The Thomas Modeller

Hank the American Engine - Completed!

2010-01-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

It's been another lovely porject to do, and i can happily say to all users following this blog and watching it, that Hank is now fully finished and running on the Elsbridge layout, he is one of the smoothest running engines i have ever made, and it is also with great thanks to my friend Michael, who helped with the project, as he too has also made Hank using the same method as me.

Hank is an american locomotive, based on a PRR K4, which is modelled by Bachmann in America in the Spectrum range, these models are all super deailed, and come in different liveries, i bought one from my local model dealer a year ago, and it has since been left in the box, i wanted to model Hank after seeing him depicted in Series 12 of Thomas and Friends (which has now moved fully into CGI in Canada).

His class of locomotive, is something rare to see on Sodor, the fact he runs on standard gauge track is remakable, considering that the gauge in America is slightly larger than UK standard gauge. Hank is infact the first continental locomotive to arrive on the railway, and even though he only had a one time appearance to himself, hopefully, he will make another debut in the CGI series.

Modelling Hank

Hank was made using a Bachmann PRR K4 pacific, the model was taken apart and the loco and tender bodies, sprayed with a Ultramarine spray paint, which i bought from an oline store known as Fatt-Buddah. The bodies were given two coats of Ultramarine and left to settle overnight.

Once the paint had dried, i then painted the boiler bands a satin red and left them to dry for a couple hours, one touch dry, i could then work on adding other details to the model, the handrails were cut to the correct lengths, and left for later. During this time, i painted the chassis wheels red, including the tende bogies and left them to dry, once set, another coact was applied and he chassis then moved to one side for later.

Once everything was dry, i then made up the small boxes for the running plate and glued them in place, these were then painted, along with the cylinder blocks, the same colour as Hank's bodies. The original bell casting was carefully removed, and the plastic one from the trackmaster model glues in place and repainted gold, along with the whistle and safety valves. The face was also removed from the trackmster model, to be added once i had painted the smokebox and cab roof, a sorta metallic silver, which was mixed with a little gunmetal paint to give it a shiny metal coat look.

Once the bodies were placed back on the loco and tender chassis, Hank was starting to look just like the tv model, onlyt thing left to do, was add a buffer beam to the rear of the tender, which i cut off from a Mainline GWR 0-6-2T body and painted buffer beam red. The handrails were carfully glued back in place, and then carefully painted silver with a thin brush.

Last but not least, the face was added, and held on with a tiny peice of blu-tac either side of the smokebox casting, and there you have it, a simple and easy way to make Hank, using a Bachmann K4, modelled by yours truly, and giving anyone else here, easy steps to make him yourself.

Hank OO (WIP) - 50% Done!

2010-01-07T11:31:00.000-08:00

Hank is steadily coming along, it's looking just like the real thing, but in scale OO (Ho in america). This is turning out to be one of my most fave projects to day, most of the detailing is nearly done, i just need to add a few more bits and bobs, and he should soon be ready to run on Elsbridge, which is a layout i built back in 2009 during my holiday break from work.

Hank OO - WIP

2010-01-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

With Rosie now completed, i have now moved on to do my next new project, which is none oter than Hank the American, who is being made with thanks to the inspiration of Michael, a member of the Sudrian Railway Modeller's Forum, who is also building Hank using a Bachmann K4 Pacific.

The model at current has been sprayed after having the excess details removed, like handrails, cow-catcher and chassis, it has then been sprayed with a coat of Ultramarine Blue and left to dry, whilst in the mean time, i am working on painting Hank's wheels, till the body has properly dried. Once it has, i can then add the details back on the model and touch up any patchy areas, the main problem was removing the bodyshell, some parts came unstuck, so i had to glue them back on, which was a real pain, but i am glad they did not snap completely, otherwise, id be in a real state trying to repair the damages.

But luckily, it has been a quick repair, and looks smashing as the moment, i cannot wait to add the other details, but the more time spent on the model, the better he will be. ;)

Rosie OO - Complete!

2010-01-01T02:14:00.000-08:00

It has been a long while since i did any modelling, and i am happy to say and show you all that Rosie, is now officially 100% completed and running very well. She is a complete new build from start to finish and runs on a Bachmann Junior 0-6-0 with a valve gear from a V1 2-6-2T.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T02:12:00.001-08:00

A very happy new year to one and all, the Thomas Modeller wishes everyone all the best for 2o10, and looks forward to modelling more new characters for your enjoyment as the new year opens.

kind regards

The Thomas Modeller

Webmasters Apologies

2009-12-31T09:57:00.000-08:00

Dear all blog followers and viewers.

I must apologise for the severe lack of updates over the last few months, i have been so busy with my modelling that i havn't gotten around to updating the blog in a long while, hopefully as the new year closes in, the blog will be kept up to date as of January, with more new updates and projects that have been recently completed and curently in the works.

Alot of events have happened over the last few months, some good and some bad, i won't go into details as alot of it is personal and to do with events in my offline life.

But i hope you will all continue to follow the blog, and again, i am sorry for not updating it sooner, please accept my apologies, and have a happy new year, and roll on 2010.

kind regards

The Thomas Modeller

Donald and Douglas - Complete!

2009-08-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been another good project, and it has turned out better than i had expected, although the chassis maybe shorter than the real tv models, i am pleased with my models of the scottish twins.

Donald and Douglas have so far been my most fave projects, both models have been entirely built from scratch and run on a pair of Hornby 0-6-0 motors, they have been well oiled ands run smoothly.

I will soon have a video made of the twins running on my partly built layout, but for now, here are pics of the finished models.

Bachmann Thomas and Percy Upgrade!

2009-08-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

This is just something i did as a quick project, basically, i have removed the eye mechanisms from both engines carefully and put them aside for future use. The faces on the models are wrong anyway to begin with, so i have also removed these and put them to one side.

I have two old Hornby Thomas and Percy models, which i have removed the faces from carefully and made slight adjustments to them. With that complete, the faces have been placed on the fronts of the Bachmann Thomas and Percy, and the result, a more TV series look-alike Thomas and Percy.

Douglas - 70% Done!

2009-08-08T23:56:00.000-07:00

Well, progress on Douglas is coming along nicely, won't be too long now before he is done, just need safety valves and whistle to be added, the i can start his tender. Pics below of current progress:

Douglas - 40% Done

2009-08-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

Since the completion of Donald, i had planned to make Douglas straight after, but, i had left the project for a while so i could carry on with other projects, i don't like to rush making my models and many have told me that i can often produce them abit quick. So i decided to go back to the plans i had for the CR 812, and make a fresh start scratchbuilding again.

At current, Douglas is 40% done, the body is having splashers, handrails and cab roof fitted, so it won't be too long before the main part of the model is done, once that is done, i can then make a start on building the tender, which is an easy job and won't take very long for me to do.

Pics will be posted later of the models current progress..

Update on new model projects and new layout

2009-08-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings one and all, i must first apologise for the lack of updates to this blog. I have been very busy with new projects in my time and have lacked updating severly due to work and getting stuck into my new projects.

