Last year, in the antediluvian period, I was sent this RTR Finescale Brass Ivatt 2MT for weathering and, well, you know, splish, splash, splosh, Noah, and all that, so it went into storage while we dried out and rebuilt. Fortunately my client is a very patient chap, but here she is, out of storage and is now on the first part of a long journey down under to Oz where she'll work out her life on a little twig of an Essex branchline.
The model came to me painted and lined, but the new owner wanted a Darlington tall & skinny chimney fitted, so I hunted round for drawings but could I find one? not likely. In the end Mark (a.k.a. 46444) kindly sent me his 4mm model with a Comet chimney so I could at least get some base line dimensions. I also looked at drawings of chimneys produced at Darlington for the old NER, just to get a feel of the shape and style they used to produce.
Photos of the members of the class with the t&s chimney weren't particularly helpful as it seems to play tricks on the camera by looking different in each one!
So these, along with my notes and scribbles I sent to my friend John Birch who is a dab-hand at CAD 3D drawing, and after several emails '...a bit more flare, a little less taper...' we were happy. Off the file went to Shapeways, and a little while later the 3D printed result popped through the letterbox, and I think it looks just about right - it certainly plays tricks with my camera, so it's in good company...
It's a shame the range is being wound down - for an RTR loco in the mid-range price it's a cracking model and runs very sweetly. OK, there are compromises between the frames, but if determined they're not insurmountable. A little weathering - as usual I spent more time removing grime than putting it on, followed by my regime of adding highlights and shadows which is a time-thief, but worth the effort in spades and she looks like a working, but cared for engine.
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