Jung ZL233 in 009...

Well what's this? An almost finished engine that hasn't really featured on the blog before? That doesn't happen very often...

It's a funny one, this model has been bobbling along for years now (https://paxton-road.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=jung+zl233) but has never seen the real lime-light - as actually I was building the LKM NS2f and the Davenport using the other half of it's chassis butchery... and this was made with the bits that were left - and never destined to be a kit, meant it has limped along really... however post ExpoNG I'm trying to clear out old models and sell them on, and finish off anything I plan on keeping.

The Jung falls into the latter category - I managed to spray it orange a few months ago but you can trace it's origins back to September 2015, over two years ago! It uses a Minitrains F&C chassis, but fitted with the wheels and axles from a Gmeinder chassis - which gives a short wheelbase, but with the motor mounted a long way back - I hunted around for a suitable prototype and measuring up the Jung ZL233 it seemed a good match on the chassis - with only a little comprimise to axle position vs the axle boxes required. The prototype is a strange looking thing - reminding me a little of a sausage dog, and as I love those, I guess that's what appealed to me about these - and with that in mind I drew up the body in Sketchup.

I chose to use the same approach as the LKM NS3 forestry diesel - and the body and chassis are seperate pieces. The chassis fits first, the body being added later. The bonnet doors, cab sides, bonnet grill and works plate are etched - the rest is the print. The chassis is particularly well detailed, something I'm quite proud of, and the print has come out wonderfully. The body is less detailed and if I was doing it now I'd include a bit more on the print I think - as a result a pristine finish just didn't look right so I trawled Google for prototype photos and found most ZL233s seems to end up mottled all over - so I guess the paint was very thin from the factory? Anyway, I dirtied it up with a mix of Humbrol chocolate, gun-metal and track colour paints.

The next stage will be to add a wash to the chassis, and foot plate, dry brush a little gun metal on the edge of panels and then some dirt with the airbrush to tone the finish together. It's been two years to get this relatively straight forward diesel to this stage, so don't hold your breath on it being finished anytime soon! I really should build a bigger layout for these European diesels to play on - one day!

More soon...