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Hi Ajax, thanks for your kind comments. Hopefully the pictures below will give some idea of what I have done around the cab windows. First I removed the gutter from above the front and side windows. when you do this a step is left above the windows at the bottom edge of the roof. I removed this. I then fixed the etched window frames temporarily with PVA so that I could work out where the new gutter would need to go, and also how much the top of the nose needed to be raised. The new gutter was made from 0.3 mm square plastic strip. Two pieces, one for each side of the loco and meeting at the apex between the front windows. It is a good idea to refer to the particular loco you are modelling at this point because the way the gutter runs around the front of the loco varies between class members and also between different ends/sides of the same loco! I don't know but I suspect this is because the guttering is sometimes replaced during works visits, and never quite goes on the same way each time. For 039 all but one of the corners exhibit a downward slope towards the front of the loco, and I have recreated this on the model. These pictures illustrate what I mean, you have to look carefully, it's quite subtle: No.1 end A side, the gutter slopes down relative to the top edge of the side window - https://www.flickr.com/photos/131083590@N05/16553903024/in/faves-124903335@N08/ No.2 end B side, the gutter runs almost parallel to the top edge of the window and then dips above the left hand end of the front window - https://www.flickr.com/photos/131083590@N05/17130067876/in/faves-124903335@N08/ The nose needed to be raised 0.5 mm in the centre. At this stage I could also see where the front windows needed to be opened out. The frames were removed before raising the nose. With the nose reprofiled I then used 0.13 mm thick plasticard to represent the body panels that hold the front windows. In reality these are slightly sunken relative to the corners, but that would have meant some quite major surgery. At least this way the panel lines at the outside edges of the front windows are represented. I also added more 0.3 mm square strip to the gutter above the front windows, to make it deeper and protrude further forwards. These peices were shapped to give a slight curve around the front of the cab (looking from above) and blend into the rest of the gutter at the corners of the cab. A small amount of filler was then applied above the new deeper guttering, from the corners to under the headcode box, to blend it in with the roof profile. This gives the effect seen here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/jjm2009/37256767970/in/faves-124903335@N08/ - note the windows are flat but the guttering curves slightly. The gutter overhang is greatest at the centre of each front window - again it's subtle. Hope this helps. Let me know if anything (or everything!) isn't clear - it's difficult to explain some of this! Cheers, Kevin.

Thanks Stu. I'm making good progress, and will post an update soon. Cheers, Kevin.

Hi Rob, thanks, there are quite a few areas on the original model that can be improved. I haven't done everything but I will try and list the mods I have made at the end of the project. Cheers, Kevin.

Thanks Steve Cheers, Kevin.

Thanks Will. I won't rush it, I've got some time off work booked before the show. Cheers, Kevin.

Thanks. I'm looking forward to getting the 50 finished. It's been about 6 months in the making, which coincidentally was about the time taken by Doncaster to refurbish a 50. The inset track needs a lot doing to it yet, and I can get back to progressing the layout when the 50's done. Cheers, Kevin.

Hi Wayne, Thanks, glad you like it. I'm quite new to airbrushing so don't have a much experience with many paints. I like the acrylics for a couple of reasons: they dry very quickly, so there's less chance of getting bits of dust stuck to the new paint; they are so much nicer than enamels when it comes to cleaning up afterwards, and generally whilst using them. Having said that because they dry so quickly you can end up with dry paint build up on the tip of the needle. However, it's easily removed, and then you can carry on spraying, so not really a problem. I found the primer suffered from this more than the colours. It remains to be seen how resilient the finish is, but assuming it's OK I don't think I will go back to using enamels if the colours I need are available in acrylic. Cheers, Kevin.

Time for a quick update. As promised some paint has been applied... The bufferbeams and underframe equipment were the first parts to be painted, first with primer and then with black followed by matt varnish. Then the body. The primer, warning yellow and roof grey have been completed. Another coat of yellow was applied after this photo was taken. There's maskol on the cab door handrails, which is why they look rough. Next the rail blue will be applied, and then gloss varnish to the areas where the transfers will sit. I'm using acrylics from Railmatch, and so far they have gone on very well. Still a way to go, so I'm not relaxing just yet! Especially with only two weekends to go before the Basingstoke show, when this loco should be running on Portland. Cheers, Kevin.

Thanks Ian and Steve. Hopefully the next update will be after some painting, fingers crossed. Cheers, Kevin.

Thanks Steve. The lamp irons are made from 0.3mm by 0.5mm plastic strip fixed together with plastic weld. These are then fixed onto very thin slices of 1.1mm round rod. The sketch shows an exploded view of the component parts (not to scale!). 1 = slice of 1.1mm diameter rod 2 = strengthening piece of 0.3mm x 0.5mm strip 3 & 4 = 0.3mm x 0.5mm strips. The strengthening piece is a compromise, as this will be a working model it has to be reasonably durable. Cheers, Kevin.

