That's looking great Al! You've made a lovely job of that cabside lining, getting a fine enough line to match the boiler bands must be very tricky in 4mm.

Dave

Ah, that smooth egg-shell finish. You've got it spot-on Al, very impressive. Will you be weathering it? I'm not sure I'd have the heart to do it! 

Dave: I'm still getting the hang of the bowpen.

I tried using enamels straight from the tin but they dry up so quickly it's hard to draw a long line without interruption. Perhaps my tins were getting on a bit - they say to only use new ones for lining. The acrylic inks work seem to flow a bit more easily and they've got the necessary opacity, at least the white and black seem to. I'll try lining a panelled coach with them next and see how I get on with the gold and black. Fortunately I've got a huge range of acrylic inks in the art room!

If I drew a white line that was a bit too thick, I let it dry then cut back into it with a bit more black.

Mikkel, Job: maybe a touch of weathering, but not too much.

The tender looks a bit droopy in that shot. I've since swapped the orientation of the bogies and added a washer above one of them to correct the ride height. It's because the bogies each have a slightly different design, to accommodate the DJH coupling system, which I didn't use.

Dave: I'm still getting the hang of the bowpen.

 

I tried using enamels straight from the tin but they dry up so quickly it's hard to draw a long line without interruption. Perhaps my tins were getting on a bit - they say to only use new ones for lining. The acrylic inks work seem to flow a bit more easily and they've got the necessary opacity, at least the white and black seem to. I'll try lining a panelled coach with them next and see how I get on with the gold and black. Fortunately I've got a huge range of acrylic inks in the art room!

 

If I drew a white line that was a bit too thick, I let it dry then cut back into it with a bit more black.

 

Mikkel, Job: maybe a touch of weathering, but not too much.

A couple of drops of Ronson lighter fluid really helps enamels to flow without thinning them too much.

I tend to steer clear of metallic colours for lining the particles that give it the metallic appearance clog up the nib really quickly. I do any "gold lining" with yellow ochre which flows much better:-)

That's a good tip re: lighter fluid, thanks Dave!