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Modern Motive Power Range

A range of Modern British 'O' Gauge/7mm:1 Foot Railway Locomotive and Multiple Unit kits

Setting New Standards for BR-Era and Modern Modellers

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An Overview of the MMP Range of kits
There can be little doubt that the 7mm/’O’ Gauge scene is changing dramatically. 

Firstly in terms of the most popular eras that people wish to model. Pre-Grouping, or even ‘The Big Four’ are now eclipsed in popularity by the BR-Era. Within this time-span however, the steam-diesel changeover period is undoubtedly the most popular and any reasonably commercially-minded manufacturer ignores it at his peril! Increasingly, also, there seems to be a growing nostalgia for the 1970s & 1980s ‘Rail Blue’ era and even that of ‘Sectorisation’. What is still not so popular though is the post-privatisation period that we have the misfortune to be in now. The ever-changing number of ‘dog’s breakfast’ style liveries and the almost complete ending of loco-hauled passenger services is, I think, in no small measure responsible for this - plus, of course, the ongoing decline in freight loco types - the Class 66 takeover still continuing apace. For every Late-era Class 31 or Class 47 kit we sell, we turn-over 5-6 kits of the original versions, that can be painted in green or rail blue. The same with our vacuum-only braked Class 08 kit versus the dual-braked Class 08/09 kit.

The other big change of course since I started out in 7mm in the 1970s is the availability of kits that use non-metal parts [i.e. not just etchings or castings] and latterly, the ongoing growth in the RTR market.

When I started my original range of kits [Post-War Prototypes] in 1978 the majority of ‘O’ Gauge modellers were modelling in Coarse Scale [remember it???] and Fine Scale was the Scaleseven of today! It was years before anyone asked us to consider including cab interiors as most modellers painted the insides of their cab windows gloss black to hide the huge ‘Bonds O’ Euston Road’ 24 volt motors that they fitted! But our original Class 47 kit came onto the market at £39.95 and sold in many hundreds. The prices increased slightly as we added motor bogies & buffer beam brake pipes etc. but the whole concept was that they were very basic collections of parts that you could make of what you wished. You could build them as basic ‘shapes’ or you could add as much detail as you wanted - above all though - they were cheap to buy and this was a very important consideration in Britain at that time. We shifted well into four figures in terms of quantity, of loco, coach & wagon kits across the range of 96 subjects during the 1979-88 period. When RJH purchased the range in 1988 they effectively killed it off by almost doubling the prices without increasing the detail and the rest is history. Under my ownership only one loco kit [Class 59] ever got above £100, coaches were £50-60 max. and wagons like the SPA were only £25.50.

When I then started the MMP range in 1988 I made a conscious decision to go ‘up-market’ My contract with RJH prevented me from producing mainline diesels for five years until September 1993. After that the restrictions of my sale contract were gone. The MMP range of kits was/is not intended to compete with the ex-PWP/RJH kits but to be a fine-scale alternative. I felt there was room for them both on the market. The problem was for the ex-RJH range that all the subsequent owners have carried on with the kits priced at the higher prices but without changing the ‘spec.’ in any major way.

Steam loco kits such as those from Martin Finney and the Kemilway LNER coach kits were coming onto the market and it seemed that 7mm was now taking an unrelenting step upwards in terms of detail and kit complexity and I very much wanted MMP to be among the front runners in this area. The use of CAD made so much more possible in terms of pushing the limits of the etching process. Unfortunately, the skill levels of many 7mm modellers has not kept up with this trend and now one section of ‘O’ gauge modellers have seemed to become openly hostile to kits of the type that we produce. The JLTRT range is a 180 degree alternative to kits of our style. I understand that the ultimate aim of these kits is to enable all modellers to achieve the same result. That is diametrically opposed to my philosophy which says that with an MMP kit [or, say, a Martin Finney steam loco kit] you have the opportunity to develop and increase your skill levels to then produce a museum-quality model that is substantially made of metal and will last for years & years. As another manufacturer remarked to me recently of his customers, ‘we are trying to offer them the ability to make Stan Beeson quality models at Lima prices and they just don’t believe it’! Part of the problem is that the amount of modellers who worked in manufacturing/engineering is now a fraction of what it was in the 1970s/80s. Then, they would bring those manipulative skills to their hobby but the changes in our society and in the work place now mean that this is increasingly not the case.

