I must have been aged about 9 or 10 when I first "took the knife" to one of my trainset engines - an early Triang Jinty - because I didn't think it looked very realistic. I'm not sure how much my efforts improved it. Neither were my parents! Things have changed since those days and people tell me now that my models really capture the feel of the prototype. I like to think that's the case but I'd be the first to admit they're not perfect. Still, in the 30 or so years since I tackled my first whitemetal kit (in my late teens) I've detailed, modified or built more locos than I care to remember and I suppose it's only natural that the results are now much more acceptable than they were! Most of my early efforts have long since gone but one or two still remain for purely nostalgic reasons - definitely in need of a major refurbishment.
My intention is to try to recreate the railway scene as I remember it in the late 1950s and early 1960s - the steam/diesel transition period - warts and all. My attempts at loco building mirror this - it's the overall impression I want to convey rather than making an historically accurate model of a particular loco at one instant in its life. Whilst I admire those beautiful showcase models, accurate to the last detail (and the people who make them), I'm afraid it's not for me - I have neither the skill nor the time. I don't own a micrometer (and I'm not sure I'd be able to remember how to use one even if I did). I sometimes find it difficult to see rivets, let alone count them. It doesn't worry me unduly if I've missed out a split in one of the cab floorboards or if the regulator handle isn't at quite the right angle. What does concern me is that external pipe-runs should look convincing, that everything should be square and that the loco should perform reliably and efficiently.
What I try to reproduce is what I remember, or what I can see on a photograph, including the inevitable dirt of the 1950s/60s. My models are working locomotives and as such they are subjected to, and must withstand, all kinds of unintentional illtreatment. There seems little point including details which can't be seen or which will fall off if someone breathes too heavily on the model, so I don't bother. On the other hand, I do try to incorporate those extra few details to give a model "character" or to make two similar locos subtly different. I know this outlook will upset a lot of people but that's life. Fortunately we're all different!
Being a Yorkshireman by birth, I object to spending money if I can get away without, so much of the detailing work is fabricated from scraps of plastic or wire, small washers, office staples and so on. I don't see any point in paying out for whitemetal castings which probably take as long to clean up and make presentable as it does to make the item from scratch. Unfortunately, I have to swallow my pride when it comes to things like chimneys or safety valves - I'm afraid I just haven't got the patience.
I can offer a quality kit-building service at reasonable cost. Click here for details.
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Thanks.
Graham
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Last revised: January 24, 1999.
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