Would you consider the Hogwarts and Like ENGINES ALONE tin?
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
I'd like to see anything "different" in tinplate. Color scheme changes can only get you so far and since tinplate is whimsical by nature...
I'm sure the tooling is a major consideration, but I think a CAB FORWARD in standard gauge tinplate would look cool for example. What about an F3? Something different.
Hogwarts - sure that would be cool - European flair - why not.
Check out the British manufacturer Darstead.com
One of the forumites from Australia reps them and there is a U.S. rep as well.
From pics alone, they build some quality tin in classic locos and liveries.
One of the forumites from Australia reps them and there is a U.S. rep as well.
From pics alone, they build some quality tin in classic locos and liveries.
Originally Posted by DominicMazoch:
Would you consider the Hogwarts and Like ENGINES ALONE tin?
I think that the post meant the currently available Lionel Hogwarts engine, not whether a new, tinplate version would be considered.
If the Lionel Hogwarts is what is meant, I'd have to say that it's not tinplate, but rather, modern die cast. Nothing wrong with it, and it is a departure from Lionel's traditional stuff, just not tinplate.
We can go on and on about what exactly tinplate is and is not, and I guess it doesn't really matter in the big picture. When I first got into original metal trains, I referred to them as tinplate. I thought, "trains made from sheet metal, or tin", so the name seemed right. After investigating, I soon found that die cast locos of the late 1930's sort of fit in, and a lot of the Lionel stuff was comprised of sheet metal shells with die cast frames, steam chests, and boiler fronts.
Anyway, I just got away from the term "tinplate" and use the term "prewar" when talking about originals.
I figure the term tinplate can be used on most trains that use sheet metal in their makeup, or maybe a style of train. That kind of makes sense to me.
I don't consider the Hogwarts and similar items to be tinplate. The definition I generally apply, in addition to the way the item is made (materials used), is if it is something from the prewar period or a reproduction of an item from that era. There are some exceptions to that "limitation," but not a whole lot of them.
The way I usually describe it is "I know tinplate when I see it."
A Hogwarts certainly could be made in tinplate, but the current versions don't meet the accepted definition.
It's definitely not considered tinplate. The loco is actually a detailed, accurate scale diecast model of a British Hall class loco. The carriages are diecast plastic semi-scale detailed models of a British Railways MK1 coach.
CH mentioned Darstaed, with I am a distributor. I classify Darstaed as "Modern Tinplate". The last tinplate loco we made was the beautiful 2-6-2. It was not to exact scale. The passenger cars we make are very detailed, some to scale and are lithographed tinplate, but are very realistic in appearance. For example, I pull a set of Darstaed Pullman "Golden Arrows" with a MTH Chapelon, which is scale and finely detailed, and they look magnificent together.
Our recent loco releases, the Jinty and Pannier are scale, detailed and diecast metal, but are still accepted as in the modern tinplate style. Which is a more realistic appearance.
American tinplate has always been traditionally toy tinplate in style, and at sometime in the future, we hope to make examples of this.
This is the tinplate 2-6-2
Below, is a diecast Jinty, I had this made exclusively for The O Gauge Guy, it is painted in NSWR livery as an 18 class.
Somebody should post these scale tin engines overs to the 3rs people and see the reaction. 3RS is not limited to North American items!
Originally Posted by DominicMazoch:
Would you consider the Hogwarts and Like ENGINES ALONE tin?
Louis Hertz certainly would.