Firstly, Douglas is halfway near completion, the boiler, cab and smokebox have been built and the chassis mounted to the scratchbuilt runningplate, so i am hopin to have Douglas completed by the end of next week, if all goes well with the model.

Secondly, the new layout i designed has began construction and all the trackwork has been pinned to the baseboard and tested. All tracks and sidings work nicely with full power, so i have only to solder the wire to the rails to keep power permanently running through the rails.
The proposed layout i am modelling is Elsbridge from the first series of Thomas The Tank Engine, the station has some nice features to it, such as the footbridge, canopy and the road where Thomas and Bertie raced each other. I am modelling the layout using pictures i printed off the computer for reference, and adding some of my own details to the rest of the layout once Elsbridge has been built and detailed.

I have decided that once Douglas is complete, i will move on to my next new project, which will be a re-model of my old Rosie. The model will be made from an old playcraft 0-4-0 mould, or, i might just scratchbuild her completely, but i am waiting for a good friend of mine to send me a list of parts i need in order to make her.

Well, that's all for now, will keep you updated as soon as more progress is made.

bye for now

regards

The Thomas Modeller

Douglas - Work in Progress!

2009-06-14T00:27:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since i modelled anymore engines, but, i recently announced on the Sudrian Railway Modellers Forum that Douglas has been planned as my next new scratchbuild project. A while back i modelled Donald using scale drawings i found of a CR Class 812 locomotive, and i plan to use the same drawings also for Douglas and possible for Patrick, when i come to build him, which won't be till i have got my new layout up and running.

I have all the parts i need to start Douglas, apart from some Slaters Mek-Pak bonding glue, which i have currently run out of, and need to get some more, which i will be able to do by next weekend, so i will have more news on the project then.

Keep checking back often for more news and previews of new projects planned.

Boco (D5702) - Complete!

2009-05-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

It started off as a plain resin kit in need of a chassis, and after a couple weeks work, has been finished as a Thomas The Tank Engine character that runs like a charm.

Boco, has been finished in a plasti-kote 'Garden Green', with Humbrol Satin Red, Satin Black, Light Grey and Gloss White. The numbers and crests/emblems are by HMRS transferes. The chassis is a modified LIMA Class 52 'Western', and the face, is made from rubber modelling latex instead of plaster, as the plaster moulds always broke as they were so brittle.

Overall, an enjoyable project, this is infact my second attempt at making a Co-Bo from a Silver Fox kit, as my first went all horribly wrong when i got the wrong paints.

But, this time, it has been a great success, and you can be sure that where there is Boco, Daisy will follow also, but that wll have to wait for another time. ;)

Boco (D5702) - Work In Progress!

2009-05-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

I recently bought a kit of the Co-Bo loco from Silver Fox Models, which i intend to turn into the character known as Boco from the Thomas The Tank Engine television series. The kit comes with with all the parts required (excluding a chassis) to make the kit, but any other details such as screwlink couplings, paints and transferes e.t.c. will need to be purchased seperately.

The Co-Bo is a remarkable locomotive, capable of hauling both passenger and goods trains at different times, they had a maximum speed of 75 mph and a tractive effort of 50000 lbs.

Type "2" Co-Bo Diesel-ElectricLocomotives for L.M.R.
(from The Railway Magazine, January 1959)

Twenty 1,200-h.p. mixed-traffic diesel-electric locomotives, Nos. D5700-D5719, are being supplied by Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co. Ltd. to the London Midland Region of British Railways. All are being allocated to Derby and will be used on passenger and freight trains in the Midland Division.

The mechanical parts are being manufactured by Metropolitan-Vickers/Beyer Peacock Limited, and the electrical equipment by Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co. Ltd. The locomotives are being fitted with Crossley Vee-8 engines; this is the only conventional engine of the two-stroke type being supplied to British Railways for mixed-traffic locomotives, and it will provide a basis for comparing two-stroke and four-stroke cycle types.

There is a full-width body and driving cab at each end. The driving position is on the left-hand side of each cab. Up to three locomotives can he driven in multiple. Also multiple-unit operation of these locomotives with others now being delivered under the modernisation scheme and fitted with electrical equipment by the General Electric Co. Ltd. and Brush Traction Limited has been arranged by co-operation between the three companies.

The main driving controls are the master controller and the brake valves. Instruments comprise a main generator ammeter and engine tachometer, brake gauges and speedometer. Three indicator lights, "engine stopped", " wheelslip" and alarm" follow the standard system introduced in locomotives being supplied to British Railways. Each lamp is normaly dim, and comes up to full brilliance under fault conditions.

The intensity of illumination of these lamps under dim conditions, and also the intensity of the instrument lights, can be adjusted by individual variable resistances to suit the driver's requirements under all conditions between brilliant sunshine and total darkness.
Electric cab heating is by tubular heaters, and there is also a foot warmer at both driver's and assistant's positions. Demisters are provided for the outer front windows, using heated air fed from the traction motor cooling system. The cab roofs, and the cab bulkhead at the engine end, are lined to provide heat and sound insulation.

The underframe, carlines, cantrail, floor and body sheeting form a complete welded structure designed to give maximum strength with minimum material. The underframe is made up largely of folded plate sections welded to form continuous longitudinal and transverse members with diagonal bracing, the transverse members being positioned at the load carrying points. A special feature is the incorporation of the main fuel and boiler water tanks with the underframe top and bottom plating.

In sections not used for tankage the traction motor air ducts are also built in.
Besides the side buffers and centre screw coupling fitted initially, provision is made for the replacement of these items by a central automatic coupler at some future date. Among the special provisions for lifting and jacking of the locomotive in the event of derailment is the facility for using a single rocking jack at the centre of the underframe.

The body is divided by transverse bulkheads into four main compartments, namely, two driving cabs, an engine and radiator compartment, and a generator and boiler compartment; the upper portion of the bulkhead between the latter two compartments is removable.
Louvres are provided at the various air intake positions, and where access is necessary these take the form of doors. Sections of the roof are easily detachable for removal of the power unit, boiler, and auxiliary machines, while a number of smaller panels are provided for access to engine cylinder heads, fuel pumps and boiler fire compartment roof.

Entrance doors are arranged on the assistant's side of each cab and, near to the cab bulkheads, on the opposite side in the engine and generator compartments. End doors conceal the flexible gangway connection used when locomotives are operating in multiple. The engine room floor is arranged so that any spillage of fuel oil or water drains into a tank beneath the underframe, which can be emptied from time to time.

The diesel engine is a two-cycle type with eight cylinders in Vee formation, continuously rated at 1,200 h.p. at 625 r.p.m. The one-hr. rating is 1,320 h.p. at the same speed. Safety devices ensure that the engine is automatically shut down in the event of overspeed, low lubricating oil pressure, low engine cooling water pressure, or high engine cooling water temperature. Twin outlets are provided for the exhaust gases, the positions being chosen such that contamination of overhead contact wiring is avoided.
The main and auxiliary generators, both direct current machines, are of integral construction, with the frame flange-mounted on the end of the engine, and the armatures are mounted on a common hollow shaft, which is solid coupled to the engine crankshaft at one end and carried on a single roller bearing at the other.