The Ready To Run scene will only grow as consequence of this but at present quality and accuracy is patchy. The most recent steam locos coming in from China look very good but the Heljan Class 47 is [by quite common reckoning] a disappointment in many ways. Certainly we are having to release no less than three detail sets to try and improve this loco. We have sold a large quantity of the sets we produce for the Bachmann brass Class 08s but it cannot correct the fundamental bonnet shape problem with the loco. And then there is the Skytrex range!!! So - kit or RTR? I know which I would prefer to spend my hard-earned money on. I want an A4 Pacific for my own needs. The forthcoming Sunset Models RTR A4 looks quite tempting but I shall buy the Piercy/DJH kit as [being part mastered by Tony Reynalds] I know it will be accurate and I can monitor every part of the loco as I shall be constructing it!

So, against this background every manufacturer must assess the future direction his kits will take. Do we simplify our kits or even withdraw them and just produce the parts as RTR locos & coaches in batches - or do we say that there is an ever-widening split in the 7mm market [similar to that which has already occurred in 4mm] and we are going to ‘take sides’. The two of us who ‘bankroll’ MMP have decided to do just this. We have decided to go with the small but still numerous enough band of modellers who wish to make highly-detailed kits that are predominantly etched. We have many interesting loco, passenger & freight stock and lineside kits still to come and they will increasingly include extra materials such as pre-cut wood for some of the wagons and features like working leaf springs.

So, if you like to build rather than just play, we will continue to do our very best to make your hobby both exciting and interesting. For those who just like to ‘play trains’ [and there is nothing wrong with that!] there will continue to be more and more choice in the RTR Market. Kits like those from JLTRT provide a halfway house between the two. All these approaches are valid. There will be [differing] amounts of room for all these approaches. At the end of the day we should all be trying to provide enjoyment and value for money to the most important people - our customers [who buy my tomato juice & Worcester sauce, prawns & black pepper, avocados & smoked garlic mayonnaise, modern jazz albums and a Piercy/DJH Models A4!].

David Parkins, west Wales
Listed below are the currently available super-detailed Gauge 'O'/7mm Scale MMP kits of diesel locomotives - designed with the BR-era & modern modeller in mind, and depicting locomotives in both "as introduced" condition AND [where relevant] as finally running on the British railway system. 

Each main-line loco kit is sold with a super-detailed bogie kit - including most brake gear and rigging. The Class 56, 58 & 60 kits are designed so as to accept a choice of motors. Modellers have the option to fit either Mashima 1833 motor/s or the "RJH" style Can Motor/s. Either will be ideal for those requiring reasonable main line running speeds. As a second option, RG7/RG7s [or the ABC Gears equivalent] can be fitted - this being the obvious choice for those with a depot or shunting layout, and who require the emphasis to be on slow speed control at the cost of higher speeds and traction. Slaters wheels can be fitted - and the motor bogie frames are etched to accept Slaters pick-up plungers. All other main line loco kits have a further motorising option - the fitting of the highly-praised ABC Traction Motor Units [2 per bogie] - HOWEVER, YOU MUST SPECIFY THIS OPTION AT THE POINT OF ORDERING. 

