Friday Update: Nine Nine Twenty-two…

I write these words on the morn that our world has lost an incredible symbol of honour, responsibility and tradition, a Queen to us all and a mother, grandmother and great grandmother to her family. A steadying force in a world that has at times, even in my lifetime, seemed a little out of control. Life goes on, but despite not being a royalist per-se, I mourn the loss of a woman the likes of which we are unlikely to see again...

And that said I am feeling very sad and low mood today. A curious mix of referenced emotions from when I lost my own Dad (and the depression that followed) and the feeling of genuine loss, the Queen demonstrated the behaviour we all expected from a head of state and that has at times in recent years seemed so lacking in our political leaders. A feeling of sadness that I'm sure will pass, but it is with a heavy heart I say God Save The King.

Back to 'normal Friday Update' I've been working on commissions large and small, on design and realisation, on steam and diesel and both standard and narrow gauges. The 'custom' Ruston 165 (above) edges closer with the fitting of the etched parts. For this 'faux' narrow gauge (3'6") model I've designed some custom 'reinforced' buffer beam pockets to hold modified Kadee NEM mounts as the etched NEM pockets are a touch low because of the use of the different chassis. These won't be long before arriving and despite not being shown in the photo, all the handrails and door handles are now in place ready for primer so it will be exciting to see this one realised. I think the presence of the flycranks and outside frames along with the extended bonnet and footplate really make this feel like a proper beast! It sounds great with the Ruston 165 sound file and Zimo sound decoder fitted under the hood.

The mighty 0 gauge Class 47 is progressing nicely and I'm enjoying the weathering process on such a large machine. Studying photos of green 47s and noticing the weathering and cleaning patterns in their finish, along with working up some custom 'what if' name plates for my customer and then ensuring the size of these feels 'right' on the side of the Heljan monster. I'm really very pleased with the effect of dirt spray road dirt build up on the lower body sides, and the vertical streaking that seemed to be visible in a few photos I studied, this side lit photo accentuates this, it isn't quite so obvious and nice and subtle in normal lighting conditions.

News of some 're-worked' Planet Industrials / Accurascale MDOs will go out in the coming week or so, and these examples are a proof of concept. I have effectively bought a quantity at 'trade' and am re-working them with either a total repaint (in black) or 2 stage weathering. These will go up on Light Railway Stores in the near future, if you're interested keep your eyes peeled and sign up to the Planet Industrials newsletter as they will be of a limited nature and when they're gone, I'll only do one further batch.

I'll wrap up this weeks Friday update with a photo that shows progress on Paxton Road - not in a scenic sense but in the fact that three blue machines are edging towards completion in terms of detail and weathering. Here the 08 has had the crank pins toned down - this model still needs a few details adding to the chassis, but the bodywork is complete. The 22 and 31 have had their detailing parts fitted, DGs fitted and chassis weathering finished. Bodywork weathering is well on, and I will have more to share on this over the weekend. These tiny models are really firing my imagination at present, and I hope I can share some evocative photos on the layout before long showing just how much potential is possible in N, whilst using off the shelf models.

I hope you all have a relaxing weekend, and have survived the first week of school traffic and commuting again after the summer break. Wherever you are in the world, and whatever your situation, I hope you find some time for quiet contemplation followed by a good read of a favourite railway book. In the meantime, I've got a day of weathering (the 47) and wood work (the large Cli-shay, not mentioned in photos this week) ahead. Until next time, more soon...