Each of the five axles is fitted with a nose-suspended axle-hung traction motor; all five motors are connected permanently in parallel. The drive to the axle is through totally-endosed single-reduction spur tooth gears with a ratio of 15 : 67 ; the gearwheel provides for torsional resilience between hub and rim.

Ten notches are provided in the master controller to control the engine speed and power. Automatic control of generator and motor field strengths ensures that the engine power selected shall be available over a wide range of locomotive speeds. This is achieved by the use of a servo-mechanism which functions in response to a signal from a hydraulic pilot valve associated with the diesel engine governor to control the electrical output of the traction generator. Hence the total power is maintained at a constant value, irrespective of changing track speeds and load conditions.

Most of the control equipment is housed in a cubicle adjacent to the driving cab at the generator end of the locomotive. The main items are the load regulator, electropneumatically-operated contactors and reverser, auxiliary switches, relays and resistors. Deadman equipment is also fitted.

Auxiliary equipment includes the auxiliary generator, on the end of the main generator; an air compressor, driven by engine, to supply compressed air at 100 lb. per sq. in. for locomotive brakes, electropneumatic control gear, sanding, whistles and window wipers; two vacuum exhausters, driven by electric motor, for train brakes; three fans, driven by electric motors, for force ventilating the generator and traction motors; engine ancillary equipment, comprising motor-driven pumps, and radiator panels with motor-driven pumps, and radiator panels with motor-driven fan; a battery for starting the diesel engine, using the main generator as a motor; and the train heating boiler, for steam heating passenger coaches. Provision is made for a.t.c. equipment to be installed later.

'Arry and Bert - Complete!

2009-05-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

Recently completed along with Henry, 'Arry and Bert.

These two devious engines work in the Ironwork's and Smelther yard, they are considered by everyone to be the grim messengers of doom and will stop at nothing to try and metl down as many of the engines as possible. They have already tried to melt down poor Oliver and Stepney, and also tried to do away with Old Slow Coach.

The models were made using LIMA Class 08 shunters, the faces were rendered from the exisiting Hornby Diesel, with slight modifications made to the nose.

Henry 1 - Complete!

2009-05-04T05:07:00.000-07:00

If you are reading this paragraph, then you are correct, Henry, as he looked in the early days of the Thomas series, before he was rebuilt, has recently been completed, and, like all other models within this blog, has been completely scratchbuilt. The model currently is running on a Hornby 4-6-0 chassis that used to belong to a LNER B17, and is tender driven.

I myself personally am proud of the final outcome with the project, although i did alot of work to make the running plate as low as i possibly could, when i matched it up to the other models in the Hornby range, it was no different in scale, but just a little higher, which i don't mind, as the model really was made just for personal use, wether i will use it in the episodes is another story.

The colour is Plasti-kote 'Garden Green', with HMRS red lining. The face, is moulded from a Bachmann Henry, and though many might just have a little pick at the model, i'm happy with it, even if it isn't 100% to others standards in modelling.

Henry I - 50% Complete

2009-04-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

Recently announced project, Henry I, is currently under construction and is halfway completed, so far, the runningplate, cab and boiler have all been made and added to the model. So far it is looking promising, i am currently still fiddling with the running plate to make it sit right on the chassis, but, it will get there eventually.

I have already cut the templates for the tender, so these will be played about with once the main body is completed. Check back soon for new pics.

Next new project - Henry II (TV Style)

2009-04-11T07:46:00.001-07:00

I've already started the plans for my next new project, i've placed Douglas on hold for a short while till i can order a new funnel and dome for him, so for now, i will be working on building Henry II. I know that Hornby has already made a RWS version of Henry, and Bachmann has also made a TV series version of Henry, but, i have chosen to model Henry from the Tv Series also, seeing as Hornby did not.

Although i like the Bachmann version, the tender is somewhat abit short of Henry's cab roof, so, i'm going to build my own Henry II from scratch, using a suitable donor 4-6-0 chassis, this model i hope will be just like the tv model. I'm deciding to model Henry II, but, i will also make a second body so i can switch them from Henry I to Henry II, one will have the firebox similar to Gordon's and the second will have the belpair firebox like that on the TV Henry II model.

I cannot say at the moment what chassis i will be using to build Henry II, but, announcements will be made via the Thomas Modeller Forum and soon will be posted here, so check back soon for new updates and latest pics.

Donald the Scottish Twin - Complete!

2009-04-04T09:47:00.001-07:00

After alot of careful work and planning, from a dull looking plastic tube and plastikard shaped locomotive parts on wheels, Donald, is complete and ready for work.

Many say that i rush these models or that i produce them to quickly, but, when you know what you are doing and how you want it to look, it really comes from experience and having great patience. I don't make my models to make other modellers jealous or think that they have not done alot to their own models, i've scratchbuilt models for quite a while now, and although i enjoy building the models, sometimes, i even doubt myself. But in all honesty, the models arn't better than others, like all modellers out there in this world, they are just as equal in detail and scructure, it's not about being the best at modelling, it's mainly about enjoying the hobby and being able to help and share the magic of creating the models with others, as i always try to do and have done.

Donald, is one of the most fave models i have done so far this year, i know there are alot of people out there who love the Railway Series, and would prefere the models to be in the RWS blue that the Rev .W. Awdry depicted them in, in his book series, and i must admit, i like them in the RWS blue also, but, i adore the tv series (the classic series 1-7, not the new series 8-9).

So, i chose to paint him in a Satin Black, which matches the tv series model, and it looks grand, i like some malechite paints and satin paints, i'm not a huge fan or user of Gloss or Tan paints.

The chassis he runs on came from a S/Hand Hornby 'Thomas' Diesel model, the tender was scratchbuilt and uses the tender wheels from a Dapol 'Castle' Class 4-6-0 tender. there is no chassis underneath the tender like on other RTR tenders, the wheels are held in place with some whitemetal axle boxes, glued into the plastikard frames. The buffers are sprung and the couplings used on the model are Screw-link, like on a real locomotive, with an additional Universal hook and loop coupler, which is already attatched to the RTR chassis.

The whole body and tender were scratchbuilt using some helpful scale drawings that were printed off and used as a template, these were them drawn on the plastikard sheets and carefully cut out using a hobby knife, the plastikard was them filed down and carefully glued together using Slaters Mek-Pak liquid 'Polystyrene' Cement.

It has taken a while, but the model is finally finished, and i announced that once Donald was completed, i would then make a start on his twin, Douglas. ;)

Photographs are Copyright

Donald Pictures Pt 2

2009-03-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

Donald is slowly making great progress as the stages come now towards building up his tender, i bought lot of new packs of buffers, axle boxes and screw link couplings in the last few days, and i hope to have Donald finished sometime in April, so the way things are at current, Donald may be here sooner.

But i am not rushing him, the project will slowly progress more as the days start to pass, so be sure to keep checking back and also have a fequent check on the Sudrian Railway Modellers Forum and The Thomas Modeller Forum.

Below are pics of Donald has he progress's onto the bulding of the tender.

Donald Update!

2009-03-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

A quick update on the Donald Project:

The body is almost complete, today, the splashers have all been fixed to the underside of the main boiler. The dome, safety valves, whistle and cab roof have all been added this afternoon, and so far, the model is starting to look like the tv model of Donald, which is what i was aiming for and have almost reached my goal in making him come to life.

