Note the warning gong on the right hand frame, this was turned from brass and polished with Brasso. A coat of Testors Dullcoat blended it in without losing the polished brass finish.
Those rather delicate spectacle plates are RT Models etched Manning Wardle items.
A coat of red paint helps the handwheel and brake lever stand out in the cab.
Those buffer/couplers are my own design, inspired by the prototype, the making of them can be seen here.
But, am I pleased with it? Well, sort of. Its overscale, but I can live with that. The scratchbuilt chassis runs well, if a tad noisy, so I'm happy with it. The chimney, turned from brass, is rather fine, as is the warning gong. The couplings follow the prototype, which is good, as does the interior. Frame detailing looks pretty good, although I can spot the mistakes, and the paint is as good as I could do given the surface that I had to deal with. Which leads me onto the printed body. Which is frankly awful. Shapeways have made a terrible job of the print which, without covering every square millimetre in filler and sanding back, was never going to look good. Every other printed loco body that has come through my hands except one has now been sold on untouched (the odd one out uses etched panels over a printed shell and is as yet unbuilt). I've decided that this will quite probably be the last printed loco that I will build, not only because of the surface finish issues but also because buying a one piece body and just adding a chassis does not appeal to me even with extra detailing, I like to be more involved in the build. There's also the material itself, which is both fragile and grainy and quite unpleasant to work with. So, as far as locos are concerned its back to brass and whitemetal for me.
Paul.
Hi Paul This little Ruston Proctor looks great. I do love the brass gong - a really clever touch! The addition of the spectacle plates and the turned chimney really add to the look of the loco. Great addition to your loco fleet. All the best Steve
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephen.
DeleteI'm rather pleased with the addition of the spectacle plates, they do lift the model and add a little interest to the all-over green livery.
Amen to all your conclusions. It's good that you finished it though - we all learn more by ploughing on. The spectacles for example - really nice touch and one I'll be looking at in the future.
ReplyDeleteApart from the chassis its been an exercise in detailing really. I'm quite pleased with the spring detail for example even though it doesn't bear close scrutiny, little jobs like that build confidence.
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