All etched components are numbered on the etched frets for easy reference. Comprehensive instructions are included - which, in most cases, feature a gallery of colour reference photographs.
Class 08-based Diesel Shunter Series
LMSR 350hp 0-6-0 Diesel Shunter [BR TOPS Class 11]
This kit covers these Class 08 fore-runners, first introduced in 1944, with the last example withdrawn in 1971. Somewhat different in character from the 08 with different cab profile and with no train braking - these locos can be finshed in the original black livery through to rail blue. Primarily an etched brass and nickel silver kit with resin bonnet top unit and fine castings in metal. Finer fittings are in high grade metal for strength and durability. Comprehensive colour-coded instructions with photo-references are included, and the kit is supplied inclusive of couplings and springable buffers. Like all the ‘08 Shunter’ series of kit it is designed to accept an RG7 motor/gearbox unit or the RJH’ style Can Motor + Slaters wheels & pick-ups.
For Future Release
GWR 350hp 0-6-0 Diesel Shunter [BR Class D3/11]
This kit covers the six GWR variants of the LMSR locos [above] and were first introduced in 1948. They were withdrawn in 1967. GWR-style numberplates are included for all of the class. Primarily an etched brass and nickel silver kit with resin bonnet top unit and fine castings in metal. Finer fittings are in high grade metal for strength and durability. Comprehensive colour-coded instructions with photo-references are included, and the kit is supplied inclusive of couplings and springable buffers. Like all the ‘08 Shunter’ series of kit it is designed to accept an RG7 motor/gearbox unit or the RJH’ style Can Motor + Slaters wheels & pick-ups.
For Future Release
Class 08/09 0.6.0 Diesel Shunter Kits £134.90
Class08 Diesel Shunter. A must for all BR & Modern modellers - our 08/09 kits are the most detailed shunters on the market. Primarily etched kits, they feature a resin moulded bonnet top unit, with castings in metal. Finer fittings are in high grade metal for strength and durability. Comprehensive instructions with reference photos are included, and the kits are supplied inclusive of couplings and springable buffers. Like all the "08 Shunter" series, these kits are designed to accept an RG7 or ABC Mini Seven S motor/gearbox unit or the "RJH" style Can Motor + Slaters wheels & pick-ups. 

Kit 1 - Covers the 08 as a vacuum braked only locomotive - from introduction until withdrawal. 

