Baldwin 590

[Andrew]

Hello all,

It seemed appropriate that my 590th message on this forum should be the start of a thread describing the work to turn my Accucraft WD Baldwin into a representation of the Welsh Highland's 590 - so here it is. Accucraft have done most of the work for me, it's a lovely-looking model, so I doubt it'll be a terribly long thread...

The first job was to remove the big US-style lamps:



The square bracket that supported the old lamp is seemingly soldered on as well as being bolted, so that will stay where it is and I'll need to add a replacement, in addition to a British lamp brackets front and rear.

The Baldwin's loss will be Daisy's gain:



It looks good, doesn't it?

Next up is to give the loco its new identity. Worksplates are on order from Narrow Planet and should arrive soon. I've been thinking about how to add the painted number to the tanks. I'm concerned that the need to varnish transfers will leave a visible sheen so am going to experiment with stencilling:



The stencil is cut from the Bernard Rocket drawing photocopied onto thin card - whether it will work or not I don't know, I may have a test run this evening. I'm thinking a stippling technique with an almost dry brush will be the way to go...

All the best,

Andrew.

[tom_tom_go]

I like the lamp Andrew.

How big is it as that might look good in 7/8ths on my Ragleth

[Big Jim]

Try a very light dusting with an air brush or failing that a sponge

[Dannypenguin]

I love the Baldwins - will be following this with interest

[Andrew]

I like the lamp Andrew.

How big is it as that might look good in 7/8ths on my Ragleth

Hi Tom,

The lamp's 3cm tall, plus about 5mm for the bracket it sits on. There's a rear one too that's mounted on the bunker using two strips of metal that run down into the coal space - that doesn't look quite right on the rear of my Regner Konrad, another reason to build that a tender!


Big Jim - great tip, thank you! I don't have an airbrush (yet...) but have had a go with a sponge and the results (on some black card) are encouraging. Think I'll need to stencil the border too to give the same look. It won't look perfect but I don't suppose the original did...

Danny P - thanks for the interest, always nice to know you're not talking to yourself!

Cheers all,

Andrew.

[Big Jim]

The sponge idea wasn't original to me!
I think I saw it on one of those 'how its made' type programs on the telly. They were showing how model locos were made and decorated.

I can't remember who the manufacturer was but I think it was in the US.

(I love programmes like that it takes me back to watching Playschool many, many years ago and looking through the round/square etc window! apologies to anyone under the age of 40 or who never watched British kids telly)

[Andrew]

OK Big Jim, just for you...

How many of this lot can you name?



I knocked these up in the summer to decorate a hall hired for a friend's Kids Telly-themed 50th birthday party.

Me, I'm not quite 40, but I have happy memories of Play School, and I loved those factory visits too. Didn't they once go to one where they made sticks of rock?

Cheers,

Andrew.

[Big Jim]

Wot no Ivor the Engine?

[Andrew]

Yeah, that was a bit of an oversight... In my defence I had to knock 'em all out very quickly and I seem to recall thinking I could get lost in the detail if I tackled Ivor!

[kandnwlr]

No Noggin the Nog, yet you found space for the Clangers?  :shock:

P.S. Have you got professional help yet or this all part of the therapy?  8) In fairness, I have to point out that I was able to identify all but one. Congrats on a fantastic job  :D

[Snailrail]

I'm offended to see Zebedee and Ermintrude but no Brian the Snail

[Andrew]

Oh no, I've opened a 70s kids TV can of worms!

I'll stick to trains - less controversial... Think I've got my stencil for the "590" numbering sorted now, pretty pleased with tonight's test run. Whether it's good enough to plaster over the side of over a grand's worth of loco remains to be seen, hopefully tomorrow evening... If it looks awful I can always wipe it off again before it dries. I think I'm going to revert to an almost-dry brush, I seem better able to get paint into the thin bits that way... I'll let you know how it goes...

Cheers,

Andrew.

[Big Jim]

Always though Mr Ben was a bit on the iffy side.
You tend to be a bit wary of someone who "puts on different clothes and has amazing adventures."

Quick more pics of 590 to get us back on topic!

[Keith S]

For some reason, I know the guy on a spring is "Zebedee" and the eggy looking fellow is "Dumpty" but I don't recognize the others. I'll be darned if I know why I recognize the first two...

[Andrew]

For some reason, I know the guy on a spring is "Zebedee" and the eggy looking fellow is "Dumpty" but I don't recognize the others. I'll be darned if I know why I recognize the first two...

OK, from left to right they are:

"Saggy old cloth cat" Bagpuss, "Number one super guy" Hong Kong Phooey, the lovely Penelope Pitstop, Windy Miller (from Camberwick Green), Mr Benn, Zebedee, a Clanger (sorrry, not sure which!), Humpty (from Playschool), Ermintrude and - the one everyone seems to struggle with - Bod. Bod was a simple soul (simply drawn and animated too), voiced by John le Mesurier, who liked nothing better than to head down to the beach (by train - on topic!) and make sandcastle with his friend PC Copper's helmet or try to guess what would be in the rockpools.

OK, my teabreak (and the 70s) are over, I'd better get back to work...

Andrew.

[Andrew]

What was this thread about again?

Ah yes... I did indeed manage to stencil 590's numbers on this evening - so now she looks like this:



Not perfect, but it'll do I reckon - in photos of the real thing the lettering always looks a little iffy anyway, and there's something about painting the numbers on rather than using transfers that just feels "right".

As I said yesterday, I reverted to brushing the stencil - then used my lining pen to fill in the gaps and a cocktail stick to tidy up the worst blemishes. The bits done with a lining pen are a little brighter than the other bits, but I'm hoping I can blend it all together a little more when I come to give the finished loco a light weathering.

I had an unhappy moment when I thought I'd finished and then realised that the number on the second side was in the wrong place - it seems it's not symmetrically placed, so when I used the same (tank-sized) stencil for the second tank it was 5mm or so out. I did consider leaving it but in the end took the plunge, wiped it off and started again...

Think I'll do the rear weatherboard on the cab next (from a £3 Jurassic kit), but then I'll have to bite the bullet and try a little metalwork to make the spectacle hoods and cab roof...

It may take a while because I seem to have agreed to help my daughter construct a Saturn V rocket for a school project. I think she means a model one...

Cheers all,

Andrew.

[Snailrail]

Well done. I had doubts that the technique would produce acceptable results but you seem to have achieved it. I'm sure I would have got paint running under the stencil into a big blob ! In fact cutting out an accurate stencil that size in the first place seems quite an achievement.

Brian

[Big Jim]

That looks nice and washed out. I would have thought the original would have been far from perfect.

[Andrew]

Not much to report on the Baldwin project, other than that worksplates have arrived from Narrow Planet and have now been painted and attached to the loco:



A rather extreme close-up reveals that I had the original plate modified in order to discreetly name the loco after my wife, without adding un-prototypical nameplates:



I'd always promised I'd name an engine after her, but then went all Welsh Highland, where the available locos are either named already or - in the case of 590 - went nameless. Of course I did have to confess that the real thing was renowned for being difficult and unreliable, but I think I managed to convince the real Grace that I have a much higher regard for the model than Welsh Highland drivers had for the original...

My Little John's nameplates came in the same order, so here they are too:



Cheers all,

Andrew

[Big Jim]

That works plate looks very good indeed. What a cunning way of keeping the wife happy. Reminds me that I need to order up name plates for my fleet.

What do you use for a lining pen? I have tried a bow pen without much success.