On return from a week in Scarborough I cast around for something to do model wise, and my eyes fell upon the A1 Models O9 3D printed Bo-Bo locomotive I had completed the initial preparation work on
some time ago. Although clearly based on the former Ravenglass/Carnforth locomotive 'Royal Anchor' I wanted to put my own spin on the model. I had discussed this model with John Flower at the Mansfield 009 Society members day and now had a clearer idea of what I might like to do to it.
A reminder of how it looked...
The first job was to get a little drastic with the windows. This is not as drastic as I had initially envisaged as I had pondered creating a single windscreen with a slightly curved top edge, reminiscent of the former Dudley Zoo Bo-Bo machine prior to rebuilding at Cricket St Thomas. I think it would be do-able but I am never sure just what modifications a print will withstand so as it stands I have just opened out the cab front windows to loose the chunky surrounds. Each window is perhaps only 0.5mm bigger each way but it does change the look a little. The wobbly dividers in the door windows have gone and will be replaced when the glazing is installed. The body side windows have lost their frames completely with a resultant colour patch where sanding down has occurred. The circular opening (fuel filler?) has also been reduced in the same way.
The biggest change is the new bufferbeams. John admitted that he had totally forgotten to add these to the design. Brass etch waste 3.5mm deep was Araldited to the bottom of the cab fronts and once set I scored a line along the bodysides at a corresponding height to represent the rest of the underframe. This line was deepened and neatened using an Olfa-style cutter. Two vertical panel lines were also added to the bodysides, all corresponding with 'Royal Anchor' despite this not being a model of that machine. Milliput was used to fill the corners behind the new buffer beams, being brass these exposed corners are now very robust.
Using a template (actually an old A1 Models cab etch) a line was scored above the windscreens, which will eventually be the colour join between cab front and roof colours. Again this follows 'Royal Anchor', but helps break up the large area above the windscreens, which was in danger of looking like a slimline Metro-Cammell DMU! Above this line I have smoothed back the join between front and roof to a more rounded profile.
There are still a few details to add, such as door hinges and some roof detail, but at present I am concentrating on getting a chassis under there, which isn't going to be the Bachmann one the manufacturer envisaged...
Colin
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