Ian Rathbone

BR Green was never Brunswick, that is a bluey green used by the GCR & SECR. BR Green is Deep Bronze Green, very similar to GWR Mid Chrome Green. The best equivalent is Precision GWR 1906 Green, I’m afraid I don’t know of an acrylic equivalent. It would have been a good idea to have been more specific about your present loco types and liveries so that the replies could be more detailed. Your final coat of paint must be gloss, for the transfers. The final finish will depend on the varnish/lacquer used. BR liveries can be a minefield with many variants between regions - I have a comprehensive explanation on my web site. Ian R

It’s a 2-4-0T not an 0-4-2.

You need to be more specific about what it is you want to paint - loco(steam, diesel, electric)/coach/wagon , plastic/brass/nickel silver/resin, company/livery, weathered or not. Your question cannot be answered without this knowledge. Ian R

I was given a set of transfers for a LNWR Motor Car van with ‘London North Weston’ as the company name. A non-railway error in the next village is Athelstan Road, except the signs say Althestan Road. Apparently, once registered with the post office and given a postcode it can’t be corrected. Ian R

Well, it’s nearly finished, just needs its Cambrian identity added (waiting for the transfers) then I can varnish it and screw it together. I commissioned roof and door transfers from Precision Labels. Ian R

I’m building a Cambrian Railways Mutton Van in 7mm, based on a Worsley works body sitting on a modified LNW 6 wheel chassis. There are ten doors each side and the middle hinges were in the wrong position so I had to cut 20 new slots. The holes for the LH door handles were in the wrong place and there were no holes for the RH handles. The floor had fold-up edges to fix to the sides but they fouled the lower hinge positions so had to be cut off. Otherwise it was ok. I don’t know how I got dragged in to this - it’s the first bit of rolling stock I’ve built for at least 20 years. Ian R

I use a cellulose paint matched to Precision Paints LMS Crimson Lake, which is probably the best colour on the market and it’s available in gloss. You say ‘I’ll spray it’ , do you mean a rattle can or air brush? Rover Damask Red is probably discontinued now and it’s also a little pink. LMS, MR & BR Crimson Lake/ Maroon are all the same colour. Ian R

How do you intend to apply the paint? Ian R

I inadvertently posted a topic twice. How do I delete the duplicate? ian R

The ‘Right Track 3’ Painting & Lining video is now officially available. The link to it is: https://www.youtube.com/@chriswalsh9962/playlists Chris Walsh is the original producer of the series. The parts available cover spray painting and lining with a ruling pen (bow pen). Ian R

ROD 2-8-0s were shipped to France like this - Black all over, including buffer beams. 7mm model built by Mike Edge. Ian R

Here’s a better photo of Frank’s King -

At a recent Bonham’s auction this streamlined Duchess, built from a DJH 7mm kit, and painted by me with the full three colour lining sold for a mere £384, including buyer’s premium. These are not easy to paint and I charged more than that for the painting! The kit, wheels and motor would come to about £900 (2021). Had it been placed with Ellis Clark or Steamlines I’m sure it would have achieved a better price. I think that where you sell has a bearing on the price realised. Ian R

I have the story of the BR renumbering of steam and early diesel & electrics on my website. The GW did renumber some South Wales locos around the time of nationalisation. Meanwhile, the Black 5 I showed earlier in this thread is now nearly complete and did some running in on Buck’s Hill. (BH has a website). Ian R

Patriot 45513 prepares to move off shed, 22nd June 1955. Ian R

Any commercial lime scale remover should do it. Ian R

35 years ago I bought a Badger 150 dual action, which has a detachable bottom feed cup or jar for the paint. I am still using it after painting well over 1600 locos and coaches in 4 & 7 mm scales. In that time it has had two new heads and needles but the internal seals have never been replaced. It is easy to clean and strips down to all its component parts without fuss. You get what you pay for. I would suggest you get a mid-range dual action air brush from a named manufacturer, avoid unbranded Chinese airbrushes or any bundled up with a compressor. Ian R

You mean a white circle, not a disc. Sometimes the circle was omitted. Ian R

32151, Eastleigh Works pilot (ex LBSCR E1) the only member of the class known to have received BR lining, in 1949.

See The Johnster, 18th Jan.

It is a complete myth that British 00 gauge arose from the inability to fit motors into British outline H0 locos. This may have been true in the 1920s but, by the time the British scale was put into production by Hornby in the late 30s, motors could quite easily be made small enough to fit. No, the reason for choosing a larger scale for the bodies was to enable the fitting of outside valve gear. Hornby Dublo’s first two locos had no o/s valve gear but they were planning to introduce the ‘Duchess of Atholl’. H0 wheels measure 20.6 mm over the outside of the tyres. A typical width between cylinder centres of a British loco is 6’-8” which scales at 23.35 mm, which gives a width of 1.37 mm on each side to fit the valve gear. Three thicknesses of metal plus tolerance? It couldn’t be done, and still cannot. Continental locos with a wider loading gauge and lower platforms meant that model producers could ease the width over the cylinders to provide that space. How often do you see a British outline H0 model with o/s valve gear? The only thing that is scale in H0 is the distance between the rails; everything else, for steam outline, is a compromise. This was certainly true of the Rivarossi Royal Scot. British H0 is feasible for diesel or electric outline but not steam. Ian R

Then there was this one - following a spurious article in one of the magazines. I did North British to go with it. This is one of Mike Edge’s P2s - I read with amazement how many locos some of you have. I have built about 50 but, apart from a handful of 4mm locos that rarely see light of day, I have only ten, in 7mm, but then I built eight of them and heavily modified the two others. Here’s another one I’m building now, well I started it over a year ago and took time off over Xmas to get the construction finished. It’s an Ivatt Black 5, luckily not one that Ellis Clarke are doing, built from an old Javelin kit. Much head scratching and poring over Pipe & Rod drawings. The body here is in etch primer and the rods chemically blackened. The chassis is not quite complete in the photo as a pair of sand pipes needed rerouting. It is now in the paint shop after completion and testing. Ian R

I remember, at spotting session at Crewe in the late fifties, seeing a calf in a sack being loaded into the brake van of a passenger train. Ian R

Whoops! Probably me. Ian R

Another engine that I forgot was Big Bertha which had outside admission hence ‘backward cranks’ and radius rods below the valve rods. It was also unique* in having four cylinders but only two valves. *Unique until proved otherwise. True - as far as I know. Ian R