A little bit of silliness ...

Followers of the NGRM Online forum https://ngrm-online.com/  over the last year or so will be familiar with the series of 3D printed caricature 009 loco bodies designed by Dave Malton. Intended as a bit of fun, they caught on during the course of 2020 and the range gradually expanded to include a number of diesel 'prototypes'. 

The models are designed to fit the Kato 11-107 N gauge chassis and, as I've had one of those in the drawer for several years waiting for a suitable project in which to use it, I thought I'd join in with the fun. I was initially drawn to the the prototype Deltic and production Class 55 prints but towards the end of the year Dave announced that he had a Class 33 in the pipeline. I make no secret of the fact that the Cromptons were and are my favourite class of mainline diesel so it took me no time at all to order one from Shapeways  https://www.shapeways.com/shops/david-s-railway-bits as soon as they became available.

The one piece prints are excellent, requiring just a little cleaning up before painting. I opted for a BR blue (Precision Paints) with double arrows from the Railtec range (these are the smaller arrows from the 3mm scale set but standard 2mm scale ones  would do the job just as well), numbering is from a set of Fox generic letters and number that I normally use for 009 wagons.

While I'm sure that the purists will throw their arms up in consternation, these are just intended as a bit of fun and certainly a number of my friends have joined in with the spirit of the concept, producing a variety of mini Class 37s, 47s, HSTs, Deltics etc. 

When exhibitions are able to restart, expect to see a few of these delightful little caricatures appearing on numerous 009 layouts in the crazy hour at the end of shows.