Blogging has been slow of late, due to glacially slow progress on model making, and a broken camera.

Anyway, excuses out of the way

The last bit of N gauge work I mentioned was the 'retro modern image' SVR wheelchair saloon, as part of a representative rake of SVR blood and custard Mark Ones. You may recall that this rake is composed of a motley selection of old Minitrix and Lima products from the parts bin, I see it as a good way to practise my own ham fisted brand of scratch-bodging...

Note the wheelchair carriage which is based on an old Lima BG, with bits of other Lima carriages nailed to either end. The prototype is noticeably shorter than the average passenger carriage, so the classic Lima shortness is, oddly, advantageous!

(I can take no credit for the background, again, Wyre Forest MRC's 'Kinlet Town' layout makes a more scenic scenario than my kitchen table!)

Livery wise, the colour seems to have come out about right, just need to learn to paint in straight lines. (The Minitrix carriages started life as all over Maroon examples)

LOCOMOTIVES

The next project is to create the SVR's own 'Gordon'. Not strictly something from the imagination of the Rev. Awdry, but in terms of size, and colour, not far off:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LMR_600_Gordon

I have seen a scratchbuilt 'WD' 2-10-0 in the N gauge society journal, using a Fleischmann 'BR52' German outline chassis. This was done with home made superstructure. I intend to cheat a little, employing the rather lovely Foxhunter Models 2-8-0 kit. This comes with a bag full of superb brass castings and etchings, along with the pictured whitemetal body. In normal form it is designed to sit on a Farish 8F chassis, though I think I have seen it done here with a Kato one.

I found a nice example of the Fleischmann 2-10-0, and to my suprise the, powered, eight wheel tender chassis is almost an exact match for the metal Foxhunter tender frames. A good start.

The locomotive will be more of a challenge. At least with a paralell boiler the necessary extension will not be too difficult. These locomotives were basically modular, so jumping from a 2-8-0 to a 2-10-0 ought to be simple. Looking at some drawings, it probably isnt....

But hey, it will be fun!