The sixth small blue one…

There has been all sorts of lovely models from my N gauge exploits shown and discussed recently but in all of that the mundane and workmanlike 09001 has gone unremarked… 

Today will put that right. Albeit somewhat briefly.

The model uses a Farish Mainline liveried 09 as its donor, and really the biggest part of the conversion is the removal of the front equipment cabinet. This requires making good of the gap in the bonnet doors - a little filler and 10 thou styrene are a start - but the latter is would you believe, too thick! Bufferbeam pipework fitted around DGs and a cross brace added to the steps from micro strip.

The cab side window is enlarged, before painting. This one is ‘weathered’ P132W from Precision. The ends are faded warning yellow (Precision with a touch of Humbrol 28). Decals Fox, numbers Railtec. Handrails all touched in with 28. Weathering the usual - 98/33 mix finished off with some 133/245/27004 in the airbrush. Finishing touch is the drybrushed gunmetal 53 on step edges.

The result is greater than all of that.

She lives because I love the Class 08/09. Her finish captures some of that passion. I don’t believe you can truly create models with heart without really caring about what you’re doing. Our best work is always what we love the most, and that isn’t an accident. We love it, we always loved it.

So the latest of mundane 08/09s in BR blue joins the collection. The first sold because of its original mechanism, the second because the paint was a little too dark, the third cut down awaits Cwmbach, the fourth lives in a box with Penpont, the fifth was an accident and replicates 202 here in the valley. The sixth? Casual memories of Hereford. 

She runs beautifully by the way.

Until next time, more soon…

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