Atso

It is real, it just hasn't happened yet!!!!!

I suspect you are right. I'll go and sit in the corner now as I feel much "thicker" and "smaller".

I might go for a representation of the valve gear, but it won't be working! The chassis for this loco started life as a Farish J39. I shortened the front coupled wheelbase so it was correct for the 7'3" - 9' for the J6 but it still retains the solid chassis block.

4436 and 4452 have had most of the final details added to them and 3286 is bring up the rear of this trio of C1 Atlantics. Finally, a break in the weather allowed me to get out the airbrush and paint the J6. The one will be 3602 and given local passenger duties on Hadley Wood as I have a photo of the prototype doing this (LNER Album Vol 3 page 45).

C1s 4436 and 4452 are getting very close to completion now. C1 3286 is a little further behind but making good progress. I've also finally managed to get good enough weather to break out the airbrush and paint the J6. This one will be 3602 and given local passenger duties on Hadley Wood.

Tony, I'll see your (excellent) part built J6 and raise you a part painted N gauge version!

Thank you Jerry, those models look superb and what you have done with the raw materials is exceptional. I agree completely about sharing skills and I do hope that we'll be able to do so again in person once things are a bit safer. 4436 is now more or less at the same stage as 4452 and 3286 is well on the way to becoming a runner. It's just occurred to me that I am building these models in the reverse order of the prototypes. The fourth C1, 3280 will continue this trend, as will 3279 which is slated to be the next C1 (although probably not the next loco) after that. 3280 has been chosen as it was a Copley Hill locomotive and apparently a frequent choice for hauling the Queen of Scots - I don't have a photo of 3380 without the QoS headboard fitted. Why so many C1s? I have several turns requiring these locomotives and, as I'm working in N gauge, I'm not even contemplating having removable lamps and headboards.

4436 was assembled last night and gently run in. This morning, I finally added the rear coupling pocket and added a test train to assess the C1s haulage capabilities. Following this eight coach formation, I increased the load to fifteen coaches which 4436 handled with ease.

Thank you Tony. Getting this second C1 this far has relied on the suggestions of Jerry Clifford, Tim Watson, as well as numerous articles published in the 2mm Magazine. It was Jerry and Tim who convinced me to redesign the radial truck and tender chassis to make them split frame as well as improving the stability of the loco(s). This completely changed the performance of the first C1, 4452, and has now been repeated with 4436 (and hopefully soon 3286). 4436 underwent haulage trials today on my temporary test loop. After this video was taken (sorry about the background TV noise), 4436 successfully took fifteen coaches around the loop - the formation occupied 3/4 of the loop! Hadley Wood's fiddle yard can only accommodate a maximum of twelve coaches and besides, 4436 is more likely to find duties on the five coach 'Cambridge Buffet' set. I made up the front vacuum pipe this evening and will hopefully fit it, along with the remaining details, tomorrow.

To be honest, I'm not sure. Nothing I've done is original, just ideas borrowed from others.

Thank you Tony, I'm not sure how much ingenuity there is here, after all Dapol, Farish and Peco did much of the work. One thing I am feeling a bit smug about however is the tender chassis. This was 3D printed and made into a split frame pickup system by soldering wires onto the bearings (invisible once the outside frames are on) and shorting out the tender wheels to the axles using fine wire and some 1.5mm by 5mm steel dowel pins. I discovered that the Donor Hall chassis is made out of stamped steel plates so I soldered magnets to the tender wires to avoid using screws. It makes the raw chassis look a bit like a bug, but it works.

On the subject of modelling (hacking in this case). I've been reworking the donor Dapol Hall's cross heads and N Brass slide bar castings for use with my latest two C1 builds. The top two cross heads have been altered while the bottom two are has Dapol produced them. I also had to widen the slipper (is that the right term?) and narrow the slide bars to get a running fit. I've also tried to be a little more scientific in my approach to weighting the C1s - opposed to gun-ho method that almost resulted in disaster on the original model I built. Fitting a coupling to the tender and undertaking some haulage trials is next.

