The Train, Boss The Train (part 2)

Sunday afternoon proved to be quite productive. Not only did I (almost) finish the latest addition to my 1/144 Wings of War “Biggles” collection, I also managed to progress the Sudan armoured train to a high state of completion. My previous entry was made at the point where the construction work had been completed and the wagons and engine were drying. That evening I gave the lot an overcoat of Revell “Tar Black” (an excellent shade, just “not-black” enough to look quite distinctive), and this afternoon I finished off with a dry brushing of “Steel” to emphasise the impromptu nature of the added armour, followed by a  very light brushing with “Beige” to give a slight weatherworn appearance. Finally, a few Peter Pig sailor figures were added to give a sense of scale, and this motley crew will be augmented by additional naval and army personnel (plus a few fellahs I shouldn’t wonder) over the coming weeks.

I will be adding to the collection with (ideally) some water wagons, a few more boxcars and another gun truck. And I'm still looking for a decent tender engine that is more in keeping with my original thoughts on what would be an appropriate locomotive, as well as an obviousy "European" loco that I can use with my Spanish Civil War collection. any suggestions on sources of cheap TT gauge rolling stock in any state of disrepair would be most gratefully received! 

I ought to add a couple of notes regarding inspirations. The following is an excellent resource for 15mm Sudan gamers, and the first three shots show where I pinched the ideas for the gun trucks: warin15mm.com/The-Sudan.html . There was an excellent series on making a Boer War era armoured train in 20mm in Airfix magazine back in the 1970s or 80s (copies up in my loft somewhere) which gave me some ideas - and which will have me building a searchlight car in the not-too-distant future for when I get into that conflict. finally, there is a nice drawing of a train in the Sudan in Howard Whitehouse's "Battle in Africa" which gave me the idea for the crane and gun carriage.

The Train, Boss The Train (part 1)

A quick update on this frosty Bristol morning to show that work on the armoured train has commenced.

I'm currently working on four modified wagons - two "gun trucks" with Nordenfeldts and stowed carriages, one wagon with simple armoured panels and a flat bed truck carrying a tripod crane and an artillery piece. On, and of course the locomotive (which is a Triang Jinty). There will also be several standard open and closed wagons and (when it arrives) a horse box!

The rolling stock is perhaps a little too modern looking for the 1880s, but hopefully the application of stores, figures and "clutter" later in the build process will help to hide their early 20th century appearance!. Of course i still have an excuse to keep an eye out for additional stuff that looks more in keeping with the period :)