Golden Fleece 30

Black 5 cab side numbers arrived today from RailTec. Excellent service, order one day (including Sunday) and two days later arrive and these are all made individually to order. Just need the smokebox number now from 247 developments and she can be varnished. She is numbered 45027 as that is the very last BR steam operated loco I saw in York a few months before steam was officially finished. I saw her about April 1968 and she was withdrawn the month after. Garry

The saying is horses for courses and I have read that Fox transfers are affected by other products, thankfully I don't use the other products so it is using what is best suited to each individual. The attached photo shows the coach roofs that were painted with enamel and over a year later I thought would look better if sprayed and by mistake I used an acrylic black which I use on black locos as their base, and you can see after all that time the solvent still affected the acrylic. Garry

Lined both sides and fronts of 10201 now, looks slightly better than the first side but the panels and ribs etc make it look more out of alignment than it is when you look straight down the body. Photos are cruel anyway lol. I may even get to put glazing in this one. Garry

The 08 is now painted and varnished and ready for me to draw up and make a chassis for it. As usual it will have an XT60 motor but will have Romford wheels as it needs the extended axles. The paint looks as if it has been put on thick but it is just the varnish giving the effect so I may have to tone it down a little. Garry

The 08 is now painted and varnished and ready for me to draw up and make a chassis for it. As usual it will have an XT60 motor but will have Romford wheels as it needs the extended axles. The paint looks as if it has been put on thick but it is just the varnish giving the effect so I may have to tone it down a little. Garry

Done a little lining on the Leonard Seeney 3D bodies 10201 and V3 tank plus the brass bodied Z class got a smokebox number from 247 Developments and a coat of varnish. Now awaiting some more Railtec transfers for more locos. Garry

This Leonard Seeney body arrived today for later production in my workshop (kitchen actually). I will draw a chassis up to take the XT60 but it will have Romford wheels as they made the axles which I bought a long time ago thinking they will come in handy one day. Luckily I had a nice set of Romfords I was going to use on the 8F so no wheels to buy. Plenty of room in the body for some weight too. A nice touch with the body is the front grill is a separate piece making painting a doddle. Garry

This Leonard Seeney body arrived today for later production in my workshop (kitchen actually). I will draw a chassis up to take the XT60 but it will have Romford wheels as they made the axles which I bought a long time ago thinking they will come in handy one day. Luckily I had a nice set of Romfords I was going to use on the 8F so no wheels to buy. Plenty of room in the body for some weight too. A nice touch with the body is the front grill is a separate piece making painting a doddle. Garry

Finally made a start on the Tri-ang TT Black 5 after about 3 or 4 years and this shows how much material I had to remove from the magnet after grinding as much as I dare from inside the firebox. The body should be about 1mm lower but it is as much as I dare remove inside the firebox without coming through. You can just see in the cab how close the magnet is to the body which is why the top pole piece needing filing. Need to start thinking about valve gear soon. This was one of Lenny Seeney's first 3D printed steam locos, and, like most of them it was not made to fit a Tri-ang chassis but a more homemade scale one. Garry

Finally made a start on the Black 5 after about 3 or 4 years and this shows how much material I had to remove from the magnet after grinding as much as I dare from inside the firebox. The body should be about 1mm lower but it is as much as I dare remove inside the firebox without coming through. You can just see in the cab how close the magnet is to the body which is why the top pole piece needing filing. Need to start thinking about valve gear soon. This was one of Lenny Seeney's first 3D printed steam locos, and, like most of them it was not made to fit a Tri-ang chassis but a more homemade scale one. Garry

The 8F now awaiting its smokebox number plate from 247 Developments then varnish. That gives me a little time to finish the chassis. Garry

The V1 from Leonard Seeney fits the prairie chassis very nicely, in fact the overall coupling distance/position is about 1mm too long but I can live with that. Very little work required to get the chassis to fit but the cylinders might not be so easy but I have an idea what to do. Garry

Leonard Seeney's 10201 is a beautiful print, just look at the rivet detail. There is a little gap above the front of the bogies but on the real one the bogies had an extension here I think so a piece of plastic to represent it will be fine. I will need to make a brass mounting block now for the bogie stretcher. Garry

The Prestwins are painted and will have to look to see what transfers are available but most likely do my usual and put some generic 00 labels on. I had a go at smoothing some of the body but only on the ends so the rest will have to do. Garry

Thanks David, it was painted today, has had it's bogies fitted and a trial run around Tri-ang curves today. Garry

The start of my Tri-ang TT 10201 loco. The bogies (Tri-ang A1A) were initially made for a class 40 but I made some better ones and kept these to one side just for this loco. I will have to paint the bottom piece under the buffers black though. Garry

The start of my Tri-ang TT 10201 loco. The bogies (Tri-ang A1A) were initially made for a class 40 but I made some better ones and kept these to one side just for this loco. I will have to paint the bottom piece under the buffers black though. Garry

The Mail coach was not cheap. Rough Yes, cheap No. Unfortunately I am not one to keep painting, rubbing, painting more rubbing etc. This was bad enough just doing it once lol The green was after it had been rubbed down and you can see how little plastic showed through showing how much filler was needed and then not enough. The doorways were impossible. Garry

Two more of Leonard Seeney's masterpieces arrived today, the Co-Bo and V3. I have already cleaned up and primed the Co-Bo (hopefully some colour tomorrow if warm) but the V3 will be a little longer as I have not decided the best chassis option yet. The Co-Bo will be powered by the Tri-ang A1A motor bogie and the V3 by the Britannia or Castle chassis hopefully. Garry

After the poor finish on the Mail coach from Shapeways (the only option available), I thought I would try these in the "smoothest fine detail" option, at the highest price, and I am very disappointed with the finish. Why some parts are smooth and others very rough I don't know but I will be giving them a miss now as 2 lots out of 2 have not been anywhere near as good as Lenny's bodies. There is nothing wrong with Mike Roch's design which is very good, it is Shapeways printing. Garry

After the poor finish on the Mail coach from Shapeways (the only option available), I thought I would try these in the "smoothest fine detail" option, at the highest price, and I am very disappointed with the finish. Why some parts are smooth and others very rough I don't know but I will be giving them a miss now as 2 lots out of 2 have not been anywhere near as good as Lenny's bodies. There is nothing wrong with Mike Roch's design which is very good, it is Shapeways printing. Garry

The Z class painted up and awaiting a smokebox numberplate from 247Developments before a satin varnish to hide the lines caused by the very, very thin metal used, this angle does not show them up. This and the WD have numbers from Railtec which seem to be very good so far. Garry

Two more of Leonard Seeney's masterpieces arrived today, the Co-Bo and V3. I have already cleaned up and primed the Co-Bo (hopefully some colour tomorrow if warm) but the V3 will be a little longer as I have not decided the best chassis option yet. The Co-Bo will be powered by the Tri-ang A1A motor bogie and the V3 by the Britannia or Castle chassis hopefully. TT has never had it so good. Garry

Thanks to Leonard Seeney my bank account is depleted a little more. This time for Bulleid's 10201 which I will do in twin O/B/O lined green. I think this is the last diesel loco I will want. Here is a link to Lenny's website where he now advertises the loco bodies. https://lincoln-loco.co.uk/ Also painting black the WD wheels loose the unusual shape so trying a little weathering shows them off more. Garry

Painted now and will have to wait until the smokebox number from 247 developments arrives before I varnish it. I do prefer this tender logo, usually, but I wanted the later one and non in stock here and I am not one to wait if I don't have to. The cylinder cover is not fixed yet as that will be once the chassis is finished, hopefully not too long now. Garry