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Very mixed week on the Squirrel rail workbench this week - These will be part of the #Richmond Park fleet, some light weathering, identity changes and general tinkering 

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and will be joined by these three for naming and some heavier weathering.

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This is the first Hattons 66 I've done and must admit to being very impressed with what I've seen of it so far. In my recent workbench build of 66597 I mentioned the variations in exhaust finish across the Bachmann 66s but it looks like they have settled on a similar finish to Hattons - apart from 66727 where they have gone for all silver:(

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This has been sorted this morning - name plates now on Powerhaul and Poppy and details on one end of each. A rough wash has been applied to nooks and crannies.

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and will be toned down before starting the frame dirt - 66593 being first up..

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Right - time for my lunchtime acorns and back on these later!

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Finished the 3 sheds and the 70 this morning - quick few photos but the light isn't particularly brilliant so forgive the quality. First up the freightliner 3:

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Followed by 70001

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Quick comparison of Bachmann v Hattons exhausts, both weathered up nicely though:

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and a close up of Hattons - main difference from Bachmann is the the seam across the silencer and a larger port than on Bachmanns version -although IMO the lip round the port is too small and I prefer Bachmanns which is more like the pic I took below

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Bogie detail is great on the Hattons model and really brought out by the weathering

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but to be fair 66614 has scrubbed up nicely too

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Lastly ( not a great pic 66727 Maritime has had a light weathering and an exhaust job so thats ready to head to Richmond Park!

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57311 Thunderbird. With the Freightliner trio out the way it was time to start on the renumbering and naming of 57309 which is to become 57311 ThunderbirdIMG_1307.jpg.61e52c21264058d307ecceb32125f3a5.jpg

First task on this is removal of the old name and numbers - I leave a small portion of the old plate to help with positioning so this is now ready for decals and plates tomorrow

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Class 60s. The other project on the go with the 57 is a pair of 60s; one will become 60068 with large EWS beastie decals the other 60054 in RF petroleum. First up donor 077 had to lose  numbers and mainline branding so it doesn't show through the new decal - IMG_1308.jpg.3dccc53893575708274715e8bd962983.jpg

Here's the other side with branding removed - may lose the 60 0 too depending on decal match

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The other 60 is to retain its petroleum sector decals but is from the batch of 60s where Hornby got the bottom shade of grey (IMHO) wrong - it looks duck egg green. Putting one shell on top of the other shows the difference : not easy to spot on camera but miles different in the light

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Usual remedy is mask it all off and respray the rail grey so here it is masked

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and with the masking off. Pleased with the really crisp masks, the blue "snot" on the hand rails is liquid mask that will be removed when fully dry

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That's it for today so hopefully some more progress tomorrow.

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16 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

My, you are busy !

Chasing my tail at the mo Rob catching up on the backlog! Weather has been crap so plenty of time to get some modelling done - must also finish designing the Squirrel Rail website too- oh for more hours in a day:mellow:

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14 hours ago, Squirrel Rail said:

57311 Thunderbird. With the Freightliner trio out the way it was time to start on the renumbering and naming of 57309 which is to become 57311 ThunderbirdIMG_1307.jpg.61e52c21264058d307ecceb32125f3a5.jpg

First task on this is removal of the old name and numbers - I leave a small portion of the old plate to help with positioning so this is now ready for decals and plates tomorrow

IMG_1314.jpg.00471a4b8745f4d7e42b4e0c615969ec.jpg

 

So renumbering and naming a 57/3 is quick and easy... so far today it has had - bogie pipwork painted, ETH boxes painted orange instead of supplied black, silver buffers with red backs and a detail pack fitted:mellow: perhaps I can now do the original job!!D4265248-2BB2-404C-BC80-5639E6FC646C.jpeg.0d4b78082c20a8327ffa2212119b72c1.jpeg

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So if this is a commercial enterprise, will you be opening an entry in smaller suppliers ? 
 

You’d get extra exposure , and their is no shortage of people looking for resprays and weathering as there are not that many folk offering those services and a well known supplier has just moved from OO exclusively to O 

Edited by rob D2
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Hi Rob,Many thanks for the message- I will get on the small suppliers listings but want to finish my website first so people have something to look at!. I used to do a lot of commercial work ( ie I did the reverse livery Pullmans for Lord & Butler) but For the last few years day job took all my time so I only did stuff for friends. Now I’m in a position to fire it up again I will be taking on (hopefully) new customers! Cheers Jerry

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5 hours ago, Squirrel Rail said:

Hi Rob,Many thanks for the message- I will get on the small suppliers listings but want to finish my website first so people have something to look at!. I used to do a lot of commercial work ( ie I did the reverse livery Pullmans for Lord & Butler) but For the last few years day job took all my time so I only did stuff for friends. Now I’m in a position to fire it up again I will be taking on (hopefully) new customers! Cheers Jerry

From the Squirrel Rail archives the L& B Pullmans - My prototype...

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Production in full swing...

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and this was the magazine launch

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Seems a long time ago now!

Edited by Squirrel Rail
missed a picture
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Few updates from Friday on the workbench. 57311 got its new numbers but has failed Squirrel Quality control:( Look absolutely fine from the side

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but at an angle have silvered. Microset and Microsol haven't touched them and they just look wrong - Replacements being sourced! 

