Locomotive-specific detailing can still be added to improve the newest ready-to-run models even further. RICHARD HALL shows how you can upgrade Bachmann’s already excellent model of ‘V2’ Green Arrow in its preserved condition.
With the increasingly impressive standards of new ready-to-run locomotives, there’s less need for modellers to delve in to their toolkits to upgrade them, but even the most accurate models can still be improved. Replicating preserved steam locomotives also often requires going beyond weathering, with details added since withdrawal from BR service needing inclusion, as with the National Railway Museum’s (NRM) Gresley ‘V2’ 4771 Green Arrow.
Recognised as one of Gresley’s finest designs, 184 ‘V2’ 2-6-2s were built, with some handling 26-coach trains during the Second World War. Class-leader 4771 Green Arrow was preserved as part of the National Collection and became a popular main line performer in the 1970s and 1980s. Main line operation from 1998, outshopped in BR green as 60800, left a strong impression on many enthusiasts before an early withdrawal in 2008 after cracks developed in its Monoblock cylinder casting.
Above: Out of the box, Bachmann’s 2021-tooling ‘V2’ 2-6-2 is a benchmark ‘OO’ model, …
