Doing some modelling

I've got my modelling mojo back and I'm enjoying doing a variety of bits and bobs. Sadly the weather has just been too vile to contemplate spending long in the garage so progress on Port Lucy has been mainly things I can do from the sofa. This includes ordering a pair of curved n gauge points which will help get a smooth entrance to the platform roads: hopefully

In other news, the new Bachmann Ashover coaches have hit the shops and I wasn't that interested but then I noticed that they do one ready painted in IoSR livery. It needs a bit of weathering and some people but it runs really nicely and fits in pretty well, ugly thing though. 

This is my ‘Burnmouth’ which is a bash of a Chivers Chevalier kit that I did years ago, it runs on a Bachmann 04 chassis with valve gear from a Minitrix dock tank. It also has a fake front pony truck making it nominally an 2-6-0. 

…consequently I was delighted when Fourdees dropped their Kintyre kit which is basically a slightly shorter version of my Burnmouth so it was a no brainer to order one. I knew these Contractor series of kits was expanding so I preemptively purchased a couple of quarry Hunslets for these kits as I would happily have most of them. My loco has coal rails so to make the new one look like a stable mate I’ve added some to the kit. I’ve used the same brass etch on both locomotives. It is actually seat slats from the Langley L&B coach etch; this is an excellent resource which has all the coach furniture and the seat slats which are very handy for this sort of thing. I’ve given the kit a mild tidy up and added liquid gravity and it now awaits some less vile weather to get a spray of primer on and then paint. 

I have three of the Fourdees kits and this one is the Little Issac which is based on Issac and Gelert which are both locos I really like in the real world. It is the least ready of the three but isn’t far behind. 

The first one I got was this ‘Windle’ which is now finished apart from some tiny weathering and a waft of Dulcote. Named Underhill I think it is a cracking design and just the little Hunslet that I have wanted for years. Thanks Dan. 

Three little maids…

Meanwhile I’ve been adding some depth to the building modules of Port Lucy. First addition is the brick built warehouse which is great and adds some depth as required.  

I’ve also added a Scenecraft narrow warehouse entrance which ties it all together nicely. 

I also decided that I needed another small building with a timbered structure so the obvious kit is the old Airfix thatched cottage which my dad made one of in the 1960s. I didn’t want the thatch so I replaced it with slates. 

I also knew that I had a laser cut kit for a shop front in the cupboard. It was just the right size so I chopped a hole in the wall and popped it in. Perfect. I’ve also ordered some 3D printed Tudor chimney pots to top it off. 

A while ago I bought this 3D print of the famous Talyllyn brake van but just put it in the pile of unmade stuff. I have a soft spot for brake vans so another one seemed like a good idea. I have an early, open verandah version in my green liveried TR set but this one will be done in late 1950s tatty red and brown to go with my Dolgoch. I’ll probably do a couple of coaches to suit too. A very nice print which went together simply and with the addition of some top hat bearings also runs nicely too. Another victim of the waiting for weather to get primed queue.