IP Engineering kits

[hoppy504]

I am considering buying some IP coaches and covered wagons, and was wondering whether the bodies are manufactured from plywood or mdf board.
Thanks for any help.

[Peter Butler]

My personal opinion......
The I.P kits which I have built during the past year or so have all been plywood. Compared to some other suppliers I think the material used is thicker and of softer timber veneers resulting in coarser grain. The paint finish is therefore less satisfactory than I would like and more work is involved to achieve it
I have a preference for 'The Lineside Hut' (as an example) who use better quality, thinner, harder and closer grained ply. The cut edges are also sharper giving a cleaner finish.
If you like the idea of MDF kits I recommend 'Gerry Irwin' whose kits are highly detailed and very well priced.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huTR7lNmME0&t=3s
Jerry is a Forum member and can be contacted directly by PM.
The I.P range of kits is impressive and tempting for new starters, you might need to begin with a basic kit to judge for yourself.

[hoppy504]

Many thanks for your advise and information, my preference is for plywood. MDF reminds me of MFI flat packs.

[ge_rik]

Not sure how relevant this might be but, on my blog, I've described the construction of an IP Engineering small diesel loco kit (plywood)
https://riksrailway.blogspot.com/2018/0 ... lbert.html

and also the construction of an HGLW small diesel kit (MDF)
http://riksrailway.blogspot.com/2018/04 ... t-and.html

For various reasons, I preferred the HGLW kit. But, of course, my reasoning may differ from yours. At the end of the day, they both produce passable models.

Rik

[Sylvian Tennant]

They used to be, I have built both MDF and Plywood van kits. I must say I prefer the plywood over MDF as the surface seemed to slick to apply aerosol paints to any decent fashion and even after a good coat of MDF sealer they could still end up look a little fuzzy. On an interesting note their earlier plywood kits seem a little heavier that they most recent releases but a bit of weight under the chassis should balance things out.

[georgesheppard]

My personal opinion......
The I.P kits which I have built during the past year or so have all been plywood. Compared to some other suppliers I think the material used is thicker and of softer timber veneers resulting in coarser grain. The paint finish is therefore less satisfactory than I would like and more work is involved to achieve it
I have a preference for 'The Lineside Hut' (as an example) who use better quality, thinner, harder and closer grained ply. The cut edges are also sharper giving a cleaner finish.
If you like the idea of MDF kits I recommend 'Gerry Irwin' whose kits are highly detailed and very well priced.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huTR7lNmME0&t=3s
Jerry is a Forum member and can be contacted directly by PM.
The I.P range of kits is impressive and tempting for new starters, you might need to begin with a basic kit to judge for yourself.

Another vote for Jerry's kits!


I started with IP engineering kits (freelance carriages) and they go together ok. With enough primer & paint you can get a decent finish. Jerry's kits are just a dream to build though, the thought that's gone into certain aspects like the roof construction make them really straightforward to put together in my opinion.


Here is thread for my IP engineering carriages - https://gardenrails.org/viewtopic.php?f ... 92#p158292
and one for jerry's freelance carriages - https://gardenrails.org/viewtopic.php?f ... 88#p160188