Emek 89509, G-Scale Scania P DHL distribution truck

Christmas season is a happy period for most of us. Not only you get a break from work and can spend more time with your family but you can also expect a nice surprise under the Christmas tree. In Polish culture there are two opportunities to be honored by Santa Claus. The first one is on December 6th and that's when I was presented with a new model of a G-Scale truck. I must have behaved very well this year :)

The product I received comes in a very sturdy box with a completely transparent front. This makes the car very well visible to the buyer. If you were to pick it up at a store, you'd know exactly what you are buying.

The model is made by a Finish company called Emek. Its scale is 1:25 and it's supposed to be a replica of a Scania P DHL distribution truck. Its catalog number is 89509.

Let's open a box. There are a few surprises here...

First of all - the box is rigid and I was convinced it was made entirely of plastic. This is not the case. The box is actually cardboard with a plastic front only. I'm pleasantly surprised this kind of a container can feel so sturdy.

Second - there are plastic rods installed in the back of the packaging which keep the model in place. This prohibits the truck from moving during transport. No wonder the product arrived in perfect condition.

And a cherry on top - the bottom surface of the box has a road painted on it. I did not even notice it at first and it does not really bring any value, but it's definitely a nice final touch.

The set comes with some stickers (and an installation guide) and two plastic parts which will mimic the side mirrors of the truck. I'm not sure whether those are supposed to be attached using glue or not, but I decided to use some.

I've skipped applying the stickers assuming (possibly wrong) they're not weather resistant. No other construction steps are needed - the model is ready.

The first impression of the car is very good. I love the level of detail it offers and it definitely looks much more like a collectible than a toy. It is quite heavy but unfortunately is made exclusively of plastic. There are no metal parts and even the tires are not rubber.

Let's see some more photos.


The above pictures show very well how accurate the model is. The outside of the cabin combines many small parts and clearly displays important elements such as steps, lights, grill and labels. It almost looks like a real-life car!

The truck offers some moving elements, too. The back door can be opened and its tail lift can be extended and lowered using a life-like plastic mechanism. It looks great and brings many possibilities for using the model on the layout.

There are some details inside the driver's cabin but the chauffeur himself is not included. The model's underframe consists of several smaller parts in different colors and definitely adds to the overall look. The paint job is crisp and flawless with easily readable letters and logos.

Summary

The model is gorgeous. I really love it that much. I just wish it wasn't made of plastic only. My biggest concern is if it's weather resistant at all. If not, its beauty will fade away quickly. But if it performs well outside, it will surely make my layout much more attractive. And if you have an indoor layout - there's really no reason not to give it a try.

Piko 62262, G-Scale fishing cabin

The water pond on my garden layout was always supposed to look alive. I was even considering having some real fishes there but... they turn out to require a pretty deep container. Then I tried growing some water flora but... everything I planted died within a month. OK, so how about something easier? Maybe just a plastic water-themed building?

The model I found for this purpose is Piko 62262. It replicates a small fisherman's house built upon a jetty. The front cover of the box shows a very nice scene with a lake, boats and even a small outhouse in the background. If I was able to achieve this look, it would be really great!

As usual, everything is very nicely packaged. None of the pieces got damaged in the transport. Surprise, surprise - the glue is included!

So many similar looking parts. I guess this must be the platform and the support elements. Looks like a lot of repetitive work for me.

And here are the building pieces. Yes, it is really going to be that small. But that's OK, it's exactly what I was expecting.

Are those all the parts? No boats? No outhouse? No accessories?

The manual explains it all. Yes, the set is just the building and the platform. No other structures are included, so I'm not getting the front cover scene look that easily (or cheaply).

The extra elements included with the set are:

• a lot of colorful stickers
• white plastic base for the stickers
• transparent film a.k.a. window glass
• two tubes of plastic cement

Let's start the build. The pier is made of three identical rectangular platforms. Several "planks" join the elements together and it makes a solid impression overall.

The "wooden" fence is the next step of the build. It will be installed on top of the jetty. 

The two parts are now connected together. It's starting to look interesting!

It's time to take care of the small house. There's not much to do here. Just four windows (transparent film) and a door.

Once the roof is installed on the top, the building is complete. The door open to the outside and they are protected from "falling inside".

The complete model. The pier, the fisherman's cabin and the stair.

The only remaining element are the stickers. I have to say I'm not convinced they fit this model all that well. But let's try to add some of them anyway. I'm aiming for a "neglected look", so I'll try to install the decorations like I didn't really care...

Here's the final result:

Summary

I have to admit the model is rather simple, and the building part is really small but it's also very original and eye-catching. It should fit the water scene I'm creating very well and I'd love to try it already. This will have to wait till spring unfortunately...

