◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Accurascale Class 37/4 37423 DRS blue ◆ PRICE £169.99 (DCC-ready), £259.99 (DCC sound) ◆ AVAILABILITY Accurascale stockists

Web www.accurascale.co.uk

It’s perhaps fitting that one of – if not the – most successful BR diesels has been the subject of plenty of RTR ‘OO’ gauge models over the years. Hornby, Lima, ViTrains and Bachmann have all had a go at replicating the distinctive character of the English Electric Class 37 since the 1970s, but none of them quite hit the spot.

That was until Bachmann’s hugely impressive Class 37s emerged, to great surprise, last summer. Furthermore, back in 2019, Accurascale had announced its mission to produce a definitive ‘37’, with several different sub-classes and variants being added to the production list along the way.

Finally, after a few years of heightening expectation, the first of Accurascale’s Type 3s have arrived, consisting initially of post-privatisation era Class 37/4 variants. Our sample depicts Direct Rail Services’ ‘modernised’ 37423 Spirit of the Lakes, complete with plated-over headcodes, modern ‘WIPAC’ light clusters and other post-2000s modifications.

Presented in high quality foam-lined packaging, with an attractively designed handbook, the ‘37’ possesses plenty of ‘wow’ factor. Like Accurascale’s preceding ‘Deltic’ and Class 92, the ‘37’ is a hefty model, weighing-in at nearly 700g and, even at first glance, it offers an incredibly faithful rendition of the real thing.

The complex body profile looks spot-on, across all key areas, especially around the nose and windscreen, which have proven notoriously difficult to get right in the past. The contours of the roof and bonnets looks just right and there’s a welcome level of restraint to most of the surface relief, which is subtle without appearing vague. Indeed, some of these elements have been overdone slightly in the past – the bonnet top doors and panel seams being typical examples.