Commission: Ffestiniog passenger accommodation…

Whilst these days there are a range of wonderful ready to run items available in 009, with more announced, the variety required for most scenarios still draws upon the back catalog of styrene kits from the likes of Dundas, Chivers and Meridian…

My latest commission of Ffestiniog prototypes covers both traditional and modern kits, injection moulded styrene kits and 3D printed items. It is interesting to reflect the pros and cons of each, and the relative cost of production. Injection moulded items may be pence, but the tooling must be spread over a long production run to be economic making ‘new’ kits an unusual but welcome addition (he new Chivers Ffestiniog/Welsh Highland coach a great example this month), the 3D print may seem cheap but its producer has to write off their own capital expense in the printer too, but I rarely see this factored into what strikes me as under-pricing their wares. 

 

These models were sourced by my customer, Ben and assembled to a price - but even then I can’t resist adding little flourishes, Spooners boat (above) is more elaborate than intended just because it felt to special not to add some detail. The Dundas kit below is a relatively straight forward build but rewards precision in assemble and requires keen masking to get a sharp finish. The flying benches came in brown plastic but even these needed a coat of primer and some paint wafting over to bring out their detail and help them blend with he other items. Ben’s project and layout are a wonderful example of mixing modern ready to run with kit products and if you’re keen to see it be will be displaying it at the Shrewsbury exhibition later in the year.

 

If you have a prototype in mind for your project and need help in making it a reality, either through a kit build (brass, styrene, 3D or a combination) or traditional scratch build then get in touch for a fixed price proposal using the form on the website (in the menu) or via email in my Facebook page (no account needed), the link is under the ‘Modelmaking Commissions’ button here. In the meantime, until next time, more soon…

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