Funkey Time

In April I bought a pair of Kato chassis off a friend in the 009 group. I took the opportunity that came with the lockdown to construct a new freelance diesel for the fleet. I wanted to use a pre-made cab and build the bodywork around that in order to build something that looked vaguely realistic. I found a Funkey bodykit from A1 models and began to deconstruct the kit to make the locomotive. I wanted a more central cab position to create something that was reminiscent of Castell Caernarfon. I 

I drew up a rough sketch and set about creating the bodywork from 40 thou styrene. 

I used the brass grills to add to the sides of the body. I added brassrod for the handrails and a few extra details from one of the Harlech Castle models. 

I initially gave it a basecoat in Games Workshop paint which brought it to life as a something that could be realised in real life. There are several details that need to be added to the model but I am intending on adding some bufferbeams and brake pipes to make this 'capable' of hauling passenger trains. 

I am quite pleased with how this locomotive has turned out and have begun the process of ordering the components to build a second Funkey of this type, I quite like the cab designs. I have commissioned a friend to design and 3D print some bonnets for the next iteration to set it apart from this first effort. I am going to take the learning from this build and take it forward onto the next build to add a few extra features to my next one.