The buffer beam is at current being prepared to have sprung buffers and screw link added, these will be added tomorrow if not this evening. I shall post more images tomorrow of the models current state.I am hoping to have the tender started either tomorrow or in the week as i am now off work on holiday for a whole week. So i can spend some time adding further details to the model then, and hopefully, have the body ready for priming.

I am happy with the progress of the model, so far, everything is going according to plan, and i won't be suprised if this model isn't already the first to be modelled from scratch using plastikard by other Thomas Modellers out there.

Donald Pictures Pt1

2009-03-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

Donald is underway, these are the first glimpse images of the project and how he looks at current, the models i am building will hopefully look similar to those on the telelvision series as they appeared and looked in Seasons Two and Three. The nameplates will be on the centre of the boilers and the models will be running on either Hornby 0-6-0 or Bachmann J39 0-6-0 motors.

The model is being built entirely from plastikard, and uses some parts from bucthered up models that have no use on or off the layout.

Images below are copyright

Donald In Progress

2009-03-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

Newly announced project, Donald, is now currently underway. The final parts of the project were cut and shaped earlier this evening and a donor 'Sterodant' tube has been used as a suitable sturdy boiler.

The chassis being used for both Donald and Douglas, are the same as those used on the Hornby 'Pannier' 57xx locomotives, the tender i am considering buying as a Brass kit from Caley Coaches, or, i will just built the tender along with the body.

Pictures will be posted tomorrow of the model in progress.

Donald the Scottish Twin - Work in Progress!

2009-03-22T06:31:00.001-07:00

There has been a big gap left in the world of modelling for 0-6-0 tender locomotives, so my next ambition is to model two locomotives of the Caledonain Railway using plastikard, an 0-6-0 chassis (doesn't matter which) and two faces from the Tomica Donald and Douglas trains. These engines are based on the CR Class 812 0-6-0 tender locomotives designed by John F. McIntosh and introduced in 1899.

The power classification for these engines are the same as those of the BR/LMS 3F. To this day, there is only one sole survivor of this stunning locomotive class, No. 828 (BR No. 57566) which is currently undergoing a major overhaul at the Strathspey Railway.
In fiction, Donlad and Douglas are known as No's 57646 and 57647, but in reality, the numbers of the 812 only went up to 57645.

There will be images uploaded of the models progress very soon as well as some black and white scans of the two twins.

Thomas Modeller - Message Board.

2009-02-25T22:22:00.000-08:00

I am in the process of building a message board soley for Thomas Modellers around the world, the board will have strict guidelines as to what contents can be posted, and registration will be limited, meaning that only 5 to 6 people can register each week, this is being done due to my experience with these forums, so don't be suprised if your account is not accepted.
However, the Thomas Modeller will be screening all new members before they have their accounts activiated to ensure that they are between the ages of 14 and over, under 13's will need to ask permission from their Parent/Guardians before they can acess the board.

The board at current is still in the building stages, so a link will not be posted just yet, and unlike the other message boards i created in my time, this one is going to be set to private and it won't be open to guests, so you will need to register an account in order to start viewing the boards.
I have not yet given an estimated date for the boards opening, so it will be left a while till such time as i can post the link here.

0-8-0 Crane Engine - Next New WIP in OO

2009-02-15T00:45:00.000-08:00

Recently, i have come across some interesting pictures of what appears to be a Narrow Gauge Crane Locomotive, i model quite abit of 009 stuff, and figured i could make this NG crane engine into a Standard Gauge locomotive. The design of this engine is not like our other British Built locomotives, this engine appears to be based on an American design, which is good as there appears to be a sever lack of Sodor engines from other regions, and although a debate has already started about Hank and Hiro being too large for our UK loading gauge on other 'Forums', i personally don't see any real issue with locomotives from other regions of the world running on a fictional railway.

So, this project is to commence later in the week and will be made once again, using my most favourite of all materials, plasticard and an 8F Hornby chassis.

Flora the Steam Tram - OO Gauge!

2009-02-08T05:01:00.000-08:00

Flora the Steam Tram has been a project that was started last year after the Twelfth Series had aired completely on Channel 5s' 'Milkshake' mornings, originally, i had originally planned to use the Hornby Toby body and re-model it, but, this proved to be quite complicated. So, as always ,my method for making Flora was to use plasticard to build the body and using a Hornby Toby chassis as the donor for this model.

The body was drawn onto the plasticard using a permanent marker, i used the Toby body as a base to draw the cabsides, front and rear facing ends. The plasticard ws then cut out and stcuk together. To make the body more sturdy, i cut extra side-walls and stcuk them to the inner sides of the main body, this has helped to make Flora extra sturdy on the rails.

The main problem was cutting out the little windows to make Flora's cab 'see-through', but the windows came out horribly, so i decided to print out some computer drawn windows and glue them onto some rectangle cut plasticard strips. These have come out better than the other windows, so once this was done, i then went on to re-prime the model as the colour before, was too dull in the sunlight.

After being left overnight to dry completely, i then bought some Humbrol 'Insignia Yellow' paint and masked off the lower half of the model all the way around, i did this as the model is painted yellow and red, (Yellow for the top half and Red for the bottom half). I painted two coats of Insignia Yellow onto the model and let each coat set thoroughly, before masking off the top half and painting the bottom half in Humbrol 'Scralet Red'. Once all the paint had dried, i bought some HMRS Green lining and lined the cabsides before adding Flora's nameplates.

The cab roof was them painted in a second coat of grey and left to dry, before the funnel was then painted in Humbrol 'Satin Black'. The 'Sodor Tramways' headboards were made using two more rectangle plasticard strips, with the banners being made on the computer and printed off before being cut and glued onto the plasticard. These were then gently placed onto the sides of the cab roof and glued into position, i used Romfords 'Screw-link' couplings on the front and rear of the model and the face mould comes from a Trackmaster Flora model, which i will be using to make some new moulds in plaster and latex later in the week.

Flora the Steam Tram - Almost Complete!

2009-02-05T11:46:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since i last posted about Flora, she was put on hold due to a chassis problem, which has now been sorted and runs perfectly. The model itself like most of my other scratchbuilds, is another plasticard model with computer printed features.

The bodywork has been re-primed and the first coat of yellow has been re-applied, the only parts of the model left to do are the lower runningboard, cowcatchers, lining and the cab roof, pics will be posted over the weekend of the completed project, which also uses a Trackmaster Flora face mould.

Stanley the Tank Engine - OO Gauge

2009-01-25T14:21:00.000-08:00

It has taken a while, but Stanley is now ready for work on the Fat Controller's Railway, Stanley is based on a hybrid of a Hudswell Clark 0-6-0ST and a Kiston 0-6-0ST No. 5459 Austin No. 1. He has two bunkers; one at the front and the other at the back.

Stanley has a tall silver funnel and a bunker that is slightly angled at the back of his cab, he is grey with red lining, silver pipework, a red running plate with a dark grey basecoat and red drive wheels.

