Fairbanks Morse revival...

A few weeks ago I received a very kind gift from a good friend. We'd been talking about logging railroads, and in conversation I mentioned I'd taken a shine to the yellow FMs that ran in the woods...

Well it took a few months by rail barge (sorry, surface post) to arrive but when she did the aging model impressed despite a distinct lack of finesse and missing parts. Clean crisp mouldings, no shell damage, a wonderfully old fashioned but whisper quiet Austrian made mechanism. Bear Creek is a straight DC cameo layout, there is no way I'd consider retro-fitting DCC to my Dad's old Shay, so in a way, it's nice that the models I'm collecting for it are also of some vintage.

I may be suggesting that the layout is some sort of 'homage' to the old days of model railroading, but that doesn't mean undetailed, clumsy or lacking in finesse, far from it, these older models really rewarded the skilled and patient modeller. Transforming an out of the box model was a regular topic in magazines, detailing parts companies sprang up and offered a myriad of parts to replace cast on or clumsy details. Working up a model was often seen as some kind of 'right of passage'. Indeed, in my teens I worked on both British (Lima diesels) and North American models (Athearn blue boxes) in this way and learnt a lot of my craft through painful mistakes as well as the art of 'making' things I couldn't easily acquire.

It is this last point that I focus upon today. A form of scratch building that's today's 'new' modellers are perhaps less inclined to turn to - don't get me wrong, the latest products from our favourite manufacturers are superb pieces of design and show the art of the possible, certainly better than anything we could ever have imagined 25 years ago - that said, when you receive a model with all the bells and whistles (pun intended) the need to fabricate a handrail or a cut lever, reposition a horn or replace a coupling, even add brake hoses - those needs just are no longer there... However, a glimmer of light are the more affordable models in many manufacturers ranges today. In the UK we have Hornby Railroad, which is often older Lima tooling which responds well to detailing and in the US Walthers Mainline provides well detailed models without the railroad specific details. Rapido dabbled with the concept of a cheaper, less detailed model in the past with the GE Dash 8 cowl (shame we've not seen a new batch with all the bells and whistles on) and ScaleTrains offer their 'Operator' series. All of these more wallet friendly models offer a chance to try your hand at more traditional modelling, an enjoyable and mindful experience once practiced, and something I turn to after a busy day working on commissions, as mad as that sounds!

Of course, you don't need to buy new either - second hand older models offer an even more cost effective way to develop these skills. Often you'll find missing or broken details, from even the more recent releases lead to a large discount in price. As such replacing or repairing is something that is not only an enjoyable pastime but one that can restore a model, save it from the bin or from being destined to live in a box. 

In the case of this aging FM I've chosen not to design and fabricate replacement etched grills or 3D design and print better pilot steps - instead I'm working with the basic raw material - a well designed and well moulded plastic shell. The first step is to strip the existing paintwork, in this case I used 91% IPA - dunk the shell for a few hours and the paint just scrubs off easily with an old toothbrush. Once you've revealed the bare plastic you can see what needs attention. It might be old repairs, damaged or missing details, it may be mould or seam lines that can be visually reduced. I went over every inch of the FM gently scraping mould seam lines off, and then carving off door handles. Filling the existing holes in the frames and pilots, then smoothing it all before drilling new holes for handles and handrails. The end handrails were missing altogether, but don't worry, with newer EMD / Alco / GE models KV Models offer some excellent etched stanchions you can form and solder up but with the FM these were tubular rather than pressed. I bent, filed and folded these examples up from 0.4mm brass rod, carefully soldering them together using tape and blu-tak to hold them in position whilst I gently dabbed solder on the joints. A hot iron, plenty of flux and a steady hand and you'll get a neat join that can be gently filed a little smoother, make sure the soldering is done on the 'inside' face so as not to spoil their appearance. They're strong enough to withstand gentle handling and probably considerable finer than the prototype. Special tools required? No, just a pair of gripping needle nose pliers, a soldering iron, flux, solder and some patience. 

This post was not intended to become an opinion piece on the state of the hobby, rather a call to arms to save our older models and enjoy the process of adding and refining details, based on our chosen prototypes rather than relying on out of the box models (at least not entirely), and recognising that this process, this pastime IS model making, and not just collecting. 

If you've got an older model you'd like me to work on for you, to bring back to life, repair or refinish then get in touch using the contact form, Facebook page or the forums. Until next time, more soon...