Re-building a stalwart shunter...

The Bachmann 08 was shown in a catalog back in my teenage years, probably around the mid 1990s. Alas, it never appeared before my interest waned with university. It wasn't until my daughter was born over ten years later that I happened to be walking past a hobby shop window and I spotted a Bachmann 08 and I went in and bought it straight away...

The model, with it's separately applied handrails and door handles with outside frames and fly cranks captures the prototype beautifully. Joined on the market a few years later by the Hornby model, which in many ways is superior, certainly in terms of detail, I've always preferred the rendition of the Bachmann model and all I've owned have been superb running, heavy chassis and centre sprung axle with large flywheel, that should not be under-estimated. I have had four over the years (the more modern three feature in this blog post), but today only one remains in the collection - it was a light grey example but recently it's begun a transformation into a more useful colour scheme...

08543 on Pont-y-dulais before work began. It was a lightly detailed and touched in original Bachmann paint job, renumbered and weathered to closely match a prototype engine (although it had metal, rather than wooden doors).

The model has been worked on in the past and I had added a reasonable representation of the airbrake and vacuum pipework on the buffer beams using Hornby detailing kits, I think from the Class 31 and Class 50, IIRC. I had also attempted adding some of  the pipework under the cab and had widened the front steps to better match the photos I could find on the web.

However, once the paintwork had been removed I made a list of the things I want to improve, in short these are:

- improved front steps and handrails

- pipework under the cab

- improved buffer beam detail

- front cylinders under buffer beam

- roof top lift rings

- add exhauster cabinet to front bonnet

- replacement coupling rods

I have been working on the model, on and off for a few months now between commission work. I began with the bodywork, replacing the plastic cab handrails with 0.45mm wire, adding an RT Models vacuum exhauster cabinet, carefully carving off the roof 'lumps' and replacing them with accurate plastic lift rings (from Details Associates, a US small part supplier), and drilling carefully through the remaining 'lifting eyes' in front of the cab on the top of the hood. I need to decide on a prototype, and if it was fitted with a horn, or whistle, and then fit this, however I've given it a coat of primer so I can check for any blemishes that need attention. Once benefit of stripping the paint was uncovering the original tooling detail, and this is really crisp now it's had a thin coat of primer. I will be using the airbrush to paint the model, so I hope this can be preserved as the model progresses. 

Work has begun on the chassis, but there is some way to go... I began by removing the attempt at pipework under the cab, this will be re-fashioned in brass and styrene. The front footsteps are sound, but I've removed the bent wire handrails and replaced them with handrail knobs at the top of 0.45mm brass rod, which improves their appearance immensely.

I need to source a set of Brass-masters or Hornby coupling rods and some Shawplan laser glazing to move this project forwards, but it's nice to have something of a slow burn to work on when other projects have reached an impasse, or commission work needs a distraction. If you'd like me to work on your own 08, adding a few of these details or refining the Bachmann finish, or a simple renumbering, get in touch for a personal proposal. Until next time, more soon...