Stanley was brought in to do Thomas's jobs while he helped to take charge of the work at the newley discovered town of Great Waterton, He is a kind friendly engine and always willing to help out no matter how big or small the job is.

Stanley also has an arched shaped face and his name on the side of his boiler. Thomas didn't like Stanley being on Sodor at first, and wanted to make him look silly, but when his plan backfired, Thomas soon realised that he was follish to think he was more important than all of his friends, and soon became good friends with Stanley.

Photos © Daniel Snell

Upcoming Projects for 2009/2010 - OO & OO9 Scales!

2009-01-25T13:52:00.000-08:00

I have modelled alot of OO gauge stuff since last year and the year before that, and this year, i hope to model a few more OO9 projects aswel as some new OO gauge ones. So far, i hgave modelled a minor majority of 009 locomotives depicting the Skarloey Railway engines, and i do hope this year to model a few Real-life counterparts instead of painting them as Thomas characters.

Upcoming Projects for 2009/2010:

OO - Standard Gauge:

Murdoch the Heavy Freight Engine (MK II)
Boco the Diseasel
Albert the Tank Engine
Hank the American Engine
Flora the Steam Tram
Dennis the Lazy Diesel
Sixteen
Daisy the Diesel Railcar

009 - Narrow Gauge:

Sir Handel
Mountaineer
Rusty
WHR Baldwin
Dorothy
Smudger
Montague

These are some of the projects lined up between this year and 2010, if i have anymore new projects, i shall update this list as soon as i can.

Stanley - Work In Progress Pt 3

2009-01-22T23:03:00.001-08:00

Stanley's body is finally complete and has now began the next stage, which is painting and detailing, after weeks of work building the body and making all the little details, Stanley has been given his first coat of primer undercoat. The model will be painted in his chosen livery through the weekend and detailed as much as possible, the last few details to be added are the steam-feed pipes on the sides of his tanks and the handrails on the tank sides.

More pictures of Stanley will be posted after the model has been completely detailed and painted, check back soon for more new updates.

Silly Billy (MK II) - OO Gauge

2009-01-21T12:45:00.000-08:00

Back in 2008, i first made Billy using a Hornby GNR J13 0-6-0 tank loco, in my own opinion, it looks more like a 'What if' Railway Series Style model, which is great and i enjoy running the model. However, i then went back over the television series episode which featured Silly Billy, and decided then to try and scratchbuild him using plasticard and a Bachmann J72 chassis.

It has taken roughly five months to build Billy's body and it wasn't as easy as i thought it would be, but, alot of time and care was put into this project, from making the body, to painting and detailing. I am in a way, really pleased with the model and how it performs, it looks just like the model used on the set, and the Bachmann J72 chassis has quite abit of weight.

I am at current looking to remould his face and do a proper facial expression, but apart from that, it is a really nice model.

Photos © Daniel Snell

Stanley - Work In Progress (Pt 2)

2009-01-17T08:57:00.001-08:00

Stanley has come together very nicely since the project started a couple weeks ago, and is almost near the stage where he is to be given a primer undercoat before being painted in the desired livery. I am unsure what colour his paintwork is, and i can tell now by looking at his picture that he is definately not silver like Spencer. But, i have come across a nice looking grey paint which near enough mateches the tv series model.

Stanley has been given a new boiler, the first boiler i made melted due to the plastic being too thin, so i used a thicker peice of plasticard sheet, and it looks alot better now, the coal bunker has been completed and will soon be filled with realistic model coal. The buffers and running plate are complete, i just now need to find some OO scale 'leaf' loco springs and add the pipework as shown in Stanley's screenshot from the Great Discovery movie. Also, the cab is now complete and a whistle has been added (borrowed from the Bachmann Junior 0-6-0 tank).

So yeah, the model is almost complete, just a few more tidbits to add to him, and he wil be ready for the paintshop. keep checking back for more soon...

Photos © Daniel Snell 2009

Stanley - Work in Progress Pictures

2009-01-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

Continued from my earlier post, some pictures of Stanley in the works, the body and cab are almost complete, once they are complete, i can then work on the running plate details and other fittings for the mode, like buffers, couplings, handrails e.t.c.

Photos © Daniel Snell

Stanley the Tank Engine - Work In Progress!

2009-01-12T22:37:00.000-08:00

Since the completion of Whiff not to long ago, i have found that scratchbuilding Thomas The Tank Engine characters has become something that i am really proud of, Harvey the Crane Engine, Silly Billy and Whiff the Rubbish Collection Engine are just a few of the models that have been made completely from scratch using plasticard sheets and 4mm (OO Gauge) scale model drawings.

My newest project to be done using this material is Stanley from the Great Discovery movie, the body has been partly built, starting as always with the cab and running plate before moving onto the boiler and smokebox.
The cab has an angled coal bunker, which can also be seen on the real Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 locomotives, so far, the cab looks great, the only thing left to do with the cabnow is to add the rear-facing wall which the coal will hold later on.

The running plate has also been made from plasticard, two peices have been bonded together to give extra strength, it sits nicely on the Bachmann Junior 0-6-0 'Digby' chassis, but don't worry, the chassis can be used also for the Digby model as i intend to use it in my model series later on.
The buffers beams and boiler have yet to be made, the boiler is currently being rebuilt as the first boiler for Stanley sadly melted, but, as the old saying goes, if at first you don't succeed, try try again.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Stanley turns out, he has been made to the same scale as the other Bachmann models, and there will be a test video of him when he is completed to see how he will look on film as he will be used in my model series.

Pictures to be uploaded later today...

The Railway Stories from Sodor

2009-01-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

I've been doing alot of thinking lately about the future of my model series 'Adventures On Sodor', the name seems to sound abit dull now with most other model series online almost having the same name, so, i;ve decided to re-name the series to 'The Railway Stories from Sodor', and possibly re-film some of the earlier AOS episodes.

Voice-overs have basically died down to three members, including myself, so that to is abit of a downer for the series, but, i do hope to find some new voices to cover the main cast including some additional characters, who are set to appear later in the year. But, yeah, that's the plan anyways, AOS is now to become TRSFS.

Keep watching this blog for more details soon....

Diesel 199/Spamcan - OO Gauge

2009-01-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

Diesel 199 (known to the Sodor engines as Spamcan), arrived from the Other Railway along with comrade 7101 (known as Bear in the later books). 199 was a rather stuck-up engine, he caused nothing but trouble to the Fat Controller and his engines, even 7101 tried to make him shape up, but, 199 eventually got what was coming to him, and after causing disruption to the railway, he was sent home in disgrace.

Diesel 199 is based on the British Railway Class 45, also known as the 'Sulzer Type 4' diesel locomotives, they were built by British Rail at their Derby and Crewe Works between 1960 and 1962. They were the successors to the Class 44 locomotives. When initially put into service the locomotives were fitted with multi-unit working and steam heating boilers for passenger service. In the early 1970s fifty were fitted with electric train supply in place of their steam heating boilers, and assigned to work services on the Midland Main Line from London St Pancras to Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield.

All were withdrawn from service by 1989.

