Almost There

The arrival of warmer weather has allowed Himself to venture into the garage / workshop and unleash the airbrush on a number of models which have been awaiting a protective coat of vanish.

Of most interest to readers of this blog, I'm sure, are our latest FR and WHR locomotives.

Welsh Pony has all its transfers applied now, although when this photo was taken was still awaiting the fitting of the nameplates.

130 has been refitted with a lot of the extra piping and the handrails are the last things to be fitted, along with its number plates on the cab.

Both are going to make stunning models when they are reassembled and tested, hopefully within the next few days.

2020 Review - Part 4

October

The output of new models slowed towards the end of the year, especially at my end of the operation as I spent more time concentrating on meeting requests for resin wagon kits and parts.

By now I had completed the prototype for the MOD flat wagon kit.

Himself spent a week volunteering on the FR and getting a look up closed at the new lining design on Welsh Pony.

We had always intended to finish ours in the green livery that was predicted all through the restoration, but now it looks like the running-in livery will be staying for a few years so we decided to take the plunge and apply that to our model, seen here with the black lining transfers around the edge being applied.

Himself also got round to a job he'd been meaning to tackle for a number of years, and overhaul the Steve Coulson working dioramas in our custody.

November

Progress can be an illusion sometimes.

Himself began applying the orange lining around the edge of the panels on Welsh Pony.

It looked fine on the tender, but once it added to the tighter areas like the cab sides it became painfully apparent that even the thinnest products from the Fox range would be unsuitable.

It was time for Plan B....

The delivery of the painted and lined cylinder covers for 130 to Dinas meant we could follow suit with confidence on ours.

There was more pipework added to the boiler unit which is the last part of the locomotive still under construction.

We can't complete it until we see pictures confirming the positions of all the pipes at the front of the cab.

December

Plan B for Welsh Pony meant stripping it right back to brass and starting again with a coat of primer and purple/plum from the airbrush.

We commissioned a set of bespoke transfers from Custom Model Decals and you can already see the results in some of the latest blog posts. 

I was kept busy with casting.

One customer asked if it was possible to produce some copies of the fake bogie frames we used on our Funkey diesels to disguise the N Gauge chassis.

An enquiry from one modeller turned into orders for 10 sets from all across the country, so that kept me busy for a few weeks.

Currently I am in the process of producing a prototype for a kit of the FR/WHR well wagon.

There's been good progress on the main body of the wagon.  

I'm hoping to finish it off with an etched brass deck covering but that may take a while to come to fruition.

That's the story of our 2020.

It was a year when it seems that railway modelling was given a shot in the arm by lockdown - within our homes at least - let's hope that in 2021 it might be possible to attend an exhibition again.

Wouldn't that be marvellous!

Jam Sandwiches

There's been a big step forward with Welsh Pony to round off 2020, with Himself applying the first of the main lining panels to the saddle tank.

They still need some tidying up on the corners but you get a clear impression of how they might turn out.

Because we seem to like doing things the hard way these panels are built up out of straight and corner sections, and the way the transfers have been printed onto the carrier film you have to cut them out as precisely as you can, which is tricky when they are so comparatively tiny.

The cocktail stick taped down beneath the tank gives you a sense of scale.

Just like on the real locomotive the main lining design draws the focus and you have to look really closely to spot the orange line around the edge.

Which makes you wonder whether it was really worth bothering with it?

 

It's Fine

Himself has made a start at the second attempt at lining out Welsh Pony in its devilishly ornate livery.

This task required reserves of courage, determination and patience to be stockpiled before setting out!

He's using the lining components sheets we had supplied for us and has begun with the impossibly small orange line, and its black border, around the outside of the panels.

There's still some tidying up of the corners to be done - an enlargements like this are very unforgiving - but I think it's encouraging progress.

He tells me the curved line around the front of the saddle tank was particularly challenging.

Still, at least he's got something to keep him occupied during the inevitable January lockdown......

Stripped Back

The Welsh Pony project has taken a step back ahead of - I hope - the final canter to completion.

Dissatisfied with the first attempt at lining out - and the residue it left on the surface after removal - Himself has got the paint stripper out and removed the original coat of purple brown gloss and the red oxide primer beneath, taken it back to brass and applied a fresh coat of grey primer.

This is all because we've received a sheet of bespoke lining transfers to try out.

As is our masochistic habit, we've decided to apply the lining from a combination of straights and corners, rather than one-piece prints that are available in larger scales.

That's our choice, and if you keep checking back on this blog you'll find out whether we live to regret it or not....

In the picture at the top you can see how the Mercian kit for the England engines comes apart for painting.

The motor is fixed into the body frame, rather than the chassis, and it's also worth considering that - according to the design - it should be mounted in a transverse position.

Well, good luck with that........