Thanks. I used Plastruct 1mm hexagonal rod. This works if you want the grilles in the closed position, which for my layout is how they would have been most of the time. Most class members seemed to have some slats stuck in the open position. On 50039 this happened on the B side only, with all slats properly closed on the A side. The open slats have been modelled using 0.3mm thick plasticard. This picture shows the B side with two slats stuck open near the top of the grilles: https://www.flickr.com/photos/116535434@N04/16049900748/in/faves-124903335@N08/ This picture (when viewed full size) of 50002 shows the grilles quite nicely when in the closed position. They have a zig-zag cross section which is represented by two faces of the hexagonal rod: https://www.flickr.com/photos/817foxhound/13899117452/in/faves-124903335@N08/ Cheers, Kevin.

With just roof rivet detail to add and a general tidy up required, hopefully this will be the final update before painting starts. The ladders below the buffer steps have been added. On my model these are fixed to the bufferbeam, whereas the steps over the buffers are fixed to the body. In reality the ladders are fixed to the steps and the bufferbeam, but that would make it impossible to separate the body from the chassis. Lamp irons and windscreen washer nozzles have also been added. First to be painted will be the underframe, then the body and finally the bogies. One bogie still needs to be rebuilt and have the brake grear added, and both need brake pipes and guard irons. However, these are relatively simple jobs and I will be much more confident of meeting my March deadline once the painting is complete. Cheers, Kevin. The ladders are 0.3mm wire loops. Holes drilled into the top of the bufferbeam, brackets at the bottom of the bufferbeam and epoxy glue help secure the ladders. The lamp irons are scratch built from plasticard and are stronger than they look. The track curves slightly here, which is why the bogie looks off centre. An idea of how the loco will look when depositing or collecting wagons from the yet to be finished Trethosa loading shed.

There is a very short clip from the Brockenhurst show here, at 4:42 Rich I'm sure I can hear your seagulls in the background for some of the other layouts as well.

Thank you Andy. This is the first model I have worked on for quite a few years, so I'm still getting back into it really. One thing I've noticed is my eyesight is not as good as it used to be! Cheers, Kevin.

Thanks Steve and Jeremy. Fingers crossed the painiting goes ok. There's a few more bits to add yet, but it's not far off now. Cheers, Kevin.

Thank you Will. I'm radpidly approaching the part I'm dreading - painting. Yes the PH steps are good, but I found the step on driver's side needed reducing in width a bit. Kevin.

Thank you, much appreciated. Kevin.

Hi Will, I've added a photo showing some of the roof detail to my layout thread http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/112640-trethosa/page-2 Cheers, Kevin.

A few pictures of recent progress on 50039... The ETS trunking has been completed at both ends. The steps over the buffers have been added. Plus a shot showing the engine room extractor cowl, number 2 end exhaust ports and the lowered roof panel edges. These were done months ago but I don't think I have shown them. Rivets and fastenings yet to be added. Cheers, Kevin.

Hi Will, Thanks. Yes, I've done a bit to the roof to try and correct Hornby's mistakes. The usual mods to the exhaust ports and radiator fan have been done, using some parts from Shawplan. I've also modified the gutters around the cabs to match the pitch of the front windows and reprofiled the roof around the headcode boxes. A new engine room extractor fan cowl has been made and repositioned. The lower edge of all the roof panels has also been moved closer to the line of the gutters. I'll take some pictures. Cheers, Kevin.

Afternoon, I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of my class 50 project that is underway at the moment. I started this back in the summer and am aiming to finish by the beginning of March, in time to run on Portland at the Basingstoke show. It started off as a second hand 50004 and will become 50039. It's getting there, with most of the body completed apart from buffer beam steps, lamp irons and a few other small details that I'm leaving to the end to avoid damaging them during other work. At the moment I am focusing on the underframe and bogie detail. I'll post some more pics if anyone is interested in seeing what I have done in detail. Cheers, Kevin.

A quick update on 50039 and some recent pics. The majority of the mods to the body are done, just small details to add and a bit of tidying up here and there. I've now started on the underframe detail. The fuel tank has been modified and details added. Similarly the battery boxes have been detailed and various pipes and cylinders around them have been added. The battery box on the "A" side of the loco has been swapped for one from a Lima model, as the Hornby version is the wrong size. The detail around the compressors has yet to be started, as have the buffer beams. Some compromise is being made on the fine details in the interests of durability, as this will be a working model. A lot of the underframe detail will not be visible during normal operation, but this kind of detailing is a part of modelling that I really enjoy, so for me that is reason enough for it to be added. The fan and grille will be added after the model has been painted. Ready for the speedo cable to be attached from the bogie - this will be done during the final stages of assembly. The plan is to have the loco ready for the Basingstoke show in March where it will be working on Portland for one of the days, probably Saturday, fingers crossed. Cheers, Kevin.

Thanks. They are very good kits. If you model in EM or P4 Penbits do a full suspension kit for 37s.

Evening, Just a quick update. Work has been progressing on 50039, but still lots to do yet. A couple of snaps attached. Cheers, Kevin.

Just a quick update this evening. Brakes now fitted on both sides of the first bogie. Just needs tidying up a bit. Next is the secondary suspension and brake lines. Cheers, Kevin.