Modelling Victorian Railways in N Scale
A guide for beginners.

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G513

G Class locos arrived on the scene in mid 1980's, used on freight trains throughout the state. G513 is one of the first batch of G class locomotives (G511-G515), similar to the BL locomotives ordered in SA around the same time. There were 4 batches of G class locos introduced into Victoria from mid to late 1980s, totaling 33 locomotives. There are minor variations between the batches.

All the Gs commenced service in V/Line orange and grey livery. G513 was in Freight Australia colours from 2002 until being painted in SCT livery late in 2007.

Aust-N-Rail sells ready-to-run G Class locomotive models in V/Line livery. (See G512). This model is made from an SAR N Scale Detailers kit, comprising a shell cast under licence from the same Aust-N-Rail master. Decals are available for Freight Australia, Freight Victoria (G515) and SCT liveries and Pacific National for the BL variant. It is a quite different and much simpler kit than Aust-N-Rail's earlier G Class kit which is now obsolete (see G514).

Model construction notes:

Components
The kit	The kit has a one piece shell plus an underframe skirt for fitting around the mech. Pilots are part of the underframe moulding. Unassembled Microtrains 1015 couplers are supplied with the kit. The decal set in the kit has number boards for G511-G514 and both Freight Australia and Pacific National logos.
The Mech	This is not supplied with the kit, you have to get your own. The kit is designed to use an Atlas SD7, SD9, SD24 or SD26 which are basically the same mech.
Degree of Difficulty
Painting	Freight Australia is one of the easiest liveries to paint.
Decals	A little challenging to get the Austalia map positioned correctly on the front but really easy after that. Plain yellow decals are supplied for the side stripes and top front panel. I hate doing long skinny decals so I painted instead.
Assembly guide
I think Railey's Holly Green is the best paint to use. I first tried Steam Era Freight Australia green which is probably the right colour but looks too dark to me on a small model. I've used Humbrol 69 yellow. Not quite a perfect match for the decals but close. Assemble the couplers and screw into position. Use the Microtrains Tap and Drill kit to pre-drill screw holes. The wheel base in the Atlas mechs is too short for a G Class. However, the pivot point for the bogies is off centre and they can be turned around giving a longer wheel base. It's still a little too short but not bad and far simpler than any other options. The instructions supplied with the kit and available on SAR N Scale Detailers web site explain how to do this. Putting the pieces together is dead easy. Put the skirt over the mech and then slide the body shell over the top. Done.