I thought it was time for an update on the Blue Pullman project, which has been grinding its way toward completion through most of the spring and summer (so far). I can safely say that this has been one of the most demanding modelling projects I've ever attempted, with most of the last few months being taken up by a seemingly endless cycle of priming, filling, sandpapering, priming, filling ... all to achieve the neat finish I was after, with an absence of visible transitions between the etched inserts and the plastic body shells. Have I got there? No, in truth, but I've convinced myself I've got as close as I'm going to get. Over the last few weeks, therefore, the activity has shifted toward application of the main body colours, beginning with Rail Grey, followed by careful masking for the Rail Blue window stripes. This has been a saga in its own right, with endless problems of paint lifting, paint leaking under the masks, general cock-ups, etc, but finally the end - of this bit at least - is in sight.

This is a slight cheat as the rake doesn't contain the first class parlour cars, but they're nearly done. Each of the vehicles has presented its own set of challenges. The motor cars are by far the easiest, since it's no more than a straight substitution of the window elements. The second class parlour cars turned out to be trickier, because the plastic body loses a lot of its structural integrity after the original windows are removed, along with the plastic bracing behind them (which would show through the altered window positions). As a consequence, the sides tend to flex slightly and this causes endless problems with hairline cracks in the filler and paint. The kitchen cars aren't so bad, as they don't need so much plastic removing, but they do need additional detailing work. Finally, the first class cars are a different proposition as I never ordered the etches for the window sections,, thinking I'd stick with the original blue/white livery. After a lot of experimentation, I've managed to mask and respray the original window inserts, but it's been a slow, fiddly process. Quite a lot still remains to be done, of course. Roofs and noses need painting, decals and glazing needs to be added, the interior of the kitchen cars needs to be attended to, and finally I need to assemble the chassis for the dummy power car at the other end. The final work will involve careful tweaking of ride heights to ensure consistency along the rake. So, not done by any means. But, it's getting there.