toboldlygo

Agree with all the examples mention above.. apart from the 4VEP Will add the Britannia, Clan and 4MT to the list as well. The A4 and L1 aren't too shabby either.

Same thoughts here. I had that book nearly as long as the Garrett has been on pre-order

Hattons have some nice pics up of the first ones available: http://www.ehattons.com/42899/Heljan_266201_Beyer_Garratt_2_6_0_0_6_2_4970_LMS_std_bunker_pony_wheel_brake_1930_31_Pristine/StockDetail.aspx

Amazon also have the Esso one masquerading as Duke of Gloucester....http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hornby-Gloucester-Standard-Special-Edition/dp/B00EE8RZSE/ref=pd_ybh_1

If memory serves correctly, the new build 5,250gl tenders differ from those rebodied in the late 50 - early 60's. The original rebodied ones had 2 water fillers and 1 ladder on the left-hand side of the rear of the tender. I know the new build for Sir Archibald Sinclair had a centrally mounted water filler and two ladders, Braunton's appears to be similar to Sir Archies just with an additional box on the back (possibly a storage/toolbox)

They are actually new mouldings as far as I'm aware, having brought a number of them. It was far easier starting with a blank canvas than having to strip down an old one. I've covered the conversion several times in my blog including here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/135/entry-8021-something-western-this-way-comes/ If you use the existing tender frames you don't have to do much to make them fit, apart from removing the screw lug on the tender body and trimming back the lugs that keep the tender body square on the frames.

Here's what Braunton can look like with the Wrenn/Dublo 5,250gl tender conversion (circa April 2009 - so one of my early renamings) And here's Barnstaple (circa February 2013)

As has been said earlier if your modelling Barnstaple between it 57 and 61, Okehampton is a perfect donor - I think I used Plymouth myself. Having modelled virtually the entire class in it's rebuilt or Air Smoothed Condition, Richard Derry's Book of the West Country's etc, has been an extremely valuable resource. However it always helps to check the vast number of images posted online for things that can be missed..

Vast improvement, I think somewhere else it was mentioned about using the 4MT Sprung Buffers for the tender. I also think the Buffers from the Hoover (Class 50) could be used as they look the same as the Class 31's (for the front end of the loco). I think the new production facilities are on a learning curve, so as they get better so hopefully the separately fitted detail will return.

Well it's finally time for an update, well it has been over 6 months lol I've been so busy with Loco's going across my workbench that it's been difficult to keep track. As it stands today the tally for West Country's/Battle of Britain's stands at 105 of the 110 strong class covered by me... so far. With 3 more donor's awaiting their turn on the workbench - 34086 219 Squadron (Last Air smoothed), 34032 Camelford (1st Sound Fitted and penultimate 4,500gl tender Rebuilt) and 1 other which identity remains undecided. I just need donors for the other 2 now. From January 2013 to today, the loco tally is pretty scary... Southern Region: 8 x WC/BoB's, 3 x Merchant Navy's, 3 x King Arthur's, 1 of each Q1, M7, N, Standard Arthur, Schools Western Region: 1 of each 28xx, 57xx, 45 xx Midland Region: 2 x G2a, 1 x Patriot Eastern Region: 1 of each B1, O4, L1, D11 That includes these two that are currently on my workbench (plus a glimpse at one that is to come..) : King Arthur (N15) Class 30781 Sir Aglovale (a Sir Lamiel used as donor) D11 Class 62663 Prince Albert (with a B17 lurking behind) 30781 is just waiting to be masked up ready for weathering and 62663 has just had most of the detailing parts added. As I have found with virtually every Bachmann Loco I've worked on, it will need to be degreased thoroughly before I go anywhere near it with a airbrush, as the lubricant they use just seems to spread everywhere... grrr!!! Along with the two mentioned above, there are 16 more Loco's that are on the books with more to come... Just for a treat here's one I weathered earlier Till next time James (toboldlygo)

DoG is being quoted at £139.99 on Hornby's own website...

At first glance it does look like it's moulded, but I think it's separate. It's coming along quite quickly too.

