Diesel 10 - Work In Progress!

Diesel 10 has now began work, the first few steps of modifying his body have started to take shape, first the body had to be cut in half, to be able to remove the excess chunk of body that wasn't needed, since Diesel 10's body is shorter than the real life 'Warship' he is based on.

DIESEL 10

WORK IN PROGRESS PHOTOS

(Batch No. 1)

I will post some more photos later as the project continues!

Blue Mountain Mystery Movie - UK Trailer

Fans of the Thomas & Friends series will be delighted to know that there is now an official trailer for the UK forthcoming DVD release of the all new 'Blue Mountain Mystery' the movie.

This movie focuses on the return of the Narrow-Gauge Railway engines, along with a new character called Luke, who Thomas has never seen before, but when Thomas tries to find out who he is, the new engine runs away from Thomas, but the other Narrow-Gauge engines know something about Luke, that must never be told to any other engine on Sodor.

But what could it be?

(Thomas & Luke - Blue Mountain Mystery)

The DVD is set for release in September 2012.

Diesel 10 Project - Work Begins!

The Diesel 10 project has made it's start, this devious character is a missing link in the OO Thomas world, and though there is no current RTR model of him in the Hornby or Bachmann Thomas ranges, i feel that modelling him accurately will be a rather interesting project.

Diesel 10, is based on a British Railways 'Bo-Bo' Class 42 'Warship', with the only difference being that he has a claw mechanism mounted on his roof, enabling him to grab hold of and or crunch various objects around the Island of Sodor.

He is known for being 10/10, for his devious deeds and brutal strength, nicknamed 'The Blast from the Past' by the Sodor engines. He was quite a comical character in the Magic Railroad movie, but as the series progressed, became less threatening. Though his return in the CGI series special 'Day of the Diesels' brought back a bit of his comical humor.

(Diesel 10 from Calling All Engines)

For this project, i will be using the following items:

- LIMA Class 42 'Warship' Bo-Bo.

- Trackmaster Diesel 10's (With CGI and Magic Railroad faces).

- Humbrol colors 93 & 94.

Like before with the Harvey the Crane Engine project, work in progress photos will be posted during the projects course, with the final finished product images being displayed in the Completed Projects page of this blog, along with some test videos, which will be posted via our YouTube accounts!

The next project - Diesel 10

It's been decided, that the next character to be modeled in the OO department, will be the haughty villain of villains, Diesel 10, from the Thomas & the Magic Railroad, Calling All Engines & Day of the Diesels films.
He's been the missing link in the Hornby range, but, judging what the cost of new tooling and body would come to, it would probably be one of the most expensive characters to be made, and since there isn't a warship class in the range at current, the model i will be using to make this Diesel, is from the Obsolete 'LIMA' range.

I'm still playing on ideas with the faces, whether to make it interchangeable so that i can have one CGI and Magic Railroad face at different times when filming different episodes, which would probably benefit the model, since the Magic Railroad face Diesel 10 is pretty hard to come by nowadays, and with the recent release of the CGI face Diesel 10 in the Trackmaster range, all signs are pointing towards getting both.

I will keep you informed of the models progress via the Facebook and YouTube pages, hopefully the project will start in the next week or so, depending how fast the model comes in the post. :)

Jolly the American Engine - Completed

My secret model project, that I've been working on for the past month alongside Harvey, is now finished, though last night there was a bit of drama over on the Bachmann boards, over the 'toy like' appearance of the model that i had rendered into a fantasy Thomas the Tank Engine character. In which one user sadly tried to make himself look big by telling me that it wasn't a model at all.

The way it was described was on the bachmann boards, by the user, who deleted himself shortly afterwards knowing he was loosing a battle he couldn't win, was described by him as:

'It's just a toy with a models tender and coupling. Hardly a modification at that'.

But, ones opinion of said model, was soon disregarded by other followers, who knew exactly what it was and what had been done to the so called 'toy' that i had modified, to have valve gear and a tender, where there wasn't any, and so, the thread was also deleted, by the selfish poster, and thus a new thread was created in it's place, which is a shame really, but meh, life goes on eh? :)


Anyways, all that aside, please feel free to check out the Completed Projects gallery, for new photos and videos of Jolly the American Engine. :)

Harvey the Crane Engine - Photos & Videos now published!

New photos and videos of Harvey have now been added to the Completed Projects showcase page.

We'd like to thank everyone for their support and positive feedback on the project from the start to finish, it's been a very enjoyable project, and to those who are looking at building their own versions of this character, we wish you the best of luck! :)

Check back soon for new announcements, another new project will be starting in the next week or two, you can find out who it is via our Facebook page and also via our YouTube page.

Harvey the Crane Engine - Complete!

The project is now at and end, with the model fully finished and detailed.

