I’ll be sure to put up a gallery in addition to the video!
Airbrushing is done as of today, so now I’m doing the touch up and highlights, and then comes the decals and clear coat. The model will always look a bit rough in areas, but I think it’ll at least look good overall.
IT’S DONE! I’ll have the video and gallery up in the next day or two![:D]
AAGH!!! A Darth post this late at night? You’re just teasing us now!
(and it’s working)
And here we go! It’s finally finished!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGiwT7hG6sE
It may not look as good as some of my other kits, but considering what it is, I’m happy with how it turned out. It’s definitely a relief to be finished though! There are still some things here and there that could be better, but I’ll take care of all that later. I’ll also figure out a coal load eventually. As of right now though, I’m done![:D]
Well done! Congratulations on completing the Kanawha. The hardest ones are always the most satisfying. [:)]
Joel
As usual Darth you have done a masterful job of building a challenging kit!
Dave
Wow! That looks great! Congratulations on your completion of this model! It’s always satisfying when something you’ve been working on for a long time is finally ready to roll down the track.
Congratulations! It looks very nice and I know it’s a huge relief to finally be finished with such a difficult and challenging kit. You’re the first person I’ve seen that actually put one together and made it run! Looks great and I hope it gives you many miles of joy! When will you start that A3 kit?
oldline1
Nice ending to the long story. What a good looking and running model, especially considering all the reworking of…everything!
I have to say, you saved the best for last. It’s not how fast a model can run, but how slow that proves it’s quality. It looked best in that final slow run by. Thanks for sharing! Dan
Very nice work. Thanks for documenting the project.
This is a genuine accomplishment. Congrats
I wonder if any of the folks behind Arbour are still in the hobby and could see this.
There was a time, about the same time as Arbour, that a number of firms tried to revive the idea of the metal steam locomotive kit that would be cheaper than brass, which was beginning to skyrocket in price (and to us the brass prices back then seem low of course). There was one firm that made mostly old time 1900 vintage steam, 4-6-0s and such, in cast metal that I can’t recall the name of, very similar to Arbour and similarly problematic to build. Tthere was also Lee Town, Boyd, and Mellor. At the very least all of those firms did make and sell parts that many steam fans would sure like to have available now.
I do not wallow in nostalgia but from the standpoint of detail parts of many kinds I am not convinced that this is the greatest time to be a model railroader as some people insist it is.
Dave Nelson
Thanks everyone! This wasn’t exactly the most fun I’ve had with a project, but I did enjoy finally getting it finished and running!
Sometime soon, but not immediately. I have a lot of other projects still waiting to be finished.
Dave, the name you can’t remember, would that have been “The Locomotive Works”? I think I remember the reviews and then the reader feedback that the kits had lots of optional parts, but were reputed to be under par in quality for their price at the time. Dan
Great work, very nice. I worked in a hobby shop and sold a few of those when they came out. While I am/was a loco kit builder, I never gave one of their kits a try.
These days I am more inclined to kit bash a RTR piece into what I want.
Sheldon
The Locomotive Company produced a kit with three interchangeable parts; a chassis; superstructure, and a tender. I lusted for one when they came out in the mid 70’s; I seem to recall they were priced around $100.00. I picked one up on ebay a few years ago, for $100.00. I haven’t built it; may never build it. I don’t really model anything requiring an early 4-6-0; and some of the castings are crude when compared to brass locomotives or BLI / MTH offerings.
Then again, I may assemble it, weather the heck out of it, and use it to model part of a dead line.