The Armless Eunuch

One of the things missing from my prototype Clayton build was a driver. Trying to find an appropriate figure proved more difficult than expected for two reasons. Firstly there isn't much space for a driver in the Clayton and secondly all the controls are on the right hand side of the driver which seems to differ from many other locos and so most driver figures have the left arm posed for controlling things not the right. The third problem was that all the photos I've seen of the loco in use show the driver in high-viz clothing so a an early 20th century tractor driver, for example, wasn't really going to fit the bill.

Fortunately while browsing around I came across the figures made by Andrew C Stadden which included a driver figure with his right arm out and in high-viz clothing so I ordered one.

When the figure arrived I was happily surprised to find that it actually comes with a choice of arms so that you can easily pose the drive with either arm bent or outstretched. Unfortunately his wide leg pose meant he wouldn't fit in the rather restricted driver area of the Clayton. Even bending the legs closer together didn't narrow him down far enough, so in the end I had to use a razor saw to castrate the poor bloke! The cut allowed me to force the legs closer together (the pewter the figure is cast in really doesn't bend well, so it takes some considerable force) and close enough for him to sit in position. I'll tidy up the wound with a bit of miliput when I add the arms, but I think he will work quite nicely. Even though he is quite heavy, he doesn't cause any problems in the original prototype model without the steel keeper plate so should be fine in the next build.