HO Scale Duck - halted till further notice!

It has been heard that Bachmann's Duck model in HO scale, will NOT be shipping out on the 31/03/13 as expected, it has been said by an administrator on the Bachmann Forums, that until a new date is realized, there will be a further delay until they have an exact shipping date.

So all those who have pre-ordered the model in the UK, will have to once again wait now, until more news is given on when the model will actually be officially released!

The Journey Begins.. Boco starts work!

When i first made Boco a few years ago using the Silver Fox Models kit of the Co-Bo, i found the kit to be rather fiddly since it was a one piece mold with small fittings, glazing e.t.c.  However, when the kit was eventually finished, it didn't quite work as well as i had hoped it would.
Though it looks nice, it really didn't have the sufficient weight required, as you had to modify the chassis to suit the body, which proved to be rather difficult. This being said, the kit also proved to be a bit poor as the buffers kept breaking off.

So, the model itself has since been sat in a box among my other diesel models. But then it hit me, to redo the model using a more sturdy model of the Co-Bo, and what better choice than the die-cast Hornby Dublo 2-rail version of this marvelous model.

The model as shown above, is highly detailed for a dated version of this die-cast engine, and it still asks many questions as to why Hornby have not made any updated versions for their current range, as it would make one heck of an addition for all diesel fans everywhere. However, the model is currently available through Heljan, as commissioned by Hattons Model Railways, though the retail price for a model of this standard, will set you back £125 as it is quite a highly detailed version of the Silver Fox model, but better!




ONTO THE PROJECT IN PROGRESS:

The model has had the front end filed down to make room for the face to fit correctly, it is advised to do the same if you are planning to make Boco, and ensure that all the parts needed to be filed down, are done so with care and attention, a slight mistake may result in the model looking rather off.

Now that the front has been filed, it is best to remove the windows from the under side of the model, this also requires some care as the window glazing is fragile and will snap if not carefully seen to, to remove them, there is a metal lug holding them in place of the window frames, you will need to use a snipe nose pliers to gently cut away at the lug to remove the glazing without damaging it.

Once the glazing has been removed, we can move onto step 2, priming the model with Tamiya Spray Primer.

Boco MK II in the works

The Sodor OO Works is currently working on a revamped model of classic series character 'Boco' using a Hornby Dublo Co-Bo model that was bought recently for a nice and affordable sum. The paint, transfers and Trackmaster model have all bee bought, so it's now just a case of getting the body stripped down and ready for work to begin.

Although a model of Boco had already been made using a Silver Fox models bodykit, i feel that it lacks the weight needed to give good performance, and though the chassis had recently been updated, it still lacks the pulling power, however, the die-cast body of the Hornby Dublo version, gives better performance and better pulling power.

The model would normally be found for the sum of £145 to £200 at collectors fairs and swap meets, but i was fortunate to get my hands on a nice runner from Modelfair for £68 that i am more than happy with, and will enjoy rendering it from a beat up model into something worthy of running on the Elsbridge set. :)

Neil in OO - Coming Soon!

I've been asking friends and visitors what they would like to see made next from the Sodor OO Works, and in the Railway Series category, i noticed someone said about giving Neil a try.

This little box tank, though not much is known about him, is a perfect little character who i think would make a great addition to the Sodor fleet, thought he worked for the Sodor & Mainland Railway (S&M), he was one of three locomotives to only be seen in the book 'Very Old Engines'. Nothing is really known about the other two either, however, one could say they were brothers.

Though the model might not look like much in the diagram, it would be an ideal little engine for shunting duties, so it is highly likely that Neil, will soon be under way.

A suitable donor chassis, would be either a Hornby 0-4-0 'Percy' or a 'Pug'.

Stick in the Mud - now here!

The Railway Inspector Studios is proud to present, a classic story from The Railway Series by The Rev. W. Awdry. Adapted and Told by Owen Hayward.

Owen writes:

"I am proud (if you can call it that) to finally release a project I have been working furiously on for about 2 months or so now.
Based on the Thomas The Tank Engine books by the late Reverend Wilbert Awdry, 'Stick In The Mud' tells the story of the two oldest engines on the Island of Sodors' narrow gauge railway- Skarloey and Rheneas, and what happened when they first arrived to the crumbling old lines.

Taken from the book 'Very Old Engines', this story had to be heavily adapted to allow for production constraints, as well as keeping the writing to, what I hope feels like, a classic TV episode appearance and atmosphere. For example, I found that the original episodes were all 5 minutes 35 seconds in length, so had to ensure that this story matched that timing. The original book also saw Skarloey comes to the line without a cab. As removing this would have damaged my only model I had to cut this aspect of the story out to retain continuity.
I have to admit, it was an interesting project to undertake. I'm looking at possibly animating the other stories from the book as well, of which there are three more. But until then, I hope you enjoy my work shown here".

HO Scale Iron 'Arry and Bert for 2013 from Bachmann!

Bachmann has announced that Iron 'Arry and Iron Bert are this years newest locomotives to join the expanding Thomas & Friends range.  These two models have been long thought about by fans, and many had assumed that they would soon be joining the range in the distant future.

Well, the proof is now here, as shown in their 2013 online catalogue, also joining them will be a new Troublesome Truck titled 'Troublesome Truck #4' and 'Jeremy the Jet Plane', but it is not yet known what this truck will look like, but knowing Bachmann, they will surprise us once further details are known.

Large scale modellers will be happy to hear that Toby is planned as the next new Large Scale Thomas & Friends locomotive to join the growing range.

Series 2 Red Coaches underway!

Recently started using Ratio 612's and a 613 Brake Coach.

Brake coach ends were cut up and elements extracted for use on a cut up 612 coach body side. Which as pictured above, has formed the brake coach exactly how i was hoping.  These were left to dry overnight, before being sprayed with a Tamiya spray paint, TS-33 'Dull Red'.

The results, a fine looking set of coaches, that will be ready to be assembled later, window glazing needs to be added, buffers painted and chassis put together before the body sides and ends go on.

Wanna keep track of them?

Head over to - http://worldofsodor.proboards.com/index.cgi?

More model based media to come!

We will hopefully be showcasing some more media works by our members in time, with the addition of James Hardwood's latest work 'Very Old Engines', with the story being adapted by Owen Hayward.

Be sure to check back later when we will have the media work posted on the media page.

Twitter Updated!

Decided to give the twitter account a clean up and update, if you arn't following us already, be sure to follow as at the link below.

https://twitter.com/ThomasModelling

100 likes reached!

The World of Thomas the Tank Engine Modelling Community, Facebook page, has reached it's 100th like today, we are really happy that so many like our page and what we do as a community dedicated to modelling Thomas & Friends stock.

Our biggest thanks goes out to Steven Bedford-Carter for being the 100th liker, and as a special treat, there will be a short clip made with a thank you message to everyone who has supported us since the page started in 2012. :)