Entry posted by Jon020
2,303 views
It’s been a while since my last status entry, so I thought that whilst sat trapped in a hotel, seemingly miles from attraction or civilisation, I’d draft an update on the 47 project... and this is the result, uploaded a day or so later.
There was a little distraction since the last update because I decided to postpone the inevitable (painting) and do some more work on another “in work” project, that of a Craven DMU. I blogged this (part 1) and really ought to do the part 2 weathering bit too... yes I ought to; but for now, I’ll concentrate on the 47.
At the last entry, the 47 was primed and ready for some paint (applying which is the part of the project I like the least). However, armed with my two old Lima UV bodies to practice on and some fresh (ish) Railmatch enamels and thinners, I set off. First off, I applied several thin coats of white primer to the ends of the 47. Whilst easy to do in principle, getting a reasonable finish is something I’ve previously struggled with, but this time it wasn’t too bad... although the upper lamp bracket is a really good mask to leave a shadow behind. This primer takes ages to dry though... two days later and it’s still tacky, so I decided not to rush it and find something else to keep me busy with, e.g. the Craven.
Once finally dry, I applied several thin coats of Railmatch yellow (pre 84 warning panel yellow). This is a much lighter, less orangey shade than Bachmann’s colour and once finished is more appealing... to my eye anyway. Again, getting a reasonable finish involved several light coats to slowly build up the colour opacity. Once finished, this was again set to dry... and harden. Once dry, I masked the entire ends and applied some roof-grey to the roof panels... again with my Iwata Revolution and got a reasonably glossy finish which looked ok. I left the paint to harden for some time, and it was during this time that most of the Craven work got done... but I wanted the paint “hard” before applying the masking tape; I did not want the tape to “lift” the paint when it was peeled away.
Masking was accomplished using some Precision tape (the red stuff) which is nicely thin and cuts well... and sits in the details nicely, and then some ordinary tape and maskol.
Initially, as seen here, the precision tape has been applied around what turned out to be a complex shape to mask... before this exercise I’d not appreciated the gentle radius between the under-cab window horizontal and nose end vertical demarcation... or the transition between yellow and blue behind the cab door, but inside the outer skin dimension. More than once I found myself thinking how much easier large-logo would be... and would it be too much to change now...? Probably yes!
Anyway, perseverance paid off and this was eventually complete, the roof sections being treated the same way overall. The ends were then treated to further masking with Tamiya tape and ordinary “wickes” masking tape... with Maskol blatted all over to fill any remaining (possible) gaps. I really needed to sort that roof fan grill out... and with a gentle push it’s smoother now.
Spraying followed the previously mentioned technique of “easy does it”. Using a thin mix of Railmatch BR Blue enamel (207 I think) through my Iwata, I misted some colour over the masking edges, into the grills and around other apertures; the Tamiya stand is a very useful tool... before I’d used a precision paints clamp tool – that you have to hold – this one gives you both hands to work with... much easier!
The paint wafting has continued. When I say wafting, it’s a low pressure direct application of thin paint; its thinness allows it to bleed together and form a smooth surface and gives control over how much goes down in each pass... takes a while but better than a risky blast at full pressure and lots of paint.
As you can see, I worked on the roof, and the two sides separately ... moving to the next to allow some quick drying (to tacky) time between each layer. Here, I’m building up some tone to the sides.
Again... several more coats have gone on and the roof is getting close, and the sides are not bad either.
... and that’s that. The last coats are applied and full opacity reached. The finish isn’t perfect, I wish I could get it perfect, honestly, but it’ll do.
The body then sits inside my drying box... to go “off”... I left it in here for a couple of hours to let the paint get “almost” touch dry before removing the masking tape and then leaving it for a day to check for bleed though (removed with a cocktail stick dipped in white spirit... and then for a few more days to harden.
One “masking removed” shot shows that the finish isn’t bad... although I’d like to get better at this and not feel quite so nervous about this phase... memories of the Deltic project still haunt... although at least I learnt all about paint stripping! This time however, I was quite happy.
