A footplate crew adds the finishing touch to any model locomotive, so George Dent seats a suitable duo into the cab of his Class 48.
Model: Model Rail/Heljan Class 48
Price: From £230 (get 10% off full-price models as a subscriber to the magazine)
Like many new RTR diesels, little extra work is required to enhance the Class 48s, but a suitable footplate crew helps bring it to life. PHOTOGRAPHY: GEORGE DENT
Back in the day, you felt blessed if a RTR diesel boasted any kind of cab interior moulding, hence why the likes of Mainline’s Class 56 – introduced in 1983 – stood out from the crowd. Heck, they even featured a painted driver figure!
Now we’re in the 2020s and we expect our new models to feature a much higher level of detail on the inside as well as the outside. Many of the latest releases oblige, including Heljan’s all-new Brush Type 4s and, as part of that production run, Heljan also produced the unique Class 48s, exclusively for Model Rail. The ‘48s’ feature the same high specification as Heljan’s Class 47, a full review of which can be found on page 76 of this issue.
The addition of the footplate crew enhances the cab interior, while the three-piece snowploughs add further interest. The snowploughs supplied with the weathered Class 48s feature a suitable layer of grime to match the locomotives.
EXTRA EFFORT
As the cab interiors are so well appointed, with lots of individually painted features, I felt compelled to put some extra effort into choosing a suitable footplate crew.
Often, I choose a driver and, if appropriate, a secondman primarily on the grounds of whether the figure’s pose fits within the framework of the cab. The style of uniform plays a part too, although a little trimming with a knife and judicious choice of paint shades can help manipulate things in your favour if necessary.
Helpfully, figure makers are now offering crew to suit specific locomotive types and periods, which makes the job of choosing little people easier. In this instance, however, I had a good rummage through my stash of spare figures, having set myself a specific criterion.
Our rendition of D1706 depicts the prototype with full yellow ends and sporting 41A (Tinsley) shedcodes, placing it in the 1968-1969 period (before it moved south to Stratford in October 1969). Accordingly, the common practice during the 1960s was for locomotive-hauled passenger and freight operations to be double-manned.
Therefore, a driver would be accompanied by a secondman, whose duties would be to attend to the steam heat boiler (on passenger workings) and help with shunting operations and the like. As was often the case on steam traction, a driver would be a more senior staff member, while the secondman would be a younger employee.
To represent this relationship, I sought a pair of figures that embodied their respective roles. Luckily, I found a driver with a middle-aged countenance from the Modelu 3D-printed range of diesel footplate crew. His pose is relaxed and workmanlike, and I painted him up with a balding head and regulation BR necktie. In the secondman’s seat, meanwhile, is an ‘HO’ scale seated passenger from the Preiser range. Inevitably, he’s slightly smaller and younger looking with a much fuller head of hair. His pose is focused and keen, clearly watching and learning from his senior colleague.
MODEL RAIL’S FANTASTIC FOUR
Model Rail and Heljan have teamed up to recreate four of the five BR/Brush Class 48s, featuring an exclusive bodyshell tooling, replicating the distinctive detail fixtures of the V12-powered Type 4s.
All four models have been produced in strictly limited numbers and they’re in stock and available to order now. Turn to page 101 for full details.
Web: www.modelrailoffers.co.uk
WORTH THE EFFORT?
I’m really happy with the result, even though the figures are partially obscured once the bodyshell is back in position. The interior lighting, when activated, increases their visibility and the character of each figure is noticeable. Taking just a little extra time to hand-pick the crew has added extra character to the model, and it’s something I’ll endeavour to do again in future.
One of the downsides to model locomotives becoming so good straight from the box is the lack of individuality, but adding a characterful crew introduces a human element. Indeed, having pondered recently if I’m too old to change career and pursue a role on the real railway (which I always dreamed of doing), I’ve probably invested an element of my younger self in that secondman character, although I was born a couple of decades too late to have been able to follow that path to being a driver!
What George used
SHOPPING LIST
◆ Modelu footplate crew figures
Web: www.modelu3d.co.uk
◆ Preiser unpainted seated passenger figure sets
Web: www.gaugemasterretail.com
◆ LifeColor acrylic paints
Web: www.airbrushes.com
TOOLS
◆ Miniature screwdrivers
◆ Tweezers
◆ Scalpel and spare blades
◆ Paintbrushes
STEP BY STEP
1 To access the interior of the Heljan model, four crosshead screws need to be removed, set just behind the centre axle of each bogie. To protect the model, a foam servicing cradle is recommended (www.dccconcepts.com).
2 Once the screws have been removed, the body can be lifted away from the chassis, taking care not to stress the cables linking the cab interior LEDs with the circuit board. The fully detailed and painted cab interiors can be fully admired.
3 Depending on your chosen footplate crew, it may be necessary to trim or remove the armrests on each chair. I used a pair of rail cutters to cut through the plastic without putting strain on the chairs’ mounting lugs.
4 The footplate figures were trimmed of any excess material and tacked to a scrap of wood with double-sided tape, making them easier to prime (with an aerosol-based primer) and paint, using various shades of acrylics.
5 When the figures were dry, they were glued to the seats. I used cyanoacrylate for a faster bond. To prevent fogging of the glazing from solvent fumes, I waited several hours before refitting the body.
6 The new Heljan Brush Type 4s (including our Class 48s) come supplied with optional snowploughs, which are excellent. Moulded as a single unit, they’re designed to screw into the chassis frame behind the bufferbeams.
7 First step is to cut away the sprue below the central blade and the webbing between the cosmetic vertical mounting brackets. Working on the edge of a cutting mat provided support to the brackets while cutting through the plastic.
8 Remove the two small screws mounting the bufferbeams and valancing to the chassis block. A longer set of screws is provided for mounting the snowploughs. The NEM coupler pocket can be pulled away from the bogie.
9 The snowplough and bufferbeam is then bolted to the chassis block with the longer screws, ensuring the cosmetic vertical mounting brackets of the central blade sit against the front of the bufferbeam.
10 The snowploughs really look the part, with the correct profile and pitch, and there’s no need to adjust the positioning of the various brake pipes or footsteps. Ploughs were usually painted black in the 1960s, with yellow adopted later, during the Rail blue era.
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