Back when the Bachmann 150 was released, I foolishly started thinking about how it could be improved. The plan had three elements, rebuild the chassis of the powered half with a full interior and a black beetle, replace the glazing with a more appropriate level of tint and replace the window frames with the Jim Smith Wright etch.

I made a start cutting off the window frames and fitting the replacement glazing, along with fitting P4 to the unpowered coach. Painted the edges of the etch Regional Railways blue, and then finished uni and packed it all up. It never was unpacked after the move to Bristol, and with the focus until I started work on Wheal Imogen being on steam, that is where it has remained. Unfortunately the etches seem to have ended up spread over several boxes, and so far I have only found half of them.

So on to today:

The 150 is important for the passenger services on Wheal Imogen, so today I cleaned up the etches and glued them onto one side of the unit. Next time I am in Devon where the rest of the etches should be with the rest of the stored stock boxes I will hopefully find the rest. In each case I applied Evostick (1 minute) to the back of the etch and then pressed into position with the glazing already fitted.

I have applied a first coat of blue to repair a few scratches / marks caused in the removal of the original frames, it will need a couple more coats as the paint did not cover too well. Should I find the remaining etches, I think I will remove the glazing and touch up the paint before fitting the etches next time.

It all leads to the question is it worth it?
There’s certainly an improvement of done well, the etch has a lot more detail than the plastic it replaces and the glazing looks a lot better as well.
However is it worth the amount of work (and the risk of damage)? I’m not so sure, certainly I’m not 100% happy with the job I’ve done fitting them

I now need to find the missing windscreen for one end and the rest of the etched to finish it off, then decide if I’m going to go through with the interior rebuild. I know I ought to do it as the units will be running at the front of the layout, but a lot will come down to cost and the availability of parts. If I source a Bachmann interior I may reconsider.