JAPANESE COLONIAL LOCOMOTIVE - STUCK IN THE KOREAN DMZ - c. 1966
This is a 1:87 (H/O) scale children's model kit from ARII of a Japanese locomotive. The model is motorized and comes with a lot of track. However. it is not a good representation of the D51 locomotive as it is missing four of the drive wheels. (kit for Japanese domestic sales only)
I therefore chose to do the model as a Japanese colonial locomotive in Korea, stuck in the DMZ when the Korean War began in 1950. Several locomotives were abandoned between the two Koreas when the DPRK invaded the south. Some were just left where they stopped; others were attacked by armies and air forces. These locomotive sit to this day in the no man's land of the inter-Korean DMZ: overgrown and rusted beyond all repair. They are slowly decomposing into the ground, and in a few hundred years will be nothing but rust in the dirt. This one shows how it might have looked in about 1966 after sitting untouched for 16 years in harsh weather.
I had to build all the running gear and add several items to the undersides of the skirting. However, with the greenery in place you can barely see any of the wheel sets and running gear. I also built the entire cabin interior, including smoke box with open fire door, and seats; and the interior of the coat tender.
The engine and tender were painted with Vallejo black printer in the airbrush, then dusted with a light rust powder and shot with Testors matte clear. Then it was re-dusted with three different rust colours, and later had Vallejo brown wash added in pools where water would have sat. The gravel is a spray-on gravel paint from Floquil.
The kit was bought from a vendor at CAPCON on Saturday 28 September 2019. It was finished Wednesday 02 October in time to show at the IPMS Ottawa club meeting. It was a great $1 spent! The Turkish moss greenery cost more than the kit.
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| Japanese colonial steam locomotive in the inter-Korean DMZ - circa 1966 |
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| First place in the Misc. category at the Syracuse, USA, SYRCON competition, 20 Oct 2019. |
