The Ultimate Shed - 2026...

In another life I began a project to build 'The Ultimate Shed'. That was 2010, OO gauge and the early days of RMWeb community and I had been hugely inspired, and encouraged by Martin McDermott's Class 59 project and sought to re-create something as inspiring using the original Bachmann Class 66 as a solid starting point...

Today, re-born in N I find myself uttering those same words, only this time all I did was take it out of the box and apply some subtle weathering... Revolution Trains have surely raised the standard of British N gauge, this model is truly and utterly fantastic - superlatives in abundance, perhaps not the most attractive of prototypes but every modern image layout covering the last 30 years or so needs at least ONE shed. If you're going to have just one, then it may as well be the ultimate...

This model combines the finesse of a OO scale Accurascale model with the wonderful paint finish of a Graham Farish creation. The maroon is so lustrous, the sheen just perfect. Weathering could so easily be over-done, and is a very difficult but rewarding pastime in N gauge. I don't love the Class 66 like I do with split head code Class 37 or the ubiquitous 08, but I do love the fact that they saved rail freight. Yesterday morning I stood alongside the railway between Chirk and Gobowen and witnessed one of 66083s DB red painted brethren effortlessly hauling 20+ steel wagons on it's daily meandering along the Marches route, from Margam to Dee Marsh. These trains are mundane, they are hum-drum, they go un-noticed, they don't sound spectacular - they just exist. 

Thank goodness...

I love the fact that they look like this because the chairman of Foster Yeoman liked the Western hydraulics. The peaked and overhanging cab is a nod to the most infamous of hydraulics, and carried over from the Class 59 into the Class 66 project when EWS went shopping for something to replace the myriad of aging and worn out British diesels. 

Weathering something so small is difficult - I have seen others kill the lustre of the finish with a coat of satin lacquer, but in my treasured Paul Shannon / Ian Allen 'EWS - From Privatisation to DB' book, in the first decade they seemed to always have clean shiny paint, even if the under frame and roof were dirty...

So the chassis was painted with Humbrol 98/33 wash, mixed on the fly, to match the light and dark of prototype photos. Later a small amount of gloss lacquer (which dried nicely satin) was added to the fuel spill and the slight 'clean' patch along the trucks on one side. The buffer beams had the same treatment - as did the roof - but here, I used my wide flat brush, frequently cleaned in white spirit, to remove much of this and add some streaking. Finally the 133/245/27004 mix (heavier on the 27004) was sprayed lightly over the roof to match the build up seen in photos, and heavier over the exhaust. This was allowed to build up slightly on the angled top of the body around the silencer - again from photos. 

She is dirty, but cleaned.

N scale models can be devilishly hard to photograph too - so here, a mix of studio shots on the bench and under layout lighting. I hope, blown up many times larger than reality, the subtle finish can be appreciated, as well of course as the wonderful tooling and assembly of the Revolution model.

Whilst the baseboards and track are coming together for Cwmbach, Modern Goods, where this shed is destined to see service still feels a pipe dream. The scheme requires space I don't have - but would allow me to more easily take my modelling 'on the road'. Perhaps in time I can work out a storage solution for the workshop - in the meantime, I am pleased to chalk this one up as 'done' (for now). 

If you have been on the fence about picking up modern N, or just one of the 66, I can wholeheartedly recommend this wonderful model. If I had my time again, I'd have picked up a sound one - but - such is life I don't need another... (but when has that ever stopped anyone).

Until next time, more soon...

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