I'm still not convinced about the stickers - they're just too colorful and I consider them disturbing. Hopefully they'll look better after they get some natural weathering. So I'm keeping them for now.

If there's anything I'm disappointed about it's the complete lack of accessories. I didn't really expect to get everything shown on the box but at least one boat and some fishing equipment would be very nice. The boat is actually available as a separate product Piko 62283 but it's priced at 24 Eur which is "a little" too expensive for my taste.

Broadway Limited 3234, N-Scale EMD E7A diesel engine

I love traveling. And I really appreciate the fact that my job requires me to visit different places from time to time. It's pure fun unless the journey is almost as long as the stay. Then it's good to plan something extra to sweeten the deal. On my recent trip my reward was a new American locomotive.

It's a diesel engine, and it's made by Broadway Limited - a company I had no experience with before. It's an N-scale model of a popular (in the United States) EMD E7A locomotive. It is DCC-equipped, and features many sound functions. I've bought it on-line from the well-known ModelTrainStuff store and it arrived in a surprisingly impressive plastic box.

The box is really big (for an N-scale product, that is). It could easily fit three or maybe even four such locomotives. But it also makes you feel like you're buying a premium product and actually provides a nice unboxing experience. Not to mention that the model seems to be really well protected with the thick layer of foam around it.

Here's the model itself. Removed from the transparent plastic wrap and awaiting its first inspection.

The very first look at the engine in a strong light reveals a nasty surprise. The locomotive came in dirty which is well visible in the photo below. Those look like some oil stains. And the plastic wrap feels a little sticky, too. Well, I guess I just have to clean it then...

The remaining content of the package consists of:

• 24 pages long Operator's Manual
• Assembly/disassembly diagram
• Registration card (extending the warranty to 2 years, and this offer does not seem to be limited to US citizens only)
• Alternative parts for the model
• Small desiccant bag

The Operator's Manual is pretty comprehensive. It covers DCC operation in great detail and - given the complexity of some of the functions - is actually an interesting and useful read.

The replacement parts allow modification of the model's front look. In particular, one can get rid of the front coupler and replace it with a seamless pilot. That's a great idea considering how unusual this locomotive would look like pulling cars and going backwards at the same time.

Alright, it's time to take a look at the model. The first impression is very good. The engine is heavy and does not feel fragile. Except for a few small details it makes an impression of a sturdy piece. I'm not going to test it, but it does not feel like it would break easily...

It looks pretty nice, too. It's not extremely detailed but it does have quite a few handrails here and there. These are made of metal unlike the horns on the top which are purely plastic. The "door part" at the back is not fixed and can be moved a little. At first I thought it was broken but it seems it's really meant to be this way. Nice!

The engine is painted with rather discreet colors. I'm not a fan of such a soft look but it does make it appear more realistic. And the paint job is done very well overall. I like the "Wabash" flag at the front of the locomotive very much. Great detail!

Let's enjoy some more photos then...


So how does it run? In my short tests it performed very well. It ran nicely at low speed, and very well at high speed, too. It does get a little bit loud at maximum velocity but it's unnaturally fast then, too, so it's a scenario nobody will ever use. It rode smoothly, did not get stuck even once and did not derail.

Let's talk about the DCC functions. This model features over two dozens of those. Seems like every new DCC locomotive I buy is even more advanced than my previous one. So what's new here?

We get a lot of sounds. Horns, bells, couplers, brakes and many, many spoken dialogues. There's a lot to choose from and some of them even happen to play out at random during regular operation.

Talking about "random" - this engine really feels alive. It rarely produces just the engine noise and seems to feature a complex logic allowing it to make the experience more interesting by generating effects by itself. This is very nice but also a little complicated. The manual helps here a lot but... I still failed to force the engine to produce a brake squeal sound automatically when slowing down.

Last but not least - the locomotive's decoder allows recording "macros" which can later be replayed. Unfortunately I was not able to test this functionality. Using Roco Multimaus controller I am able to access only functions from 1 to 20. And the macro recording feature can be found at number 26.

But luckily there's still a lot to enjoy even with a limited controller. Here's a demo of some of the model's functions:

Summary

Having spent a day with my new purchase, I don't regret buying it at all. It performs very nicely, offers a lot of functionality and obviously is much cheaper than similar models from the European manufacturers. It does not look extremely detailed but the full-scale original is not very complex either.

I definitely love the product as a set taking into account the comprehensive manual and the alternative parts. Better than usual "unboxing experience" made me feel like I bought something special. I hope the time shows that the feeling was justified.