After seeing Gary's new ARM C38 (NSWGR) locomotive that he bought recently and my wife (Deb) graciously suggesting I buy myself something for my coming birthday ... I purchased this ... which arrived today. Even though I model USA I have always had fond memories of these locomotives which were still operational when I was a boy. This is the streamlined version (only 5 of a total of 30 were built this way). The streamlined versions were mostly painted green and the preserved 3801 shows that colour off well (see on YouTube). Even more amazing in these times of rising prices this DCC ready locomotives is available on eBay for $299.99. BUT ... imagine my surprise when I found that the seller (Hobbyco - Sydney) offered a discount coupon of $60 (and free postage) which brought the price down to $239.99. The locomotive/tender has a good amount of weight and runs great in DC but I will be installing a DCC decoder and running it digitally. I like the black livery but I think some light weathering is needed especially on the silver cab roof which would have gotten grimy very quickly. The detail is very good but you have to be careful ... after lifting it out of the box I (fortunately) noticed a very small handrail on the bench. There are 2 vertical handrails on each side of the cab entrance and this was one of them. A couple of tiny dabs of superglue fixed it ... but I am lucky I noticed it had fallen off as it could have been lost forever. This C38 will be a good companion for my AD60 Garratt which is still very much under construction. Chris
Nice ..... For light weathering of black stock, I've found lightly spraying Humbrol Dust &/or Sand enamel washes, neat out of the jar. Just grey's down the black. Paul
A very nice purchase Chris.... The new locos coming through in most scales keep upgrading the detail to the point where we have to be very careful handling them. Not a bad thing, but we have to keep it in mind. So enjoy your model and have a Happy Birthday Gormo
Lovely locomotive Chris, and a great price too. I found on my model that the hinged foot plate was hanging loose on the drivers side. Not a difficult fix, just a little fiddly. Today I was down at Thirlmere and grabbed a photo of the class leader 3801 as she was sitting outside along Barbour Rd/West Parade.... Don't forget the Thirlmere Festival of Steam will be held on the weekend of June 25/26, four weeks away ! Cheers, Gary.
Thanks Gary ... I have to admit the restored 3801 looks great in green. I don't remember any 38's in a green as deep ... so I had a look at some historic pics and found that 38s seem to have had a number of different green liveries. I think the deep green looks the best BUT were any of the original locomotives ever painted in that colour? Chris
I do remember when they rebuilt her back in 1986 at Newcastle State Dockyard they applied the lighter apple green livery, as shown in your bottom left photo. 3830 if I recall spent most of her life in the mid green with black smoke box. Cheers, Gary.
Hi Chris. Yes, these are great models. I have bought 3803 as well, and I am very impressed. I will fit the tender modification kit that includes the dual bogies and the Kadee coupler. I would like to buy 3801 as well and would like to double head these locos. Does anyone know of an adaptor kit to fit a Kadee coupler to the front of these locos. Steve
Hi Steve, I have just asked around on a couple of other groups. Hopefully someone out there has converted their ARM C38 to Kadees on the front. Cheers, Gary.
I have been informed that the coupler box that fits the Ctrl P tender kit will fit the front of the loco. On the leading pony truck, there is a mount for the coupler box. This is very similar to the British OO models NEM fitting. Photo below courtesy of Dig Digger (Newcastle and Hunter Valley Model Railways - facebook). Cheers, Gary.
I just bought my own 3801 (had the Lima Ltd Edition as a kid) and have the non-streamlined (3830 I think) on the way. Any idea what colour match the black on these or 3801’s green would be? The silver handrails on the tender stick out a bit and I need to touch up some paint on the logo handrails.
I would recommend checking out Outlaw Paints. They do a range of NSWGR, VR and QR colours. These can be purchased from Casula Hobbies. If you can't get what you are after, give Joe a call at Casula Hobbies, he will get you going in the right direction. (Ph : 0296028640) https://casulahobbies.com.au/ Cheers, Gary.