So time to reveal my mystery project. It's going to the SNCF CC65000. 

The inspiration for this came from an excellent video on YouTube showing 65005 in its second career with Agrivap in the Auvergne. There are also some excellent photos on Flickr.

Hornby made a model of the CC65000 in their ACHO range, and there have been some more modern replicas, but the cost of these is a long way beyond my budget (although I can't deny the quality).

I was going to try scratch-building, but tbh I don't think I have the time or patience. The DB V200 has a similar profile to the bodyshell, and ebay turned up a cheap one from Jouef  so I have decided to use this as a base.

The result is probably going to be a bit like the infamous Hornby Dublo Deltic. You know what it is, although some of the details are not quite on the money. Apologies to all the finescale modellers who have run screaming from the room...

Thanks for looking.