Commission: Seeing double - a pair of Pecketts in 009…

No, you are not seeing double! I recently completed a pair of these Fourdees ‘Bristol’ freelance Peckett style tender locomotives in 009…

I’ve tackled this kit previously and whereas then I followed the instructions and painting things before assembly this time I followed my gut, assembled first and painted later. The results are probably the same, and I found it suited my style of working so will be happy to try this approach with Dan’s kits again in the future.

 

The real problem with the Bristol is the lack of adhesive weight, there are no tanks to hide weight and being 3D printed resin the body is very light. I add as much lead as I can fit in the smokebox and firebox either end of the Graham Farish Class 08 chassis but they’re still very light. This brings me on to another subject, DCC in 009. With kits and light weight models with limited pick ups where there is little space for the decoder and speaker let alone a stay alive you are really walking a tightrope to ensure smooth stutter free running, I would still recommend the lover of small narrow gauge models in 009 stick with pure DC. One of these models is DC, the other is DCC. The extra effort required to coax performance from the latter was not as straight forward as either me or the customer would have liked.

 

The end results look good and I enjoy the level of detail Dan includes, I definitely think that it’s a boom to the beginner, but I can’t help but wonder if a white metal footplate that could be used under a few of the range would be a old fashioned but welcome addition to these models?

If you have a Fourdees model you’d like me to assemble and finish, breathe life into, then get in touch for a no obligation fixed price proposal. I can offer a complete service including sourcing kit and donor chassis, through to finishing details such as custom etched plates (via Light Railway Stores) and crew (Modelu).

In the meantime it feels wonderful to share another completed commission with you all. I hope you enjoy seeing these photos as much as I do, clicking through and revisiting them full screen is a way for me, that they live on once they’ve gone to new homes. I will always have the blog… so will you. In the meantime, as always, more soon…

Donate

I love writing and creating material for the blog. If you enjoy what you read and engage with I would be appreciative of any donation, large or small, to help me keep it advert and restriction free.