"Thanks for Reading"
Entry posted by S.A.C Martin
1,567 views
It all started here, in January 2008. The original post in what was intended to be my very first modelling project, building a Thompson Pacific, specifically no.60508, Duke of Rothesay.
That project ended somewhat abruptly, with metal fatigue present throughout the kit. Happily, bits of that original project live on in several different locomotives. The chimney and smokebox door were donated to two different Pacifics, the Romford wheels have been put to good use on a friend's P2, and the tender is still in use, albeit now as a fully and lined dark green painted spare.
It seems appropriate therefore, that what is intended to be my final update of this blog, will include the locomotive no.60508 Duke of Rothesay, thus righting the wrong, and finishing what could be considered a five year project.
If you'd like a recap on no.60508's build, here are the appropriate blog entries:
Murdering a Bachmann V2...Thompson A2/1
Thompson A2/1 from a Bachmann V2 and Graeme King Parts
Thompson A2/1 from a Bachmann V2 and Graeme King Parts, Part 2
Thompson A2/1 from a Bachmann V2 and Graeme King Parts, Part 3
Thompson A2/1 from a Bachmann V2 and Graeme King Parts, Part 4
After building the model, I took no.60508 to High Wycombe Model Railway Club, of which I have recently joined. I intend to move to North London later this year, and with such a superb club with very accommodating and helpful individuals on the future doorstep, so to speak, I signed up after a few visits. I intend to make it a once a month, regular visit.
The idea behind taking it to this particular evening, was for use of the test track, but I was in for a surprise, as Hinton Parva, a layout which I have admired from afar for a good number of years, was being used to run member's trains. I therefore put both 60508 and 60136 onto my two test trains for some running in. I was somewhat nervous as no.60508 had never been run on a train before. I needn't have worried. She performed flawlessly the whole evening.
The Pullman coaches are the Railroad standard Pullman coaches, which I intend to modify, albeit on a budget, into an appropriate rake suitable for running as The Yorkshire Pullman. 60508 will not be the train engine for this intended rake, but it was good to check that all was well with the model and that it could handle what is likely to be the normal train length on my future layout. Not the correct number of coaches, by any means, but long enough for that intended.
It was a somewhat surreal few hours, watching these Pacifics I had worked on running round an actual layout, sometimes at speed and sometimes at a perfect snail's pace approaching a symbol. I have had to make do without an actual layout for a good number of years, using only my little roundy round film set for most of the time. Now I don't have a layout of any kind, and make do with the Hornby rolling road I bought some years back. With the HYMRC, I am able to use their test circuit for running in to my heart's content.
The club is full of very friendly, very knowledgeable individuals, and I felt at my happiest actually talking to people, person to person. You can tell so much better the manner in which anything is said face to face, and I always felt very much in awe of the modellers about the place. But they always had time to discuss something with me, and they were very kind and courteous throughout.
Over Christmas I finally set up my airbrushing booth and had a few goes with the airbrush on some scrap wagons and plastic Dapol kits. The first bit of actual locomotive weathering I did was on my Thompson O1, pictured below:
It's not as good as a few posted on RMweb, but it is a good start in my view, and is so far one of around ten locomotives I have had a crack at, including no.60508, which I can finally declare as "finished!"
Weathering powders were used as a "base" for the enamel weathering paints. All of the powders I use are from the Tamiya range, and there's a lot of the oil stain, orange rust and gunmetal powders used to get the colours I want.
The photograph I was working from showed no.60508 as being moderately clean on the locomotive in terms of the boiler and cabsides, but with a filthy apple green tender. This placed it between the time of its accident in 1948, and the time it was changed to an eight wheel tender in 1949, perfect for my chosen era, and the form I've since modelled it in.
Metalcote was used with some Matt Leather, and Johnson's Klear to get a shiny but dusty finish on the boiler and tender sides, whereas just metalcote on the smokebox, rubbed down with a cotton bud and then given a wash of Gamesworkshops Abbadon Black acrylic, followed by a few quick puffs of Purity Seal spray, was applied to the smokebox and cab roof. Thinners were used to remove the enamels before sealing with Johnson's Klear or Purity Seal.
The finish on the model hides a lot of the mismatches to the paintwork caused when removing warning flash stickers and similar, though the differing shades of green on locomotive and tender are more or less hidden by the weathering.
The final thing was to use my rolling road, together with a Trix wheel cleaner and some more thinners, to clean the wheel rims and get everything running nicely again. The valve gear was unintentionally left a little cleaner than intended and will be dealt with when I am home for an extended period and able to get the paints and powders out again.
So that, as they say, is that. I don't intend to update this blog for some time, if ever, due to a change in priorities. With the impending publication in paperback of my first book, a change in home, and a change in job on the horizon, I have felt it prudent to start to prioritize my own external blog, www.britishrailwaystories.com, choosing not to update the four different forums I peruse regularly in favour of rationalizing my blogging. For anyone so interested, you can find my modelling there from now on.
I intend to keep my account on RMweb and will pop in from time to time. It has, after all, been a very large part of my life for nearly five years, and came at a particularly dark point from which I am convinced railway modelling saved me ultimately from making some supremely stupid choices. I therefore don't feel I can give it up so easily.
I've built, renumbered, and weathered lots of models to varying degrees of success or failure over the last five years, and it has been on the whole, very fun. RMweb has proved to be a great resource with great people on it. Lots of people here have given me large amounts of help and advice, for which I am supremely grateful. It goes without saying that people such as Jim Smith-Wright, Max Stafford, Mick B, Graeme King, Matthew Cousins, toboldlygo, Mikkel, Sean (of the DP2 fame), iandudders, Larry Goddard and a good number more have all been brilliant to me. To them I pay tribute for my time here blogging. Thank you all for your help and patience over the years!
I have felt, however, that my enjoyment of the hobby on RMweb was not as much as it should have been lately. For the sake of my own enjoyment of the hobby I love, I have elected to keep my modelling more private and personal, with blog updates on www.britishrailwaystories.com on a regular basis instead.
All that remains to say is a sincere thank you to Andy Y for providing this great resource and continuing to provide said great resource, and to everyone who has read and commented on this incarnation of the Copley Hill Works over the years.
Thanks for reading.
Simon
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