The Diesel/Class 40 - OO Gauge

2009-01-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

The Diesel is depicted in the television episode 'Bowled Out', he is a two tone green Class 40 1Co-Co1 Diesel locomotive and numbered D261. These locomotives were designed and built by English Electric between 1958 and 1962, and eventually numbering 200, they were for a time the pride of the British Rail early diesel fleet. Despite their initial success, by the time the last examples were entering service they were already being replaced on some top-link duties by more powerful locomotives.

As they were slowly relegated from express passenger uses, the type found work on secondary passenger and freight services where they worked for many years, the final locomotives being retired from regular service in 1985.

The Class 40s operated in most areas of British Railways (except the Western and Southern Regions). After the early trials, the majority were based at depots in northern England, notably Manchester Longsight, Carlisle Kingmoor, Wigan Springs Branch, Thornaby and Gateshead.
The heyday of the class was in the early 1960s, when they hauled top-link expresses on the West Coast Main Line and in East Anglia.

However, the arrival of more powerful diesels such as Class 47 and Class 55, together with the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, meant that the fleet was gradually relegated to more mundane duties.

Devious Diesel _ OO Gauge

2009-01-04T22:45:00.000-08:00

Diesel is based on a British Railways Class 08 shunter, these engines were used mainly for goods shunting. Production started in 1953 and when it finished in 1962, the class had become the most numerous of all British classes, numbering 996 in total. There were also 26 of the near-identical but higher geared Class 09, and 171 similar locomotives fitted with different engines and transmissions (some of which became Class 10), which together brought the total number of outwardly-similar machines to 1193.
Since their introduction, rail freight has primarily moved to fixed-rate bulk freight traffic and intermodal freight operations which reduce or remove the need for shunting, therefore only a few class 08 locomotives remain in service today.

My model was made using a Wrenn Railways 08 shunter, it still runs as good as it should the only adjustments being the removal of the LMS lettering and livery number, with a plaster moulded face held on the front with blu-tac.

The Big City/Foreign Engine

2009-01-04T03:01:00.000-08:00

The Big City/Foreign Engine, was depicted in the book 'The Eight Famous Engines', by the Rev W Awdry in the story titled 'Gordon Goes Foreign'. The engine was green with red stripes and had smoke deflectors which were used to keep the steam from the locomotives funnel from deteriorating the driver and fireman's view as they leaned out of the cab windows.

The engine was quite snobby, and had an argument with Gordon and Duck over the name of one of London's famous stations, in which Gordon had been talking about when he used to be young and green from his days on the London & North Eastern Railway. The model i have used to make him is a Hornby LMS 'Patriot' 4-6-0 locomotive with a face from the Wooden Railway model, i am unsure as to what number the engine was and wether it carried a BR early or late style crest to the tender.

The dark green paint was made using a mixture of Plasti-kote Garden Green and Humbrol Satin Black, which i mixed together to get the colour i wanted. I wasn't able to use the HMRS locomotive lining this time, so i used some Humbrol gloss red to paint the lines on the boiler bands, tender and the cabsides.

Overall, it is a nice model, and it has been test run on some new track, it's very smooth and looks the part.

Breif History of the 'Patriot' Class

These engines were LMS accountancy rebuilds of selected engines of the LNWR Claughton classs, which were inherited by the LMS at the Grouping of 1923. The Patriots were introduced between 1930 and 1934. The first two were built at Derby using the frames from the Claughtons. Another ten were built at Derby but new frames with a different wheelbase were used. The ones that followed were built at Crewe and they too received new frames. At the very first they were called rebuilt Claughtons but in 1934 when the first engine in the new number series was introduced, 5500 "Patriot", most people started calling the engines, the Patriots.

After a short while the LMS called them Patriots as well.The LMS power classification was 5XP, a midway point between a class 5 and a class 6 when used on express passenger but just class 5 when used on freight. The rebuilt engines were then classified as 6PWhen built all of the class were coupled to Fowler LMS tenders derived from an earlier design of Midland Railway tender. These had a water capacity of 3,500 gallons and had a wheelbase of 6'-6" + 6'-6". At first glance these tenders looked like the ones that the LMS used on the 4-4-0 4P Fowler compounds but they were quite different. The Compound engine's tenders had a longer wheelbase of 7'-0" + 7'-0". The number series changed during LMS days and this has caused a lot of confusion to the unwary. The first batch of numbers started at 5901 taking the numbers from the original Claughtons these engines replaced. The new engines were not as far as we can make out numbered to any order.

The numbers were mixed up in a very haphazard way and in 1934 the renumbering took place. The last ten engines were given the numbers 5542 to 5551 from new. The table below gives the new LMS number and the old LMS number.When the patriots were first built they were painted out in crimson lake and from 1946 most were painted out in LMS lined black. The lining was a mixture of straw and maroon lines. Some kept this style of livery in very early BR days with the name British Railways written in full on the tender. Some experimental liveries may have been applied to selected members of the patriot class for a short perriod, but this is beyond the scope of this information sheet. Later all of the class were painted out in BR's standard Brunswick green with orange and black lining.

Photos © Daniel Snell

Bachmann James - Updated!

2009-01-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

James was the first model i bought when i started the Bachmann Thomas collection, and it still now runs like a charm to this day. I like Bachmann's models for their detail and accuracy to the television series models, each model is unique in design and also, unlike Hornby's models, feature a moving eyes mechanism that moves from side to side when it runs forward and also in reverse.

The Bachmann James is a nice model, accurate to the tv series counterpart, the only exception being that the wheel colour is wrong and the smokebox has red sides instead of black.

Looking at the above image, i decided to make some slight changes to the model and paint it as accurately to the tv model as possible. So with some satin black paint, i painted over the grey wheels and tender axle-boxes, and used the same method with the red parts on the smokebox.

It took a while, but, a nice job has been made getting James to look like he should in the tv series pictures.

New additions to Adventures On Sodor

2009-01-01T04:05:00.000-08:00

Adventures On Sodor is a model railway based media that was created in December 2007, and since then, it has become a very enjoyable series to watch online through the eyes of fans both young and old, the series currently holds twelve episodes and features some of the most bizzare adventures featuring Thomas and his many friends.

Recently, there has been two new additions to the cast list for the upcoming episodes, they have just been released by Bachmann in time for Christmas, and the models are selling fast mainly because of their popularity among fans.

Edward the Blue Engine and Mavis the Quarry Diesel are the latest releases in Bachmann's ever-growing Thomas The Tank Engine range, Salty has been announced for release later this year and once he is released, he too will also be added to the cast list for new episodes to come.

Photos are © Daniel Snell

Whiff the Garbage Engine - OO Gauge

2008-12-29T08:57:00.000-08:00

The long awaited project is finally complete, it has taken a couple of months to build the loco completely out of plastucard, using exisiting components and accessories from various OO kits and s/hand rtr locomotives. Whiff is the third model that has been built out of plasticard, the first model being Harvey the Crane Engine, who was then followed shortly by Billy the Tank Engine, who was built a couple months before i started the Whiff project.

I am really chuffed with how the model has come together, it has been a very enjoyable project to do, and i am pretty sure that this is the only model to exist in scale OO (4mm), Whiff's design is based on that of the LNER's Class X1 2-2-4 Tank Engine, No.66 was designed by Wilson Worsdell and built by Kitson in 1851 for the Great Exhibiton.

