BUILDING THE SAR CLASS 91
Steve Burnett builds the Bowaters Model kit.
Having not built anything for 16 years or so and finding myself in lockdown with all my gardening jobs and projects done, I came across Bowaters Models who were advertising a SAR Class 91 kit. Now, I have always wanted a 91 since I first saw them some 25 or so years ago and ordered one straight away.
The kit came in July 2020 and, after spending a week or so looking at all the parts and deciding how I was going to build and detail it, and in what form, I made a start in the last week of July, having decided on the Spoornet era. (Spoornet are a South African rail company, now called Transnet Freight Rail)
All my previous SAR models have been scratch-built using plywood clad with Plastikard, which looks good on the finished models, and they are still going strong after
20 (and then some) years. So with this in mind, I intended to take the same approach with this kit.
PVA glue, Gorilla two-part epoxy, as the main adhesive for cladding, along with Gorilla glue, EMA Plastic Weld and various superglues and Milliput two-part epoxy putty were used throughout the build. Paint and matt lacquer were rattle cans from Halfords.
I had decided to equip the engine with...
• A Loco Remote Mega 2, powered by a 12v 3.4amp Power Sonic battery to give it some weight for traction
• LEDs for the directional lights were also supplied pre-wired by Loco Remote
• Sound was to be a mylocosound unit from Fosworks along with the speaker
• Decals are Endon Valley Custom Decals All of the above companies, including Bowaters Models, gave great support throughout the various stages of the build, even with some very daft questions asked! I would highly recommend them to all.
Bogies and Chassis
25 or so years ago, I had attempted to build a bogie side frame out of Plastikard, so this was to be used along with all the drawings and various images I had accumulated over the years.
My original bogie attempt was offered up to the kit versions and drawn onto them, keeping some of the depth of the ply side frames to keep the rigidity. This was then clad in the plastic using Gorilla two-part epoxy as the adhesive.
Once the side frames were clad, layers were built up using Plastikard, Plastruct and Evergreen products. 35mm plastic film canisters were used for the motor casings with the bottoms of them turned out. These frames were then undercoated to aid any filling and final wet and dry rubbing down, before putting the brake hangers and detail on prior to the final coats of paint.
At the beginning of the build, I decided that I wanted to be able to take various parts of the engine apart in case of any repairs or replacements that might be needed in the future, so the bogie frames and structure were all bolted together. Brass rivets were used in the upper cross members of the bogie in the opposing direction for compensation and a smoother running engine.
The wheels supplied were spoked due to the supplier unable to get disc wheels this size, so not wanting to waste them, they were filled with Milliput and the faces smoothed by turning them on my lathe. They, and the drive motors, were bolted onto the bogies and wired up using a heavier gauge cable than I would normally use to ensure they stayed intact from the amount of use this loco would get.
During the build of the bogies, the chassis centre lines were drawn out using a scale drawing and the underside frames added, this was then filled between the frames with plywood to the same height, to give it more strength while supporting the heavy battery.
The chassis was pre-painted prior to the buffer beams being glued on.
The buffer beams took me a while to figure out. I needed to get the characteristic stripes painted perfectly, or the model would look really odd. It dawned on me while cladding the front of them, that a simple template with the angles drawn across it would suffice. The beams could be laid on it and masked, following the drawn lines.
Cowcatchers are fitted as supplied and electrical connections were made. Dressmakers pins were used to represent any bolts or rivets.
The fuel tank was built using the supplied ply, cut down to size and reshaped to remove the added width of the cladding to maintain its original size. This was then
laid out on the chassis, along with the bogie frames to ensure there was the correct clearance of the bogie frames when they are turned when running around the track.
Having always known that this was going to be a beast of an engine, it suddenly dawned on me that there were a couple of tight spots for clearance on my garden railway. Everything else that runs on it has enough clearance, so I got it out on the track just to check and put my mind at rest. There was a good inch of clearance. Phew!
Happy that the loco would run, the final detail was added to the buffer beams: quick release, vac pipes and the buffers. These are cast and bolted through the beam. They were made by a gentleman who lived in Devon who I met when I first got into SAR modelling and for the life of me I can’t remember his name, it was that long ago.
Cab and Interior Detail
The kit comes with a tab and slot system to aid the build and alignment. Since I planned to clad the ply inside and out, these were altered again to keep the original size once clad. Then, the windows had to be altered to suit those on the Spoornet.
Two false floors were made, one to fit the cab, the other to measure the cab controls and layout before final fitting.
I don’t have much detail on the cab interiors, but based on several images, these were drawn to scale and again, made with Plastikard. All were painted, decals added, then lacquered prior to installation using the second false floor as a reference guide for size and positioning.
The cab roof was to be removable so if the LEDs ever fail, I could get access to them for replacement.
The rear electrical cabinets all come out when the roof is removed. This also allows me to get to the bogie bolt. Interior cab detail was then glued into position.
Engine Bay
The engine bay comes with 3D-printed detail. Again, this was cut down to size to allow for the cladding and the height was also reduced to allow for the engine bay roof as I wanted to round the edges using Plastikard.
Before cladding the doors, I drilled holes for the grab handles. The hinges were added as a finishing touch. Final details included rungs and handrails. The engine bay was then painted and decals added.
Electrics and running gear were then added prior to the second side being fixed on, to make sure all worked before closing up.
Driving Cab
With both engine bay sides now in place, it was time to work on the front end, this is another 3D-printed part that is supplied with the kit. Recesses were cut out to allow for the filler caps to be inserted and the doors and handrails were fitted before painting.
Windscreen wipers were made from Plastikard using a template to pin and glue them in place.
The finishing touch was a set of 3D-printed air horns that arrived and were fitted just before Valentine’s weekend - in just over seven months I had completed my Class 91.
Conclusion
The Bowaters Models Class 91 is a kit that can be built as-is, providing you with a decent-looking model to run on your garden railway. It’s also a very good kit to use as the basis for a more detailed model as I have done. After not doing any model building in the past 16 years, I thoroughly enjoyed constructing this kit.
Would I buy another one?
Hell yeah. This model is crying out to be double headed and pulling a long rake of stock!