Jack P

The flexible plastic they're made of is a nightmare. Paint flakes off as soon as you look at them. That does look really fantastic though, Thanks so much for posting photos! As John said, I can't even see where you've needed to touch up! I got my container of humbrol Malachite out, but it's super gritty, no amount of stirring can seem to get it smooth.. I'll have a go putting it through the airbrush , but I've resigned myself to probably needing to give it a full repaint. I did the same thing on 21C159, I just used some blu-tack and stuck the Hornby speaker under the chimney. The TTS chips are a cost effective way of adding sound - I just wish the actual chips were slightly better. I guess you get what you pay for though! I

Doesn't look like much, but progress has been made. The cab is now fixed in place, the Hornby pipework was added back in and the backhead was glued in place. I added the brake linkages to both the loco and tender. The cab shifted while the araldite was setting, so on the other side its not in exactly the right position. Frustrating, but hopefully some weathering will hide my sins! I also managed to hardwire the chassis with a DCC chip. My first time doing so, but a quick google explained exactly what needed doing. I've got some of the humbrol Acrylic Malachite, so if I can patch paint the cab it will save me a bunch of time. I'm not overly fussed if It does necessitate a full repaint though. Good experience.

I'm just glad that there are effectively just 12 lines (loco and tender), compared to all the wiggly curves on the Bachman H2. Will keep you updated with how I get on. Thanks Brian, I've got some here. What base colour do you use, and do you happen to have any photos of stuff you've painted with it? That's excellent Graham, thank you - do you have any photos of the colour match?

This is exciting news!

https://railsofsheffield.com/products/35680/Dapol-4s-010-005s-oo-gauge-stroudley-terrier-a1x-class-br-lined-black-early-crest-0-6-0-tank-locomotive-no-32655-dcc-sound Doesn't seem to appear under the list of rails terriers either. Hmm

Is there an update for the BR liveried terriers, I ordered 32655 and the page for it gives me a 404 error.

Hey Tony, Thanks for stopping by. I tried to keep as much of the cab in place as I could so there would be enough surface to secure the new cab to I wanted to retain the rivet detail so I put some tape over the rest of the body and filed down the old cab sides. They probably need a little bit more taken off before I'm happy.

All of that sounds excellent, the blanking plate is a smart solution, and i'm excited to hear that the tender inner is all there!

I've been having Deja Vu, the second W has been stripped and almost entirely disassembled. I'm trying to clean up the parts as best I can, but i'll need to make a new cab front and floor, no biggie. But my desire to continue working on it has been waning a little. So I decided to work on something else.. This is the RT models etch. There aren't any instructions, but it's simple enough to put together (if a bit fiddly). I'm not 100% sure I've got the cab roof curve right, it is just placed there for the photo, and I think once it's actually araldited in place it will conform to the profile much better. There are RT draincocks and front steps to fit too, I also replaced the ashpan assembly. I've also got some short smoke deflectors to fit but i'd like to avoid that if I can. I'm hoping to model an Eastern or Central section locomotive (circa 1947) if anyone has any suggestions. A friend of mine also asked if I would do some work to his A4 Kingfisher. Nothing major, just a light weathering and fitting etched plates I understand that the plates on boiler sides weren't fitted until after nationalisation, but this is how he wanted it. It was an enjoyable experience, I haven't actually seen an A4 model in the flesh before.

I had a go at adding the Bulleid original Square cab to my 21C155 'Fighter Pilot' donor body I'm also in the throes of adding the cast ashpan, and some of the other detailing bits from the RT/ex-Albert Goodall range. I've only done the building of the cab and some initial fettling, more is needed, plus a good clean before the cab is araldited in place.

Fantastic work! I've only just stumbled across this thread, and am looking forward to going back through and catching up.

Good lord.. That looks fantastic. Everything has an air of fidelity to it too, all exceedingly well proportioned. Is that an etched plate on the rear of the tender? I might be reaching, but is there an update on the estimated release date, or price?

I can't remember where I read about this trick but it really does look the part. I'm looking forward to seeing it painted (lined olive green?).

Oh I don't know. There will always be people who want to do things themselves and will use RTR as a platform for further modelling. Plus, as the RTR companies produce more of the 'common' locomotives it provides the opportunity to focus on some uncommon ones - be that from kits, or scratchbuilding.

