Paxton Road's workbench

Looks very nice James, you have good reason to be proud. I like the wide streaks from between the grilles, I don't know how you keep them so dead vertical - I find my hand tends to wander.

 

From the chronology, it looks like you did the paint fade before getting an airbrush - in which case how did you achieve it? It's very even and doesn't show any evidence of brushwork.

 

 

Will - thanks!

 

First up - the streaks were built up very gradually using lots of repeated strokes - on top of a matt varnish layer. By using a good dose of thinners in the mix it meant it didn't build up to quick and the 'average' stroke was pretty vertical!

 

The fade was applied as a matt varnish - tinted with just white - very early on in the project (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12152 - index of the early stages here). I used my first airbrush, a Badger 200 with rattle can propellant - fine for an overall paint finish but as it was a single action (internal mix) it didn't allow for easy application of a dusting - you had to adjust the needle position manually. My new airbrush and compressor allows me to start the air before the paint, then throttle back the paint flow until I get just the slightest hint of paint and build up a dusting slowly over a few minutes. I used Humbrol 98 quite well thinned and lay the model on it's side, dusting the paint on from the bottom so it collected most on the underframe and the tumble home.

 

(However the fade on 08683 was done by hand - painting a panel (or two) at a time with matt varnish, then working in some matt white paint - the panels and sections made it easy to get a good finish - I'd hate to try it on a slab sided model without at least a basic airbrush).

 

The Badger 200 kit cost me £60 - the compressor and dual action airbrush cost me just £100 - best £100 I've ever spent. I still think you can't get away from the need to build up washes, paint effects and powders first, but having a versatile airbrush means you can add this sort of effect with a smooth edge that's very difficult (not impossible) to achieve without one. Hope that helps!

Very nice James - it just seems to get better and better this loco.

 

I assume there are no more plans to tinker with it further

Superb! She is looking mighty fine......

Pete, Grimley - thankyou both - praise indeed. What next though... I've got some tough decisions to make over Christmas about which layout to progress I think!

Hi James

 

She looks perfect. Just enough weathering to look real and great attention to detail.

well done

(all you need now is a nice Howes sound chip.....)

 

Chris

Thanks Chris! I don't fancy stripping her down again so just straight DCC will do for now, especially since £115 would be better spent on some stock, track for new projects or a Grasmaster - but its VERY tempting. My green 37411 is sound chipped and it brings a whole new dimension to playing shunting on Paxton Road.

Hi James,

37013 looks great, problem is you need to do your other 37s now. It's one of the problems with model railways I find if you add extra detail to one loco in the class you have to go through the others and improve them, sometimes feels like you are going backwards, when you think you have finished a model and you end up pulling it to bits to add more detail. Cetainly worth doing though.

 

Cheers Peter.

James, sorry... a bit late with my comment here (a week up north and post warley... then e-mail overload affecting mojo etc) ... but I see that I have nothing to add to what's been said. Arguably, the loco's not depicting an era that I can associate myself with... but the look, purely from the photos, is lovely. I suspect that you gave yourself a good pat on the back for this one... Peter's right though.... you will need to bring the rest up to this standard eventually you know .

If money was no object, then sound for all.... I was just hoping that the market penetration would eventually start to bring costs down.... not yet it seems .

Jon thanks! I'm deliberately NOT buying any more OO stock for the next 6 months - I've plenty of rebuild and detail projects for the winter... the slow Class 66 build and even slower 58 build.

I'm thinking of selling up the Rose Hill stuff, layout board, Pacer, buildings - and keeping P4 focussed on a 'one day' MSC based layout

The OO stuff is for a longer term plan to sell Paxton Road (when it's finished) and try something based loosely on Didcot yard.

 

Now though I'm getting more and more committed to getting my 'playing with trains' fix from a G-scale garden layout - that solves the problem of finding space for a 'roundy roundy' in the house, but does prove to be a time and money pit but with my Dad in poor health if it means I can spend more time with him in Chester (where I hope to build it) then it's well spent.

 

Looking forward to seeing news on your project - and I can strongly echo your comments back to you - not depicting my era but the look and finish is lovely!

Very nice B) Well done!

Where did you get the break cylenders and chains from?

Thanks!

Both are from Detail Associates...

The brake cylinders are DA2801

The chain is 40 links/inch DA2210

 

MG Sharp in Sheffield