The Problem With Playart

Today's Subjects

As a model train company, Playart has left a mixed record. Their output was last carried by Model Power here in the United States before vanishing altogether (I really don't know when). 

My first exposure to them was in 1983, when I purchased a lot of their little European styled 0-4-0T locomotives. 

None of them worked.

While I may have paid only $4 a pop for them (I think it was three of them), I knew this beforehand, thinking, optimistically, that I might be able to get one usable model out of the lot.

That wasn't the case.

All three of them had the same issue - the gear on the drive axle was broken. 

As I recall, in one of the three the gear was literally in pieces. The remaining models gears were simply split. 

My lack of experience resulted in all the models being parted out.

The gears were made from a nylon. Notice, I said "a nylon", not "nylon". There are different grades of nylon, and the one they were using was a cheaper grade. This nylon had quite a bit of shrinkage. While it might be easy to blame this toy company for their choices here, it should be noted that other companies also had problems with poor nylon (one in particular, who while being a prolific manufacturer, I still refuse to buy from due to their gears suddenly splitting).

Which leads me to another "lost cause" locomotive, a "PRR" 2-6-0 Mogul. Yes, the Pennsylvania used lots of 2-6-0's, but I am unaware of them using mid-20th century German designs. No, I bought this locomotive expressly to see if, again, the Playart curse persisted after their acquisition by GATA. 

Of course, I already knew that the locomotive wouldn't run, and I had a suspicion it was the gear on the axle, and as it turned out, I was right. But this time, the shrinkage was in the other direction, so to speak - the shaft hole was now too large, and the gear was still intact.

I removed said axle, pulled one wheel, and examined the gear. No cracks at all. 

After thoroughly cleaning the axle I reassembled it, and used a carefully placed drop of thin CA at the point where the gear would sit. The idea was less getting the CA to adhere to nylon as it was to simply improve how tightly the gear fit.

Once the axle was reassembled, I quartered the wheels and reinstalled it. Testing proved that it worked well enough, and the locomotive was now running.

I am unsure how common this problem was after the GATA acquisition. I see Playart/Model Power locomotives listed frequently as "untested",  which for me has too often proven to mean "dead". Nor have I ever seen how well their diesel and foreign market models have fared. 

My final point has to do with that image way up there, comparing the older battery powered model (top) to the much later GATA/Playart version. Whilst the older battery powered version is a touch loud due to the nature of its spur gear drive, it still works. All three axles are powered, and there are 12 VDC motors out there the same size as that Mabuchi. 
As to why Playart simply didn't continue with that design will remain a mystery.