Ivatt N1 – ready for duty

On and off over the last few weeks I’ve finally completed the first N1 now just about ready for duty. Firstly the model was sprayed with Halfords satin black auto paint before brush painting the smokebox and running plate matt black. The buffer beams were then painted. Once all was dry additional detail was added to the buffer beams – vacuum and steam pipes and coupling hooks (these last from Lanarkshire Modelling Supplies). The screw link couplings are modified Smiths but they look a bit overscale so these will be swapped at some point. The straps holding the vacuum pipes were formed from annealed brass strip. Next I added the builders plates, a shed plate and number plate. These items are from my experimental etch set and simply cover the equivalent details on the print. Next the safety valves and whistle were added. I couldn’t find a suitable whistle so I cut down the N2 version and fixed it to a short legnth of brass wire protruding from the cab front. With all these bits painted as necessary the Alan Gibson buffer shanks were added.

I’ve also added some more detail to the Hornby chassis in the form of brake rigging and sand pipes. Next the naff factory weathering was painted over with a mixture of black and metalcote. I am also looking at the area under the bunker to make it more prototypical as there is far too much daylight here currently. It’s also difficult to see on photographs the arrangement of the under-cab pipework but this is also something I want to represent.

Internal weight was added by creating plasticard boxes to place in the tanks. These were loose filled with liquid lead before a cover glued in place and insulation tape wrapped around for good measure. Additional weight was added in the smokebox, leaving enough space for the DCC chip. The motor was covered with plasticard before real crushed Yorkshire coal added and glued in place. This was acquired from the Yorkshire Coal Mining Museum – they give small lumps away free on the underground tour – just don’t buy the stuff in the shop as it’s from China!

Decals are the HMRS pressfix type. I struggled initially lining up and spacing the numbers and made a right pig’s ear of it.  This first attempt was removed with methylated spirits. I created this paper template in AutoCAD that could be fixed to the bunker sides with masking tape. It seemed to work quite well although the numbers are a little more chunky than they would be in reality resulting in a slightly compact look. Once happy I sealed them with Johnson’s Klear.

Final touches will be to add crew and coupling bars for the Spratt & Winkle system I will be using before a light working engine weathering is applied.

I’ve also begun the creation of set of full instructions for those who wish to buy the body on the Shapeways website. These will be in pdf format and will be available here shortly.