Suit You Sir(dar)

The Fourdees Sirdar has now been completed and entered service on Wheal Ponder.

The previous Sirdar blog post showed the trial fitting of the pieces and I’d rubbed some of the body down, though not much was needed, I managed to smooth a few lines out on the boiler.

After cleaning and priming, a coat of gloss black was applied from a rattle can. Black was chosen for this model in part due to this being one of Kerr Stuart’s standard delivery colours and also because on the short tank version, the chassis block isn’t completely hidden, so painting the loco black to match and highlighting the injector pipework to stand out and draw the eye being the plan. (Which works surprisingly well).

Once the sprayed black was dry, the transfers were applied. There is a choice of black and white or red and white, the latter being chosen. Following the instructions, these were applied and by the second one I had got the hang of them. My advice is to cut as close to the outside of the lines as you dare and do the same with scoring through the carrier film on the inside so that when applied you are just left with the lining. Being waterside transfers  they were easily manouverable with tweezers, cocktail sticks and cotton buds.

The transfers were sealed in (or so I’d thought) with a waft of Dulcote varnish before applying the rest of the paint.

I’m used to building a kit with several parts (usually lumps of some sort of cast metal) and then spending considerable time adding detail using castings, wire and any other bits I can make or find.

So rather than adding detail, I sat down with an array of acrylic paints. I’d treated myself to some new metallic colours and used them to good effect on the pipework, quickly lifting this detail from the main body of the loco. Weathered black, Matt black and red for bufferbeams were all used before finishing off with some weathering dry brushed on.

This is very different with all the detail already there in the 3D print. The main body, the backhead and cab roof being the main pieces. To these were added two clear pieces for the gauge glasses, the two coupling adapters and a driver figure. That is all!

Finally, the backhead was glued in followed by the cab roof and finally the driver figure from ModelU (with a 0.75mm wire up one leg to help secure him.

Disaster struck as I secured the driver figure on. Turns out that some of the paint wasn’t as completely dried as I’d thought. Some was a little tacky which resulted in the lining from one side tank coming away with my finger. The air was blue!!

Once I’d calmed down, I took some photos and sent Dani at Fourdees asking if I could buy some more transfers. Dani took pity on me and swiftly dispatched some replacement transfers. Some mighty fine customer service which I am very grateful for.

With these reapplied, a fresh dusting of Dulcote and I very carefully touched up the weathering.

So please, heed my advice. More haste and less speed when finishing off these models. The lining is excellent but watch where you put your fingers!

The final touch was some coal in the bunkers and my Sirdar has entered service on Wheal Ponder.

Being a fan of Kerr Stuart side tank locos, the loco makes a nice contrast to the Quarry Hunslets. I have three of those so I wouldn’t bet against the Diana variant being added at some point in the future.

Really enjoyed putting this one together. The detail on the print is excellent and I quite enjoyed painting all the detail as opposed to adding it. The build provided a few therapeutic modelling sessions.

In addition to the detail, the coupling adaptors were a super touch. After many years of being used to no standard NG7 couplings and being left to “fit couplings of choice”, being able to just plug and play my chosen ones in is still something I’m getting used to. And finally, the transfers were the icing on the cake.

Having spent several months wrangling with the Wrightlines Tattoo over last winter, I’m hoping that by way of contrast, this winter will see me building more locos like this one taking advantage of the newer technology such as this.

Some photos of the Sirdar in traffic on Wheal Ponder. Including ones with the Quarry Hunslet and the Skylark for comparison.