NATALIE TRICKETT reviews this HO Scale Set, which would make a perfect Christmas present.
I’ve chosen the Steam Freight Starter Set to have a look at as it was the most appealing to me looks-wise and in price.
It seems ideal as a starter set, and as Christmas is coming up it's ideal for a first railway present for children. They will love the circus lorry, and its price isn’t bad either!
Whilst the wagons are simple in detail they all have metal wheels and axles and they’re equipped with standard couplings which are also metal.
The colour and quality of the plastic is good and the mouldings are all crisp and high quality. They are all detailed underneath and the tank wagon has all the usual hand rails. The transfers are applied to a high standard and the wagons all have a nice weight to them.
The locomotive is from the Piko Hobby range so is fairly basic in terms of detail. There isn’t a massive amount of detailing but this does make it very robust and less delicate for younger train enthusiasts. Saying that, it is a very good runner at all speeds. Piko have become very good at slow speed running and I have yet to see a jerky slow running loco in either their Hobby or Expert range. All the wheels and couplings on the loco are metal and all the transfers and detailing is produced to a high standard. Again the loco is weighty and not at all cheap feeling.
The Piko transformer and single track controller are very good and do the good properly. They are basic in function and looks but this makes for easy operation and wiring up to the track. Piko have used their standard push in wire connectors so it was very easy and safe to connect up. The children would easily be able to do these themselves.
The track system is brilliant! the dimensions of the loop are 110cm x 88cm. The detailing is far better than you usually see, with even the chairs detailed and the spacing of the sleepers is some of the most realistic I’ve seen. The nickel steel rails have a finer profile than other leading brands which add to its realism.
All pieces of track are available individually but for ease there are some add on packs available at discounted prices:
I also added a Noch N02120 single track tunnel; just for that extra play value.
In all this is a brilliant set at a bargain price. It’s suitable as a starting point to build a quality HO scale layout with the option of adding on more track when you’re ready to expand, or for the children as a birthday or Christmas present they can treasure which will grow with them.