B¹⁰t USI coach in C160 livery LS Models

At first sight, the silhouette is well rendered, but seems too low. Still, the dimensions are well respected. I am immediately struck by two flaws: the very flawed body-to-roof junction (the roof extends the body by at least 2 or 3 tenths of a millimetre), and the arched top of the window frames. It seems to me that for this series of coaches, there was really no need to separate the roof from the body, the flanks being perfectly flat. MMM-RG did it well in their day…

LS Models has corrected the main defect of the previous coaches made in collaboration with Heris, namely the wrong bogie centre distance. But for this, the pivot axis is further moved forward (6 mm). I’m not sure it’s good for track keeping.

The wheels are not very beautiful (there has been progress since), of a bit too strong diameter and having quite big flanges: 1 mm. All this helps making them look too massive. In the photo, these wheels have been replaced. The axles rotate in metal bearings: this is favourable against wear, and will allow to pick the lighting current without additional friction.

Another twist to reality: the pendular suspension brackets, very characteristic of the Y28 bogies, are attached to the bogie beams and not to the chassis.

The windows are in two parts: the window pane itself and its chassis, quite well adjusted but sometimes distorts. The embedding is not very good because of the glue used, thick and rubbery. The small end windows (toilets and doors) are even less well inserted, because of a design error: the recess at the doors is lower on the glazing than on the body. Finally, the gangway door portholes look more like "bottlenecks".

The metallic grey colour is incompatible with that of UIC REE coaches (lighter, brighter). But I don’t know who is right.

Plastic handles are provided, with a template for drilling the corresponding holes. But their diameter is twice as big: 0.7 instead of 0.3 mm (approximately).

Grey plastic detailing parts, including buffers and bogies, are made of unpainted translucent material. Disassembling the roof and chassis is very easy and safe. The seats are of correct shape, but they are afflicted with traces of moulding (clusters and ejection) very visible from the outside, and unfortunately strongly glued, while, provided with clips, they could as well have been mounted without glue. The floor is ivory, very messy colour probably not consistent.

See:

• Loco-Revue Forum.
• gamos81.altervista.org for the reference list of issued USI coach models.

• Partially corrected roof overtaking (impossible at the ends, except with sanding and repainting).
• The wheels are changed to thin flange models, and their insulation is removed. The axles are isolated by their middle.
• Lighting: current pickup by conductive bearings, twelve LED strip, control circuit by bistable reed switch.
• Decoration of the interior (floor and walls), painting of accessories (buffers, gangways, axles, etc.).

It should be noted that their overall length and their (virtual) bogie pivot distance are the same as for DEV AO coaches so-called long.

These coaches are coach type (center corridor). Their room is divided in the middle by a glass partition without door, separating smoking and non-smoking rooms. The seats have a two-position reclining backrest, and are covered with slightly bluish grey texid.

The windows can only be opened on one side, to avoid too strong air flow, and are then provided with a 45° deflector which, when they are ajar, allows to channel the air upwards. This deflector was not represented on the model.

Two of the Heris coaches are in the range 20-77 795-1 to 859-8, with 1.5 kV DC and AC 50 Hz electric heating. The 70 088 is equipped with all-voltage (1, 1.5 and 3 kV) and all-frequency (16 ⅔ and 50 Hz) electric heating, which seems curious for a coach supposed to operate only an interior service (and thus in regime 50).