12A Models was founded in 2023 by BR Southern Region and London Transport modeller Kim Durose.

I get asked at every show, “12A? Are you from Carlisle?” and I always reply “With this accent? no..”
The 12A name does have a Carlisle connection though. 12A Carlisle Kingmoor engine shed became KD under the TOPS scheme, and is obviously my initials. 12A is also the number of the first house me and my wife Claire shared together. So it kinda works for me.

From a very early age, I was thrust in to the model railway world with a 6×3′ N-gauge layout built for me by my very talented grandad Ken. I attribute my love of scratchbuilding squarely upon my grandad. Along with Derek Meddings and Len Vass, he was, and still is the modeller I admire the most. This is a man who built a class 58 out of plasticard before Hornby had a go, and converted a class 47 to a very convincing class 60 just because one member of the class shared its name with his bungalow…..

My earliest memories are wondering why my Lima 31 was so wide and tall and smelt so funny, and why the Lima Deltic sat a scale 4 feet above the underscale Mk1 coaches. As a teenager, I would jump on my BMX bike and pedal like mad to Constructeon Models in Ripley, Derbyshire to spend pocket money and paper round earnings on Peco wagon chassis kits for scratchbuilding. The owner of this shop and kit manufacturing business were a lovely couple named Eon and Deidre Bailey. Eon once randomly gave me a piece of sage advice when I was around 13 years old. He advised me to “never let your hobby become your income”. Looks like I never listened then, and still don’t 🙂

In 2020 during lockdown I bought my first FDM 3D printer out of idle curiosity and with the 3D CAD design skills from the day job as a packaging and print designer, started to design components for other modellers to use and enjoy. It was a basic and cheap machine, but I learned so much about my craft in those early months. What makes a print work and what stops a printer from working mainly.

I embrace the use of new technologies to create models and kits, employing hybrid FDM and SLA 3D printing techniques, card plotter and laser cutting, 2D and 3D CAD.

I am genuinely delighted to be able to offer the fruits of my efforts to a wider audience and get a lot of satisfaction from seeing the enjoyment my creations bring to the modelling community.

Kim