Countdown to Christmas... An Advent Challenge

[65179]

15 minutes ago, Nick Mitchell said:

Getting there slowly... I never appreciated how lovely this livery actually is before. It certainly suits these Fowler tank locos, and it will be almost a shame to weather it!

 

 

 

You've convinced me, @65179

The Wild Swan profile lists one loco confirmed to have a sans-serif number plate (also not mine), but all the photos I have found so far show serif ones.

I'm happy with the way it looks:

 

 

Very nice Nick. Now cover it in grot! Interesting to see that the LMS driver/fireman has pimped his ride with the silver underpinnings 😉 A rather involved variation on silvered/bare metal smokebox door hinge straps!

 

Simon

Edited August 10, 2023 by 65179

[Sithlord75]

If you want a photo of this one on Wansbeck, I'll send you my address!

[65179]

32 minutes ago, Sithlord75 said:

If you want a photo of this one on Wansbeck, I'll send you my address!

 

If you don't ask you don't get, I suppose!

[Nick Mitchell]

2 hours ago, Sithlord75 said:

If you want a photo of this one on Wansbeck, I'll send you my address!

I'm still waiting for my invitation and plane tickets to tutor on the SEQAG valve gear assembly workshop... I'll bring the loco with me :)

[Sithlord75]

9 hours ago, Nick Mitchell said:

I'm still waiting for my invitation and plane tickets to tutor on the SEQAG valve gear assembly workshop... I'll bring the loco with me :)

Invitation is easy - you'd be welcome with open arms and punters would come from far and wide to come, traversing weather and distances which would render moans about the Watford Gap irrelevant for generations.  Plane tickets, sadly, are well beyond the resources of both the group and the Association Events budget.  We may have to wait until you have a Crab to bring.

[VRBroadgauge]

6 hours ago, Sithlord75 said:

We may have to wait until you have a Crab to bring.

Working on it....

[queensquare]

49 minutes ago, VRBroadgauge said:

Working on it....

……. that got my attention! 
 

Jerry

[Sithlord75]

Congratulations on the loco becoming a multi-award winning loco Nick. Throughly deserved!

[Nick Mitchell]

Here's a final post to complete the story of this locomotive.

I didn't want to post any pictures of the loco in its final weathered form here before the AGM photo competition - keeping my powder dry, so to speak.

 

This is the first pass at weathering. A sprayed-on mixture of Humbrol Matt Leather and Matt black enamels, with details brushed in, and then streaking added by pulling a damp flat brush over the paint:

 

 

I added a second mist of the weathering spray to tone down the streaking/detailing, and sealed everything with a waft of Testor's Dullcote before adding coal to the bunker and a set of etched fire irons to the tank top.  

 

 

@65179 wanted it covered in grot, and I think I achieved that... But... As soon as I'd submitted the photos for the competition, I noticed something was missing. Fortunately most people who voted overlooked the absence of two footsteps on the front vertical section of the footplate!

 

Once I'd noticed the omission, however, I couldn't un-see it, and remedial action had to be taken - with grateful thanks to @Nig H for sending me some spare steps, and also reminding me to fit them "upside-down"

 

 

I think I've got away with the repair without causing damage to the rest of the loco, and the touch-up paint job doesn't look too terrible.

 

 

Last weekend she headed down to Aldershot to compete for the Groves Trophy, and I took the two photos below of her sitting on the competition table:

 

 

 

I was privileged to be allowed to give 2323 a run on Drws-y-Nant as part of the competition judging. This is such a beautiful layout, and really showcases the way 2mm scale is able portray the railway in the landscape. The scenery and lighting really showed the loco off to best advantage.

Nigel had a lovely rake of LMS carriages for her to pull. In fact, this is the first and (so far) only train she has pulled! With lead in the boiler, tanks and bunker, the loco weighs approx. 65g, which seemed to be sufficient. (I really ought to get on and build some carriages... And a layout...)

 

I managed to take a few pictures of the excursion passing through Drws-y-Nant station:

 

 

 

 

And the return journey:

 

 

 

This isn't a particularly exciting video, but it captures a smooth and slow departure...

 

 

[VRBroadgauge]

Truly epic Nick.

 

Drws-y-Nant is a thing of beauty. The photo of that landscape is not dissimilar to what I'm planning to do.

 

I hope to get somewhere close to this standard. I gives us all great encouragement.

[Nick Mitchell]

2323 found its way from Gwynedd all the way to York (via Manchester) this afternoon...

 

 

What a beautiful layout this is - brilliant in both concept and execution... enhanced further by a splash of crimson and those three letters L M S...

 

[chrisveitch]

2323 is a splendid piece of work and the last few photos show modern 2mm at its best (in my opinion...). I thought the latest Magazine cover with the loco on Drws-y-nant was a work of art, not least because Ruabon-Barmouth is one of my favourite locations.

 

Many thanks @Nick Mitchell for providing us with inspiration, and hopefully a bit of aspiration!