12/11/2025
At the expo, a LOT of guys asked for loco bodies. Everybody prior to actually seeing the models in real life, thought SARMODEL used donor or modified bodies from other manufacturers.
Let me put this to bed. All SARMODEL models are bespoke custom designed items. They are all done from engineering drawings. Each body, chassis, diesel tank, battery box, sideframe, wheelbase, pilot and so forth is done from drawings. So intricate that even slight discrepancies between eras are modelled too.
And, the bodies are designed to work only with its dedicated chassis. I DO NOT SELL PARTS OF LOCOS!!!! Each chassis is designed to only work with its own gearboxes. You cannot buy a SARMODEL body and put a Frateschi or Athearn or whatever chassis underneath it.
The result is a model designed to exact dimensions. Also, somebody mentioned that they cannot go to 12mm now as they are too far in on 16.5mm gauge.
SARMODEL BUILDS BOTH 12mm GAUGE AND 16.5mm GAUGE MODELS. IT IS EITHER OR. I CAN SUPPLY BOTH GAUGES!!!!!!!
SARMODEL BUILDS BOTH 12mm GAUGE AND 16.5mm GAUGE MODELS. IT IS EITHER OR. I CAN SUPPLY BOTH GAUGES!!!!!!!
SARMODEL BUILDS BOTH 12mm GAUGE AND 16.5mm GAUGE MODELS. IT IS EITHER OR. I CAN SUPPLY BOTH GAUGES!!!!!!!
SARMODEL BUILDS BOTH 12mm GAUGE AND 16.5mm GAUGE MODELS. IT IS EITHER OR. I CAN SUPPLY BOTH GAUGES!!!!!!!
SARMODEL BUILDS BOTH 12mm GAUGE AND 16.5mm GAUGE MODELS. IT IS EITHER OR. I CAN SUPPLY BOTH GAUGES!!!!!!!
😂😂😂😂
Anyway, at the expo a guy taps me on the shoulder with a whole book on the 8E. You see, he was part of the DNA on that loco. He knows EVERYTHING there is to know about them. John Hampson. He gave me the book. It is in my stash. I’ve read it through a couple of times already. And he bent down and on my model pointed out what was what. His mind was blown when he saw the gutter over the rear of the hood to keep water out the electronics, was indeed on the model.
At that point I was a bit demoralised because I realised that very very very few people knew enough about the prototypes to understand the detail we put into these models. I will make a seperate post on that later. And then John walks in. And he SEES the effort. He looked the paint of that model lol.
A guy looked at the 6E1 as well and whistled through his teeth. “I have never seen a model like this”.
I have no idea how many people were there. But out of all of them, maybe six dudes noticed the detail and the effort.
And then it dawned on me…… instead of me throwing my toys and thinking that everybody else were daft idiots, is it not more productive and stimulating mentally to educate those that don’t know?
Like the pictures below of a SARMODEL Class 34GE. As delivered. No saddle filter, no battery boxes. How many of you knew about the grids in the cover before the saddle filters were fitted? Hmmmm?
😂😳