My employer's uniform supplier use Yodel, some of the stories of where things have been left are funny (if not very worrying) and the less said about using the doorbells the better

Hatton's posted some progress pics of the beasts on Facebook earlier today.. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.622189744468128.1073741826.217917844895322&type=1

Equals another milestone - the last Air Smoothed West Country 34094 Morthoe! Take one donor, in this case a R2282 'Weymouth' and swap the 5,500gl tender for a 4,500gl one. Remove all traces of it identity, carry out repairs (fill holes where crests were), fit details and renumber and fit new nameplates etc. I've also included a close up of the front end work - replacing a lamp bracket that snapped off, adding RT Models drain cocks and removing the fairings in front the cylinders. Masked up and get out the airbrush and add that dirt. Then I hand finished the weathering, sealed with several coats of Matt varnish, before adding the final details and the job is done. 6 left now, but up next is something smaller That's all for now TBG

Even if it has everything perfect some people will still not be satisfied....

Every cloud has a silver lining, hard to believe this is the same model after how it looked when you got it

It's been a fair while since I last did a Standard Arthur, makes a change from the usual Bulleids etc. I'd had the donor for sometime, plus I'd also acquired Irwells: The Book of Standard Class 5... While reading the book and comparing it to Bachmann's model of the Standard 5, I noticed there was a few things missing to make it a true Standard Arthur - namely lamp brackets and few minor improvements to make. After discovering that the smoke box door popped out easily (only lightly glued in fortunately). I removed virtually all the detail from the door, including the part moulded smoke-box dart, the top lamp bracket (way to chunky), the hand rail (which was damaged) and the moulded on shed plate. After a fair amount of fiddling and fettling (not to mention crawling round on the floor once they'd gone ping!!) I had fabricated new lamp brackets for the door (and two for the tender) and then fitted all the new bits to the door, along with the etched number and shed-code plates and ended up with it looking like this: Next up I turned my attention to the rest of the loco, first up I added the additional lamp brackets to the tender and fabricated a fire Iron tunnel for the bunker - as Bachmann have the hole in the tender for it, but have not modeled it. Then I had the fun task of removing the front NEM pocket which is an absolute pain in the backside to do as it requires a near full strip down of the chassis to remove it!!! After this, removing the cabside numbers was simple!!! 73117 Vivien seen here with name plates attached and cab-sides varnished with gloss for numbering. Numbers and water treatment symbols were added, before the whole thing was made ready for the paint shop. Next was a trip to the paint shop, I always start at the bottom of the loco and work my way up so on go the lighter weathering colours first and then the darker. I also run the loco in-between coats to ensure the wheels aren't patchy. Once back from the paint shop I remove the masking from the cab and the front end before getting on with the hand weathering. Once the hand weathering is done, I return the loco to to the paint shop to seal all the weathering in place with a few coats of Matt varnish. After it's dried I added the oil and grease deposits and the final detailing is done: That's another loco done, next up is the final Air Smoothed West Country... Till next time TBG

Looks incredible

7 left in total - I have donors and plates for 219 Squadron (last BoB), Morthoe (last Air-smoothed WC), Ilfracombe and Camelford, which will leave 3 that I need to acquire donors for... And thanks

It's taken a long time to get here, but I've just got the one Battle of Britain to go now (and yes I have the donor ) I decided with the penultimate one to do something unique, to photograph every stage of the process (alright I forgot the donor before photo lol) The donor was a R2458 '222 Squadron', the Battle of Britain she'd become would be 34080 74 Squadron, with a twist you see like the majority of the 34071 - 34110 series of Bulleid light Pacifics she had her 5,500gl tender swapped for a 4,500gl one when others of the class were rebuilt - hers ended up behind 34022 Exmoor and 74 Squadron ended up with Exmoor's tender!! That should of been it, however in April 1964 she had another tender swap, her tender was withdrawn with 34075 264 Squadron and she ended up with 264 Squadron's unmodified tender!! Which gave 74 Squadron a unique livery combination for the last months of her career. The donor loco stripped of it's identity and cab lining and detailing parts added - including a set of RT Models etched drain cocks on the cylinders Fox Transfers etched plates added and cab lining done Cabside numbers and late crests added to tender Transfers sealed with varnish and loco masked up ready for the paintshop Back from the paintshop and very dirty Final weathering is done by hand using brush, powders and pencil, then sealed with several coats of matt varnish. Before I oil her up using Tamiya Smoke, remove the last of the masking from the cab windows and fill the tender with coal. Final detailing parts are added and she's ready for her close up

Bit the bullet and order both the 5/8 and 7/8" in rivets direct from archers

Saw examples of the 8 coupled tanks today in the flesh and they didn't look bad at all.

Which sheet of rivets (reference number) would be the most suitable size-wise for the pannier tanks on a Bachmann 57xx ?

This may be well and truly outside the box thinking, but why not create a brass U section to sit in the deep part of the slot?