Loadsa locos

 I had been so busy with buildings that the large pile of locomotives waiting to be finished had stalled however with the long evenings of winter and now the Xmas holidays upon us I’ve got my finger out and the results can be seen here. 

First to be finished (again) was Nadine mk2. The first version got spoiled by a cat based incident, Dan very kindly sent me another print and I’ve finished it off in the same livery etc of the first one. I think I’ve done a better job this time too. 

Next in the paint shop was ‘Veronica’, the younger sibling of ‘Nadine’ also from Fourdees and on. KATO England chassis. This one also got bounced by the cat but the only damage was the handrails which I replaced with brass ones. I’ve also changed both locos to have my standard RT models couplers. ‘Veronica’ needs a couple of touch ups here and there and the crew from Modelu which needs painting. 

Talking of Modelu figures here is mini me driving my new Bachmann ‘Alice’. 

I had a visit from these three this week and ‘Alice’ is definitely staying. I’ve done a few little additions but haven’t had the heart to weather it into quarry condition. All four of these tiny locomotives are absolutely gorgeous and I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘Nesta’ comes home too. 

‘Dorothea’ with my kit built one.  

Last but not least is Corris No4, I decided I could do a better job on the paint finish and that I wanted to change the couplings. I’ve also ordered some number plates from LRS. 

At the Warley MRC show I was nattering to those lovely Hastie chaps on the Dundas stand when the Minitrains Schneider loco caught my attention. We had them at work and I even got as far as bringing one home but decided I couldn’t justify it at the time; having subsequently regretted this decision I relieved Dundas Models of one. It goes very well with my other maroon ics and here it is with glazing, a crew and some weathering. A nice loco and in my opinion one of the best Minitrains have made. It adds a little more Gallic charm to my channel island too. 

It will be named ‘Speedy’ after a sadly deceased French cat. 

Meanwhile PECO have released their Mk3 quarryman’s coach and the two vans in a rather fetching grey livery. It would make a good undercoat for freelance liveries but it occurred to me that there are pictures of the quarrymen’s train in a very tatty state and that this would be a good place to start attempting this from. 

So far I’ve only done the coach so you can see the grey van here, next to the painted coach alongside two factory finish vehicles. 

I painted individual planks starting with a brown that is close to the ‘proper’ colour and then painted most of the rest of the planks in three shades of grey and beige. The finishing touch was to dry brush the ‘proper’ brown on top to simulate tired and peeling paint. The genuine articles spent their lives either by the sea in Portmadoc or in a siding in Blaenau so no wonder they didn’t fare well. Anyway I think it looks the part and when I get round to it the vans will get the same treatment. 

More to come next year, hopefully Port Lucy will be in action by this time in 2023. Have a happy Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or whatever. See you next year.