Garden Railway Forum

Wonderful stuff, as ever!

Am I allowed favourites? I particularly like the Thumper, the Q1 tank and the little 2MT...

Andrew wrote: ↑Tue Oct 18, 2022 2:18 pm “Am I allowed favourites?”

Of course. Thank you. I’ll admit to being pleased with the Thumper and the coaches. I’m particularly well disposed towards the Pannier tank too: cute, totally reliable — the one to grab if a loco’s required quickly. It’s done more track time than anything else.

The pannier is lovely.

Sounds like the equivalent of my Regnner "Konrad", my "go to" loco...

Spray day. Keen-eyed viewers will identify the newspaper to be The Yorkshire Post (!)

Between being very busy (though with intermittent spells of extreme laziness) and many, miserably rainy days, I’ve made a little progress.

I have to say the more reasonably priced brands of ‘authentic’ rail colour don’t cover anything like as well as the very expensive one. They (and you) know who they are. It’ll be the challenging, colour-match, DIY, ink-jet decal stage next.

Cheers.

Ooh, is that a BR brake van being sprayed too?

It is, it is! The ‘Thomas’ one, of course.

Fingers crossed it won’t look too small — I may have to organise the sequence of wagons specifically to disguise that, or attempt to.

G-scale Class 33. I’ve boosted the colour a little, it was all looking a bit dull and gloomy

Well, it’s certainly bright and cheerful now. I’ve not stumbled across any evidence of Class 33s actually in a ‘large logo’ livery, let alone this one. And I’ve decided it must be from the 33/3 series as the bogies, among other things are, erm, different...

Some months ago (the previous page of this thread), I pompously declared that Class 33 cab window surrounds have to be black, ‘to disguise the loco’s dodgy aesthetics’. Complete cobblers, of course, as I have now demonstrated.

In poor light (like today, on the way to getting dark at 3pm) the cabs on this one can look like they’re wearing those airline sleep masks — difficult to make out the windows within the black surround. This kind of thing wouldn’t have happened with any of the original 1960s liveries that I rudely dismissed — but I’ve always fancied a loco in this scheme, although I never thought it would be a 33 (and, needless to say, really it shouldn’t be).

It’s not quite done: lights, wiring, blokes in driver’s seats, cab floors, etc, still to do (and as I was taking these snaps some of the cabside windows fell out). I hope to be be trying it outside, incongruously coupled to (what purport to be) much older rolling stock, when the weather’s improved and the garden’s not so muddy. Looking forward to it. April?

HNY!

I do like colour, and that has loads of it! What it lacks in authentic detail (I wouldn't know anyway!) is made up in skilful modelling.... Love it.

That does look good. Another excellent piece of modelling.

Rik

Thanks for the kind remarks. The pictures are a bit naughty really. It is in ‘authentic’ Rail Blue and in most circumstances (certainly at this time of year) doesn’t look as bright as that. I could attempt to modify the dodgy bogies later on — but I want to finish the rest of it first.

Very nice!

I thought I'd seen something similar before, then remembered that Lima created a 33 along similar lines back in the 80s:



I much prefer your version though - the large double arrow logo looks great...

Andrew wrote: ↑Fri Jan 06, 2023 9:08 am “Lima created a 33 along similar lines back in the 80s”

What a clot! I’ve only just noticed, prompted by your Lima picture — Thank you — that I’ve put the lift-off roof on the wrong way round in all my snaps. This is despite spending ages on a wire mesh grill and red cooling fan (that you can’t really see) under the hole in the roof that aligns with the big side grills… Deary me.

Probably the most flattering angle. Grill held on with sellotape

Chopped and modified to fit. A few bits to glue on after painting

Bachmann Large Scale ‘Thomas’ range Devious Diesel makeover
I bought this online, assuming that I’d replace the sour face on the front with a niftily knocked up grill and — Hey Presto! — it would become the familiar BR shunter. Opening the box though, it was obvious that (in relation to my other stuff) it was way too big — and peculiarly proportioned, with tiny wheels.

Drastic surgery has dragged it back to within the loading gauge but the wheels are still only slightly less, too small. And it’s still oddly proportioned, but differently; scale has clearly left the building.

It’ll be finished in another ‘developed’ Rail Blue livery, with ‘wasp stripes’ — which is the whole point really — and battery-powered with Micron R/C.

Very nice! Despite surgery, it's still instantly recognisable. I thought it had "08/9" (I had to look that up) vibes, the ones that were cut down to work the old Burry Port and Gwendraeth line.

They've appeared in so many liveries over the years that I reckon you could get away with pretty much anything, but yes, I love applying wasp stripes too - not that there's much call for them in 1920s Snowdonia. I also like the 08s in original green, with the doors in varnished wood...

Whatever the surgery, the result is most satisfying. I have always liked the appearance of these sturdy little shunters, like little Bulldogs going about their allotted task.

Agree That's a nice look loco. Great job on the surgery too.

I've been looking forward to seeing one of these done up. Great work.

I've been looking forward to seeing one of these done up. Great work.

Forgive my ignorance, but what/how have you altered the proportions?

Thanks,
PhilP.

Thank you kindly!

I did have a look at the real, cut down Class 08/9 versions, as Andrew suggests (there’s a picture on the BR class 08 Wikipedia page). Ironically, their rebuild would have been constrained by the full-sized wheels and higher running plate — the lack of which I was complaining about regarding Diesel.

I also had to reduce the width of the loco (see below) and build a new cab to fit, so my roof is not quite so ‘flattened’. I’m kind of surprised that I was able to get away with it.