Hi - Decided a few weeks back to switch the layout over from Portencross ( 1960's Diesel Hydraulics) to the original Montgreenan (1980's BR Blue) and have been busy getting reacquainted with some old friends. Having the BR Blue fleet out again served to highlight a glaring omission in that I did not have a shunter, but having had more than one disaster trying to fit sound and lights to a couple of Class 08's, I knew I already had some possible candidates in a box somewhere.
I managed to locate an Hornby Class 08 (in an EWS livery which I was going to model (before I discovered Hydraulics), and a Hornby Class 08 TTS Sound Decoder that still worked.........the big question was could I repaint this into BR Blue and fit the decoder, speaker and a necessary stay alive into the small Class 08 body and not break anything this time around ?
On what would be my first venture into loco painting, I decided that with the small Class 08 I could probably get away with repainting carefully by brush ( I have a airbrush kit I bought in a sale a couple of years ago but it has not seen daylight yet and I figured I had enough challenges already),......A Railmatch paint pot was ordered from Howes, who were showing stock but called the next day to say the shelf was actually empty, but they had a back-order due in 2 weeks - no rush as the loco has been in a box for a couple of years already so what's another 2 weeks.
Transfers were ordered from Railtec - I chose running number 08754 which was an Eastfield allocated shunter that I passed on the train going to college most days, when it was based at the old Post office sorting depot just outside Glasgow Central ( circa 1980-82)
Next a crew were ordered from Modelu and then I saw a video from Richard @ Road & Rails about installing stay alives, which included how to fit one to a TTS Decoder......A&E Model stay alive duly ordered from him.
Over the course of the last few weeks everything arrived and with great patience (for a change) I slowly progressed the job most evenings showing unusual restraint not to progress to the next stage until the previous stage was "actually" dry or without carefully fitting and testing the electronics etc........soldering the stay alive to the decoder is not for the faint hearted, but despite wires becoming detached in several places ( decoder, speakers, stay alive - basically you name it) as I tried to shoe-horn all this into the body, with the speaker at one end behind the front grill and the stay live board behind the hollowed out drivers control desk and the two small capacitors on the cab floor.......however, as if by magic it all worked perfectly when put on the track...........Home straight now, what could possibly go wrong - fit a driver and close up the cab, but then realise applying transfers is not as easy as it was when I made Airfix models as a child.
Today I concluded my little project with my first venture into weathering using a weathering powder kit I purchased ages ago from DDC kits + soot from the wood-burner in my home office .........Not perfect or in the same league as some others on this Forum, but I am pretty pleased with the outcome and happy to have given this loco a new lease of life.......it feels a lot like getting a dog from a rescue centre - LOL
.........Now I also found another old Class 08 failure in my searches but this needs a new circuit board and complete rewire........perhaps a project for when the dark nights come round again and my nerves have recovered.
A great job.