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Steadfast

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Blog Entries posted by Steadfast

  1. Steadfast
    So, had a good session with the airbrush today, got a decent layer of brown on the underframe, and dustings on the bodyshell in the right places. It finally feels as though it is coming together now! Still need washes and powders on the underframe, but its moving in the right direction.

    Also gave some Seacows a dusting over with frame dirt at the same time, these had already had a series of brown and grey washes already. I've also glued on the detailing bits. Looks like they may, just, still make it round 9 inch curves. Further detail painting will follow, along with some stone dust and a load. Mmm, rusty cows


    Should like nice with the OBAs and Autoballasters in a long engineers working behind a tug or a maroon tractor or two
     
     
  2. Steadfast
    Ok, so the model in a week concept didn't work, by the end of the week I couldn't be bothered and lost the excitement with the model. Here is how the loco looked at my attempted finish date. Please excuse the fluff and bits on the model - only just noticed that while I was resizing the fots. It looks ok in the flesh, a little less sure now I've looked back over the piccys. I'm pretty happy with the roof, but the noses and sides still need work. Talk about unsure! Next stage, is to airbrush the underframe brown. On top of this the powders can go on to vary the shade, and add some grime. The lower bodysides will also get a dusting of "underframe turdy brown" as well. Ploughs have had a rough coat of yellow ready for a thick layer of brown!




    I dunno when the next update will be - presumably after some spraying weather!
     
    jo
     
     
  3. Steadfast
    Not a lot to show at this moment in time unfortunately. What there is to show I'm not happy with, having spent the morning attacking the body with various colours of Games Workshop acrylic. The fading on the roof looks ok, but the fading and dirt on the sides and nose I'm really not happy with. It looks grotty, but not in the right way. Will get on with spraying up the bogies, underframe and ploughs in the mean time though. Where's the headbanging smilie off the old forum when you need it?
    Edit time: I've just finished editing the photos for uploading. I've got to say, since I took the photos, and have looked at them on the laptop, I'm a lot happier with the loco so far, perhaps correction needn't be as drastic as I thought. One thing I'm really not happy with is the tide mark on the front by the headlight, which has come from the wash applied here, but is something I can work back and tidy up.

    Here is the fuel tank assembly, with adding piping, primed ready for a coat of matt black to give a nice base for the weathering

    Likewise the bogies. This shot makes the 0.3mm wire on the speedo drive look so chunky! Though it is nice that is doesn't look like some wire and plastic glued on the side now that there is a unified finish between it and the bogie frame.



    The bodyshell weathering, which so far I'm so-so with, as I mentioned above. The roof fading I like, and is ready for a good coating of clag. This is the look I'm aiming for http://chrisfinch.fo.../p55064987.html
    I think I'll get there eventually
    Oh, and I also primed this today, it's been waiting primer for ages, and will eventually be sky blue

     
    jo
  4. Steadfast
    So, lets kick off the blog! As a bit of a trial of the blog format, and because I've got this week off, in between getting the car to the garage, some fotting, and generally wasting time I'm attempting to detail, weather and document the process with the recently released Graham Farish Dutch liveried class 37. Hopefully it'll end up as a blow by blow account (yawn ) of the work done. The aim is, by the time I go back to work at 14.30 on Mon 23rd, to have the loco finished. Today I made a start on the work, breaking the loco down to the component parts. The first photo shows the loco as it is, out of the box, albeit with the thick yellow paint stripped off the bogie axleboxes. The other two shots show the current straight of play.



    Detailing so far has comprised of adding the speedo drive to the bogie from brass wire and scraps of plastic. Removing the footsteps does make working on the bogies that bit easier. They area piece of cake to pop off, just slide a scalpel blade up between the bogie and the steps. Some pipework between the tanks too - this was formed from some nickel silver wire, soldered into a T-shape for the cross pipe, and some shorter bits glued on for the drains/overflows.
    The bogies have had the couplers modified. One has had the pocket removed, the other has had the mount for the NEM socket severely trimmed to reduce it's visual impact. The end with no coupling will be fully detailed, and is prepped for plough fitting. The ploughs are TPM, with some wire soldered to the back to give a semi-prototypical mounting method. They are only placed on the loco at the moment, to prove the concept, but will be glued once they're painted. I don't think this mounting method will work at the other end due to the coupler, I think they'll need attaching to the bogies unfortunately. I'll try to get some better shots tomorrow of the mod work in daylight.
    Ok, so to a bit of an admission, I don't really have a use for this loco I just bought it because it looked nice. I've since found out that the loco didn't make it to 2001, so isn't suitable for the early era I model. It may see use on Hedges Hill, or more likely, I may sell it on. Because of this, and difficulty in matching RTR paint shades, the shell will be staying as it is, although really the bodyside steps and water filler should be plated over, and the only Dutch splitter to retain this wasn't a Canton machine (to make use of the etched plaques) so a re-number isn't going to happen.
    Anyway, enough of the waffling, I'll update it tomorrow, hopefully with progress!
     
