Sunday, October 22, 2017

Bad Boy Bobbie

I've have a rule with modelling which has been working well up until now. That rule is that I complete a project before I start something new, well that's the idea and it mostly works. And as we all know, rules are made to be broken. I've mostly finished the louvre vans which need to get a final coat of colour (grey is a colour?), fix the roofs to the bodies, decals and some weathering.

Semi Louvre MLV

King Post BLV

Queen Post BLV

36ft MLV

LV

Milk LV

And because I couldn't wait, I decided to start build in an Ezi-Kits M40 Tank engine. Bad boy Bobbie!!. I've made some modifications including replacing the North Yard gearbox with a Highlevel Slimliner 54:1 gearbox which sits lower in the frames allowing me to fit a cab to the engine. Also, thanks to Craig W, I was alerted to the fact that the front footplate appeared too long. So a quick perusal of the GA plan (Thanks Greg E) showed that Craig was right, the footplate was 6" too long so this was reduced in length. Also added was the frames behind the front bogie as a well as a brass Z19 brass chimney, thanks Tom P!!. There are still some final details to add and then DCC and sound. The speaker will be in the bunker under the coal space with a keep alive hopefully fitting there as well. The Tsunami will fit in the smoke box (just). That's it for now and I won't start anything else, promise!! And thanks to all the guys for their help and advice, its what really makes this hobby even more enjoyable. Cheers.

The beginning

High Level Gearbox

Cab Interior

Front Bogie with frame insert

Getting there

With replacement brass Z19 Chimney. Thanks Tom P!!