The Green Machine

We last saw the A1 Models 'Albert' in a sneak-peek in between painting and varnishing. Following application of a coat of Halfords matt lacquer I've now added the finishing touches, working slowly through a post-it note of jobs. Firstly the windows were glazed using 10 thou clear styrene behind the openings, secured with Johnson's 'Kleer' (old-school formula), and the headlights filled using Araldite. Doing this before the cab and bonnet were glued together meant I only had to make up one mix to do both ends, whereas on 'The White Rose' I had to do each end in turn as the light has to sit facing upwards to set without sagging. 

The headlights squeezed the last from my Araldite so I bought an alternative epoxy product in the local motor spares shop to join the two assemblies together, which seems to have worked OK. On the cab front a turned brass A1 Models air horn was added - this one a version designed with cab front mounting in mind. Deft deployment of the epoxy and careful propping allowed this to be secured in place whilst the cab and bonnet were glued together. 

Despite the matt lacquer the underframe looked a little too shiny so the opportunity was taken to overspray a coat of Humbrol matt varnish to this part, followed by some light weathering in the form of dry brushing. This side-on view shows how the Kato chassis is convincigly hidden by the air tanks and the deep solebar.

Inside the cab I added a driver figure, one of the "rubbery" Prieser clones sprayed in grey primer, washed over in black-grey and then the skin and shirt picked out in appropriate colours. Subtle but effective enough when viewed through the cab windows. The 'L' section pieces provided with the kit have been used to locate the cab and bonnet in place, they are easily adjusted to get a secure grip and good location.

Underneath the chassis can be seen the mounts for the MicroTrains couplers, and the strips of lead window flashing added either side of the chassis to add some extra weight. There is scope to add more here or above the footplate if it proves necessary after testing.

With this model completed and in the display cabinet there are currently no O9 models on my workbench... There is a bit of reasoning behind this, I had a bit of a surprise when I went to put 'The White Rose' away after the recent modifications as I realised I hadn't actually allocated a storage box for it! A suitable box was located in the form of a Peco 009 example, but there is a shortage of space in the stock boxes so I need to have a careful think about what goes where in a limited space...

Colin