Lady in red…

Well here are the promised pictures of our ‘Lady in red’ aka WHR Beyer-Garratt NGG16 No. 138.

A few pointers to areas that have been changed from the kit to make the loco less SAR more WHR:

- Addition of custom plates courtesy of narrow planet
- Sun visors on side of cab left off, roof opening altered completely to create one larger opening rather than two smaller ones with curved covers
- Addition of extra detail to cab including gauges and all windows glazed
- Completely different arrangement of boiler fittings including safety valves on a small plinth.  There remains some additional small bore pipework to add. 
- Major changes to pipework runs and addition of extra ejector on firebox wrapper
- Steam pipe covers on smokebox sides and D handles
- WHR pattern lights on tank/bunker ends and sand fill level indicators
- Oil tank in bunker with vent, the top of which was made from a wheel bearing!
- Differences in cut outs of bunker/tank bottoms
- Washout plugs added to boiler in correct positions (markits)
- Mudhole door covers added using small LEDs (yes really) poked into holes and painted over – the little domes of the LEDs are the perfect size
- Differences to handrails including bend in driver’s side cab side handle
- Extra tank side rivets created with small wire poked into small holes.  The kit has a SAR pattern rivetted version of the tank/bunker and all those rivets were filed off to represent the welded tanks. 
- Markits wakefield lubricators (heavily modified) added to the running plates (not shown below), vac pipes different pattern to standard SAR.
- Silver boiler bands were applied using 1mm strips of 'bare-metal' wafer thin self adhesive foil.  This is made in the USA and is commonly used by car and truck modellers - www.bare-metal.com 

and the beast has been finished with etching primer, then 2 coats of Railmatch EARLY BR(M) crimson lake, lined in straw (acrylic) using a bowpen and size 0 sable brush, Floquil 'engine black' added to corners and tank backs etc.  Finally, 2 coats of Precision Paints Satin Varnish was applied to boiler/firebox and cab only. Smokebox area painted with Humbrol 'gunmetal' enamel and left unvarnished.