Dapol Black Label ‘A4’

Richard Foster tests Dapol’s first Black Label model to see if it makes the grade.

The post-david Boyle-era Dapol has always been an innovator. It reinvented itself with its ‘N’ gauge range early in the new millennium, and has since pushed into the world of inexpensive ‘O’ gauge, giving us ready-to-run signals, screw-together catenary, magnetic couplers and close-fitting ‘N’ gauge coach gangways, not to mention some exquisite ‘OO’ and ‘N’ gauge diesel and electric models (‘Western’, Class 22 and, most recently, the Class 68 - see page 14). Black Label is, therefore, so typically Dapol. I was as surprised as anyone to see a ‘OO’ gauge LNER ‘A4’ on its stand at the 2015 Warley National Model Railway Exhibition. Hornby produces arguably the best massproduced version of Sir Nigel Gresley’s seminal design, as well as a decentlooking budget Railroad version, and while not in its current catalogue, even Bachmann’s version can still hold its own today. And that’s before we start getting into the high-end, museum-quality metal models from the likes of Golden Age. Could the market really sustain yet another ‘A4’? That was until Dapol’s Andy Forty explained what this ‘A4’ actually was. It’s not a direct competitor to the Hornby or Bachmann products - or even those from Golden Age. No, this is Black Label, an entirely new venture that bridges the gap between mass-market plastic and exclusive brass. Black Label is for those who want the refinement of a brass model and will be prepared to pay a few hundred more than a top-spec sound-fitted Hornby product but who can’t afford the four-figure sum for brass. It’s a speculative move. Dapol readily admits that it doesn’t know if there’s a market for Black Label, which is why it’s chosen the ‘A4’, as it’s arguably the most popular steam locomotive of all time. But Black Label isn’t just a die-cast metal version of a Hornby model. There’s an extensive ‘spec’ list, including lights, sound and smoke. That pre-production ‘A4’ looked pretty complete and so, just over a year later, the ‘A4s’ are in stock. Black Label has arrived.

BLACK BOX

You can tell Black Label has arrived by the box. It’s extremely stylish and a cut above the usual model locomotive packaging. Lifting the lid reveals the usual warranty literature, as well as a handsome owner’s manual. Despite its size, the manual is comprehensive and explains what the accessories are and how to use them. It also goes into great detail about how to configure the DCC functions, so you get the best out of them. You’ll find the accessories under the heavy foam lid. You get two bottles of smoke oil (one specially formulated for Dapol units) and a funnel, a replacement driving wheel with traction tyre, another Cartazzi truck (we’ll get into this later) plus a bag that contains the cylinder draincocks and the speedometer. And, tightly wrapped in plastic and paper, is the ‘A4’. I was pretty impressed with the pre-production ‘A4’ I saw at Warley. Most importantly, it looked like an ‘A4’, something aided by its metal construction. There was a lustre and depth to the paint that you can only get with metal, and this complemented the model’s good looks. I’m pleased to say that this good work carries over to the production model that Dapol kindly loaned us for review. We have No. 4482 Golden Eagle, which was the first of the production run of 17 ‘A4s’ introduced in 1936. These machines followed the initial quartet, which were famously painted in the silver/grey livery for the ‘Silver Jubilee’ train of 1935. Production ‘A4s’ were to be painted in the LNER’S standard apple green but, in the event, only six received this colour. From, No. 4489 onwards, the class was painted blue to suit the new ‘Coronation’ train the LNER had planned, and blue became the standard livery until black was imposed during the Second World War. In fact, Golden Eagle was the only ‘A4’ to receive this version of apple green. Classmates Nos. 4483-87 had black smokeboxes, which was at odds with the locomotive’s graceful lines.

TRICKY PROTOTYPE

The ‘A4’s’ complex mix of curves and arcs has proven tricky for model manufacturers to get right, and Dapol has made a decent fist of it. I’m sure that there are experts who would be quick to pick holes in the shape, and even I feel that there are one or two questionable areas: the humpback perhaps isn’t as pronounced enough, the arc over the splashers doesn’t swoop enough, and the casing should, arguably, flare out a little where it reaches the splasher. That said, I still think it captures the air and the character of the real thing, and that’s what matters. I particularly like the area where the firebox changes the angle of the sides and you realize that the sides are flat but gradually curve inwards. Full credit to Dapol for attempting to make the rubber sheet that covered the locomotive/tender gap, but the jury’s still out on how effective it looks. Painting and finishing is often Dapol’s Achilles heel, but not here. The apple green has real depth to it. You can’t tell the join between the die-cast metal boiler and the plastic cab, and the shading on the numbers and letters is really quite exquisite. Running a fingernail along the nameplate reveals the quality of the etching, so it’s a surprise that the worksplate is printed and not an etched part. The finish isn’t perfect, however. A comparison with the model and a works portrait of the real Golden Eagle showed that the arc of the lining around the nose isn’t correct and the green ought to extend onto the running plate a bit more than it does. The prototype photograph also highlights that the curve of the boilerside handrails isn’t right and that they should sit closer to the ‘edge’ of the nose.

