With the detailing of the model's exterior mostly done I have now turned my attention to the cab interior. Previously I had fitted a new cab floor and added a plate separating the cab from the engine compartement. As with the exterior most of the detailing is planned to be made with plastic card and profiles with nickle silver wire added where needed. During my Christmas vacation I rebuilt and painted a driver figure for the loco. Now the rest of the cab interior is under construction.
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| Testing placement of the left sand box in the Fowler cab. The plate separating cab and engine compartment shows up in white plasticard. |
I chose to model the cab interior as it looked post-war after a substantial rebuild of instrumentation and levers. Nothing in the Nystrup Gravel company archives indicates that the rebuild included a new engine, but rather that the idea was to allow the driver to control gears, brake, sanding and speed from the right side of the cab. On most Fowlers the driver had to switch from left to right in the cab to manipulate every lever.
My plan is to add the following items:
- Brake column
- Wooden blocks
- Driver figure
- Sand boxes with levers and pipes
- Gear lever
- Speed control
- Instrument panel
- Oil cans
- Hand tools
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| Brake column finished and painted. Sand boxes begun. Cardboard test pieces and off-cuts seen right. |
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| Sand boxes being sanded. First parts cut for instrument panel. This is enjoyable, old school, basic modelling. Next stage involves fitting details: openings for filling, levers and pipes to wheels. Endless fun! |
The sand boxes and instrument panel are basic plasticard constructions with added detail from metal wire and pipe. The instrument panel is designed for lighting with full top and bottom and black painted interior to prevent 'shine through' from the probably very dim light source I'll build into the panel. I'm still searching for usefull decals or prints for the gauges. Consequently I have not yet made any holes in the panel's front plate.
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| Major elements in differing stages of finishing. Oil can needs only weathering, while the instrument panel is only just started. Sand boxes are sanded and all visible corners rounded. Openings for sand refilling are added from plastic pipe. |
The coming week I hope to finish the sand boxes and work out their final mounting in the cab. The last remaining item to design and prepare in the cab is the gear lever and that is still mystery to me.
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