Back to some work on the C1s while I wait for the weather to improve sufficiently to get the airbrush out. I've finished the lining and lettering and cosmetically the bodies just need buffers and other small details adding (as well as adding weight!). One the subject of weight, I've been doing some tests with one of the chassis to work out the best weight distribution, while keeping in mind the practical locations within the bodies. Next I'll fit a coupling and do some haulage trials. I've also been working on the Dapol Hall crossheads and N Brass slidebars to gain sufficient clearances. Quite a bit of material had to be removed from both components, which I hope the following photos show.

Indeed you did Tony, my apologies. I'm pleased that she is learning her new name. After thirteen years with me, Lilly (another rescue cat) still only responds to her name when it suits her! 'Chewbacca' (nicknamed Chewie) is a character from the Star Wars franchise and best known as Han Solo's first mate/side kick. Jilly looks nothing like him, so I'm glad that you've changed the name!

What a lovely looking cat Tony, does she have a name? My cat Lilly is over sixteen now and still doesn't act her age. She frequently follows me on walks, and still enjoys randomly charging up trees! Sadly her sister, Megan, (who used to enjoy following Lilly follow me on walks!) passed away a couple of years ago and is still much missed.

That looks really effective. I would love to see someone try this in 4mm scale or larger (I model in N, so I'm not sure how well it would come out). Given that many of the imperfections on locos and stock would scale down to only a thou or so (less?), I really think shading would be the only way to model them convincingly.

Wonderful stuff, thanks for sharing Mike.

Al, I'm envious I've never seen the original filming model, although I've seen several of the miniatures used in The Next Generation, Deep Space 9 and Voyager.

Well I do have an old Craftrobo cutter which would happily mark out the shapes (but not cut through). If my computer didn't have a hissy fit every time I try and draw brickwork, I'd be very tempted to have the whole lot laser cut.

Thank you. Your refit looks incredible and, like Tom, it is my favourite incarnation of the 'Big E'. Is it the Polar Lights kit? Your comments make me feel as though I've achieved the aim trying out shading techniques for the first time. I wanted to retain the smoother finish of the original filming miniature (if 11 feet can be considered miniature!), while suggesting more detail/texture than is really there.

I wonder if masking and shading using an airbrush might be a method to try and replicate imperfections on the casings/plate work. Not a locomotive as an example of this but my 30cm long model of the Enterprise from Star Trek. The saucer panels have been shaded over the main colour before misting another layer of the original colour to blend things a little. To me, this gives a more pleasing effect on the 1/1000 scale model than scribing in the lines, maybe it could suggest ripples and imperfections as well.

I'm sure I'll 3D print some of the details but the bulk of the model will be scratch built.

A bit of a virtual workbench update from me. A few weeks ago, I visited Hadley Wood station with my father to measure up what remained of the original station. The amounted to the bridge piers and stairways, the original station building and waiting rooms having long been demolished. However some very useful things were discovered during the visit, the most surprising of which were the remains of the original canopy supports still being in place along the stairwells. From these, I could work out the original length of the waiting rooms. I've still got several things to identify and work out, along with a couple of revisions to make. However, I'm pleased with just how much I've been able to piece together for the visit and several photographs taken prior to the rebuilding works (not by me, I wasn't about then!). Hopefully, I'll be able to think about building the model in the not to distant future.

I feel that the old station is finally revealing its details to me, although I'm not sure about my positions of some those details. Below is my interpretation of the platform waiting rooms and their relationship with the stairwells. The canopy supports are next to be designed and I'm getting excited that the time when I'll be able to start constructing the model is getting nearer.

Hi Tony, Wasn't Sandy a shared station site with the LMS? Could the 'head shunt' actually be a protective measure for the mainlines in the event of an incident during a shunting move with the buffer stop providing a level of protection for the signal box?