Planet Industrials: PIL-004B Peckett Cut Down...

The prototype seen earlier in the week has now been painted and weathered, and once I've added the new parts (cab rear hatch and modified step design) to the etch the parts will go into production...

I took a few photos, some 'studio shots' to use in the publicity material. These cruel close ups show a few blemished in the weathered finish I need to revisit, but for now they're good enough to illustrate the instructions for the kit.

I've finished my own model as 'Hornet' as the last standard gauge industrial steam engine working in the area, locally at Bersham, just south of Wrexham. There are differences, Hornet had a home made chimney (very characterful but damn ugly) a home made cut out on one side of the cab roof to increase door way headroom, and a hatch on the back of the cab (which I dislike)... in later years Hornet also sported wasp striped buffer beams but I chose to not represent these either as I already have locomotives in the fleet with this feature.

The cab re-uses the original glazing for the rear spectacles, and glue-n-glaze has been used for the front windows (still slightly wet in these photos, hence why one appears 'white'). The weathering was applied by airbrush and then before it had dried was removed with a sponge dampened with white spirit. This left dirt in the corners and a gentle streaking. A second coat of dirt was then applied to soften the effect and blend things together. Once touch dry I dry brushed the edge of the foot plate and steps with gun-metal.

Finally a photo showing Hornet with the non-cut down version of the kit - which shows that the roof line is lower even in the centre of the roof. There is another version I'm considering, there were example with a standard profile roof, dropped to this height. This meant the cab upper sheets were like Hornet, but the lower sheet was taller. This would be an easy mod, as it re-uses a lot of parts from both designs... perhaps one for 2021. In the meantime, if you'd like me to weather and re-finish your own model, any scale, any prototype, get in touch for personal proposal. For now, more soon...