Hammer time
Two models that came close to the lump hammer treatment this weekend were a Hornby 50 in 4mm and a Heljan 20 in 7mm, after I expended an inordinate amount of time on both.
The 50 is the Rail Express limited edition 50149, weathered by Grimy Times and destined to become the star in a You Tube video demonstrating my v4 Class 50 sounds. Yesterday I milled off the weight in the underframe and spent most of today building a long speaker enclosure to fit down the middle with cut-down tanks etc glued on the sides. It contains two 20x40mm ESU speakers, wired in phase and completely airtight. I was convinced it would sound great but it's nowhere near as good as I expected. Back to the drawing board with that one.
The Heljan 20 was loaned to me by Charlie to try out my project in 7mm. The casting has space for a chip (fitted vertically) and a speaker (in the tanks), but like a venn diagram, the two spaces overlap so you can't fit both at the same time. Without going into detail, fitting chip and speaker was a complete pain in the butt which I will steer well clear of in the future. In contrast, their 26 was much easier and well thought out.
There can't be that many photos of Class 50's on the drags but here's one; 50023 Howe leaving Arley tunnel on the Nuneaton-Birmingham line dragging what looks like an 86, circa 1980.
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