MARKET POSITION

You have to approach the Black Label ‘A4’ like a metal version of Hornby’s Railroad brand. That’s not meant to diminish Black Label, but to give you an idea of where it sits in the market.

THE MODEL MAKES THAT BREATHY NOISE SO TYPICAL OF THE ‘A4S’, AND THAT CHIME WHISTLE IS REALLY QUITE GLORIOUS

If you’ve ever handled an L.H. Loveless or Golden Age ‘A4’, you’ll know that all the doors and hatches open, just like the real thing. You don’t get that on Black Label; cab roof ventilators aside, all those types of details are moulded (or cast) as part of the body. It’s the difference between a standard Hornby model, with lots of separately fitted detail, compared to a Railroad model, on which everything’s moulded. If you want an opening cod’s mouth door, for example, you have to pay for it, and you’ll have to pay much more than the RRP of a Black Label model. With that in mind, you can forgive the rather crude cabside doors, the comparatively basic firebox backhead detail and the little tap on the driver’s side, behind the nameplate. What perhaps isn’t forgivable is that, on our sample, the rather flimsy cab fallplate fell off - as I knew it probably would - and the cab glazing came loose. This might be an isolated incident but it would be best to check before you buy. FEATURE-RICH What you get, instead of opening doors, are all the bells and whistles and some rather neat innovations. You get sprung buffers front and rear, but only a tension lock in an NEM pocket on the tender. At the front end, you get a factory-fitted screwlink coupling with no provision for coupling to a train with tension locks from the front. This isn’t a problem as it was on very rare occasions - or in the preservation era - that ‘A4s’ hauled trains tender-first. The NEM pocket, however, is rather unusual as it pivots, with some spring-loaded wires that press on the tender frames to control the movement. The locomotive connects to the tender electrically, with a plug and socket connector. At first glance, the physical connection looks like a rather

THE SHADING ON THE NUMBERS AND LETTERS IS EXQUISITE

crude hook and loop - until you realize that the hook is on a cam arrangement, which means that the tender remains closely coupled, even on tight radius curves. It will be interesting to see if other manufacturers take note of this. Talking of curves, the ‘A4’ is fitted with a pivoting rear truck so that it can negotiate second radius curves. This isn’t prototypically correct, so Dapol supplies a replacement truck. This has a bit of movement in the truck but the play comes from the axle. The swap is easy (you just need a screwdriver) and though it’s not as aesthetically accurate as, say, Hornby’s fixed truck, it does enable the locomotive to traverse large radius curves, although after tests on our track, I’d say that Dapol’s recommendation of third radius is perhaps a little optimistic - ours struggled on R3 curves but was much happier on R4s.

ON THE LOOSE

We weren’t able to run Golden Eagle in as recommended but even so, it was still a good performer. It was a little tight straight from the box but soon loosened up (running in is definitely recommended) and it coped well with our test track. It easily managed 11 Bachmann and Hornby bogie coaches on level track (the traction tyre is only needed if you have heavy, brass coaches). It performed well on the inclines and hauled those same 11 coaches over our 1-in-30 gradient with minimal slipping. It’s the DCC technology that makes the Black Label ‘A4’ really special. The sounds are really clear and accurate. The model makes that breathy noise so typical of the ‘A4s’, and that chime whistle is really quite glorious. All the sounds can be fine-tuned and I’d recommend tweaking the rate of ‘chuff’ to match the speed of the model. There are two other notable features on the Black Label model: smoke and lights. The factory-fitted lights are quite fine. Yes, the wires are visible under close inspection, but they’re not noticeable from normal viewing distances. The lamps are mounted in the express passenger position and aren’t removable. The lights come on when the locomotive moves forward and are complemented by a flickering firebox glow, activated when the coal shovelling sound is selected. The latter is rather neat as it replicates the glow from the ash pan, as well as from the firehole door. Unfortunately, I feel that the headlamp glow is a bit too bright for an oil lamp and seems more like a modern, high-intensity steam headlamp. There’s a little switch under the nose for the smoke generator. Dapol recommends that you don’t run the generator without oil in it, so check before you start to use the model as ours was set in the ‘on’ position out of the box.

SMOKING AREA

Smoke requires quite a bit of experimentation, and I had mixed results in the limited time I had available. I tried both the ordinary and low-odour smoke oils and had greater success with the former. You need a lot of oil to begin with (as per the instructions) so perhaps I’d been a bit too sparing. At first, smoke came out from everywhere except the chimney, although there was a pleasing release when F2 (whistle) was selected. However, I did manage to get a puff of smoke from the chimney to correspond with accelerating away from a dead stop, which was rather pleasing. I dare say that with time and careful programming, you could produce a pretty good effect. It’s very hard to criticize Dapol’s Black Label ‘A4’. That’s partly due to the fact that it’s a good model and, personally, I think it holds its own against the well regarded Hornby model. But it’s hard to criticize when Dapol should really be applauded for trying something different. Only time will tell if there’s a market for Black Label. Given what we’ve seen with the ‘A4’, if the concept doesn’t take off, it won’t be because of any fault with the model.