Dapol "Schools" Class Locomotive - OO Gauge Plastic Model Kit - Build & Review 

Wow i remember as a child in the 70s building the harrow locomotive with my grandad.I think it was an airfix kit.Great memories thanks for the video

Have recently started to build this kit, so am really pleased to have found your video. Will pause to make some observations as otherwise I will forget. Re Instructions: I've found a PDF of the Airfix instructions. They're higgledy-piggledy with regards to cropping and random rotations of the images, but the illustration is larger with greater clarity of what goes where. Will post a link if able and it will help. Re: Decals Yellowing. For anyone who don't know, if you put the decals in a clear plastic bag, and taping the bag to a window to expose the decals to sunlight will remove the yellowing. HTH Sweet build! Thanks for the video. Fancy having a go at the Evening Star which I see you also made a video of!

Yes! I'm so happy you actually did my request! You even did the same locomotive I mentioned you should do :D

I've never attempted a loco before, but after watching your guide and seeing the finished kit I'm now very tempted.....The Evening Star loco by Dapol looks like a place to start.

It's great to see a build video of these classic old Kitmaster/Airfix kits. You should be congratulated on your work. Actually getting the valve gear to run freely is part of the fun of these kits, even if it isn't always possible!

Highly recommend the Battle of Britain class in this range. In my opinion, it's the easiest to turn into a moving model as the gear linkage is pretty simple - my first one, which I built about a decade ago, still moves, although it requires some pushing down. Other Dapol builds I've done recently move a lot more freely, with plenty of added weight and axles that have been refined and oiled (Lubrication is very important - dry plastic on plastic isn't going to move very smoothly and let me tell you, it squeaks.). In regards to the instructions, I recently purchased two Airfix City of Truro kits from the local model shop to detail and motorise, and the instructions in those are much better step-by-step offerings with a large black & white paint guide. They were also only a tenner each, which is cheaper than what many ask for the Dapol version: doesn't make sense when an older release is much cleaner with a better fit, since the tooling was much younger way back then, not to mention a vintage item. The plastic on the Airfix offerings seems better as well, a beautifully clean and smooth black type which feels tougher than the grey stuff that Dapol uses. Dapol does use recycled plastic however, which is a unique feat. You can just feel that it'd be an easy job to make an older Airfix release move, maybe an older Dapol release from the 80's and 90's is easy to work with too, unless it's a Dapol problem. I do fear how long these toolings have left as they are becoming more and more rough by the year, with some of them being a pointless effort; some kits are just too far gone and I reckon Dapol should begin retooling them. Until then, I'll be building loads of these as they are great ways to try new techniques, stuff your sidings or empty platforms at the station with modelling history. They've a wonderful charm to them and roughness aside, they are fun little things and you can't get a plastic kit of a British locomotive anywhere else. That, and when the wagons cost as little as a fiver and come with a modern coupling and metal wheels, as well as the fact that the Stanier coaches are as little as a tenner, I think the wear and tear is worth the while.

Excellent make and paint job MM!! I'd overlooked this video a couple of times as I thought it was a review for a new Hornby release!!

Great job ! I love trains so I will build this classic someday. Thanks !

I was gifted the original Kitmaster version of this as a lad. If you think assembly is tricky nowadays, you've never had to battle with tubes of polystyrene cement! Not surprisingly, my wheels wouldn't rotate either! Still it was a present, so try your best, Al.........

Nice build, good paintjob. thx for the tip on diluting the acril paint for supressing the brush marks. I'm stil strugling with acril paint on that. Dapol retooled all (most) of their old Kitmaster kits and they really improved on it. They lost most of their flash. They alreay modernized the instructions. I have two, same instuctions, one with flash one without, I bought in Singapore. Staight out of the bag yours is as good as they get but these models are still very usefull as a basis for some nice upgrading.

Very insightful, as I've pulled my partly made model out of storage after 18 years after recently doing the Dapol (also former Kitmaster/ Airfix 2-6-0 Mogul kit which had similar problems, as you say you need some previous modeling expertise behind, I imagine many a kit bought has ended up flying across the room and then into the bin - or stuck in a box and forgotten in storage for decades like mine. Especially so if a person attempted to make it with turning drivers, not going to happen! Indeed the instructions /diagrams are a nightmare, and having been given a copy of the Airfix kit of the same, they are very much a ridiculously downsized redo copy of those. The nameplate problem, indeed with that small cuff bit on the decal and real nameplates, I'm going to try add a small bit so mine will fit. the name for mine is 'Shrewsbury', no 921, and will be done as SR. So the 5 digit number embossed on the smokebox door needs to go. Like the last loco, I'm dreading doing the valve and motion gear. My next of the Dapol steam kits will likely be 'City of Truro', simplified given the real deal had all inside cylinders. The Airfix kit from the early 80's will be kept in box, and not made up, now of course a collectible as such.

I bought this kit and hopefully when it arrives I can build it with ease and if not then I may need to do some extra fileing and use some other stuff but hopefully it isn't as much of a frustration like the one you built here.