    iechyd da
     
    jo
     
     
     
  5. Steadfast
    Ok, so some shots of the starting points of this project.

    Overview and proof of the concept

    The detailing bits as supplied by Dapol. On what's a 95 quid model, I'm disappointed that details don't particularly match a 67 - there's no knuckle coupler or cut lever, and the air pipes don't match the prototype. I know it sounds like a tiny niggle, but surely on a model this expensive it should be right? So on the dummy on the rear, the knuckle coupler will be nicked from a Farish 66 and the cut lever and pipes made up by hand

    67026 before any work has been done on adding details

    Farish Mk2 BSO fitted with wire handrails and lamp irons, together with TPM etched gangway and RCH jumpers, together with BHE brass buffers. All corridor doors have been repainted from rail red to black - on the inner coaches this stops a bright red patch appearing each time the train corners, and at the outer ends an etched brass door (part of the TPM set) will be fitted, painted cream.
    Time to carry on, more later
    Righto, quick sit-rep. CDL lights have been painted onto the mk2s in a dark orangey brown, baffle plate mods and ETH fitment are done, along with the knuckle cut lever. They just need fixing onto the loco. I have a 66 ready, unaware it's going to donate it's knuckle coupler during the next session. I'm undecided as to whether to model the GPS mount on the cab at the cooler group end. I may see if I can, given this is the end of the loco I'm fully detailing. Targets for next time (which more than likely won't be done!) are to mod the vents on the BSO roof, start painting the coach roofs and get the details stuck onto the skip.
  6. Steadfast
    The first bit of modelling I've achieved since Trainwest, where the 4VEP ran ok all weekend is to get a coat of paint onto the body to become 60074.

    Lack of modelling has largely been down to weather and workings like this:
    47739 'Robin of Templecombe' passes Avoncliff with 4Z47 Gloucester yard to Eastleigh with ex Fastline hoppers for store 13/4/10

    The welcome return of a tug to the Robeston - Westerleigh Murco circuit. 60096 lifts the train of empties up the gradient near the junction in Yate as 6B47 Westerleigh to Robeston 15/4/10

    5043 'Earl of Mount Edgcumbe' races past Christian Malford near Chippenham with The Bristolian railtour, part of the GWR175 celebrations, in association with FGW

    Last weekend at the show I picked up some nameplates from Brian at Shawplan for the blue tug (and it's Army liveried sibling) and ordered the transfers the other day from Precision Decals. The yellow and blue is done, it now needs masking and the black painting. The cab interiors and bufferbeam are clipped in place to give an impression of how it'll look. The gloss finish on the underframe bits should help set it out as ex works and a bit special amongst the fleet. The cab interiors have been painted grey and orange, as is normal for me with my 60s, and a driver, complete with sunglasses, glued in. Okay, so I just painted his eyes black, but hey it looks like shades!


    So next up it'll be spraying the grills and window frames black, and then a goat of varnish ready for when the transfers arrive. There's a small amount of touching up and detail painting to be done too (for example the grey on the horns) before it all goes together and ends up like this

    After 18 months of dodgy paint finishes and a melted shell in Superstrip, this loco finally seems to be coming together!
  7. Steadfast
    The Graham Farish 150, like its bigger brother, is a cracking model of a common unit. When it was released, a lot of comment was made about the purple engine, accurate for Porterbrook owned units I believe. However, the ones in use round here tend to have noticably bright yellow engines, and it's amazing what a transformation a lick of yellow paint and some black dry brushing makes to the overall look of the model. Additionally, the seats were painted blue, which adds a bit more interior relief.


    I'm not sure how this unit will end up, quite possibly in FGW local lines livery if I can get the lettering transfers drawn up. Spraying the blue to purple fade is easy enough, as I've done it on HST power cars before, it just needs a steady hand...
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