Whilst I find the colour of this loco a little dark, it's also more to my liking. Got to say it'll be a nice change compared to the other locomotives in red and black. As soon as it has a crew, nameplates, chassis fixed and lining, hopefully it'll be a good addition to the motive power.
Even when positioned with some of the Mid Sodor Railway stock, it looks the part. Hoping to get a few more of the Skarloey engines done and out the way, always been something I've wanted to do and n
Whilst this is a somewhat lazy model, I've yet to add a few features such as the extended bunker and a crew. Certainly looks more appealing in his real livery though.
As always, running test will be up soon on my YouTube channel.
Jack
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So named after the bloke I've designed it for, this is a bespoke model designed between the pair of us. It's freelance with parts taken from here and there, but it looks Irish in my eyes.
So you might have noticed it's just a body shell without details or such? If so, they're seperate parts as I prefer white metal castings. The printing resolution just isn't that great for smaller items. Castings in place and a coat of primer later, it's starting to look somewhat better.
So whilst it's one of the better models Bachmann have made, I'm still not too keen on their model of Diesel. Don't get me wrong, everything appears to be accurate on it, the problem lies with the glossy finish on the loco itself. Whilst a coat of matt or satin varnish could solve such a problem, I'm going down a different route to do mine.
I've yet to decide what paint to put him into. Part of me is thinking a matt charcoal black, so I can retain
Managed to pick up a Jouef "Junior" range locomotive the other day, and first impressions are generally quite good. I do like the size of the locomotive, which turned out to be smaller than the Dapol/Hornby terrier. Model features NEM couplings and blackened metal components, giving it a modern feel. Need to sort out the livery though, not keen on keeping it French forever.
More pictures:
Jack
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This project has been somewhat interesting for me, as it's how I am going to do Duck. Working with a friend, who fixed errors and such, I've been able to make myself custom bodies for coaches. So far, I've had one test sample done and delivered.
It's not much. Just a coach body and a roof for the vehicle. What makes it special is that it has been designed on a computer, using Google's brilliant sketchup. For a first trial with the software, it's worked well and is certainly a me
After being asked, I've got a picture of the donor chassis I am using. It's only fitting that it came from a 57XX, and suprisingly lines up well for making Duck. The body has been designed to fit this chassis, and as such is now being worked on by a friend so I can make the master to work from.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!
Jack
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So if you were bothered to use Google to translate it, you'd find it was simply "Duck" in Dutch. If you're wondering why it was Dutch, I will reveal that at a later date.
Onto Duck's body, this has been aided with re-watching the classic episodes, and screen capturing several key shots of him to produce the body from. It's good that there is enough reference material to work from, but it would have been nicer had he been produced by Bachmann.
Worki
All I will say at the moment in time is the face and chassis are sat on my workbench, and the body is being worked upon. Body itself will take a while to do, as it'll be done in numerous parts, but it should leave me with a rather nice locomotive, regardless of manufacturers announcing it next year.
Jack
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Well, everyone has them. In fact, some have a few more than others do. Then I'm sat writing this whilst documenting projects I have started and still have left to do, most of which could have been done ages ago.
Yet another project I started but never completed.
The loco you see above is one such project of mine, from back in 2009. It's one that never got completed, and as such it's sat in it's box, where it's been since applying that British Railways transfer. The pugs are
I never was too happy with any of the ready made Bertie toys manufactured by the likes of Hornby, Bachmann and Ertl. All of them were flawed in major departments, and as such I really couldn't stand them. One I really did like was the "Bandai TECS" toy, which actually looked like the character in question. These were also sold into the US market* as the "Ertl Gold Rail" range of die-cast and plastic toys.
Now there are still a few issues I'm not happy with on the to
This locomotive was created primarily for the Permanent Way's locomotive building competition. Whilst there is still time left in it, I thought I'd allow you to read about it even if you aren't a forum member, although I'd suggest joining.
Please note that the following writing is fictional, and based upon an alternate timeline where the Maisel Oil Company's venture into coal-based oil had been succesful, and as such kept the railway going well into nationilisation. Whilst in the realm of
This is one locomotive I've wanted to do for a long time, and as such, starts a whole new fleet of Narrow Gauge engines for a proposed layout I'm doing. Failing that, it'll make for a nice collection.
The kit itself is the Langley Models kit for the Larger Englands. Whilst not correct, it's as good as i'll be able to do Duke for now. Not a bad model, although the ammount of work needed on the parts is a bit of a pain. Considering kits sold for half the price are nowhere near as bad
Well, everyone has at least several planned out in their heads, as I have. Whilst many are out of the question, some of them would certainly be well worth looking into to.
Idea One: Large Tramway Museum
Preservation layouts. Something I love and hate with a passion. Whilst many are good and done well, I can't help but feel some just don't have the right stock to fit on the layout, ie having several big locomotives for a small station terminus isn't really that convincing. Throw a A
Took these pictures, and measured the dimensions for the folks over on NGRM-Online and RMweb. If you're going to show these on other forums, please link back to this blog when doing so.
Total Length: 98mm (137 including couplings)
Total Width: 34mm (39mm including cranks and rods)
Total Height: 44mm
End of wheel to end of wheel: 58mm
Axle to axle: 44mm
Please note that they are approximate, although as accurate as I can get them.
Pictures of the chassis:
Well, the Bachmann Thomas range is certainly great, don't get me wrong on that. The biggest problem however lies with the earlier models featured, such as Thomas, Percy & James. Considering they were designed when the range was started, it's easy to forgive Bachmann on the minor errors that appear on them.
However, one thing does annoy me with them. The lack of a front coupling.
Every locomotive character since, starting from Gordon and Henry, has had one. It makes sense to
I've decided to take a fully fledged look at the latest offering in Bachmann Train's Thomas range, namely "58802 Devious Diesel." Whilst some may look at this review and argue with some points, I feel that all points given are valid and address issues that are apparent on the model. I must also apologise in advance for the quality of the photographs included, I'm afraid my camera is not a fan of the dark nights we are now experiencing.
With both Hornby (OO/HO) and Lionel (O) making models of
"Ex-Turkish 2-8-0, now North Western Railway number 26, shown here after rebuild and restoration into British Railways livery, Crovans Gate Works 1985."
Yes, I finally got around to it. For what I am wanting to do however, I need two of these, one in this condition and one as a Turkish example. As can be seen, it's the older Hornby model. Reason being the smokebox door easily comes away allowing for a face to be fitted as needed.
Jack
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Okay, so I know that fan series, based around the whole Thomas franchise, are commonplace. I do fancy having a go at one, however if I did it would have to be a high standard, as I have become quite a perfectionist! A few test shots are just below, nothing special but certainly adjusting the camera right in order to film perhaps not whole episodes, but extracts, and with realistic versions of the characters opposed to the toy-like creations of the Television Series.
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Anyone who has seen the range of wind-up "Thomas & Friends" toys produced by Tomy for the Japanese market will have seen several figures are made to match the engines. Of these, the one I am drawn to is Sir Topham Hatt, also known as the Fat Controller.
As you can see, he is a tad bright and glossy, but some work here and there does wonders. One thing to be addressed is the solid base he is cast on. Simply removing it improves the figure quite well, and as such makes for a n
As promised the other night. Not much of an update, but my camera messed up on the front on shot. Will update this at a later dad to rectify that.
I'll add a picture of the real thing so you can compare it. (Attribution: Bluebellnutter at en.wikipedia)
Jack
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