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With the 57 on hold made a start on the two 60s, 054 Charles Babbage and 068 Charles Darwin. All decaling work complete and starting to fade out the petroleum logos on 054. The yellow looks crap at present but its just a base and will weather down, looking forward to weathering these two:-

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The remaining three (lurking in the background) have now been started, 57312 has had a wash to the roof before being lightly weathered

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The duo Southern Region likewise will be lightly weathered. 33035 has received it's new identity (ex 049) and I must say renumbering Heljan loco's is one of the most difficult jobs on the planet. The 73 has had a couple of very light washes to bring out the detail, in fact so light you can hardly see them. That's it for now - quiet weekend beckons!

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Last weekend I started messing about to build a small diorama for photographing my locos. The challenge was that everything had to come from what was squirrelled away in the workshop with a budget of zero. Loosely based on Ipswich with a lot of artistic licence it has 3 roads with two electrified. I’ve made a rough catenary to get positions-

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the building on the left is totally spurious and bodged together from card and brick sheet- how nice not to have to be accurate!

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last up to get an idea of what goes where I have laid down some colour with the airbrush.

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this will give me a guide for ballast and paths and the trees to go at the far end and to blend everything together. Shopping has now curtailed fun but at least I get to take the car out!

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Bit of time spent yesterday and today on the stabling point where I managed to get the trees in at one end and all the ballast down. There are no plans for this so I am making it up as I go along:D First up a few trees, made from foliage clumps and twigs from the garden - quite enjoyed making a mess... The twigs and greenery on the track are bits I've dropped...

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Now with a bit more foliage - quite pleased with how they have come out as a first attempt at tree making, definitely going to have to tone down the colours as too nice and bright for me

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There's a lot more filling and detail work to go on the buttresses and to blend them into the wall, I will sort this all out when I add the buffer stops. Quick pic with a 25 to check heights - not sure what to do with the scenery behind the 25, which will be behind the old shed, which may or may not end up in the finished article...

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Whilst pondering this thought I would add the OHLE masts

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and one last shot of the stops

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That's all for now as proper Squirrel Rail work calls - will update as and when I get round to it again!

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On 01/09/2020 at 15:54, Richmond Park said:

Great job with the stabling point Jerry, just shows what can be done with a few odds and ends from the workshop!

It's certainly a lot of fun and scenery is something I haven't touched for near on 40 years so fun to do. So far I  think I have cocked up as much as I have got right - partly due to no planning and partly not liking what I have done so it will remain a work in progress and a nice distraction as something to play with other than 57's for a certain South Western Trains project:D Cheers Jerry

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After a few days of building and decorating jobs and fitting a set of rear pads in the rain  on laddo's 430, tonight I have had chance to get back on the Freightliner 90. Having resolved the problem off fractured bogies on the latest purchase I thought I would double check this on and it was just about to break. A replacement was sourced from Bachmann and fitting was a fairly straightforward 20 minute job. Here's 90048 with its ex-works bogie

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and now suitably weathered to match the other

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I have added a few extra bits of weathering so a few more details to go and then this will be looking for a new home.

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Class 90 TDM Cables - Thanks to the eagle eyes of Wratting Road the TDM cables were in the wrong place on 90048. I had left the model with the cables stowed in the centre under the horn grill as supplied by Bachmann where as they should be down on the sides of the buffer beam - IMG_1356.jpg.40cd29531e03ab484e8fe7555c09c64b.jpg

Only one thing for it and they had to move. For any of you thinking of doing this it is quite a fiddly job. The cables are not long enough to simply relocate(more's the pity). The answer was to remove the ends and cut off the box and to drill a hole at the side where they could relocate. The old cables were cut off and a hole drilled to add a wire replacement. A piece of wire was then glued into the front of the body and when set bent around and cut to fit behind the relocated end piece. I Used wire so it would form the shape and stay in place. If it was glued then you would not be able to separate the body from the chassis:lol:

Next up was to fill the holes left in the front panel and repaint the panel and the weathering which will have the wash toned down a bit tomorrow and a light weathering applied.  Here's the relocated cables 

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and from the sideIMG_1360.jpg.a43cc2bf47cc979113abf1ade32b4e2b.jpg

 

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Nearly finished 90048 and playing about with the stabling point today. Mission was to get the OHLE in and start to add some more trees behind the shed building that may or may not get binned hence it doesn't have a roof! First go at wiring in brass was a failure, couldn't get enough tension with the plastic I beam masts so ditched it and went for plastic instead. Doesn't look too bad so here's a couple of pics IMG_1376b.jpg.3ec05176fa653eeee337860a3478cc53.jpg and with the 90 on its own, besides working out what to do behind the shed I need to add the buffer stops and to get the masts painted, grass and weeds and clutter etc. Hopefully you get the idea thoughIMG_1378b.jpg.9dae020c476bd4a091f1bec9c102fff6.jpg

Lastly one class 90 

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1 hour ago, Southwich said:

Nice work sir - that 90 is a bit of a beast! Looking forward to some more projects.

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

Cheers Will, I’ve two more 90s in the queue so looking forward to doing them! Next up should be a pair of 60s and finishing the signal box so should be a few updates this week, cheers Jerry

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Class 60 time! Picking up from last week 054 and 068 are back on the workbench. 068 has had its front numbers applied, these are a different font and size to usual and thanks to Steve at #Railtec for producing these. Both locos needed silver window frames so out with the masking ..

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Once these were on it was time to mask up all the glazing and then start working on all the panel lines and streaks. 054 has a particularly brown cab roof in pics so this has been added as a base

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and another view:

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Lastly before the airbrush work was some detail work on the exhausts. When this lot has dried off they will be back on their chassis and off for weathering.

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