The model bascially uses parts from a Bachmann J72 0-6-0T, a Hornby M7 0-4-4T and some smaller parts from the old Hornby Thomas and Percy mouldings, it took time to get all the parts to make this model possible, and although there are still some parts to be done in minor places, the model is basically complete and ready to run.

Historic Information on the LNER No.66 'Aerolite' 2-2-4T

In 1854 this entered the ownership of the North Eastern Railway (NER) who used it to haul the Mechanical Engineer's saloon coach. This was completely destroyed in a collision in 1868, and a replacement was built in 1869. This new locomotive would eventually become the X1 No. 66 Aerolite, built as a 2-2-2 Well-Tank, but with extra side tanks and the number 66 added to the coal bunker.

In 1892, the locomotive was given a major rebuild which probably only kept the original wheel centres and a boiler from 1886. The wheel arrangement was changed to a 4-2-2T. The side tanks and bunker were enlarged, and the well tank was removed. In 1902, another rebuild switched the wheel arrangement from that of a 4-2-2T to that of a 2-2-4T. This resulted in the locomotive which remains to this day.

No. 66 Aerolite is preserved as a part of the National Collection in York at the National Railway Museum.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T02:57:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to one and all.

Today has been very enjoyable, lots to do, great fun and games with the family aswel as some great new DVD's to enjoy, this Christmas, even though we are facing a global reccession, has been alot better than expected, yesterdays christmas drink with some of the boys down town was one i will never forget, as it was the happiest afternoon i have had in a very long while.

I've enjoyed the presents i got, my new Bachmann BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0 in weathered lined green livery runs like a treat, these locomotives aswel as the standard fives look remarkable, and some also ran on the southern and western regions of the UK. Bachmann's attention to all the major and minor details of the models they produce never fails to amaze me, and i look forward to the many new models that they are set to produce next year, including the long awaited Peppercorn Class A2 pacifics.

Coming up in 2009, i have planned alot of new models for the 'Adventures On Sodor', series, and it is set to continue in early March/April from Episode Thirteen onwards, and for those who are wondering, Edward and Mavis are et to be featured, but when is uncertain at this time. Though i can say that some new characters are set to appear, those being Billy, Whiff, Hank, Stanley and a few other new engines that are currently in the works.

Arthur the LMS Tank Engine - OO Gauge

2008-12-18T22:36:00.000-08:00

Arthur is based on a BR/LMS Standard Class 3MT Class 2-6-2 Tank Engine that was designed by Robert Riddles and built at Swindown Works in 1952. These particular engines ran on many western and southern branchlines throughout their working lives and some forty-five locomotives were entered into service from Swindon. Hornby Railways produced a model of the 82000 Class 3 Tank Engines, which has sadly, been discontinued in the range since the early 90s, but, there are hopes that a new re-tooled model will be proudced sometime in the near future.

Historical Information about the Swindon Built Tanks

The genesis of the Swindon-built Riddles Class 3 engines (82000 prairie tanks and 77000 moguls) is somewhat different from that of many of the other BR Standard designs, which were essentially developments of LMS types. As no existing LMS boiler was available which would suit a Class 3 loco, it was decided to use a slightly adapted version of the Swindon No.2 boiler (the barrel was shortened by 5 13/16 inches) as fitted to the GWR Large Prairie and 56XX 0-6-2 tanks.
The result was a neat, well-proportioned tank loco and an (arguably) elegant mogul. It is true to say that both types displayed a certain originality of design, and they may be regarded as Swindon's final fling with steam.
The 82000 class started to appear in 1952 and worked on branch line and secondary main line duties, widely distributed throughout England and Wales. The locomotives were destined to have a short life - not in any way due to their own shortcomings but simply because they had come along too late in the day - and unfortunately were prematurely taken out of service and all scrapped in the final years of British steam.

There remains in certain quarters the opinion that the Riddles Class 3 tanks were not very good engines, though this is not borne out at all by many of the men who worked on them. They were generally welcomed wherever they were sent - allegations of poor steaming were ascribable to poor shed maintenance - and what is particularly telling is that the hard-bitten GWR crews of Machynlleth after initial hostility came to accept them as worthy replacements for the 45XX and 55XX Small Prairies they had driven and fired for so many years and achieved some fine performances with them over the Cambrian, almost until the end of steam in that area.

These Locomotives were built for light passenger work and were derived from the GWR 6100 Class with almost identical boilers.They were later developed into the 7700 Class. Forty-Five engines were built at Swindon. They were mainly based on the Western and Southern Regions.

Images are copyright © Daniel Snell

Neville the New Engine - OO Gauge

2008-12-18T09:02:00.000-08:00

Neville the New Engine, is based on what can be called the last working mainline 0-6-0 steam locomotives designed by O.S.V. Bulleid for the Southern Railway Company in 1942. My model of Neville was made using a Hornby Q1 0-6-0 that already exists in the range, with some slight modifications, the removal of the southern 'C' number and the lettering from the tender, and the addition of the running number '33010', and a plaster moulded face which was formed using a basic latex mould from a trackmaster Neville model.

Historical Information on Bulleid's Q1 Locomotives

The Q1 was fitted with Bulleid Firth Brown driving wheels of 5' 1" diameter, the design first seen on the the Merchant Navy class. The boiler was the largest that would fit, using the boiler plates from a Lord Nelson class. The stepped light-weight external cladding was minimalist 'streamline' styling again, and not having running boards reduced the weight further. The 1942 design that emerged was the most powerful 0-6-0 steam locomotive that has ever run on Britain's railways. Powerful and light, the forty Q1s formed the backbone of the Southern's heavy freight capability.
Although built under the wartime 'Austerity' regime, which stressed functionality first, the styling can also be attributed to Bulleid's modern streamlined boxy look.

But this loco was also designed to be driver/fireman friendly, including an enclosed cab which both protected the crew and reduced the chances of being spotted by enemy aircraft. The tender's sliding shutters also revealed water fillers accessible to the footplate, saving the fireman from always having to go the top of the tender.

All of the forty Q1s were built during 1942; half were built at Brighton (C1 - C16), and half at Ashford (C17 - C36), there being distinct differences between the two builds. After the war the shed allocation varied in the main between Guilford, Feltham, Eastleigh and Tonbridge, and later Three Bridges; just a few being placed at Nine Elms and Hither Green sheds.
Most worked for over 20 years, though their war-time weight saving caused some problems in later life, when thin steel plates became rather porous. I have been told that in latter days some crews were instructed to shut off the regulator when entering stations, so that they didn't blow ash out of the sides of the smokebox on to passengers !
Bulleid's Southern Railway Q1 was a great success, the ultimate development of the British 0-6-0 freight engine, and remains the last class of 0-6-0 main line steam locomotives built in Britain.

Images are copyright © Daniel Snell

Harvey the Crane Engine - OO Gauge

2008-12-17T22:43:00.000-08:00

This was the first scratchbuilt model i had ever done, again using plasticard and a few useful bits and bobs from some donor locos.

