The car I chose was the RTIX FMC 4000 High Sided Gondola, a model that is part of the Exact Rail 'Express' series of cars. These cars are less detailed than the Platinum or Evolution range cars that I already own.
The model is a very nicely painted one-piece shell with incredibly fine printing, the various signs on the car are clearly readable, even when some of them are so small as to require a magnifying glass. It's a superb paint job.
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The metal wheels and kadee couplers come fitted as standard, and the model is exceptionally free rolling, I imagine a full train of these would be very smooth running.
The one thing that lets this car down is the moulded grab irons. The ladders and steps are all part of the shell, and compared to the latest releases by Exact Rail, Atlas, Walthers or Genesis, that lack of detail makes this gondola feel quite outdated.
If the car was cheaper that might not be a problem, but at £17.99 I would have expected this model to have the same detail as other expensive cars, and the moulded grab irons and ladders are particularly noticeable on the light coloured panels of this car.
So this particular model is a little disappointing, although as a voucher purchase it didn't cost very much as all I paid was the postage, and I am considering making one of these as a scratchbuilding exercise towards my car builders AP certificate, so having this car will be really useful for reference.
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