Class 66 Update August 2023 - Let There Be Light
Time for a quick update on our lovely Class 66, which has been progressing nicely though the Accurascale works! Having taken on the excellent Hattons Class 66 tooling, we documented how we made several tweaks to these models, unlocking more detail variations and taking on customer feedback.
This has been very well received. But, as some modellers pointed out, there was an extra yard we could go to to really bring the best out of our shed So we listened, assessed, designed and implemented some further tweaks on these already brilliant models to make them truly special.
All lighting units have been revised. We were unsure about changing these early on for the EP and we held out to see what they looked like on the decorated samples. The size of the units have been changed as well as the internal light guides to give a better appearance. We also now have the option of both types of LED light cluster.
The Freightliner green has been revised to the proper shade of green for this period. Previously the backing to the Freightliner logo on our first decorated sample was a different shade of green. In order to replicate this properly, we have used the same shade of paint with different gloss levels. It's very subtle but the camera flash shows it to good effect.
Both styles of cab interior have been modelled, featuring either wrap around desk or central "pedestal".
The correct shade of grey for the roof of the DB liveried locos has now been used.
Warning panel yellows have been tweaked. There are actually three different shades used over the period the 66 covers. Here are two of the them!
We have tooled an additional buffer beam plate (centre) to correct the position of the lashing eyes on the first 200 EWS machines. 66001 (and 2's) unique arrangement can be seen on the left. and the later "standard" on the right.
Among the other smaller and subtle tweaks we have also looked at and improved the fit of the handrails on the bodyside for the doors to give them a more realistic appearance.
With all these tweaks in place we can now confirm that the production run is signed off and underway. Not only that, but we are still on course for delivery for Q1, 2024 as originally announced back in February.
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