Scratch-Building Skarloey | 16mm Scale

Old Faithful himself! The old engine of Sodor's narrow gauge railway of the same name:

This historic loco has seen a lot of change from his experience on his line, and a devoted workhorse to his engine fleet and crew. Constructed alongside Rheneas in January/February of 2016, here are some detailed photos.

Skarloey on the diorama, pulling a rake of empty slate cars back the inclines at the old mines of Ward Fell.

A 0-4-2ST, Skarloey features a large saddle tank that wraps around his boiler. Characteristic of many classic 19th century engines, he sports a large, boxy cab shelter and elegant styling.

Drawing these measured diagrams help with construction, and visualizing his alternate customs, including his early cabless design. Inspiration came from reference gathering of images from his prototype Talyllyn, and Skarloey as he appeared from Season 5 of Thomas and Friends.

Construction is made entirely from paper card, mostly from Bazzil Basics. Braced in Midwest Products balsa wood, body shell parts are glued with either crazy glue for a heavy-duty bond and white glue. Scotch tape braces cylindrical parts together like the smoke box and tanks. Painting and weathering is done using Plaid FolkArt and Apple Barrel acrylics.

Details of the body shell include craft wire brass and handrail details, made from Darice Craft Designer 16 and 12 gauge wire. Peelable gems, prepped with primer spray paint, are used for rivets and bolts. Balsa lamp irons house replaceable headlamps.

Skarloey is ready to join his brother Rheneas for the start of a overhaul of Skarloey railway engines, all equipped with new and upgraded working parts as of now, more will be posted soon!

Happy Modeling!