After being woken by the children at a ridiculous hour this morning I decided to make use of the time to do a little pre work modelling. Before I turn attention back to the layouts I want to finish off a quick coach project and get by Virgin Cross Country loco hauled rake finished.

I have modelled one of the shorter formations, with 6 coaches formed BSO, TSO, TSO, TSO,TSO, RFB, working with the Hornby mk2E as a start point. Over time all of the coaches are being modified to remove the fictional solebar (initially on one side), fitting with close coupling (kaydees in the buffer beams) and renumbering. The rake is currently formed with a 50:50 split between Virgin and Intercity liveries (typical to 1998) with the potential to buy another Virgin TSO at some point in the future.

The big gap is the RFB, of course I could have just bought a Bachmann model and added CDL lights , however given I have bought all 6 coaches for less than 2 of the Bachmann 2Fs its fairly clear to see why I am taking this route!

I started by removing the glazing from one side, it looks like there is a lot of glue, however prising with a scalpel removed it easily. (The glazing is glued in at the bottom and held by pegs at the top). Next up the window frames for the LH toilet, and 2 passenger windows were carefully carved off, before gluing the windows back into position.

This will get a full day’s drying before I start the filler application this evening, my plan is to mask off the white and yellow stripes either side of the dark grey to protect them when sanding. Then sand back the filler (with regular coats of primer) before a top coat of Halfords Volvo dark grey paint.

When it comes to painting the intention is to paint up a loco hauled formation of mk2d coaches/ mk3 sleepers / mk1 RMB / mk1 BG for a Great Western Trains sleeper / Great Western Trains loco hauled service.