That's how I learned about Peco wagon kits. They're incredibly cheap and they allow building complete unpainted freight cars (meaning - they must include a chassis, too). Several types of those are available and I picked the one containing parts for an open "steel" gondola car. Peco item KNR-44.
The product's box is small and simple. And the content is just two bags of elements and a short - but very much comprehensive - manual.
It's less than 10 parts in total. The wheels are plastic and the couplers are as simple as possible. There's however a piece of weight included which should improve the car's performance.
At first I had some serious doubts about the assembly because the model simply wouldn't hold together. The secret however is in the two provided screws - once those are tightened, the vehicle becomes one. No glue is required at all.
It does not look that bad considering it's a £4 product. The plastic wheels are crap and the car runs much better once they're replaced with metal ones. The biggest disappointment however are the couplers which do not offer any flexibility or resilience at all. They do work however and maybe I should not be complaining too much given the price point.
So why the heck did I buy it in the first place? Well, I'm working on a method of recording cab-view videos on my N-scale layout. So I removed some pieces from the Peco model and I installed a miniature camera there. I will soon be sharing the results on my blog...
To summarize - the Peco kit is nothing spectacular. It's very simplistic and its quality is nowhere near the products I'm used to. It's not however all that bad either. Given its price, it might be a good base for some small N-scale projects. You just have to be aware that this product is not a bargain, it's just cheap.
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