Some family duties delayed much further work for a while... although I wanted the paint to harden anyway; these did allow a brief pop-in to Sheffield park to catch the diseasel on service train duty
... and a run up to Birmingham following the Chilterns route... albeit on their DMUs (comfortable enough) and not the Mk3 “silver train” ... although I did introduce my boys to the concept of train-spotting... and the numbers-game kept them quiet ;-)
Then it was my youngest’s birthday, so I knocked him up a display track for his Virgin Voyager... which he didn’t know he was getting... just spare code 100 track (sprayed with a sleeper grime aerosol), some carrs ballast and hanging basket liner and scatter. He was pleased (he said that he really wasn’t expecting it... so it’s nice to still be able to surprise a 9 year old occasionally) and the Red of the Vomit Comet really stood out nicely against the browns and green... this now sits on the shelf above his bed... with the VC displayed.
I then went back to the 47 and applied some gloss varnish (Railmatch) to the areas of the bodyside that would be treated to decals... once dry (and smooth and shiny) I started with the decals.
The decals are a mix of mostly Fox – BR arrows, overhead flashes and numbers, and precision labels for the shed data panel.
I looked at numerous photos and the spare 47 body I had, to verify positioning of all markings. The BR arrows went on first... and then the warning flashes. The numbers would be trickier as they needed to be “made up”. Fox supply a single sheet of mixed numbers, from which the “47” can be applied, but the other numerals need applying individually and this was a test of patience; maybe I shouldn’t have tried to do it on one of the (then) warmest evenings of the year... but I did get there ... in the end... although several numerals ended up in the bin rather than on the model; it happens!
I masked up the existing spare body and then applied masking similarly to my new model to act as a guide for the numbers.
It worked, and with the shed/data panel added under this, all was put aside to dry
The model was then sat on its chassis for a test shot... and it’s starting to look ok.
A coat of satin varnish over the whole surface evened up the finish and provided a hard finish to work from after; I prefer Satin to matt as it give a slightly less flat finish.
With the body now put to one side, I decided to go back to the chassis, connect the wiring and drive shafts and attach the speaker that I liberated from a Bachmann sound 57... which with a little fettling of the plastic case sat in the chassis surround nicely. The buffers were re-sprung and fitted with a little plastic piece to restrict forward travel glued to the rear base (that I’d filed off to remove them initially).
With the speaker fitted I was concerned that there would still be room for the fans... which needed to be fitted to make the most of those delicious grills; I was also concerned that the plate the fans sit on would blank the sound waves... so I set about making a new one to hold the fans in place.
Made from a piece of evergreen strip, with nickel silver strip at its edges for strength... and 4 holes drilled at the correct points... the whole will hold the fans and allow plenty of sound to pass.
Once painted black and fitted to the original mounts, this thinner plate (thinner in height too) allows the fans to be fitted and sound pass. Originally I’d planned tank mounted speakers but with all the work done “down there” I thought it best to leave that be... either way, the sound is good enough for what I’ll want.
Fitted fans... and the difference from the original is really quite obvious. They’rrrreeeeee great!
A further element to address is the train-reporting code... and given that the model started as a solid box two-light unit (47 035) there was quite a bit to rework and with the gaping hole sorted, it now needed to be filled. As shown in a previous post I made some transparent plates to fit from inside and made similar glazing to attach to the front (fixed with “Klear”)... but I needed some codes.... cue very cruel close up... showing what I still cannot see with my eyes! I’ve just bought (second hand) a Canon SX10is... not a bad bit of kit for £75 including bag, filters, SD card and batteries... and this has a super-macro that allows focusing at about 1cm. Streuth, this can be cruel! Useful for those bench shot though... I’ll keep the EOS 60D (and 400D as backup) for those out-door shots.
As the loco was a Gateshead loco in 1974, before being transferred back to Finsbury Park in 75, I felt (after much deliberation) that a Newcastle to Kings Cross (and back) service would suffice. Whilst I decided to give the loco a little layover at GD or Passenger Loco, the codes were ones I’s found photos of 47s carrying ... and they’re a service often carried by 55s too... so it’s a similar express service... So, it’s 1A07 (07:20 Newcastle to Kings Cross – “Newcastle executive”) and 1N14 (11:47 Kings Cross to Newcastle) that got picked.
These were made using solid precision labels... individual digits, with a covering over the top of a four-piece frame transparent piece – for the Heljan class 35... but sized well for the Bach 47... the Heljan ones still being too big.
Using individual digits allowed the code to be represented in slightly wonky manner, something I wanted to represent as I’d done before with the 55; with 1N1 4 relatively straight 1A07 is nicely unbalanced.
Once fitted, these should all look fine... hopefully
Thanks for reading... and for keeping with me on this mammoth project. Hmmm... perhaps I should have numbered this as 47 085 ;-)
Jon.
-
11
9 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now