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That looks superb and is right at home there. It just need a splattering of seagulls poo! 😂

The problem there is that the layout is too lush and green for snow. It definitely looks like a July / August west highland line to me. 1/2 the year it’s muted browns and yellows.

Fantastically accurate but where’s the rain?… 🤔

I follow James Makin’s excellent thread. These are up there with his work imho !

I have 3 of each now. (3 Bachmann ones all reduced at under £170) . Whilst I want to love the Bachmann one, I can’t forgive them for the lazy design of the ploughs . It’s like an after thought . Secondly who on Earth thought the sound was acceptable? They need a milling out in order to fit a beefy speaker. So whilst they look fantastic when modelled like 97406 above has done , it’s hard to forgive these design flaws at the premium price they command.

Thanks very much ! That would explain it as that’s not the address I was trying last year. Out of curiosity, do you weather with acrylics or enamels and likewise what varnish please ? I have had some issues with railtec transfers crinkling after application of Testors dull coat and Tamiya seems to totally destroy them !

Wow , that looks fantastic! Great respray and weathering. I see laser glaze ? I can never get hold of Bryan at shawplan these days, I’ve given up trying .

Does anyone know if 260/261/262/263 have the same bogies and cant rail grills please?

Did you strip the grey first or spray over it?

Me and you both ! I remember speaking to the Accurascale guys January 19 about the prospect of Scottish 37/4s. It was a nod nod wink wink. I left Model rail Scotland elated . Yet frustratingly Bachmann have done 37401 , 423, 418 (Ltd edition), all west highland / highland machines. Of course I’ve bought them but Lordy, do they require some work to get them to Accurascales straight out the box standard. We can but hope and pray and get older and greyer! 😂

I like your style of weathering. When you weather the Bachmann 37 bogies do you take them off or leave them attached?

Yes that’s very helpful thanks ! Any pics of it with the body off would be very useful. Class 20s are one of those locos that if it’s all treble then ear fatigue ensues! 20048 was a real Toton wagon as I was growing up in Derby. It seemed to be on every passenger service allocated for 20s between 89-92. I kind of have a soft spot for it now tho!

Looks good ! The remark about Shane McGowans dentist did make me chuckle. I bought the same signal box for a future , as yet unknown project! It’s a very nice kit and like you said, definitely bashable ! The clips Ive seen from this weekends Stornaway festival looked suitably Celtic rocking!

I’ve been missing seeing posts on this layout and now suddenly we are spoilt . Great photos as usual and boy have you been productive! The 101 looks fantastic. Is 20048 modelled from the newest tooling ? I’ve been wondering if there is any space for a better speaker in the new tool 20s . In the old ones I cut the nose of the chassis off and stuck a Rail Express exclusive or Zimo dumbo speaker sat vertically . I bet the new lighting circuit will curtail this mod. I’ve not seen a ‘naked’ one yet ! Ian

Looking at an eBay acquired mint 430 (£145) it looks to me like the centre lamp iron above the head code box is wrong ? It’s the same as the 2 below . And yes, I have a spru of old Vi trains lamp irons. It’s still surprising that in this age of 3D printing that nobody has come up with anything newer.

How easily do the nose ends on the new tooling Bachman 37s come off ? The old ones were pretty easy.

That would be absolutely fantastic and I really appreciate it. One of those details, like centre lamp irons , that are surprisingly difficult to obtain.

That would be absolutely fantastic and I really appreciate it. One of those details, like centre lamp irons , that are surprisingly difficult to obtain.

They are the 2 headboard clips that the 37/6xx series mostly had and some 37/0. They sit above the centre head code marker lights. Thanks also for the idea of making a mould , I’d not thought of that.

Out of curiosity, are you comparing the new tooling 20022 Bachmann 37 to the Accurascale model ? If so, there isn’t much between them. If it’s the older model then there’s quite a big difference. Both companies new models have larger , accurate windows. (The Bachmann a tiny bit better but not as good glazing!) The tumble home is now correct. The radiator fan grill also a lot better than before. The bogies are a massive improvement and are now the correct ride height on both. The water and fuel tanks were almost ‘an artist’s impression before. They are now accurate on both. For us Scottish modellers the Bachmann ploughs are abysmal. Ironically the Accurascale ones fit better to the Bachmann 37. With regards to sound though , there is no comparison. The Bachmann one sounds awful. Legomanbiffo has a friend who will mill the chassis out and fit a decent size bass speaker and better sugar cube , but that all adds to the expense of an already more costly model. I note that the original 2022 Bachmann 37/4s (401,423, 430) and 37034 are now all available at Accurascale prices at many retailers! Ian

Just to add that a small cut is required in the middle of the copper clad to stop it short circuiting. I solder my droppers to copper clad and some to under the rail. I took the realism a step too far by cutting all my SMP track into scale 60ft sections . As I learnt by trial and swearing that means you need a ton more droppers, roughy 1 set every 2 feet. I fitted that amount retrospectively and I don’t recommend that ! BoD is spot on . I’m not the worlds best solderer but I found extra flux to be the key. We must persevere with these frustrations and solder on… Ian

I love this reworking and I have been contemplating doing 37669 from a 430 in the same livery. The one thing I can’t find is the nose end head board clips. I don’t suppose you know if anyone who does them do you ? Also, how easy did the name plate come off 027 ? Just wondering if it leaves behind an impression . Also would the car head light be remount-able or is it knackered once you take it off the front ? I always appreciate the pioneers like yourself who aren’t afraid to be the first to calve up new models ! Great blog btw . Cheers , Ian

Very useful . I was looking at those car headlights and thinking ‘I know there’s something wrong about them but what is it ?!’ Now I’ve seen your yellow paint touch up they look to scale.

Superb reworking . Does the front centre lamp iron leave much of a hole ?

The accurascale / model u crew are an excellent compliment to these models too. Nice to see a trap point being modelled . I wanted to add them but the spacing of the sleepers is wrong compared to my SMP track where I moved the sleepers slightly further apart.