to use some of the mass production techniques and skills I had built up over the years I intended to sit back and enjoy building a few finished models each week, ready to run.  However I have been worked on by keen O gauge modellers and persuaded to sell the parts. I still do not intend to produce simply assembled kits for the mass market- The ready to run versions are relatively inexpensive after all- but offer these parts to modellers who prefer to build their own. I anticipate that these modellers would otherwise scratch build and are using the parts to save time – the level of modelling skill required is not dissimilar.

The coach side parts are modular, each panel or door is based on a standard part of the prototype. The joints between these parts provide the lines between the doors as per prototype. By combining them in different ways a variety of different coach sides can be built up. This has enabled me to produce a wide variety of types without incurring huge tool-making costs. Floor, solebar and bogie parts are also produced by injection moulding in high impact styrene. The roofs are vacuum formed in a heavy gauge styrene sheet.

ABOUT

Ian Kirk has been engineering injection moulded plastic kits for over 30 years. During this time the designs and range has evolved but the precise attention to detail and scale continues to be at the heart of the Ian Kirk O’ Gauge range.

Ian Kirk Models O’ Gauge range includes LNER, GWR, SR and LMS coach kits. The kits are modular in structure offering a dynamic and unique building experience for the O’ Gauge enthusiast.

Ian is currently working on a new range that offers the O’ Gauge modeller even more options to create coaches in their own unique style. Each kit part is carefully engineered from a mould in brass and then injection moulded from high quality plastic. This process creates a deep relief that is highly accurate and produces a high quality finish. Engineering the initial brass mould is a highly skilled process and takes sometime