RMweb Gold 2mmMark Posted March 23, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 23, 2012 Many people will remember Denys Brownlee. I certainly do, I was privileged to enjoy his friendship & guidance in matters 2mm. His achievements in the scale are many. He was the plant engineer at a plastic injection moulding firm and learnt enough to build & operate his own injection moulding machine at home to produce components for 2mm modelling. What turned out to be his final project was a small 2mm scale narrow gauge layout depicting the Isle of Man railway. At the time of his death, he'd completed a model of Beyer Peacock No.4 Loch and a rake of coaches - which used his own injection mouldings. Loch is completely 100% scratchbuilt, wheels, gears, coreless motor - the lot! Denys was also working on a model of the Schoema diesel No. 17 Viking. The layout had made some progress too but was only at completed track & bare baseboard stage. Denys worked to exact 6mm gauge rather than adapting the Marklin 6.5mm standards as I have done, so unfortunately our standards were not compatible, although Loch did manage a few laps of the Pizza, boucing its way merrily across the single turnout. After his death, Denys' wife Jean wanted Loch & the coaches to go to the then new museum in the Isle of Man. If I remember rightly, Denys won an IOMR modelling competition, the prize being a trip to the Island. As you can imagine, Loch & the coaches are quite small, hence Tim Watson & I were concerned that these tiny models might be lost amongst larger relics. This unfortunate situation seems to have befallen Geoff Balfour's model of a WW2 armoured train. Tim had a show case made for a 7mm A4 which had a significant error in that the maker turned it through 90° making only suitable for displaying the A4 on its side. This however made it perfect for displaying the Loch and its train, so Tim & I constructed a small diorama, on which we could permanently attach and safely enclose the rolling stock, thus making a suitable display for the museum. I took some photos before it departed across the Irish Sea. So here's some pictures of a very remarkable model. It's a real shame Denys was unable to complete the layout and the little diesel. I can just picture Denys behind the layout, contendedly puffing on his pipe! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLD Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 It was still on display in the museum at Port Erin last time I was there (summer 2008). A beautiful little model especially when you consider those photos are full size+ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Wow! Thanks for posting the photo's, the detail on the loco is remarkable, the number on the side of the chimney, the lining on the cylinders, the sniffing (?) valves on the front of the cylinders, etc, etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteT Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 I also knew and admired Denys. These beautiful models were still on display in the Port Erin Museum when I visited in September 2011. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Copleston Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Thanks Mark. Lovely photos of the final models from a much-missed master modelmaker. There's a construction photo of of his unfinished model of IoM 'Loch' 2-4-0T on the Yahoo 2mmNn3 group's homepage http://uk.groups.yah...m/group/2mmnn3/ Here it is: Denys Brownlee took this photo himself as a 'proving photo' to check the quality of the build and details. He subsequently went back to improve a few aspects of the final model before painting. An interesting and useful technique. Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrislock Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Wow - that is astonishing. You have to pinch yourself to remember how tiny that model is. A master craftsman indeed. Exquisite. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold A Murphy Posted May 15, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 15, 2012 Astonishing is the right word for that. The model making is exquisite, (how do you make safety valves like that in 2mm?) but look at the finish! What a shame Mr Brownlee didn't live to finish a layout. Beautiful model making. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steven B Posted May 16, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 16, 2012 The model's still in the museum at Port Erin (or it was last summer). Theres some corosion on the pins (copper?) used to hold the track in place but the loco and train still look very smart. Happy modelling. Steven B. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold queensquare Posted May 16, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 16, 2012 Denys was indeed a master modeller. I am lucky enough to have three of his locos in my care, SDJ 7F 88, Bulldog 0-6-0 72 and 2P 4-4-0 17. All have recieved new motors to replace Denys's homemade ones but otherwise are as built and remain excellent and reliable performers. Some shots of them on Highbury can be found here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/38581-highbury-colliery/page__st__25&do=findComment&comment=471547 Now I have my new camera I will try to take some better portrait pictures of them and add them to this thread. Jerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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