Friday Update: Thirteen Ten Twenty-three…

From mid twenties to low teens it’s been a roller coaster of weather but inside things have a distinctly narrow gauge feeling…

Weather first, Monday’s walk into the hills above Corwen netted some gorgeous views and the weather was almost too warm but as I write this, dog sat beside and the thick rain pouring down I wonder if this is more typical autumnal weather. The walk? Starting at Corwen up to Liberty Hall, about 3 hours round trip if you’re taking things steady, as it’s quite a climb up onto the moors. The views (when it’s not raining) are worth it! In the photo above, the hill in the distance is Llantysillio mountain, Corwen is hidden in the valley lower left, our village is out of shot, up the valley off stage right. The distant hills centre to left are the Clwydian Range, that just off to the left meet the sea at Prestatyn. Over our shoulder we could see the Snowdon Range as well as the coastal mountains along the edge of Cardigan bay, wonderful.

After making the most of that morning it was back to the workshop and with the back of the Ruston LB (they’ll have ‘Commission’ posts next week I think) the work has shrunk a little. First, this aging white metal kit has been given a bit of a facelift as Mountaineer. Etched plates ordered and a few little details left to Scratchbuild. Balancing the character of the kit with the fidelity of the finish is tricky, but I think I’ve got things about right here -  she’ll be joining Linda when the time comes.

 

More work on Fourdees ‘barns’ here and wrestling with their slightly peculiar construction that means you paint them before assembly - added to which their roofs are difficult to fit without twisting or gaps. The observation car in particular has required 3 attempts and it’s still not museum quality. However, these coaches are built to a price and specification level that means neat, clean and crisp is the order of the day and the impression of all 6 passing at (relative) speed will be impressive! They’re so big as a commission I’m worried about how I’ll fit them all in to one photograph!

More 009! A Mountaineer Models ‘Shapeways’ print has arrived. People think this new yellow material is ready to go but I had my suspicions so dunked it in white spirit. The result, top, shows how much wax residue remained. Once dry the heavily striated side tanks are obvious and so, bottom, part of my commission work is to prepare and smooth these things so they don’t show under paint and primer. This model will again be an example of a complete commission service from myself, the result is a one stop shop, so you, the customer don’t need to worry about sourcing parts or arranging multiple commissions. I will source, prepare, assemble, paint, line, detail and weather a model to your exact requirements, get in touch for a no obligation fixed price proposal.

Just one more narrow gauge ‘tease’ and yes 009 and I’m sure you won’t need much help in guessing what model this is, but suffice to say, it’s for the personal collection and the work involved to represent it at a specific moment in time has been great fun. I’ll write more about her soon.

It hasn’t been all work here, nor all narrow gauge. As well as tinkering with the RSS 08 and ‘modern image’ rolling stock I’ve also had trains running on Beaverbrook. Conversations with Chris and musing on my collection I’ve begun to settle upon a core theme and that means a few of my larger locomotives will shortly be for sale (the Susquehanna GP40 and the CP GP20C-eco - keep your eyes peeled). My energy behind these smaller locomotives is exciting, I am really looking forward to progressing with the SWEEP this winter and have the S13 out on the layout again. They seem to suit the character of operation and they’re more ‘of me’ through their assembly and finish. It’s curious to muse that this has become important, initially the S13 was assembled through necessity, now it’s a case of these hand made models feel more personal than out of the box or modified ready to run. Some will have a place in my fleet for more sentimental reasons, but like the Florida Central CF7, these pair (GP40 and GP20c) don’t fit.

This weekend looks wet - that’s good because I’ve a new book from Pen and Sword due tomorrow and plenty of projects I’d like to work on for Beaverbrook. I hope you can find some time for yourselves in the next few days too, until next time, more soon…

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