Fairlight Works

Scratchbuild progress

The Hunslet-style loco is coming along slowly, as I grab a few minutes here and there to cut up small pieces of plasticard.

The cab sitting on the frames is actually the third attempt. The first had tanks attached as well and I just couldn’t get it all cut and glued squared, so accepted the cab and tanks would have to be seperate parts. Attempt 2 is on the left and matches the dimensions of the drawing. This put it at the same height as the Chivers Baldwin, which is possibly a little too tall (although I’m am modelling a common carrier with a generous loading gauge). I also learned the hard way that cutting cab sides out of an assembled box can only lead to disaster.

Which led to Attempt 3, reduced in height by 2mm. This was constructed far more sensibly, with cab sides cut out and handrail holes drilled before assembly, however I’m not sure if it will quite capture the character in the original design. I will assess this as I work on the tanks, and if I decide to increase the cab height again at least one of the prototype cabs can be reused as a scrapped part behind the engine shed!

This is probably the chief advantage of working with plasticard – it’s quick and cheap enough to be able to discard unsatisfactory pieces without heartache!

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