BC Rail CRS20 painted…

Last July a small parcel from Northern Alberta finally arrived after spending 2 months in surface mail containing a resin kit and details for the unique BC Rail CRS20. Over the following months I’ve enjoyed working on the model on and off, the most time taken actually on the handrails, but I’m excited to share the first photos of her pretty much finished…

Progress has been almost glacial, as it wasn’t November before I’d started the handrails, but a concerted effort through January saw these completed and the model ready for painting in January. After priming and smoothing in grey, a coat of white primer was applied before gloss white, then masked for the red, then masked for the blue, followed by the silver and finally detail painting.

Decals were supplied by Colin at BCR Model Shops with the kit itself, and generally went on very well indeed. There aren’t too many of them, but they lift the finish and look great. The finishing touch was adding the small door handles down the sides of the hood before I could refit the handrails and add the glazing and wipers (which aren’t quite the right style but were what I had in stock).

I’ve fitted an ESU Loksound 5 and Rail Exclusive Mini Box speaker, and reused the Atlas LEDs for headlights, connecting them to fibre optics front and rear. This is a bit of a cheat, as it’s not as effective as LEDs for each light, but the results are pleasing and there isn’t space in the nose for two light post LEDs anyway. I’ve cheated and used jewels in the ditch lights, I still need to add some black paint to the front classification lights on the nose. 

The silver chassis has been weathered a touch, but the body needs a lot of work now. I’m planning to represent a finish from around 2000, so in reasonable condition but a little dirty, with some streaks and stains and plenty of exhaust on the roof. However, for now I’m going to live with her for a few weeks to see if I want to add any further detail, perhaps to the underframe, before progressing further. Until next time, more soon…

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