I am very pleased with the results, the color looks lovely and the accuracy makes me proud to have modeled this loveable character. My special thanks goes out to Skarloeyfan, who provided me with the details on how to make the crane arm with a working manual winch.

Though it is NOT a motorized winch or crane arm, it is still a splendid work overall, and along with Skarloeyfan's model, it's just one of the two most accurate 4mm models to be made from scratch by fans dedicated to modelling Thomas the Tank Engine characters.

Sadly, the model(s) are NOT for sale, so any posts left will be disregarded, we always have made our models for non-profit and non-commercial purposes, all models are modeled for the enjoyment and fun of the hobby.


Visitors will find photos of the completed model, in the Completed Projects page.

Find us on Facebook!

We now have a page created on Facebook alongside the Group.

Simply click on the Facebook like box under the News and Updates box to go to our new page, where you can find photos, news and links to completed projects as well as forthcoming releases from manufacturers, if you aren't already on Facebook, don't worry, you can still see all the latest news and uploads via this blog!

Harvey the Crane Engine - Painting in Progress!

Harvey is now going through the painting stage, the chosen livery for him is 'Mechrite Red' by CITADEL Foundation.

The body will be given two coats (once the first coat is fully dry) and left to dry completely before working on the lining and other details, the name and numbers will be digitally printed.

Once the model is fully finished, you will find the completed photos on the 'Completed Projects Showcase' page along with a video of the model running on the Elsbridge layout.

Harvey the Crane Engine - Video Test!

With the project almost finished, a small video has been made showing how he looks on film, the model only now requires a lick of paint to make him 100% complete and ready for work.






That's all for now, check back soon for more. :)

Harvey the Crane Engine - Work in Progress (Part III)

I am pleased to say that work on Harvey is now completed, although he still needs primer and paint, the model itself from start to finish, is literally up and running!

All he really needs now is a good cleaning up, especially the chassis, a good lubricating on the wheels and motion, and he should hopefully be a smooth runner, i tested the model on the layout earlier today, and he is a bit jumpy, but jolts a little, and i think most of it comes down to the motor being a bit grubby, but once a good clean has been had, i am sure he will work like a dream. :)

HARVEY THE CRANE ENGINE

WORK IN PROGRESS PHOTOS

(Batch No. 3)

That's all the photos for now my friends and followers, the next photos you see, will be the finished model on the completed models page. :)

Harvey project continues!

Yesterday, the final pieces i required arrived in the post from Hong Kong, so i can happily say that Harvey can now continue work through the weekend, and will hopefully be ready for painting by late Saturday afternoon or early Sunday. New work in progress photos will be taken and displayed once the model is finished.

The model certainly has come a long way since it started a couple weeks ago, and the accuracy for such a scaled down model, even amazes me!

The last work to be done on the project, is the crane arm, and mounting it in place on the crane mounting block, once that is done, the currently loose body shell can then be glued firmly in place. And a video of the model can then be tested on the layout.

The chosen color for Harvey is somewhere between Crimson and Mechrite Red, once the model has been properly tested, it will be primed, then given the desired livery, and finished with a satin varnish.

Blog Updates!

New pages are now being added to the blog.

We hope to have the blog fully updated into the weekend, and thank visitors for checking in to see what's new, our aim is to use the pages to display all completed model works, new videos and add some reviews of models made by Hornby and Bachmann.
A background image for the blog is still being decided at present to make it a bit more colorful, but we will see what we can do to make it stand out a bit more from the rest.

Our aim is to update friends and members of the Bachmann and YouTube communities, we're not in competition with other leading model blogs, forums e.t.c.

Bachmann Duck & Ice Cream Van Update!

(Coming Soon to a hobby store near you, late 2012)

Now officially listed on the Bachmann Trains website along with the HO 'Ice Cream Van'. :)


Bachmann HO 'Duck' W/Moving eyes
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=4009

Bachmann HO 'Ice Cream Van'
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=3983

Possible 'Billy' Mk III Project?

I've been thinking about it over the last couple months, and looking back over the models of the original Billy and Billy Mk II i made back in 2010, they are nice models, one modelled off a Hornby 'J52' 0-6-0 and the other a scratch-build on a Bachmann 'J72' 0-6-0 tank chassis.
Both models came out nicely, but overall, they are too large alongside the Bachmann Thomas characters, so, i have thought about building a Mk III model, the right size and much better.

The donor chassis will still come from the Bachmann 'J72' but i might re-wheel it with Bachmann Percy drive wheels, since they are near enough the same as Billy's.

(Billy as seen in Thomas & Friends Series 11)

Billy's design is based on the Manning Wardle 'L' Class 0-6-0.

If his model is rebuilt, it will be done once again with styrene sheets and bits from kitbashed models. I have not yet decided on a date for his building, but it will be done sometime this year, so I'll be sure to keep you all posted!

