45T Ransomes & Rapier Steam Breakdown Crane 3D printed kit from Wild Boar Models

Wild Boar Models develop and produce a number of 3D printed 4mm scale kits including a 45T Ransomes and Rapier Steam Breakdown Crane based on the two that were supplied (procured by the Government) to the Southern Railway, four to the Great Western Railway and a further two to the Ministry of Supply /  LNER under wartime conditions in 1940. The kit has been made possible by the evolving technology of 3D printing. The kit was available, and indeed I purchased mine, before the Bachmann announcement last month, reported here,  that they intend to also produce a Ransomes and Rapier 45T Steam Breakdown Crane, although Bachmann have not fully started the development of their model so the actual versions they intend to produce is not yet known.

The design was based on the 36T cranes supplied to the Southern Railway in 1937 with a modified carriage to suit the increased capacity.
The two supplied to the Southern Railway were numbered 1560S (later British Railway numbers DS1560 and ADRR95209) and 1561S (DS1561 and ADRR95210). Number 1561S is preserved and is currently located on the Swanage Railway.
The two Southern Railway cranes were prior to nationalisation based at Guildford / Nine Elms and Feltham, the crane allocated at Salisbury was in fact a 36T version, so not totally correct for Fisherton Sarum but will hopefully make appearances nevertheless.

The kit, although at first glace might seem a little pricey at £167 (including Post and Packing) impressively contains everything that you need as in addition to the 3D printed parts it includes wheels, bearings, sprung buffers, wire, etched plates and detail parts and even the cord for the rigging. NEM coupling pockets are provided along with tension lock couplings that can be fitted if required.

Also included is an excellent, professionally produced and printed instruction manual with prototype information including pictures, very step by step instructions and diagrams. It has the feel of the excellent instructions provided within LEGO Technic kits of my childhood. Even the box with a machine cut foam insert for all the parts, including a pre-cut area to locate and protect the completed model, is very impressive and well thought out.

As with most 3D printed parts at the moment there is some cleaning up to be carried out  due to the linear printing process, but they have designed the kit to minimise the impact of this. I intend to post details of this kit build as I progress on a proposed new blog section “Workbench Witterings” so what this space.

Further details on the prototype cranes that this kit is based on can be found on the excellent website of the Breakdown Crane Association and also within Peter Tatlow’s excellent book “Railway Breakdown Cranes, the story of breakdown cranes on the railways of Britain volume 2” ISBN 978-1-906419-97-4