Friday Update: Three Twelve Twenty-one…

From the first heavy frost to more rain than you can shake a stick at, this photo seems to sum up winter in the Dee Valley nicely, still beautiful but dark and threatening whilst there is still a glimmer of light...

Wrapped up warm inside I've been working on a small batch of various OO gauge commissions this week, a combination of kit builds and renumbering/weathering projects. This of course meant digging out the laptop to design some custom transfers which arrived mid week (below). I love getting a new set of transfers, there is something about seeing them all crisp and new in the packet...

...of course I often can't wait to get these applied and on a model - so to check the sheet I decided to try out the PiCEMENT and PILX transfers on my own Atlas H0 scale cement car, which look great, although I might re-do the patch, as although I wanted the old reporting marks to be slightly visible, they're actually too visible! I'll add a second patch over the top! Also sneaking in this photo is the GE44t that was the subject of yesterday's blog - although things have progressed quickly and it's now nearly finished - I'll do a separate blog post about it next week explaining the work involved and some more of the inspiration.

The first pair of models to share are these NCB examples, little and large. The RSH is a 3D printed shell on a much modified Hornby Austerity chassis - I've been told by my customer that the chimney and smokebox should be blue as well, so that needs addressing before I seal it with lacquer. The smaller Barclay is a Hattons model with a Planet Industrials conversion cab, both feature custom drawn transfers for this job - the NCB on the blue tank in particular was interesting because studying the photos I noticed the 'B' was different to how the NCB usually painted it, so modified the artwork to suit. I plan to get some lining decals made for the Barclay next, I did ponder hand painting the lining, but I think it will be neater as transfers. You'll notice there are also some Devonport transfers on the sheet, I'm doing a commission featuring a Barclay and a couple of wagons, but they're still in progress so will share next week... they've actually inspired me to draw up a Devonport cameo scheme - its made it from notepad to RailModeller pro, so I'll finish that off before Christmas too...

This Hornby 08 arrived for renumbering, not once but twice... after carefully removing the original number, scraping with a blade gently, I then polished up the paint so I could apply the Fox (D number) and Nairnshire Modelling Supplies (Tops)... this is a model destined for Renfrew and has one identity whilst two time periods - representing as it does a green 08 renumbered before being painted blue. This is a Scottish machine, and I'm now currently weathering it to blend in with other models in the customers collection...

A surprise parcel arrived from a regular reader this week, three old issues of 'Bylines'! A wonderful act of kindness, thank you David. These include some wonderful period photographs with plenty to dig into - the initial draw is of course the Cromford and High Peak...

This spurred me on with my own J94. I've been toying with which example to model - pretty certain it wouldn't be 68012 (the identity my DJM model arrived with). You can see the factory weathering has been  touched up and toned down as I've replaced and added details (the foot steps are RT etched soldered up and glued in place), removed some details (the boiler grab) and added a new number and warning flashes based upon photos of 68013 in the early 1960s before withdrawal. She was seen on Cromford Wharf in the period, so suits the model perfectly. Next up, there are a few little details I need to add, handrails and grabs, replace the dart on the smokebox and add some 3 links before I can touch up the paint one last time before getting the airbrush out to blend it together and filth it up! These things were very grimy by the end of their lives - the overhead flashes being the only clean things on them!

As I get towards Christmas thoughts turn to the cameo layout projects I want to progress and I'm torn between starting the logging layout or Cromford Wharf... I think the logging layout will just pip it this time, and so I need so source some new track for that in time for the festive season. I hope you're all well, and have a good weekend. If you're available tune in to the World of Railways virtual exhibition as I play a small part over the weekend. In the meantime, thanks for reading! More soon...