This little locomotive was built by Dubs & Company at Glasgow Locomotive Works as their number 4101 in 1901 and was delivered was made to Shelton Iron & Steel Works Limited, Stoke-on-Trent. It was purchased for preservation in April 1970 and was transported to Cranmore in September 1973. Harvey is numbered 27 in the television stories and has proved to be one of the more useful characters as he can work anywhere on the Island of Sodor. Like Whiff, Harvey's main body was formed and made using plasticard and a printed off computer template, the same method to build Harvey can be found by reading through Whiff's construction log, gluing the bodyparts together and letting them set.

The Crane arm is the hardest part of the model to form, and it took some doing to get it to look right, it's not so much the modelling of it, it's trying to glue it and make sure that is does not start to form small gaps that is the hard part, if you choose to model Harvey in this way, i would advise holding the parts together with glue for at least 5 - 10 minutes to allow it to properly bond, once that is done and you are happy that everything looks right, then comes the painting part.

A suitable chassis to use would be the Hornby 0-4-0 Caledonian Tank or a Branchlines Chassis Conversion kit for the Hornby 0-4-0 Caledonian Tank. Either way the body should nicely fit with a few slight modifications to the chassis, i would reccomend gluing the body onto the chassis if you do not want to just leave it sitting losely incase you need to clean or re-motor the model.

Harvey to me, is one of my more successful models, although the crane arm only moves by hand, it can be turned in either direction, some parts like the smokebox and safety valve were taken from a Wooden Railway Harvey model and the boiler of the Caledonian 0-4-0 Tank.

Images copyright © Daniel Snell

Bluenose - OO Gauge

2008-12-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

Bluenose, was originally thought up after watching a few episodes of TUGS, the show featured a tugboat who had a strict attitude towards other vessels and belonged to a naval base somewhere near Bigg City Port. The idea was to base him on a steam engine instead of a harbour vessel, originally, he was to be based on a War Department 2-8-0 that had been designed and built by Robert Riddles, but i could not bring myself to buy a brand new model and start painting over it, so instead, i turned to a second hand model of a LMS 8F 2-8-0 instead, although it was not really what i had wanted for Bluenose to look like, it has actually turned out really well.

The 8F has a good hauling capacity, and it is tender driven (although i may look into getting a loco driven model in the future). The colour is World War One Blue, it looks nice and although none of the real life 8F locomotives carried this livery during their working lives, it seemed and suitable colour for him, i didn't really want to be painting him the same colour as Thomas or Edward, i had thought more of a dark grey at first, but, i stuck with WWI blue.

Bluenose face, is basically the Bachmann James version moulded in plaster, only with the nose modified and the eye-holes widened, it looks great and suits the model perfectly, i used this method with most of my models, you will see more faces also on Arthur, Murdoch, Patrick and many other models i have instore.

Whiff - OO Gauge, Nearing Completion!

2008-12-16T07:29:00.000-08:00

This project has been going on since October of this year, and it is nearing completion.

I have read quite abit about the London & North Eastern Railway's Class 'X1' Tank Engine, known as No.66 'Aerolite', with thanks to the info on the LNER Encyclopedia website and some useful info found at the Exe Model Rail Society in Exeter.
It was quite tricky to make the body, since i have never built any models from scratch before, but this one has been a great challenge, it is abit of a shame that there is not yet any models of this particular class in the 4mm scale kit range, and it has been a rather enjoyable project, so i am very happy with the results and look forward to having it in good running order.

The Models Construction

The actual body aswell as the running plate, buffer beams and coal bunker are all made from plasticard, these were drawn onto the card using a scale template which was printed off on the computer, the templates were then placed carefully onto the card and using a permanent marker, i drew around the template, making sure that care was taken as it is a real pain to get permanent marker marks off if the lines become smudged. Once the lines were done, i then carefully cut around the lines using a craft knife, and also cut out the holes for the cab, front and rear, and also cut out the shape of the cab door/entrance.

Once i had cut out all of the plasticard bodyparts i then began to glue them together with some plasticard super-bond, making sure that each part of thr body was alligned and looked accurate, this took some doing, but eventually, all the parts gradually came together, so then, after letting the glue set, came the next part of the project, building the boiler.
The boiler was made using an old discarded pen tube from a permanent board marker, along with some useful bits and bobs from a Tri-ang M7 Tank Engine and a Bachmann J72 Tank Engine, from the J72 model, i used the smokebox and dome to make the accurate looking boiler as seen on the real life 'Aerolite' locomotive, originally, i was to use a Hornby 14xx smokebox, but it proved to be too overscale and when the wooden railway Whiff face was placed onto it, it looked truly out of line, and so, the 14xx tank smokebox was scrapped.
However, the J72 smokebox proves to be alot more realistic, the wooden Whiff's face, when placed over the front of the smokebox door mould, fit's perfectly, so it was decided that the J72 was the perfect donor for this project.

The drive wheel diameter of the X1 Tank Engine is 5ft 7.75in, i tried to find a suitable set for this project, and eventually, found that the M7 0-4-4T drive wheels were perfect, so after dismantaling the M7 chassis, the wheels and axle were then added to a chassis i had borrowed from a Titfield Thunderbolt kit, which was just lying around and not being used, this chassis is perfect now that it has the wheels i required to make it, the leading axle was borrowed from an old tender kit and the trailing bogie has wheels that were used on the Hornby James and 9F goods locos in the early 80s, these matched a magazine image i had of Whiff perfectly, so now, all of the chassis is just waiting to be motorised.

Painting the model, i used Railmatches 'Br Steam Locomotive Dark Green', (with thanks to SimierskiUK for showing me the railmtach precision paint range) and some HMRS LNER locomotive lining transferes, these have always come in handy when lining a model, i have often painted the lines on, but they more often than enough look terrible, so i stick with HMRS all the way. The Body was given four coats of Dark Green, which were allowed to set for a whole week, before lining was then applied, the tricky part with lining is that you cannot always change it once it has been placed on, so my tip is that if it looks off, paint over it and try again, it works, and is hardly noticeable...
Lining the tank body, cab and bunker was the hardest part of all, in the picture i have, it shows Whiff with a single white line and a thick black line running along the top edges of his body, these were done using the HMRS loco lining, but painting over one of the white lines with a satin black by Humbrol, this method took almost five tries to get right, at the time, i did not have alot of patience with the model, and itmesed up big time, so, i just had to calm down and do it carefully, making sure that my hand was kept steady when painting the black band to match the picture.

The running plate was painted with a spray primer and left to settle for two hours, when it was touch dry, i then painted the buffer beams a scralet red and the wheel valances were painted a dark reddish colour, i'm not too fussed about the colour of the valance covers, as they will be weathered once the model has ben motorised, same with the body and running plate.

So, there you have it, Whiff has come a long way and i am proud that my modelling has also come a long way too.

Season's Greetings to all

2008-12-12T11:28:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Thomas Modeller Blog.

This is the first time i have ever made a blog online, so i'm still trying to work out how to use and edit each of the new features here, this is where all new images and posts about the latest projects will be made, aswell as photos of my holiday's to Wales, East Anglia and much more.
So i wish you all a very merry christmas, and hope you all have a happy new year.