David Smith's Fowler

David L O Smith has worked his modification magic again, on his GWR Fowler this time.

With his trademark tweaks, he has made his loco unique. Check out the turned brass bezels (outer rings) for the cab dials, impossible - well, impractical - in a mass produced loco.

The whole story is on David's website here. Enjoy!

Green Hudswell Clarkes All Gone!

Ixion has sold out of lined green Hudswell Clarke locomotives. 

A handful may remain on the shelves of Ixion stockists - look at the list of our UK, European and Australian stockists at www.ixionmodels.com, and make some calls if you want one.

Good stocks remain of lined maroon and unlined black locomotives, and these are available from our retailers, and (for Australian and NZ customers) from Ixion online here.

David L.O. Smith's Amazing Reworked Hudswell Clarke

British 7mm scale modeller David L.O. Smith has been using his Forum postings on RMweb to record the progress of his conversion of an Ixion Hudswell Clarke into a very specific locomotive: the Great Central Railway's No 278, named "Humber".

The conversion is quite brilliant, replacing all those parts that he identified as different on 'Humber', and fabricating many new items to more accurately represent the prototype. Whilst still unmistakably an Ixion Hudswell Clarke, the super-detailing really sets David's model apart.

Some more photos of the completed loco are included below to whet your appetite. For the full blow-by-blow account of the conversion, David has now put the complete uninterrupted write-up on his website at: www.davidlosmith.co.uk/GCR_Humber.htm. It's an absorbing and fascinating read. Click the link above, and prepare to be entertained and inspired. 

As a teaser, for those who think it looks pretty straightforward, these are the original components David had left over after the build!

When complimented on his workmanship by [Ixion Directors] Chris Klein and myself, this was David's typically humble response:

Again, thank you for your compliments about my model but it really is straightforward when you have such a fine starting point.  Yesterday, I put the final coat of flat finish on my GWR Fowler; I shall write that up as well but, apart from a few minor mods and additions, it was really about painting the fly cranks, rods and buffer stocks in a matching shade of red, so there’ll not be that much to it.

All the very best for your continued enterprises.

David

We look forward to David's Fowler, and hope to post that story here too.

Lindsay O'Reilly.