Opinions on MicroAce steam locos?

[marknewton]

I'm looking at some of the MicroAce steam locos to use as donor mechanisms for HOn30/HOe loco projects. I'm particularly interested in their C50 2-6-0. I'm wondering what people's opinions are of the running qualities of their steam locos are? The Kato C50s look nice, but I don't think I want to spend too much on a model I'm going to pull apart and discard the majority of.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Martijn Meerts]

I have a bunch of MicroAce steamers, and I'm quite happy with them. They're not as smooth as the new Kato steamers overall, and the motor is obviously very visible in the cab, but that might not be an issue if you're converting them anyway.

 

I haven't run them all that much, but I do have a C62 that has seen some use. It then got stored, and when I took it back out of the box, it looked like it had seized. I think in the end the grease might have started hardening a bit, since with a little extra power it started running again. I still need to do some maintenance on it.

 

 

[railsquid]

I have a few (counts - aha, 5) not the most superdetailed of designs, but solidly built and make nice "layout" locomotives, i.e. good for casual running without worrying about delicate parts or derailments (thanks to those lovely wide wheeltreads on the leading axles).

 

The C62 I have does however tend to slow down after a couple of dozen laps, it is over 20 years old mind you.

[marknewton]

Thanks to you both for your answers. I've got two C50s on their way to me from Yahoo Auctions, I think they'll be ideal for what I have in mind.

 

All the best,

 

Mark.