4mm Ivatt Class 2, 2-6-2 tank in P4

Dave Holt

Western Thunderer
At long last, I think the Ivatt tank is finished, other than some post painting details and replacing the buffer heads with larger examples.
This has been a drawn out project and, looking back, I see some early correspondence regarding the pony trucks, going back to 1995 - so 30 years in the making. No one can accuse me of excessive haste.
Here it is ready for painting.
Ivatt_2T_101.JPGIvatt_2T_102.JPGIvatt_2T_103.JPGIvatt_2T_104.JPGIvatt_2T_105.JPG
Dave.
 

Dave Holt

Western Thunderer
Thanks for the kind comments. We do see beautifully built brass and nickel silver locos that really do look too nice to paint, but not this mixed media hybrid.
Yes, a good session round Barrow Road (and more so the C13) will no doubt loosen things up. However, that will have to be after painting and weathering.
Dave.
 

Dave Holt

Western Thunderer
I realised this morning that I'd overlooked fitting the builder's plates. I found some Bill Bedford custom etches which, although for a different loco, showed "Built Crewe", although the date isn't legible. So now they're on.
Ivatt_2T_106.JPG
And a rather cruel enlargement, several times full size.
Ivatt_2T_107.JPG
Perhaps need to do something with dome/boiler joint?
Dave.
 

Dave Holt

Western Thunderer
Excellent photo, thanks, Nick.
Thanks to some great information provided by James, in response to a query I raised on here, I've made a set of fire irons for the loco with the correct shaped handles. I'll chemically blacken them before painting in rusty shades. On Ivatt tanks, the irons were carried on top of the RHS side tank, restrained for becoming dislodged by two rests bent up from strip material.
On the model, I had these produced as an etched strip with bend lines. The resultant shape looked good but was rather flimsy and vulnerable to damage during handling of the loco body. Almost inevitably, whilst degreasing the body, I managed to break off the outer leg of the front rest. Luckily, the etch contained a spare and after banding to shape, the weakest area was reinforced by part of the broken off piece. The replacement is thus much stronger but still needs to be treated with care.
The set of fire irons.
Ivatt_2T_108.JPG
Dave.
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Looking forward to seeing one of Lees's finest fully painted & weathered. They were only there for around 9 months although it seemed longer at the time. Naturally, I resented them haha!
 

Dave Holt

Western Thunderer
Thanks, Larry.
In terms of length of stay at Lees, I've probably picked the worst example - 41282, but that's the etched number plate I bought 15 years ago!
Of course, in my version of events, the Fowler, Ivatt and BR Standard 2-6-2s are all running the motor trains, turn and turn about. In real life, I'm not sure that there was any real overlap between the three types. Mind you, no C13s on ex-GCR motor trains or Stanier/Fairburn 2-6-4s on non-motor passenger trains ever ran, either. That's the luxury of it being a model.
Dave.
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
I was 13 years old when the Delph service ceased. The Fowler non-push & pull fitted locos stayed on at Lees after the passenger service ceased and appeared on the Delph Donkey with the more modern 2-6-2T's. I know because one was on our train when we booked through to Delph one Saturday morning because it was too wet to do ow't else. It is possible some of the Diagram included trips that terminated at Greenfield Junction.

You're right about the luxury of a model. A Delph to Guide Bridge service would have been beneficial to workers. But BR was run as if the old railway companies still existed instead of taking advantage of BR being one 'company' and streamlining services across boundaries.
 

Dave Holt

Western Thunderer
The body has been given a thin "proving" coat of black, which has shown up a few surface blemishes that need to be sorted before further painting.
Nevertheless, it's looking quite promising now that the various substrate materials have been disguised by an overall colour.
Photo courtesy of David Clarke.
IMG_5744.JPG
Dave.
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Excellent work Dave.
You've really lifted the base model to another level.

It's a shame there are no kits available in 7mm scale as that would really temp me. However, now that Lionheart have a RTR one in the pipeline that's not likely to happen.

Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
The real thing at Arlesford today. It's a bit late for your upgrade, but I have a file with over 100 images of this loco taken back in 2018.
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