Kit 2 - Covers the 08 & 09 as dual-braked or air braked locomotives - right through until the present day. 
Simon Varnam's superb on-line build of our Class 08/09 kit
Class 13 Master/Slave 0.6.0+0.6.0 Diesel Shunter £249.90
This fascinating kit features resin moulded bonnet top units, with castings in metal. Finer fittings are in high grade metal for strength and durability and a finely-etched nickel silver fret for grilles etc. is included. Comprehensive instructions with reference photos are included, and the kits are supplied inclusive of couplings and springable buffers. All the additional cab detail of the "Master" loco is included as are the distinctive deeper buffer beams. 
Bachmann RTR Class 08 Diesel Shunter Detail Set  £49.90
This is a much-needed and requested set that provides full cab detail with extra parts to give you a double-skin glazing effect for all windows. Also included are neew cab steps, buffer steps, accurate brake pipe fittings [incl. air pipes], accurate grille panel overlays, windscreen wipers, underfloor pipework and much more. Accurate sandboxes and fully detailed sandpipes in cast brass are included, as is a complete brake cylinder assembly [that fits beneath the cab floor] plus the air compressor unit fitted to dual and air braked locomotives. This super-value set comes with colour-coded instructions and photo-references.
Class 31.0 A1A-A1A Diesel Locomotive £199.90
This kit portrays the original "Skinhead" Class 31s introduced in 1957 and includes other alternate parts to cover them through to their withdrawal from BR. The kit specification is as for our 31.1/31.4 kits [see below]. Ideal motive power for our upcoming Mk.1 Suburban coach kits!
Option A. - for Mashima, ‘RJH’ Style Can, RG7 or ABC Mini 7S Motors.
Option B. - for ABC Traction Motor Units -
Class 31.1/31.4 A1A-A1A Diesel Locomotive - Kit 1 - 1958 to Mid- 1980s £199.90
This super-detailed kit in etched metal, injection resin and high-grade cast metal portrays the 31.1s as originally running - with steam heat and faired in buffer beam, together with parts for the ETH fitted 31.4s, converted from 1972. This kit features one-piece resin moulded cab/roof units with fine surface detailing that fit between the cab rear bulheads that are integral with the central etched loco body section. Fine grille-work is a feature of this kit, together with fully detailed cab interiors with laser-plotted dials [easily seen through those large windows]. Included is a superb nickel silver fret of detailed parts + multi-layer window frames and many other fine details. Prototype sectional roof construction is featured as are our usual super-clear colour-coded instructions with many photo references.
Option A. - for Mashima, ‘RJH’ Style Can, RG7 or ABC Mini 7S Motors.
Option B. - for ABC Traction Motor Units -
Class 31.1/31.4 A1A-A1A Diesel Locomotive- Kit 2 - Mid- 1980s Onwards £199.90
To the same standard as the previous kit - this portrays the 31.1s & 31.4s with exposed buffer beam structure and no waistline beading etc. This version includes the cowl fitted around the roof radiator fan aperture, together with cab-shore cab roof aerials and additional cab interior parts. All the other details are included as is the prototype sectional roof construction and our usual super-clear colour-coded instructions with many photo references.
Option A. - for Mashima, ‘RJH’ Style Can, RG7 or ABC Mini 7S Motors.
Option B. - for ABC Traction Motor Units -
Class 40 1-Co-Co-1 Diesel Locomotive £249.90
Class 40 1-Co-Co-1 Diesel Locomotive Kit. A Super-Detailed kit of 'The Whistler' - in etched metal, injection resin and high-grade cast metal. It features screw & glue one-piece injection-resin cab units. The highly-detailed bogies with options for inside frame running [using either RG7 or Mashima motor/s], or with outside frame running [using ABC Traction Motor units] are a feature of this kit, together with centrally-sprung radial idler wheel trucks . There is an ultra-fine nickel silver etched fret for all grille-work + Multi-layer window frames and many other fine details. Prototype sectional roof construction with 'open' louvre detail is featured as are options for all three loco end configurations. Cab & bulkhead detail with laser-plotted dials - plus our usual super-clear colour-coded instructions and photo references are, of course, included. 
Option A. - for Mashima, ‘RJH’ Style Can, RG7 or ABC Mini 7S Motors.
Option B. - for ABC Traction Motor Units - 
Class 47 Co-Co Diesel Locomotive -  Kit 1 - 1963-mid-1990s £199.90
Class 47 Co-Co Diesel Locomotive - Kit 1 - 1963-mid-1990s. This kit features an etched brass body - with roof and cab mouldings in injection resin. Fittings are in cast metal, with the finer components in high grade metal for strength and durability. Detail overlays and many other small parts are in finely-etched nickel silver and can be added un-painted for a spectacular finish. The kit includes both original and revised radiator compt. roof sections and the highly-detailed central undergear section can be made with or without water tanks. Both steam heat & ETH gear are included - the latter having alternate parts for both the standard fit and the Crewe-converted batch of 47.4s. TDM jumpers are also supplied. Full cab details are included, with laser-plotted dashboard films. Three alternate styles of headcode/marker light covers are provided, together with cab-shore aerials and handset units.
Option A. - for Mashima, ‘RJH’ Style Can, RG7 or ABC Mini 7S Motors.
Option B. - for ABC Traction Motor Units - 
Class 47 Co-Co Diesel Locomotive - Kit 2 - As Currently Running £199.90
Class 47 Co-Co Diesel Locomotive - Kit 2 - As Currently Running. Specification of this kit is broadly similar to kit-1 above, but has the revised front end and long-range fuel tanks [as fitted to Class 47/8s] together with revised cab fittings and other mods., including side covers for the cab roof horn grilles. As with kit-1 - detail overlays and many other small parts are in finely-etched nickel silver and can be added un-painted for a spectacular finish. The highly-detailed central undergear section can be made with or without water tanks. ETH gear and TDM jumpers are supplied. Full cab details are included with laser-plotted dashboard films.
Option A. - for Mashima, ‘RJH’ Style Can, RG7 or ABC Mini 7S Motors.
Option B. - for ABC Traction Motor Units -
Immaculate Class 47 Building, with Gallery!  
New - Detail Sets for the Heljan Class 47
Three sets for this loco which [although an excellent runner] many of you have found to be disappointing from a level of detail point of view. These sets will go 99% of the way to transforming the appearance of your plastic loco into that of a kit-built fine scale loco.
Cab Interior Set
This set provides you with the rear cab bulkhead overlays with all fittings, which can be constructed, painted and glued to the existing blank bulkheads in the model. The set also includes new fascias for the control desks and levers etc. + new dash panels with laser-plotted films. Cab-shore phones and food heaters are also included together with new seats. Price Yet to Fixed.
Class 47 Bogie Side & End Beam Replacement Set 
This set supplies resin bogie sides that clip on the Heljan loco to replace those on the kit. These have the full springing arrangement accurately represented and are set at the correct depth in relation to each other. Accurate bogie end beams are also supplied in resin to replace the fictional arrangement on the Heljan loco. In addition, this set includes fully detailed bogie steps, optional axleboxes for slow speed control-fitted locos, and all brake linkage. Price Yet to Fixed.
Class 47 Body & Underfloor Detail Set
The largest of the three sets - the use of this set will only be possible if you are re-painting your Heljan loco. This set contains a complete new glue-on central underfloor unit that can be made to represent a loco with or without water tanks. Several roof details are provided, including overlays for the roof radiator section to model the ORIGINAL [as built] radiator grille arrangement + cab-shore phone aerials, window frame overlays [to get rid of the over-thick window problem] replacements for many details such as lamp brackets, windscreen wipers, buffer & buffer beam details, rear of buffer beam side skirts, works plates, Durbar door kick-plates, coupling rear plates, ETH mounting brackets [for use with the MMP ETH Equipment set - available separately], complete Snow Plough assemblies & more.  Price Yet to Fixed.

