Bachmann Class 37 in BR Blue

This week I managed to put the finishing touches to a Bachmann Class 37 in BR blue.  I started this model about four months ago, so a fairly speedy project by my standards.  The model has the 21 pin DCC chassis and is supplied with a set of frost shields, to model the locomotive in pre-1976 condition. 

Finished class 37 running at Charlton.

View further down the platform.

As per normal I removed the bogies, chassis and body and weathered them all separately, before reassembly.  I started off by putting a weathering wash over the body and chassis using a brush, wiping most of this away.  Then the various parts of the locomotive were detailed using the airbrush and Railmatch enamel paints.  I attempted to make a blend of faded BR blue and some weathering streaks on the body side, to create a work a day look, but not overly weathered.  The roof was treated to some roof dirt and weathered black, whilst the chassis and bogies had a mixture of weathered black, frame dirt, sleeper grime and matt white applied.  I used a Howes sound chip in this locomotive, the unrefurbished variant, with a Road and Rails speaker (a 25x7x7mm speaker).  The speaker plus chip work really well together and it sounds fantastic in my opinion.

Running light out of the station.

Finished class 37 running in the evening passenger service from Barnstaple, with parcels traffic.

Class 37 on the milk train!

Overall, I am pretty happy with how this one turned out, its looks pretty good in the station I think.  I did not chip the bodywork, like I have been experimenting with some other locomotives and rolling stock.  The diesel hydraulics I am modelling tend to be in a pretty grubby state, as they are nearing the end of their working lives during the 1970s, in comparison to classes 50, 47 and 37, 33 and 31, which are taking over what remains of their duties in the west of England.  With this locomotive finished, I have a class 50 that I am just starting to detail, alongside the resurrection of my class 45 and a class 108.  These are the next projects before tacking a hymek, a warship (class 43) and another western.