What’s in the Shops: Another ‘Toad’ from Hornby

Hot on the heels of Hornby’s excellent OO-scale ‘Toad E’ brake van comes a former LNER 20t ‘Toad B’ – and it’s another cracker, writes Nigel Burkin

Hornby’s new OO-gauge NE ‘Toad B’ brake van made its arrival in the studio shortly after the BR version of the NE ‘Toad E’ was reviewed in the December issue. It is finished in LNER bauxite brown as No. 140422 (R6833), completing the story in providing a model of one of the 710 early LNER 20t brake vans built between 1924 and 1929.

Like its sister model, the LNER ‘Toad B’ is a beautifully detailed little model with delicate tooling, particularly around the side duckets with their neat horizontal planking. It shares many of its features with the ‘Toad E’, including the steel underframe, fine running boards and body fittings because Hornby made toolings capable of being adapted for period-specific models, thus widening its scope.

Many ‘Toad B’ brake vans, along with their updated ‘Toad E’ sisters, survived into BR ownership.

Use as departmental vehicles brought them to the edge of transition and diesel-era modelling (but not in the depicted LNER bauxite livery), making the design appealing to a wide range of modellers.

The model specifications are the same as the previously reviewed ‘Toad E’, with clear mouldings used to make up the glazed units. Hornby has tooled a different body shell to accommodate the planked lookout duckets and a different style of lamp brackets.

Glazing in the duckets and cabin partitions has been masked before painting to achieve a finely glazed appearance with no trace of a moulded edge. The main body structure includes the roof, sides and end panels, and is of moulded plastic with fine planked detail.

For the full article and to view more images, see the February 2019 edition of Modelling – available now!
For a complete list of stockists and how to get your copy, visit: www.railwaymagazinemodelling.co.uk/distributors