Thanks Dave, as usual, your work inspires me greatly. Having said that, I'm not above admitting when i'm beat. Doing battle with the W for almost the entirety of my Birthday proved to be completely useless, and despite my best attempts trying many different tactics; I couldn't reliably get the loco to run under its own power. It will soon be winging its way around the world for Dave to expertly finish off. This is how she's sitting at the moment. A few compromises - both with my own skills and the kit, but it certainly looks like a W. Hopefully I can restore the other one to a similar standard. exactly what i'm going to do with 2 W's I don't know..

Hey Dave, thanks for dropping in. I don't have any other photos of the chassis/body mid assembly. I just need to bite the bullet and put another motor mount in place to level it out, instead of having it lean down to the rear. Then i'll should have enough room. Do you have any tips for preventing shorting in tight areas?

More progress; Everything is now going to be left to dry for a few days. I need to pick out a few other details. I'll add the buffers and coupling hooks soon. The rear bogie needs the brake assembly attached. I decided to glue this on, as the wheels won't be removable once this is in place. I've run into a bit of an issue, I thought I could run pickups underneath, but everything is very close to the brake rigging and I can't seem to get it quite right. I'm also struggling with using 0.31mm N/S wire. I don't know if i'm going to be able to run backscratcher pickups either, there doesn't seem to be all that much room under the footplate. Does anyone have any suggestions?

And then there were two... Acquired from an auction site, it was listed as a 'Port Line' model. Upon arrival, it hesitantly burst into life. It sounds rather quiet in the video, but in person it's extremely loud. Upon further examination, it occurred to me that this loco must be the predecessor to the PDK kit, the instructions and box confirm it is actually a 'Crowline' product. It didn't take long before things were being attended to. The Gibson buffers had locked up solid, and the intention had always been to repaint the thing anyway. The body has been built to an acceptable standard (similar to my own), however the chassis was another story entirely. I'm not sure what type of motor the large, loud thing inside this was, but in order to fit it the builder had to make compromises. Luckily I have spare motion brackets from my PDK kit, which (unsurprisingly) fit perfectly. After some careful cutting and de-soldering I managed to build up a similar arrangement as the other, in order to make the valve gear removable. The bits are now sitting in a bath of simple green to strip the remaining paint. I'll touch base with Paul at PDK and see if I can get a spare etch for the valve gear and some other little odds and ends. I'll replace the wheels with gibsons and fit a highlevel/Mashima combo. The next job will be cleaning up the leftover bits and figuring out what's reusable. The other W is nearing completion, only final little bits are needed Apologies for the average pictures. As with any loco there is a vast number of final details - since these photos were taken, i've added the vac/steam heat pipes and lamp irons to the front, as well as a shunters step on the rear. The body is now ready to go into the ultrasonic bath, and then into primer.

I did check, and it's just as bad with the bogie removed entirely. I don't have a layout yet, but i've already decided that when it happens the curves will be as generous as possible. Full front end detail is a requirement! (I may yet regret this decision)

Hey Rob, I'm pretty local to you, if you wanted hand, I could always pop in and give you a hand to take the chip out. Luckily it's in the tender, so not as difficult as some other locations. Feel free to PM me!

Hi Dave Congrats on reaching 70 pages! I called Phoenix the other night and placed an order for one of the Ex-DMR Z's. I've gone back had a look at the original Z build you did, and the most recent updates, I have a few questions (I was going to PM, but these might benefit someone else?) - When widening the chassis did you run into any issues with the cylinder block? - How did you move the rear motion bracket back by 1mm, did you just file the slot? - In your first build you had to fettle the smokebox saddle to get the boiler to sit level, have you also had to do this on this build? Appreciate your photos and write ups to date. looking forward to further progress

How much work is required to bring them 'to life'? Fingers crossed for 2022 - that still seems odd to say! I've had a look, and followed the developments of Parkend Marsh. Thanks for the update!

Hi John and the team, Any updates on this excellent project?

Apologies for jumping back a ways Dave, but what's the name of this handy looking instrument?

This is a very useful video Dave , I can see it being very handy moving forward. The Z chassis looks great. You've done an excellent job, and all looks to be running smoothly. What livery will the loco be finished in?