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Class 56 Co-Co Freight Locomotive £209.90
Class 56 Co-Co Freight Locomotive. This kit features an etched brass body - with roof and cab mouldings in polyurethane resin. Fittings are in cast metal, with the finer components in high grade metal for strength and durability. The kit is supplied with the later style front end, additional parts for the recently modified roof grilles. Many detail overlays and smaller parts are in finely-etched nickel silver and can be added un-painted for a spectacular finish. Includes highly-detailed bogies, with multi-part axlebox assemblies and all brake gear. Full cab detail is included - with laser-plotted dashboard films. A highly-detailed central under-gear assembly is included - right down to the manufacturer's name on the compressors and the complex sanding gear is fully portrayed. Finely-etched grille-work and a detailed radiator area are, as you would expect, a feature of this kit.

Click Here If you like to follow Simon Varnam's superb on-line build of our Class 56 kit
Class 57/0 Freightliner Locomotive £199.90
Class 57 Freightliner Locomotive. Specification of this kit is broadly similar to our Revised Class 47 kit [see above] - but there the similarity ends. Apart from additional castings for the sandboxes and extra bogie pipework - the kit includes totally new photo-etch tooling for the body and roof, with body-side steps removed, new roof panels and revised cab interior details and dashboard panel instrument films. The highly-detailed central undergear section can be made with or without water tanks, as the locos converted include both these variations. In addition, four sets of nameplates are included - for Freightliners 'Pioneer', 'Evolution', 'Explorer' and 'Venturer', together with many other finely-etched nickel silver detail overlays and small parts, some of which can be added un-painted for a spectacular finish.
Option A. - for Mashima, ‘RJH’ Style Can, RG7 or ABC Mini 7S Motors.
Option B. - for ABC Traction Motor Units.
Available To Special Order Direct from MMP - 
If required we can supply a hybrid kit for the sole Class 57 locomotive - currently in the purple & white Porterbrook livery and used by First Great Western.  £209.90 
Class 57/3 'THUNDERBIRD'/ Class 57/6 Locomotive £209.90
Class 57/3 'THUNDERBIRD' Locomotive. Specification of this kit is broadly similar to the Class 57/0 kit [see above] - but there is much more. Apart from the additional castings for the sandboxes and bogie pipework, roof lights and other parts - the kit includes totally new photo-etch tooling for the body and roof, with body-side steps removed, new roof panels and revised cab interior details and dashboard panel instrument films. The highly-detailed central undergear section includes the new centrally-mounted ETH unit and other mods., together with many other finely-etched nickel silver detail overlays and small parts, some of which can be added un-painted for a spectacular finish - including the fully detailed revised roof radiator units and grilles. This kit covers the Virgin locos as built before the front end modifications for the Delner couplings and the First Great Western 57/6s now being introduced.
Option A. - for Mashima, ‘RJH’ Style Can, RG7 or ABC Mini 7S Motors.
Option B. - for ABC Traction Motor Units -
Class 57/3 ‘THUNDERBIRD’ Delner Coupling/Front End Update

Delner Coupling courtesy of Phil Norris.

