Pola G 331045, G-Scale freight set

When I first assembled the Pola G cargo loading building I liked the model a lot. It looked really good and featured a very attractive price. One thing it was missing though were accessories. And guess what - those can be purchased separately!

The product I'm describing is Pola G 331045. It contains several elements that should fit nicely into any industrial scene. The ArsTecnica store had it listed at a little below 22 Euro. I just could not stop myself from buying it...

The box the set comes in is rather small (30 x 20cm) and delivers not a huge number of plastic parts. The only other content is the manual. As usual - Pola G did not include any glue.

The manual is very detailed and all the parts are tagged, too. This is mostly too much information. There are however a few pieces that look similar, and the comprehensive documentation does help dissolve any uncertainty.

Here are all the parts of the set. Not a huge variation when it comes to shapes, but several vivid colors make a notable presence here.

There's not too much to describe regarding the assembly itself. The accessories are very easy to build. Instead let's just take a look at the result:


They look good! I especially love the pallets with the small engravings on their "wooden" blocks. Now let's see how the set improves the look of my cargo loading building.

Yes! That's exactly what was missing here. (and now we can see it's missing a loading crew, too)

Summary

I really like the set and I'm happy I added it to my layout. On the other hand, it was really not that cheap considering it's just some freight accessories. And of course a real train models enthusiast should be able to create such pieces from scratch...

So, if you lack the time (like me) or if you are lazy (like me?), this set is definitely for you. The accessories look great and they definitely add to the look. But if you have some skills and can afford the effort, you could probably build those yourself and have them a little cheaper, too.

Pola G 331050, G-Scale garden shed

And here it is! Another building for my garden layout. Actually, the manufacturer claims it's just a garden shed, but I will use it as a small summer / camping house. I expect it's going to look great next to my newly created water pond.

The model I'm describing is Pola G 331050. It can be purchased for around 35 Euro. I got it from the ArsTecnica store which offered the best price at the time. It arrived in a rather small - for a G-Scale item - cardboard box.

Inside we find some large parts, some small parts and a manual. There's no glue and no stickers.

In addition to the plastic parts we also get a piece of a transparent film (which will act as the window glass) and a bag of colorful sponge bits (that will be used to imitate flowers).

The most interesting parts are definitely the accessories. We get pieces which allow assembling a bicycle, a wheelbarrow and several gardening tools.

The manual is surprisingly comprehensive taking into account the small size of the set. All the parts are also uniquely marked. The build should be a piece of cake...


So let's start. The first step focuses around the front wall. It turns out it's the only wall that requires any work. It's still not much to do, so I also started working on some of the accessories.

The second step involves connecting the walls together. It's pretty straightforward but I would definitely advise making sure the shape is as rectangular as possible. I simply use a piece of a paper underneath the model to make sure all the angles are right.

Again - I've decided to build the next batch of accessories, too.

The third step is all about the roof preparation. The roof element needs to be assembled from several pieces, and the walls have to be "extended" before it's possible to cover the building.

After the fourth step the garden shed / summer house is complete. The accessories and the foliage are not applied, yet, though.

This is what the model looks like fully assembled and decorated. I've decided to glue all the smaller accessories but leave the bigger ones free. I have to say I do like the way it looks.


Let's add some interior lighting and install the building outside. This is what it looks like on my layout during the day and at night.


Clearly the walls are too thin the keep the light inside. And it's not just some small areas but really the entire walls. Fixing that will require some serious work on the inside.

Conclusion

Pola G 331050 is a very nice model. It's easy and fun to build, and it includes a lot of accessories. It's a rather small building but it comes at a noticeably attractive price...

What I like most is the fact that it features some very unique architecture. Many of the Pola G and PIKO models try to look different but are limited from using the very same parts. And in the end they're just variations of the same. This garden shed does look different. And it definitely fulfills its role on my layout. Recommended!

Cheap G-Scale street lamps from Ebay

The newly built city roads on my garden layout desperately needed some sort of street lighting. G-Scale lamps made by German or American companies are however really expensive. Taking into account the length of my roads, I knew I should be looking for a cheaper alternative. I have again turned to Ebay for ideas...

Ebay seems to be full of "G-Scale stuff". Unfortunately when it comes to street lamps, most of the offers feature items that are not really G-Scale. Lamp posts smaller than 10cm (4in) are barely taller than people figures. I was sure this would not look right...

That's when I found this auction:

It promised much, much taller street lamps. The price was a little higher but still acceptable. And so I purchased a set of 4 items for less than $15 including shipping. The merchandise arrived a few weeks later...

The packaging is typical for cheap items from China. The product is however well protected and everything arrived intact.

The set consists of four lamp posts and four resistors that we need to solder ourselves. Interestingly the seller sent me a wrong set of resistors but realized his mistake, contacted me and sent another package with the correct ones. Good service!

I really wanted to open the model to see what's inside. It is however well glued and I gave up as I was afraid of damaging it.

The model is made of plastic that feels rather cheap. On the other hand, it also feels like the low-quality material was used to produce a rather detailed and properly constructed item. Nothing falls apart and there's definitely no "crappy" feeling. Still - the cheap plastic brings doubts about the possible outdoor performance.

The lamp is indeed taller than other Ebay products. It measures around 18cm (7 in).

The resistors provided with the lamps are 150 Ohm. This means that at 16V a single lamp would consume around 100mA. This seemed like a lot to me...

And indeed - with the default resistor the lamps are very bright. I've decided to experiment a little and see what brightness I would consider valid. Here is a comparison of the light produced for different resistance values.

In the end I've decided to go with 470 Ohm resistors. After installing the lamps on the layout, I can confirm the decision was good. The light is still very bright but not blinding in a night setting.

Here's the setup just before dusk...

...and here it is right after the sunset.

One thing I do not like about the lamps is the fact that their light is not directed to the ground but to the sides. This means that even though they're very bright, the streets and the sidewalks are not really that well lit.

The overall outcome is still very satisfying. The lamps look nice and the part of the layout were they got installed became definitely much more interesting now. I'm going to wait till spring and see if they survive the winter. If they do, I will buy many more in order to light up all my roads.

LGB 50600: G-Scale 450mm long truss bridge

Some weeks ago I've created a small water pond on my garden layout. I have to admit I knew little about how to build it, so I just improvized. I did know however very, very well that a train was going to look pretty cool when passing over it. The only missing element was a bridge.

The pond is small, so a short bridge was enough. I've purchased LGB 50600 model which is just 45cm long. It cost me 20 Euro and arrived in an LGB branded cardboard box.

The package contains only the bridge itself. It's a single element. Nothing to build, nothing to glue. Looks good at first sight.

The bridge is made of plastic and makes a solid overall impression. The material seems sturdy and high quality. I do have to say however that the side panels are rather thin and would definitely not survive accidentally stepping on them.

Let's see some more photos...


The model features four holes which can be used to screw it to a base. On my layout however, it will simply lie down on the rocks.

And this is what the bridge looks like installed across the pond on my garden layout.


So... How do I like it? Well, I think it's simply a good product. The birds however seem to love it a lot!