Commission: An export Alco…

The third part of a Rio Tinto inspired collection of commissions, this latest follows the Victory and Ruston. A more involved project in many ways, the donor was a Rapido RSC-14 undecorated that arrived as little more than a kit of body details in poly bags and a shell and chassis…

Having dismantled enough North American models for a lifetime I had a pretty good idea of what went where - but decided, like the Chinese, to paint many of the parts before final assembly. The overall model was sprayed yellow, then masked for the stripe and overpainted blue.

To give the model a more ‘export’ finish I filled the handrail holes on the sills, and modified the supplied handrails to just have ends. The model is similar size to the other OO models, despite the scale difference and therefore is a passable ‘export’ unit. Custom markings were drawn up for my customers mining company and these applied before a satin lacquer.

Weathering brings an Alco to life, and this example is no different. I may have gone slightly beyond ‘generally clean and well cared for’ but the result is typical and pleasing. A blend of washes and airbrush the only way to get the oil soaked exhaust appearance!

I enjoy these sorts of custom projects - if you’d like me create something unique then do get in touch for a no obligation fixed price proposal. In the meantime, until next time, more soon…

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