Backdating Bachmann's Thomas the Tank Engine

Alright, my Shapeways shipment has arrived! I got some faces for Thomas and printed out the running plate I designed! It's really cool to see how the project is finally starting to come together now after a couple of years of work! I did forget to do the splashers, but I'll figure those out later. Something nice, though, is that the Bachmann chassis slots neatly into the running plate, something I was a little concerned about when designing it. Anyways, here are some pictures:






As you can see, he scales pretty much to how I wanted him to when I first started this project! Now I just need to cut the motor casing and try to figure out how to hold everything together, then put all of the little details on. I have lamp irons, brake gear, and handrails to put on, and I plan on making sandboxes as well!

Here are the faces. Some of them are the same as the ones I had before, and there are others that are new.


Before all of the serious work starts, here are some pictures I took just to see what he looks like!

It's like the TrackMaster Christmas set Mattel canceled for some reason. The tanker even has the face:



Here's the full fleet of locomotives that I have so far. One day, I'll hopefully build a layout for them!

Also, Bachmann announced their new Thomas products today, and the most interesting thing by far was proper OO Scale figures!


I definitely plan on picking some up when they are released!
I think that's everything for now. Thanks for reading!
-TM2001

[Super]

Wow, your project is really coming along and looks great. I love the detail where the Boiler does not meet the footplate, looks real.

Thanks, Super! If you love the boiler detail, just wait until the running plate is painted. I put some detail on it under the boiler, since it'll be somewhat visible.

And we're back to a Series 1 inspired Thomas!

As I was preparing to add detail to the model, I started thinking a lot about why I was doing the project in the first place, and I couldn't really think of anything beyond fulfilling a childhood dream. I also have thought about doing some of the other original characters (mainly Edward, Henry, and Gordon), and I couldn't think about how I would add extra details to them without just getting an A3, Black 5, etc., and that wasn't very appealing to me. Not to mention the fact that I've had to look at a bunch of photos from Series 1 recently to paint Thomas' faces, anyway. I have sold off the detailing packs, and the faces I wasn't planning on keeping, so I'm not really doing this at a loss, which is lucky. I will be keeping the extra running plate, though, in case I ever do decide to do anything with it.

Anyways, I need to show you where the project is at, because despite the setbacks, I did not quit working on it!

Thomas is really close to being ready to paint, and I have been working on the faces! I did need to build the Smokebox support out of plasticard, but since it was just a square, it was rather easy! I only have one face left to paint, and eyebrows to draw on for two (and permanently draw on for the confused face).



I have also been tweaking the running plate I designed a year and a half ago (can't believe it's been that long!) to be more accurate and to fit the body shell better. Overall, it'll be around a millimeter too long, but it's still closer than the Bachmann model.

I cut the gearbox down to size as well, and I ordered the blue paint, which should arrive tomorrow! I really just need to paint the body shell, finish designing and order the running plate and a couple of other things from Shapeways, and the bodywork will all be done! After that, I'll just need to figure out the lining and number.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!
-TM2001

[Super]

Wow...Thomas is looking good T-Man especially those faces. Did you make them?

Hi Super! Thank you! The faces were some I found on Shapeways; I only painted them.

[Super]

They look very nice. Were they regular 3D printed or Resin 3D printed?

I think regular 3D printed, so I think they're some kind of plastic.

[Super]

The faces look so smooth, I thought they must be from a 3D Resin Printer.

I've been kind of quiet recently due to being busy with school, but I have made a fair amount of progress with Thomas! For the last few weeks, I was mostly doing filling and sanding, but I have finally started on painting! First I repainted the wheels to the new blue color. One nice thing is that, because I used a blue spray paint, the coverage on the wheels is much better than I got with the brush-on lighter blue!






After that, I was able to spray the cab piece blue right away, but I had some work to do on the main body still. I also got the cab windows painted yellow.





Once I finished the sanding work on the body, I was able to paint it blue! Now Thomas looks much more like himself again!





Now I just need to do the last coat of black on the smokebox, then I can begin all of the masking for the lining and number. I'm going to need a lot of patience for that, but I'm confident that I can do it!

I have also worked on the design for the new running plate, and I just need to finish off the parts of the design will allow me to put the model together (the cosmetic parts are finished). There's not a picture because most of what I have done is near where the chassis will be, and won't really be visible.

I also have some general updates on my OO scale stuff, and I'll hopefully post about that later today or tomorrow!
Thanks for reading!
-TM2001