It’s in the (small) details (N part 47)…

I sometimes find that collecting stock, details or parts and working on them ahead of a layout project can be a positive experience that stops the malaise of armchair research and moves me into the physical world again…

Of course it’s also a lot of fun anyway, as with the various N scale projects collected around my Industrial OO, odd 009 and Canadian H0. All of these interests and projects mix together here, ideas and experiences cross fertilise and variety keeps my energy and focus high. My most recent meanderings, whilst George and I continue to stall on building baseboards is a third N scale layout, effectively a replacement for the first. Whilst Paxton Road (2) has been a great success I have a few more ideas on presentation and arrangement I’d like to explore. This is a great chance to include some more ‘inspiration’ from the memory banks of real and read examples of the industries and structures in the 1990s. In those memories are stacks of palletised materials - I’m going to need a fork lift…

I couldn’t find anything suitable in the German plastic car manufacturers ranges. I’d seen a few 3D printed one piece models but they felt too small a prototype, so when I was looking for something else and stumbled upon Rusty Rails, run by a pleasant chap called Birch and based here in a North Wales I was excited so find what I was looking for, a kit of a slightly larger example, beautifully created as a 5 piece model. Upon arrival I wafted on some primer and painted it whilst still on the sprue and then cut out and pushed the parts together. Perfect.

This thing is tiny, yet so fine. Certainly as fine as you’d see in etched materials in this size, whilst retaining some level of robustness. It looks at home on Paxton Road, I used a Satin 174 base coat and dry brushed some 82 over the top. Wheel centres are 174 and the fuel gas bottle is 100. The subtle contrast in shades works really well, I will dry brush some gunmetal on the forks next time I have the tin open. 

As a modeller interested more in the craft and composition than strict prototype accuracy, exploring new scales and time periods has been a fascinating journey. The more work I do in N, the more I feel that the opportunities are massive. I will continue to share my experiences here, in the hope that they show both my excitement and energy as well as the possibility you may find working in a smaller scale. Until next time, more soon…

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