My goodness, this takes me back! We couldn’t afford too many working models, so we had the older Airfix version kits of a Schools, Mogul and pair of 9Fs in our old engine shed, complete with fitters maintenance crew in situ. While they just sat there looking pretty, my Jinty, Class 31 and Black 5 actually did the work 😜 And yes, we couldn’t get the wheels to rotate freely either 🤣😂😅 I know they are a bit aged now, but they are great for pure nostalgia. I have a Dapol Mogul which I intend to build myself one day when I have a spare day or so 😎 Cheers mate! Nice trip down memory Lane 👍🍻🍀

Unusual subject. Good build and paint job on the kit. Wish they added an engineer figure for the locomotive cab. Bill

AL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN TO 2.5K SUBS. CHOO CHOO

Good work...i like this english loco... i bought it too thank you for posting..

Hi. During lockdown I've been back to childhood by making models from those long-gone days. The latest one I'm doing is this in its Airfix guise. I found your video very helpful and informative, but would appreciate more detail, especially on what colours to use on what inside the cab...

Thankyou for sharing your frustrations and in your honesty re' the difficulties encountered. I recently completed the Dapol 'Scammel Scarab' as a present and as I'm not experienced with plastic kits I found it extremely fiddly and difficult. By request I have now started Dapol's 'Evening Star' locomotive and with completely inadequate instructions and no prior knowledge the valve gear/conrods are a nightmare. I have been full of angst at the idea of having movement and encouraged by your video I will continue with relief and without the feeling that I am inadequate as a modeller. Off topic - I have two issues with he Dapol 'Scammel Scarab'. Provision should be made to fit the trailer mudguards BEFORE the axle assembly and the kit has no component to split the windscreen of the cab like the real vehicle. I had to make the divider using a bit of a paperclip.

The Schools class were designed specifically with the Hastings line in mind with its restricted loading gauge.

Hi Love the video (and the model) I agree with you, just a little revamp would aid this kit so much Cheers Oliver

Great video! 👍🏻 I wish I’d seen it before I bought this kit. I’ve the use of only one hand because of a stroke I’ve suffered so t seems I’m up for a bit of a challenge. 😄

Great school's class you have made I think it's fabulous.

i recommend humbrol 30 for the brunswick green as its slimier to raf grass green

Really nice to see you using spray cans and Tamiya extra thin ! Have you ever thought about giving the revel 1/87 big boy kit a shot it’s a brilliant train kit also if you ever want to build a large locomotive try trumpeters 1/35 br86 it’s huge and a lovely kit a tad expensive but you get what you pay for. :)

It is possible to source pdfs of the ORIGINAL Airfix instructions on the internet. These instructions were written in a much more technical language but were well understood by young and old alike in the 1960s. The steps of construction are in a slightly different order from the Dapol method, but, in my opinion, make more sense. Words are used in preference to just "pictures". For many kits in the range the words used in the original Airfix instructions explain more accurately which parts are to be glued and which not.

Your an amazing modeller:)

You should try the dewery shunter because it has the most potential of moving wheels mine would have worked but I made a mistake and glued a bolt (to attach the coupling rods) and let it set I then made the mistake of trying to pull it out again (it would have still ran if I had not) and it snapped off but it still lucks nice sat in a yard

Love the vid bro keep it up :)

Hey, I recently ordered the Dapol Battle of Britain Class ‘Fighter Pilot’ and was wondering if you could do a video on that? Great work btw, this looks so good!

Very nice modl

I was surprised at how good a paint job you can get using a brush.

I like how it looks, cud you for your next loco scratch build a sparkshot custom creations a0(Gordon) with a custom chassis build by you

You are right, the instructions in the dapol kits are horrible to follow. I've just bought this kit in its original airfix state and the instructions are really clear. I got it for £6.

Will you review the dapol GWR 4-4-0 city of turo

Can we get a model minutes discord server? Also awesome video!

Have the bulleid pacific, painted it in saved from scrap style rust, looked fantastic until the dog somehow managed to eat the tender :(

The rod from the return crank should be outside the crank not inside

waar zijn dapol platiek modellen te koop

can these models be fitted with motors?

Shame they don't mould them in green or black plastic. Alternatively pay £200 for a RTR model? These kits are useful for static display including showing locos partly dismantled for repair, general kitbashing/mods, etc. I guess sales volumes are low so hard to justify bespoke printed boxes and exploded diagrams. At least, AFAIK, they are made in the UK.

Great kit ."Thumbs up for you" .Hope you like mine diesel dave's

have you got a Avro Lancaster

Make the dapol evening star

btw i sent u an email of my cromwell pictures i would like u to use for the next subscriber showcase...

😲😮

Oh...

Odd, an engine that doesn't move and can't pull a train. Why???

stephen rocket

I've watched two of these videos back to back now, and a common theme seems to be Dapol's poor instructions. I wonder if they're just saving money. With the carriage I mentioned just now I wonder if the bagged presentation was also another cheap way to shift old products. Basically sacrificing quality for profit.

First