Return to Elsbridge!

It's been a year since the completion of the Elsbridge Junction layout.

The layout will possibly be going through some new changes over the coming weekend, these will include the addition of a double engine shed, i am looking at adding Tidmouth Sheds to the layout sometime on 2012, but when is still undecided.
If the sheds are added, it might be placed on a board above the main layout, since there is no space on the main board for a 6 road roundhouse.

The kit to make my version of Tidmouth Sheds, was built using a Vollmer kit, and it is very hard to find nowadays.. The same kit that my friend Knuckles (a.k.a Sparkshot) used to make his Vicarstown sheds.

Photos of the updated layout will be posted via the world of thomas modelling, Facebook group, before posting them to the blog.

It's Official - Duck is now Confirmed!

We've just heard the latest news on the Bachmann forums that Duck is now officially confirmed to be added into the HO scale range, with thanks to thomasj219 who gave us the word on the forum.

Other items to follow are a new HO Ice Cream van.

There is news that more HO products will be added, but we have not yet been told who, hopefully this information will be declared once it is announced,

(With thanks to thomasj219 for the heads up on the bachmann boards)

So there you have it folks, Duck is now confirmed for release in 2012.

Harvey the Crane Engine - Work in Progress (Part II)

With the main body now built, tanks finished and chassis ready, the next stage was to build the crane mounting block on top of the boiler. This was made using more styrene sheet cut to the desired lengths, then glued together like the rest of the body, with some E.M.A plastikard bond.

This stuff is ideal for these projects, it melts the plastic so that a strong bond is given between the joints, and holds it firmly in place. Once the block was created, the only thing left to make then was the crane arm, which currently is unfinished, but will be once the last few parts arrive from Hong Kong.
For the crane arm, I've made it similar to my friend Skarloeyfan's model, with the exception that I've added a small handle to the winch wheel, so it will make it easier to lift and lower objects. :)

HARVEY THE CRANE ENGINE

WORK IN PROGRESS PHOTOS

(Batch No. 2)

And here are the photos, with the unfinished crane arm.

So far, he is looking more like the real thing, and hopefully, it won't be too much longer, before he is ready to undergo the painting stages. The livery has not yet been decided, but i am currently looking at illustrations to see whether his red matches the illustration of Sixteens in the book 'Wilbert the Forest Engine', they both look similar, but suggestions are also welcome and would be helpful. :)


That's all for now folks, i will have more updates posted on his progress soon!

Happy Valentines Day!

It's that time of year again, we'd like to wish everyone who visits the blog a Happy Valentines Day.

And hope that your day has been a very special one indeed, I'm sure a lot of us have got special plans for this evening, but if not, it's not the end of the world, someone out there will come along. :)

New Large Scale Thomas Items from Bachmann for 2012

Thanks to Towerhobbies,  we have learned that 3 new products have been listed for Bachmann's G Scale range, last year saw the release of Emily's coaches, so it was no surprise that Emily would enter the current range of G scale Thomas products.

Other G scale products to follow, are two new pieces of rolling stock, S.C. Ruffey and a Brakevan. The news came after it was discovered by the online retailer, that an Ice Cream Tanker and a Thomas Christmas themed train set, were due for release only a day earlier.

At present, there is no further news regarding any HO items, but, as the Toy Fair is still going on in the US, hopefully some news will be heard soon through the Bachmann forums as to whether any new models are being added to the current HO Thomas range.

All eyes at the moment, are set on Duck being made, but, there are great hopes that Sodor's No.8 'Great Western' Engine, will enter service sometime in 2012, if not sooner!

Harvey the Crane Engine - Work In Progress!

Harvey's work has slowly began, the 'Pug' locomotive, has been stripped off it's cab, boiler and buffers, so all we have left is the running plate with the fitted chassis. The new running plate has been made up using two pieces of styrene sheet, which have been glued firmly in place onto the old running plate.
The boiler, has been taken from a wooden Harvey model and had a Hornby 0-4-0 loco funnel glued in place where there was a small non-existent funnel on the wooden Harvey.

The main body, has been built using styrene plastikard, a very useful material, and used for most scratch-building projects, these were cut and shaped into tanks for Harvey's main sides, and let me tell you, trying to shape styrene is not as easy as it looks, it took some effort and patience to get it looking right.

(Image sourced from Wikipedia)

Notice in the above image how the tanks are rounded at the ends, trying to do this the same way almost proved difficult, but, the wait soon paid off, and my tanks turned out just like them.
Once these were done, i was then able to cover and fill in any gaps in the model, before working on the next phase of the project, which is the crane mounting block.

HARVEY THE CRANE ENGINE 

WORK IN PROGRESS PHOTOS
(Batch No.1)

More photos will be posted as the project progresses!