 This proposed add-on pack will include a pair of dummy Delner couplings and the frames in which they fit, together with the coupling carriage and raising/lowering mechanisms. All the first twelve Virgin 57/3s will return to Brush for this modification and the additional four locos still to be introduced will have this fit from new. Would include full instructions for installation into our Class 57/3 kit -
We will produce this set only if enough demand is indicated.  (None so far!!!)
Class 58 Co-Co Freight Locomotive £219.90
Class 58 Co-Co Freight Locomotive. This is a very large kit covering the Class 58 throughout its service life. A feature of this kit are the very highly detailed bogies with both original and revised sanding gear arrangements, together with a central undergear section of exceptional detail. The running plate/solebar unit assembles in several layers providing scale thickness solebar flanges and slot and tab locations for many other items. The hood section and roof panels assemble, again using slot and tab construction, into a rigid unit that then accepts the finely-etched nickel silver radiator grille-work and multi-layer access doors. Full cab detail and dashboard panel films are included, together with finely cast lost-wax brass assemblies for the complex brake pipework that is a feature of the Class 58 buffer beams.
Simon Varnam's superb on-line build of our Class 58 kit
Class 60 Co-Co Diesel Freight Locomotive £219.90
Class 60 Co-Co Diesel Freight Locomotive. This kit is one of the most detailed diesel locomotive kits yet produced in 7mm scale. It uses .015" brass for the main constructional parts, together with many castings in metal. Finer fittings are in high grade metal for strength and durability. In addition there are two large .008" nickel silver frets included for all the finer detailing parts, many of which are added after painting, and left in their natural state, to spectacular effect. The kit features full cab detail, even down to the ash-trays and dashboard films, and a fully detailed radiator compartment, with all the detail visible through the finely-etched mesh screens. There are fully detailed compensated bogies, together with an underframe assembly that is virtually a kit in itself. The model includes 9 pairs of nameplates, and all windows use a double-skin assembly that traps the glazing in place for ultra-realism.

NOTE ABOUT SECOND-HAND LOCO KITS
We have had several phone calls from modellers who have purchased second-hand loco kits and then find that parts are damaged or missing. They then become disappointed when we cannot supply individual castings or etchings. We now sub-contract all of our casting due to pressure of work and are only geared up to supply complete sets of castings. Our etched sheets usually provide spares for the very small parts but we cannot get more of these without ordering a complete sheet - often 24"x12" in size! It is not our fault if some people misuse or abuse their kits - so if you are buying S/H or part- made kits be very very careful - check the contents against the parts lists in the kit instructions and make sure it is complete - otherwise you might end up with a duff 'Duff' or a 'Pup' instead of a Gronk!
Main Line Diesel Locomotive Fittings Set £36.90

 

47 238.
Cab view.
Many of you have said how useful it would be to have available a 'generic' set of detailed parts culled from the nickel silver etchings and the castings in our current MMP main line diesel kits - that you could use to 'tart-up' your earlier diesels from other manufacturers and to use on RTR locos.

To compliment the buffers and pipework etc. available in our Diesel Locomotive Fittings Range [see next page] we have produced this set - it will provide you with a whole range of parts for adding detail to several loco types and provides -

Cab Fittings - incl. control levers & bulkhead fittings [2 complete sets], seats [2 styles], handbrake wheels [3 styles], phone units, windscreen sun shades etc.

Roof Fittings - three styles of roof fan, disc vents, cab/shore phone roof fairings [2 styles], access door hinges and latches plus three different styles of grille mesh

Timken & SKF axlebox covers

Body Fittings - three styles of body side mesh, three styles of step tread, several styles of windscreen wipers & lamp brackets, headcode discs, marker lights, fixed beam headlights, Class 37 split headcode box fascias - 2 styles, BR 'Arrows of Indecision', handrail plates, overhead warning panels, door handles [several styles], train headboards, TDM jumpers, 4 styles of drawbar plate, Class 47/57/56 door kickplates, builders plates and much more

Miniature Snow Ploughs - three complete sets - two 'standard' and one for Class 33 - incl. full rear structure of centre plough units and fully detailed buffer beam mounting bracket assemblies

One of the most useful sets a serious diesel modeller will ever buy - in etched nickel silver, etched brass and cast metal.

Please Note - we've kept the price this low by combining everything - 
please do not ask us to split off any parts - we will only say 'No'!

Postage on Sets - £2.50 Per Order - Free if ordered with Locomotive kits 

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