Commission: RSH tank in OO gauge...

Earlier in the week I shared a Barclay I'd worked over for a customer. It's partner is this wonderfully brutish looking RSH in OO gauge...

RSH (Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns) produced these husky looking 0-6-0t for the NCB and power stations across the UK. This example worked in the Northumberland region. I assembled it from parts supplied by my customer including a custom 3D printed resin body shell, a heavily modified Hornby Austerity chassis and some 3rd party details including safety valves (Romford) coupling (Smiths) and buffers (Lanarkshire IIRC).

The one piece body is well proportioned, and captures the character of the prototype well. Only a little prep work was required to smooth out printing marks. The material was a little more brittle than the resin printer we use for Planet Industrials kits, but it responded ok to sanding and filling. The chassis shows it's age now, but is a cheap way to motorise the body, however it didn't really like the heavy modification required. The finished model is little light on it's feet but runs smoothly with a Zimo sound decoder installed.

It was important to match the unique character of the prototype with some custom designed transfers. I altered my usual NCB markings, noting the B in particular was different, and had these made especially for the project. The model was then heavily weathered, a little more than I'd usually like, working from photos to give a feel for a hard working engine that hasn't seen much cleaning lately. To finish things off a real coal load fills the bunker and a crew (including a 'mini me') disguises the lack of back head detail on the model. The result is a unique model that my customer is looking forward to receiving shortly.

If you've got a kit languishing in a drawer, or a particular prototype you've always wanted to model then get in touch for personal proposal. I will work with you to specify the work required and provide a fixed price for the commission. I'm taking commissions for the second half of the year at present, if you're keen then please drop me a line via the contact form, Facebook or one of the forums. In the meantime, I hope you've enjoyed reading a little bit about this particular model. Until next time, more soon...