Darius43

Photos restored in the RMWeb CMAC CAF3000 build thread Cheers Darius

Additional buffer beam hosiery fitted and light weathering applied to chassis to (almost) finish. Just waiting for the etched fan grille to arrive. Cheers Darius

I see that Swindon is now twinned with Easter Island and Cape Canaveral… Cheers Darius

Bogie steps made from plasticard. Cheers Darius

Decals applied. Still to make the bogie-mounted steps and add etched windscreen wipers. Cheers Darius

What an absolutely wonderful layout. I do have one question though:- After this, I added some roping around the base. I cannot for the life of me remember what this is called. I knew once. At any rate, the rope is for hanging paintings steeped in tea. It looks quite overscale, but I don't mind. Why would they steep paintings in tea and then hang them on the base of a water tower? Cheers Darius

Dunglazin. Cheers Darius

Cab handrails and hosiery fitted. Cheers Darius

Arrived yesterday Still waiting for “My Lovely Horse”. Cheers Darius

Primary painting completed. Cheers Darius

I’ve seen those built - no thank-you. Cheers Darius

I found this somewhat distressed MTK Class 50 body on eBay and thought it deserved a second chance. An offer was put in and accepted and here it is. It is definitely in need of some tlc. Its builder had soldered it together - unfortunately with a banana-shaped footprint. Some serious surgery was needed to straighten it out. This was done by making two cuts across the roof and the inside curve sidewall using a razor saw. Once cut the body was carefully straightened out and the sides reprofiled using judicious finger and thumb pressing. The soft white metal construction makes this quite easy. The inside surfaces will be cleaned up using a Dremel and plasticard backing pieces glued behind the cuts to strengthen them before filling and sanding. The plan is to mount the completed body on a re-wheeled Lima chassis. Cheers Darius

Sittin' in the mornin' sun… Cheers Darius

Further details added and light weathering to finish. Cheers Darius

Cab glazing fitted and decals applied. Cheers Darius

Cab undergibbons installed. Cheers Darius

Cab door handrails and bodyside grilles fitted. Cheers Darius

Of course they do. It’s a Modern Traction Kit (MTK). Cheers Darius

Cab front details fitted. Cheers Darius

Primary painting completed. Cheers Darius

Primer on. Roof fan installation fabricated from plasticard and A1 Models etched parts. Temporarily held in place with black tack. It will be painted and glued in place after the body has been painted. Cheers Darius

Cab front details fitted. Handrails and jumper cables will be added after painting. Test fit to Dapol chassis. Cheers Darius

Rooftop fan vents stitch drilled away to enable the fitting of the A1 Models etched grilles. Etched roofside grilles also fitted. The large bodyside grilles will be fitted after the body has been painted. Cheers Darius

I spotted this Class 56 body on eBay. It looks like an MTK product and has been quite well put together, if in need of some tlc. So, with that in mind, it was duly acquired along with a Mainline/Dapol chassis and an A1 Models detailing set. The MTK buffer beams are pretty good representations but the side valences are not. The beams were cut away and put to one side. Thus enabled the valance pares to be easily detached. The assembly was pretty good but the cab fronts lacked the distinctive inwards sloping profile. To correct this cut were sawn into the cab side walls and the front bent back to the desired profile. The cuts were backed with plasticard and filled, along with a few other visible joints. The “face” didn’t look quite right so I carved off the moulded on details and reprofiled the main windows. Cheers Darius

Finishing touches… …and light weathering to finish. Passing the test… Cheers Darius