"Thompson Blues"

The above picture is what 60113 Great Northen Looked like before I took her along for inspection one week.

In my haste to make an A1/1 I had made a right catalogue of errors, the running plate, smoke deflector size...etc etc.

Well, she's now in bits, awaiting rebuilding - the first step towards being made, good and proper, into an A1/1.

I'd like to thank Tony Gee for the gentle nudge in the right direction - Isinglass drawings! Which, surprisingly, showed that while it is very inaccurate in many ways, it does have a few things right - placement of banjo dome, and the length of the locomotive itself.

This model will define me as a modeller, it has been said, and I agree - it's not going back in its box until I manage to make something of it. It has the potential to be more than it is - and one day it will be an A1/1, fully fledged, built, like Thompson, from a Gresley A1.

I'll leave you with this picture for now - hopefully when I next update the Great Northern Saga, it'll be a complete engine, and finished.

Until next time!

"Day of the Deltic"

The trailer for the fifteenth episode of The British Railway Series has been on Youtube for a few days. It's had a generally positive reaction, and I'm delighted that people are enjoying viewing it.

Kevin Macloed, the composer for the piece of music used for the trailer, is a gem and his piece, Face Off brought alive the ideas behind Episode 15: Day of the Deltic.

The story follows on from Episode 14: Silent Night quite closely, looking at Gronk's relationship with the other engines while introducing a character that is neither good nor entirely evil, but definitely flawed in terms of character.

Day of the Deltic will be released sometime this Easter.

Until next time.

"The Super (Claud) Build"

You may recall that I've been working on turning this:



...into its shorter cousin. Yes, this is a Hornby B12 model - and I have been trying to make it into a D16/3.

It all started like this...the model was taken apart, and the chassis modified:



The body had a chunk taken out of the boiler to make it scale length:



The body was then reattached using GamesWorkShop's green putty to cement it, and polysterene cemement to fix it in place. The rear wheel splashers would later be re-used from the chunk that was taken off the body earlier:



Then, the detailing of the body began: the outside steam pipes, not necessary for our inside cylindered 4-4-0, were cut away and filed down with a scapel and flat bladed file:



Which, after painting the tender, got the build to this stage:



The next job was making the chassis work. A new motor was sourced from a Bachmann Junior 0-6-0 locomotive (bought 2nd hand), and it was soon in place with the new cog fitted to the front driving wheels. When the model was originally a B12, it had been middle axle drive - now it would be front wheel drive. The chassis was modified further with a new axlebox for the rear wheels in a more accurate (but not perfectly accurate) position:



The model would be DCC - the junior diesel gutted was DCC fitted, and it would be a waste not to use it. The chip was not able to go in the loco due to lack of space, however it was fitted in the preferred slot - the tender (which had to have its "sound box" removed to fit the chip!)



The model then recieved a few other little mods: the smokebox door was modified to look more GER like - with the silver ring around the outside and no smokebox door straps - the body was then painted plain black.



Finally, the connecting rods (a little rough at this stage - made purely so that the model and its mechanism could be run in) were fitted, and cabside numbers applied. The model's new identity is 62536.



And just to compare, here is a Hornby B12 standing next to the "Bachby" D16:



Notice the difference in length of the boiler - though the real things did share many components or elements of design style, the D16/3 model is by no means perfect. The wheels are slightly undersize, the smokebox is not quite round (one of the hazards of using the Hornby model - as pointed out by an RMwebber, they are flat at the bottom to allow the chassis to fit).



The wires to the DCC chip are obtrusive, but I think if I fit a fall plate and paint the wires black, it may not be so noticeable:



And for the moment - until its smokebox numberplate is fitted, and the lining out is completed - that is that.

I'm quite proud of it - the fact that it works, and runs is good enough for me at present. I'm still very new to modelling - two years in! And I think, given my little experience with a soldering iron these last few months with the chip and motor, that I'd like to tackle a small brass kit of something next.

That's after the A1/1, the Cathedral and various other half-finished projects I need to do soon...and after all that filming and editing, of course.

Until next time - I'll leave you with this pic:

"Back Log"

So much work, so little time...

First and foremost, my apologies. I do intend to update a few posts with some updates - the B12-D16/3 post is next on my hit list, but I haven't had time to dedicate to the blog due to university essays getting in the way...

Not to mention that a certain fifteenth episode of a certain Youtube series is now in production, and will also be the subject of a few posts for modelling on here. To be filmed and completed, then aired sometime in the next five weeks...!

So for now, I'll be working, working, working! But I will return and give this blog the attention it needs and deserves. With that in mind, here's the latest pic of the D16/3 (now numbered 62536 and awaiting its mixed traffic lining).

"From a B12 to a D16..."

This is a Hornby B12. This was a life expired model that appeared as "Stephen the Holden B12" in my youtube series The British Railway Series on several occasions. The motor was dead, the model battered, and it was time for a change. It was replaced by a newer, but similar tooling Hornby B12 model.

This model has been the subject of some severe bashing, to turn it into this at time of writing:



When I get back from my BUCS pentathlon meet this sunday, I will edit this post to show how the project progressed from the 4-6-0 life expired model to the fresh faced and decidedly familiar, but different Edwardian 4-4-0.

Until then! Enjoy the weekend.

"One more project...!"

Strange looking thing isn't it? Definitely not from the Eastern region.

This is a Bullied Tender for a "Battle of Britain" Dapol kit I picked up cheaply - I am building it for a friend on his instructions. It will have several modifications from the real-life prototype.

Again, I have mixed the paints for it up myself - I find that really rewarding and relaxing in this hobby. The shade of blue I call "NWR Purple" - as in different lights it looks more purple coloured. The red is from the Gamesworkshops range ("Blood Red") and needs to be a lot neater!!!

Wait until you see what I've done to the engine, though...!

"Projects on the go"

Modelling wise, there have been a least three projects at any one time I have been working on for Copley Hill.

There's of course, Tornado:



Now finished externally, with the cab roof painted cream, "named by" plaques fitted and an A4 chime whistle attached to the inside of the smoke deflector. The next modifications to be made are going to be things like a high intensity light and a smoke unit.

Then there is this project, also nearing completion:



I am just awaiting transfers for the cab and tender, and for a nameplate manufacturer to get back to me with a quote for 8009's plates. Then it will be finished!

Then there is this build, which appeared from nowhere last week and will be the subject of an indepth post next time:



It's going to be an approximation of a D16/3, which has been built from an old B12 model, and a donor locomotive who has given up its motor/gearbox, wheel pickups and DCC chip and board. it's getting there...

Finally, there is this sorry state of affairs:



I was almost at the last hurdle with Great Northern...and then some problems with the footplate (again) reared their head.

I have two options - leave it, and fit the valve gear - or take it apart and rebuild it so that it becomes more than it is.

I have already decided on option two, but it will have to wait. I am going to do a small job on the valve gear, which is fitting a scrap set of Brittania valve gear for the moment. The locomotive is required for filming an episode of The British Railway Series at Easter, and as such needs to be able to run reasonably, and look reasonable for that. After that, I will dismantle it for rebuilding - and get my vision of an "A1/1 from an A1" finished. Many thanks to Tony Gee for the copies of some Isinglass A1/1 drawings which will help immensely with the rebuild.

That's my first update for March. Let's hope by the end of March, I get at least one of these projects finished!

Until next time.