Gibbo675

Hi Folks, While looking for livery variations I spotted this picture, second one down within the link, of a D5228 hauling a train headed by fourteen brake vans: https://www.derbysulzers.com/25078.html Gibbo.

Hi Folks, I've found another class 25, I know what you're thinking. It was in a boxes of bits waiting to be converted into a 25/3 but the lack of a class 33 body and larger wheels stalled the project and I had forgotten about, it was discovered when I put the remnants of the class 33 body, which gave up its bogies for the second class 84, into the body shell box. The rest of it was in the underframes box and a motor in the bogie box. Considering I bough 25 for the 25/3 project I really ought to have looked in the boxes first ! Now I know my painting system is successful I shall have a big painting session and the new 25 will be put through the paint shop along side the AC electrics. Hornby self coloured plastic does not stand up well to scrutiny ! I haven't yet decided what number or livery this locomotive will be. My preffered option is blue with small arrows on the doors with numbers on all four cab sides should I find a photograph or, failing that, it may end up as 7584 in plain green and full yellow ends without the bodyside stripe. Gibbo.

Hi John, The reason for the acrylic varnish of stage 7 is that the Halfords satin lacquer causes the transfers to curl up and peel off which is the reason sealing them against the lacquer. As for the similarity of the colours, the colours seem more varied in the photographs than appear to my eye. Gibbo.

Hi Folks, Here are three photographs of 25 317 wearing RAL 5020 and 25 064 wearing Railmatch 207: Out door diffuse sunlight. Indoor diffuse sunlight with the positions swapped for comparative purposes. I'm really pleased with my painting experiment as it has gone very well unlike other paint jobs where the varnish ruins the whole job at the last moment. The satin lacquer has an effect that has altered the shade to make it appear more like the Railmatch shade in that it seems to have both lightened and made the colour a slight more green, a definite bonus. Below listed are the paints used and the order in which they were applied: Halfords grey primer. Two coats of APS RAL 5020 (gloss finish). Masking for yellow ends. Halfords white primer. Two coats Humbrol RC 407 acrylic. Apply transfers. Seal transfers with B&Q acrylic clear wood varnish. Halfords satin lacquer. The APS car paint and the Humbrol and B&Q acrylics are not affected by the Halfords satin lacquer which gives an excellent finish with no fuss at all. The B&Q varnish is only applied over the transfers and brushes out without leaving any discernable marks ready for the lacquer. The reason for using the Humbrol RC 407 is that it is a yellow paint that actually has the ability to give solid colour in only two coats with the added advantage that I can spray over it with the Halfords Lacquer. The reason I experimented with the 25 is that stripping the paint from a diesel body is much less trouble than that of an electric regarding breaking fiddly bits off the roof. Now that I have a painting system that actually works and doesn't curl up the transfers I can get on a paint lots of locomotives and coaches, trucks will get the same treatment except that I shall use Halfords matt lacquer. Once the RAL colour chart arrives I shall find all the respective colours, list them here and then get busy. Gibbo.

Hi Captain Pugbash, That reminds me of one of these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LMS_Stanier_Class_2_0-4-4T Gibbo.

Hi Wombat, A post by BernardTPM on this thread might help: From what I have seen in researching this "shades of blue" carry on, and as a rule of thumb, should any AC electric have: A white cab and red buffer beams BS318 175. A white cab and blue buffer beams BS318 107. A blue cab roof and black buffer beams BR Rail Blue. Arrows and crests are another minefield with the darker shade of Electric blue with arrows and BR blue with crests. Photographs and discernment are required along with a lot of tea drinking to ease the confusion ! Gibbo.

Hi Clive, You are just plain biased in that regard because as I recall some of her hair styles rivalled your coaching stock for variety of shades of colour. Gibbo.

Hi Dr Fritters, Upon reflection Cyndi Lauper could well be a Mk1, Madonna a Mk2 and for real good quality American female iconoclasts Lady Gaga is definitely a Mk3. Wheter I would cut and shut any of them is most certainly a moot point. Unfortunately at 5'2" Lady Gaga doesn't quite cut the mustard for Irish gauge, oh well ! Gibbo.

Hi Slex, Do you mean like this odd bod ? Gibbo.

Hi Northmoor, The two car unit with four 150 hp engines plus the trailing load gives about 3.5 hp per ton, compared to a western with 13 coaches at about 4.9 hp per ton. Better than a HST with approximately 9hp per ton were the two car BRCW 110's with 11.25 hp per ton. Gibbo.

Hi Folks, A bit of Ian Brown for you all to enjoy: Gibbo.

Hi BMS, I've just measured some Hornby code 100 and it is .100" or to put it another way 2.54mm this scales at 193.55mm. Flat bottom rail that is 172mm tall approximates to .085" or code 85 rail. Gibbo.

Hi Folks, Here are two photographs to confuse us all the more, the upper in diffuse sunlight, the lower in direct sunlight. To my eye the darkest and least green blue is that of the Lima 20 followed by the Hornby 86. The 25's are similarly shaded but the newly painted one is more blue where as the Mainline 45 has the most green of all of them. My feeling is that 25 064 which is painted Railmatch BR blue is the most pleasing to my eye although yellow ends and transfers may well alter how 25 317 looks. Any way I've ordered a RAL colour chart and at the cost of a can of paint it may well be worth it, so I shall see where that takes me ! To Quote Marcus Aureleius: "Tincta colore fit anima cogitationes." Gibbo.

Hi Folks, Work on 25 317 has gone well, the grilles that were filled have been filed flat, sanded and the main body primed to show up any defects. A small amount of filler was applied into minor cracks and also blending in the cab roof dome to the head code box fairing. The body side windows have also been marked out cut in. A job I was thinking would be difficult turned out to be quite easy was the triangular body side panel. To do this I made a plasticard template that I positioned correctly and then scribed around the inside of it with the end of a new scalpel blade leaving the outline of the panel. Scribed panel and template. Things are still moving with the AC electrics in that 83 010 has been primed and its bogies painted black along with the underframe details fitted to some of the 81's and 85's. The primer has shewn that a little more sanding is required. I have started work on the class 86's firstly filling the roof mounted switch and opening out the underframe details to give them more relief. Once I have finished stripping the paint from the WCML Pullmans I shall be doing the same with the 86's. Two of eBay's finest, the one on the left has had its underframe details opened out. Gibbo.

Hi Northmoor, You are quite correct regarding attaining an absolutely exact match, the RAL 5020 for blue is as near as makes no difference even when colour switch for natural and artificial lighting is taken into account. I have compared it to the blue paints used by Railmatch, Hornby, Replica, Bachmann and Lima, all of which are different yet the the RAL 5020 is well within a very close parameter of all of the above shades mentioned comparing most favourably. The issue is with the grey, it really is considerably more pale than the shade required and so I shall have another look because it really is not at all suitable. Gibbo.