All contents (including photos and drawings) - © 2011  Derek Mackenzie

Next exhibition
G1MRA AGM Stoneleigh- 3rd December 2011
G1MRA members and guests only unfortunately

Welcome to the Orion Models website

Orion Models makes coaches and live steam locos for Gauge 1 model railways in 1:32 and 10mm:1’ scales (G1 - 45mm gauge).
They will generally be available as kits but occasionally as ready-to-run.

There is a slight change in direction for Orion Models that should help to make a wider range available.
All models will be produced as kits and made available through Just The Ticket. This removes all the production stuff so that I can concentrate on new designs. Each new loco design will be accompanied by appropriate coaching stock so customers can produce a complete branch line train at low cost. As kits are very low margin, I will also put together a small quantity of Ready to Run items each year in order to finance all this new design work. Ready to Run stock will be available direct from Orion Models. Contact me first for further information and I will pass kit requests on to Just The Ticket.

For the model pages the heading photo will be that of the model when it is available - prior to that it will probably be a drawing of the model or a photo of the real thing.

For more details about  what will be available and when (possibly) - click here

The good news is that all the house decorating and rebuilding is almost over. This has caused enormous disruption over the last 7 or so years. I sincerely apologise to those customers still waiting for their promised locos.

I intend to keep the news page updated with further progress of all model development at least once a month.
Please come back and check again if what you want is not yet ready - or email me - click here.
If the coach or loco you want is not in the list - again email me. It would help to know what customers actually want.

As a one-man business, production can occasionally get disrupted, but I intend to run this as a full-time concern - you can ring me at any time of day including weekends and evenings - click here for the number.

Coach production is largely a matter of getting the sheets etched, running off some CNC parts, then packaging it all up. Sounds simple but an awful lot of effort goes into the initial production - research, design, CNC setup, test build, writing instructions (including a DVD and lots of photos). The effect of this is that coaches can be produced as required.

Loco building is a somewhat different matter - similar initial design issues, but a lot of CNC production. The result here is that locos will be built in batches so they will not be continuously available. Batch production will be prioritised according to both whether the design is ready and how popular it is.

HobbyCNC and NG Drawings now have a separate site - see the tabs above for links to these.
Information on GWR tenders can also be found there.

I welcome feedback on this revised website - call me with your comments - probably easier by phone than email.
Let me know what you think - is it easy to use and find what you are looking for? How can it be improved?
Thank you.