

‘Peak’ D67 has simply had a nose seam line added. I say ‘simply’, but this wee task can take a while to get right. Any errors and a repaint is necessary. With care, the line can be cut with a sharp blade without the need for any refinishing. My book on detailing ready-to-run diesel & electric locos demonstrates how I go about this task. See www.crowood.com
The headcode panels have been modified to display 0O00 at one end and .D67 at the other. These Fox decals are, strictly speaking, a bit big for these particular headcode boxes, but they look alright!
Another ‘Peak’, this time a Class 44 has been converted to D10 Tryfan complete with US-style heavy duty grilles, courtesy of an A1 Models set of etched parts. While these new grilles could be better in terms of fine relief (maybe Shawplan could have a go in the Extreme Etchings range?), it’s the only pack around.
Anyway, this is the second time I’ve done this job, funnily enough both times recreating D10 (D9 also had the same grilles). While I did an un-named blue version of 44010 for myself, this green D10 depicts the engine in mid-1960s condition. Again, the technique features in my book on diesel loco detailing.
Being a pair of gypsies at heart, me and Mrs D seem to move around a fair amount and rarely get time to unpack all our stuff before getting itchy feet again. After looking through a thousand-and-one packing crates the other day (for something completely unrelated), I came across this old Lima single car Class 121 DMU.
Not a true single-car unit, it was converted from a driving trailer car of a Class 117 using (I think) a Craftsman Models kit sometime in the late 1980s. It’s funny how memory works as I’d almost forgotten that I had this model. However, now I’ve found it, I can picture buying it second-hand from a swapmeet at the Masonic Hall in Warrington in 1988 on a Saturday afternoon. I can even remember what I wore!
My older brother actually did the initial conversion although I ‘refined’ the job a few years later and applied a rendering of blue & grey livery using some aerosol cans. Not having seen the light of day for over 10 years, the motor is no longer up to the job and a few small parts have gone missing. Using Modelstrip paint stripper, the various painting efforts have been consigned to history and the shell now awaits some detailing work and a new paint job, possibly in green.