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Likely Lads

Barry Ten

Entry posted by Barry Ten

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I seem to find myself with an endless battle to provide loco crews for my engines. There's probably some subtle inference to be drawn from this - like, purchase fewer engines - but how can we resist? Anyway, while it's a personal thing, I've always felt that my engines aren't quite done until they've received weathering, coal, lamp irons and a proper crew. At that point I can always return to tweak some detail or other at a later point, but the loco has passed into the regular running fleet and become one of the gang.

 

There are - or were - many options for crewing a model, but for my money the Monty's/Dart Castings figures are absolutely top notch, being sculpted in very natural, believable poses, and with great detail once you get in close to appreciate it. The castings are generally clean, as well, with little attention needed. In fact, given that most of these chaps will be squirrelled away in the relative gloom of loco cabs, I don't bother with anything other than painting. Rather than do them in ones and twos, though, I prefer to wait until I've got a number to do, plus the necessary mojo to tackle what is one of those less glamorous modelling jobs, but one which can be very satisfying once you get stuck into it. To avoid handling, I like to glue the men down onto a temporary floor so I can paint them in one hit, rather than having to come back over a few evenings. These were done with only a few colours, a variety of flesh tones mixed from cream, pink and white, blue for the overalls, black for the ties, boots, cap visors, and the odd splash of brown. I then blasted them with an aerosol can of matt varnish, again in one hit. The figures can be easily removed from the temporary floor (after all, they never stay fixed in my cabs, so what chance have they got here?) and the great loco population program can commence... at which point we discover that we still need about six dozen more men. Hey ho.

 

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rovex

The one with the little moustrache looke like he's about to drive his engine into Poland!!!

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steve22

Could it be that we have here the first ever 'Boys Band' and whilst the singers raise their hands or click the rhythm the foreman on our right is counting the beat.  The middle one of those 'lying down', as bgman suggests, is actually break-dancing.  All rather obvious, really and just goes to show how far Churchward, Collett, etc advanced the GWR in so many ways...  Oh and I'll say it first before anyone else does - the other two that we think are lying down are actually Felix Pole dancers.

 

Sorry for the tease, Mr. Barry Ten, though I see you've been drawn in to add to the flippancy!  I'm actually impressed with your painting, you've given the blue jackets, trousers and bib and brace a very natural faded touch.  Good stuff!  

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  • RMweb Gold
Barry Ten
  • RMweb Gold

Actually the middle breakdancer looks like's he's exchanging some kind of hip hop hand signal with the man in front of the cab numberplate. Westside.

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  • RMweb Gold
Mikkel
  • RMweb Gold

Clearly the line-up for the new hit show: "The Great Western's got talent"! Coming to you in Music Halls countrywide.

 

I agree very much about the Dart castings. But as I've just commented on Ian's blog, we are still faced with the old problem that our crews are looking the wrong way when engines reverse. A bit like the old problem of how to replicate horse shunting in model form :-)

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  • RMweb Gold
Barry Ten
  • RMweb Gold

I don't think horse shunting is one we'll ever crack ... but wouldn't it be great? I wonder what the smallest practical realistic animatronic horse would be? If it's shunting, it wouldn't need to lift more than one leg off the ground at a time ... could it be done? Maybe in Gauge 3? G Scale? GG scale?

 

I thought about modelling a stables once - you could have horses moving around in the inside arena, just by modelling the upper halves of their bodies, plus one or two putting their heads in and out of stalls?

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