Really Uglies

When I was a kid, Dad would entertain me in those long hours put in waiting for trains which never ran by making up wagon codes.  For example, BWH was Bloody Wheat Hopper.  BCHs were Bloody Cheap Hoppers, WHs were Wobbly Hoppers. An FS carriage was Fairly Slow, but a ride on a BS carriage was Bloody Slow. RU wagons were just Real Uglies.  But this one is not.  It is the future.

This week a little parcel arrived containing a 3D printed RU.  I was skeptical about whether a 3D print could achieve the level of detail needed to resemble a RU, given its angular form. But the person responsible - Shaun Davies - has nailed it in my opinion.  Here is the wagon straight out of the bag, just sitting on a couple of wheel sets (i.e. after one minute of work).

With only a few free moments this weekend, I hit the wagon with a coat of spray-can undercoat, then another of Monument.  Disaster struck when I realised I didn't have RU decals, so I went for a temporary fix - UL (ULs were RUs recoded in 1967 to carry limestone from memory) and I model 1968 so the day was saved. I also went for a fictional wagon number, just to get the thing running. Finished off with a quick Dullcote and some couplings, and it is now running around the layout - as happily as any model and far more obediently than the prototype.  Here it is with a first run Trainorama RU on the left (black) and the later run version on the right).

RUs are like trees - a forest of them look more impressive than a single instance.  IMHO this print more than holds its own against the ready to run versions.  So, now to a quick product review....

I have already blogged enthusiastically about the future of the hobby in a 3D world.  It is a cleaner, more efficient and less wasteful way of manufacturing.  And I think I have written about my unease at having unskilled labour sitting at tables in factories, day after day, pushing tiny bits of plastic onto small bits of plastic.  3D reduces some of that form of manufacturing. These are pluses for the product in my view.

As to the model, the detail is crisp, there is nothing to file or sand, and the wagon lines up well against the Greg Edwards Datasheet dimensions.  Minimal work is required to get the wagon running - just removal of a small amount of flashing on the undercarriage, painting, decalling, wheels (24.7mm axles recommended) and couplers. The steps and rungs are thicker than the Trainorama versions, but this makes them more apparent and, importantly, robust. At $20 a wagon plus postage through eBay, this is value for money.

If you are interested, you can contact Shaun through eBay (search for shaun8998).  He has a range of HO and N gauge models on his site from time to time, including an S wagon and a CHG van.

So, I reckon Dad may have gone for Ugly but Lovely as a UL code.  Even though I am trying to thin the collection, I can't see myself stopping at just one of these.

Cheers

Don

Bucket list tick

 It has been a beautiful spring down this way.  Great weather for being in the shed as the local snakes frolic in the nearby paddocks.  I have put hours into the most mundane of purposes - ripping up track, relaying the roadbed, painting rails and sleepers and ballasting. Slow and tedious work, but necessary.  But I have been playing with something else.

The world as a five-year-old is full of wonder, as was mine the day around Easter 1968 when we drove into Dubbo to see, for the first time, 3028T and 3144T resplendent in their new liveries of royal blue and mid-green, respectively.  I only got to see both locos a few times, but 3144T was my favourite as it was painted in green with red lining, the colours of the mighty South Sydney rugby league football club (yes, I am a Souffs tragic too).

Over the years I watched our one or two Agfa slides of these locos degrade and fade. Probably the tattiest is my favourite - here reproduced without any effort to clean it up or enhance it.

And in the interests of equal time, here's my favourite of 3028T.

Both of these photos show the locos after the western Sun had faded them pretty quickly, especially 3144T.  It isn't all bad slide film and neglect.

Just as I suffered over the years for supporting Souths, I was also crushed by the decision or inability of three successive manufacturers to produce 3144T and 3028T in these remarkable liveries. So, given that 2023 has been a bit of a wretched year personally, I figured I would take things into my own hands and repaint a black Wombat 30T into 3144T. Re-reading the wonderful yarn by Percy Suckling in the Roundhouse of the caper convinced me to have a go.  Afterall, they brush-painted both locos! 

(As an aside, the best part about Percy's story was how they got approval for the repainting.  Apparently, the local boss rang Sydney to suggest that both locos be repainted in a quiet time.  That enterprising manager neglected to mention the paint colour being used to repaint the locos!).

Back to the story, which comes with a parental advisory. Don't attempt this at home unless you want high blood pressure. Skill will only get you so far (further than my skill and patience, anyway). Of the two liveries, I figured 3144T was the hardest so I have started there.  And, as of today, I have got to:

This is a distance shot in the hope you won't notice that I am yet to clean the headlight (it is being replaced by one that doesn't shine).  The chimney is still to be replaced, the dome and slide bar covers are just sitting on the body and several smaller valves and whistles are still to be applied. The tender is to be coaled and there will be an Andlan crew climbing aboard soon. Weathering comes after that. But it is nearly finished.

I will confess to lifting and copying just about every photo anyone has published on these two locos as they went through their Bollywood phase.  I am glad as I am guilty for doing this.  It made me understand that 3144T went through the paint shops at least three times during its green days.  Notably, the dome went from polished to green but other smaller parts were repainted differing colours. even the buffer beams were repainted, with smaller numbers being applied to the front buffer beam at some point in 1969.  So what you have here is pretty much the original green loco livery.  

I went 'original green' because I have failed to be able to mix a faded green which gives that 'milky' hue of later months.  So I was headed for the green shown in this photo taken by Colin Rayner (thanks Colin if you ever read this, your photos were an inspiration!).

This next photo is shot under hi-bay LEDs, which doesn't help. My version is still far too green, by far.  I can even tell you how far - 19%. I have just cheated by de-saturating the colour on the following photo. Hopefully my weathering gets me closer. Otherwise, I will just need to park this model in the western Sun too.

3144T is now waiting for a Shapeways consignment, as is 3028T which is stripped and ready for its summer repaint into royal blue.  This job has tested me and found a few skills wanting, but the happiness of knowing I have a green 30T outweighs those many defects with the paint job.

One final thing for the people who know more than me.  Colin Rayner's photo shows some writing on the tender, in yellow. Here's a blow-up of the section I am talking about.

Any guesses? My money is on "Cobar".  Happy to be convinced otherwise.  

Cheers!

Don