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Description

Effectively the final addition to the Narrow-Gauge engine crew; Mark is another engine who was only established through the RWS guide books, based off the Talyllyn’s own inspection trolley engine, Toby. There’s even less to go off of for Mark [actually, its Mark V] as while Alf has been mentioned, I’ve almost never seen anyone -officially, or in the fandom, even acknowledge Mark’s existence. And that’s a shame, because I think he could be another fun addition to the Skarloey Railway.

While he doesn’t seem to be good for much beyond transporting a couple people; I’d imagine Mark is the most full of himself out of any of the little engines, since his one purpose is to transport the railway inspector -and frankly, that’s the only thing he can actually DO, he thinks very highly of himself and sees himself as above all of the other engines, always being smug and judgmental of them, thinking the reason he doesn’t work is because he’s too good for that kind of ‘menial labor’. No one likes him, and everyone groans whenever he shows up [well, Ivo Hugh doesn’t, at first, but he seem comes to dislike him as much as everyone else, and honestly becomes the most open with his displeasure towards Mark] Duncan at least twice refers to him as a ‘rolling tool shed’ and mentions that a stiff breeze would knock him over [at least once, Duncan tells Mark this to his face] The one he’s had the most unpleasant encounter with would have to be Fred, who gets so irritated with Mark that he outright threatens to bash him so hard he falls to pieces, then run over the pieces, and tells him to ‘Now sod off!’ and to ‘Go on; git, yew sodding lil’ git!’.

This may make Mark sound absolutely insufferable and unlikeable; but that’s kind of the point. In terms of interesting character dynamics, an absolutely insufferable git is perfect fodder for comedic tension, as its cathartic to see characters express the same view as the audience, and even more so to see the git git his comeuppance, in the end, which I’d imagine Mark often does, ending up in situations where he gets stuck and can’t get himself out, like getting pushed over in a windstorm, or his motor shorted out in heavy rain, or something like that, or stuck behind a small precession of wagons that he is not strong enough to push out of the way. Or even finding himself at risk of being destroyed by a set of runaway wagons as he’s not fast enough to get away [I’d imagine Sir Handel helps him out of that pickle, and then rubs it in his face, afterward]. Of course, he always is bailed out, and is too prideful and insecure to admit his fault, but its still satisfying.

His building process was yet another one where I realized I needed to scale him down. For this one, I couldn’t use the usual 6-stud across plates, so I had to use ledged plates in a four-across format, then add panels to the sides to keep him from being too thin. Making his canvas sidings were fortunately pretty easy to do, and because he’s too small and weak to pull anything, I didn’t bother adding couplers. I also screencapped him from his right side, instead of his left like everyone else because, well, that’s the only angle I can seem to find Toby in, and it seems his right side has more notable details than his left, anyway.

Although Toby’s currently a dark forest green livery, I used an older, bright blue livery because it -along with his caution stripes and red accents on his buffers, makes him more colorful, and at least pleasant to look at… even if he is an absolutely insufferable little git

Description

Effectively the final addition to the Narrow-Gauge engine crew; Mark is another engine who was only established through the RWS guide books, based off the Talyllyn’s own inspection trolley engine, Toby. There’s even less to go off of for Mark [actually, its Mark V] as while Alf has been mentioned, I’ve almost never seen anyone -officially, or in the fandom, even acknowledge Mark’s existence. And that’s a shame, because I think he could be another fun addition to the Skarloey Railway.

While he doesn’t seem to be good for much beyond transporting a couple people; I’d imagine Mark is the most full of himself out of any of the little engines, since his one purpose is to transport the railway inspector -and frankly, that’s the only thing he can actually DO, he thinks very highly of himself and sees himself as above all of the other engines, always being smug and judgmental of them, thinking the reason he doesn’t work is because he’s too good for that kind of ‘menial labor’. No one likes him, and everyone groans whenever he shows up [well, Ivo Hugh doesn’t, at first, but he seem comes to dislike him as much as everyone else, and honestly becomes the most open with his displeasure towards Mark] Duncan at least twice refers to him as a ‘rolling tool shed’ and mentions that a stiff breeze would knock him over [at least once, Duncan tells Mark this to his face] The one he’s had the most unpleasant encounter with would have to be Fred, who gets so irritated with Mark that he outright threatens to bash him so hard he falls to pieces, then run over the pieces, and tells him to ‘Now sod off!’ and to ‘Go on; git, yew sodding lil’ git!’.

This may make Mark sound absolutely insufferable and unlikeable; but that’s kind of the point. In terms of interesting character dynamics, an absolutely insufferable git is perfect fodder for comedic tension, as its cathartic to see characters express the same view as the audience, and even more so to see the git git his comeuppance, in the end, which I’d imagine Mark often does, ending up in situations where he gets stuck and can’t get himself out, like getting pushed over in a windstorm, or his motor shorted out in heavy rain, or something like that, or stuck behind a small precession of wagons that he is not strong enough to push out of the way. Or even finding himself at risk of being destroyed by a set of runaway wagons as he’s not fast enough to get away [I’d imagine Sir Handel helps him out of that pickle, and then rubs it in his face, afterward]. Of course, he always is bailed out, and is too prideful and insecure to admit his fault, but its still satisfying.

His building process was yet another one where I realized I needed to scale him down. For this one, I couldn’t use the usual 6-stud across plates, so I had to use ledged plates in a four-across format, then add panels to the sides to keep him from being too thin. Making his canvas sidings were fortunately pretty easy to do, and because he’s too small and weak to pull anything, I didn’t bother adding couplers. I also screencapped him from his right side, instead of his left like everyone else because, well, that’s the only angle I can seem to find Toby in, and it seems his right side has more notable details than his left, anyway.

Although Toby’s currently a dark forest green livery, I used an older, bright blue livery because it -along with his caution stripes and red accents on his buffers, makes him more colorful, and at least pleasant to look at… even if he is an absolutely insufferable little git