BUILDING THE MODELWORKS BLACK FIVE

I have built a few plastic models of engines and other things in 00 & N scale, and I know how to use screwdrivers, spanners and files etc, but I have never attempted anything like this before. My only real experience of Black Fives is having once been fortunate enough to fire No. 44806 over the Llangollen Railway.

What follows is a kit by kit account of how I put the Black Five together, - or not as the case may be. Will I achieve my goal? As usual, only time will tell.

And speaking of time, I have to say that there never seems to be enough of it. In order to get this site off the ground at all I am going to have to 'put it to air' with some parts unfinished. I shall, of course, be completing those sections as soon as possible.

I have received a number comments and helpful suggestions from other Black Five builders and so have posted these as footnotes to my own pages. As I believe that the more information we have the better, I would be pleased to add any further relevant thoughts or opinions about building the ModelWorks Black Five, - with the writer's permission, of course.

Progress? What progress? I hear you ask. Nothing has changed on this site for months, - well, not since March, anyway. Actually I have been very busy, - completing Kit 10 was, for me, a major milestone, and Colin has told me that the 'worst' is now over, - which I was very glad to hear. Colin has nearly finished his engine and has sent me some splendid photos which you can see here. I was particularly impressed with the picture of the inside of the cab and the fittings. With a little care we should all finish up with a fine model. Colin plans to steam his engine in August or September, and I for one can't wait to hear how it goes.

Update, 15th February 2005
Yes, I am still plugging away. Progress may be slow to stationary but I will get there in the end. My main 'problem' with building the engine is my own lack of time to spend on it. I have just finished Kit 11, the tender, which went together very smoothly. All the parts fitted well and I had very little trouble with it, - except for the riveting which was a bit fiddly and very time consuming, but I expected that. I still haven't done anything about painting the model, but the tender underframe has been earmarked as a guinea pig on the grounds that if I make a terrible bodge of it, my ineptitude won't be too obvious when the model is completed.

Update, 28th October 2007

Bad news and good news, I'm afraid. I sold the model at the end of 2005 as I needed the money for another project, so didn't get to finish it. The good news is that the new owner has finished building the remaining kits and now runs the Black 5 on his local club track. Here is a picture of it, nearly completed, about to undergo a test run.

For me this is going to be one of the most difficult aspects of completing the kit. I am only too well aware of how awful a bodgy paint job will look, and I am not confident of my abilities. However, Dave C has sent me a complete website with pictures of his beautifully painted engine and some very useful hints and tips on how to do it. Dave's website.

		Kit No. 1.		Kit No. 2.
		Kit No. 3.		Kit No. 4.
		Kit No. 5		Kit No. 6
		Kit No. 7.		Kit No. 8.
		Kit No. 9.		Kit No. 10.
		Kit No. 11.		Kit No. 12.

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