Signaller69's projects

[leopardml2341]

That front end looks terrific, well done Martyn

Edited October 8, 2017 by leopardml2341

[Signaller69]

DMBS more or less done now, the corridor end and exhausts need painting, followed by lettering and a coat of matt varnish. Interior being built up using a plasticard floor which has had plastic seats fitted, which I picked up donkey's years ago from a show (DC kits I think). The Driver's console and cab seats are from the Lima 117 interior, as are the partitions (not entirely correct but better than solid ones). It will be painted to match the colours used in the DMS interior in due course.

Edited October 10, 2017 by Signaller69

[Signaller69]

Regarding the Ayrshire Class 126s, does anyone know when they started running in sets? I know by the late 70s some DMBS cars had set numbers on the end, were they fixed sets? Or was the set number only tied to the DMBS? My unit is c.1970 so I'm assuming they were not "fixed" formations at the time? Googling the various sites has not thus far thrown up an obvious answer.

 

Also, I'm looking at possible 4th and 5th cars to add to my 3 car unit, possibly one in still in green livery, so links to photos or ideas welcome!

 

Thanks,

Martyn.

[Clive Mortimore]

DMBS more or less done now, the corridor end and exhausts need painting, followed by lettering and a coat of matt varnish. Interior being built up using a plasticard floor which has had plastic seats fitted, which I picked up donkey's years ago from a show (DC kits I think). The Driver's console and cab seats are from the Lima 117 interior, as are the partitions (not entirely correct but better than solid ones). It will be painted to match the colours used in the DMS interior in due course.

IMG_20171010_133401.jpgIMG_20171010_133530_1.jpgIMG_20171010_134953_1.jpgIMG_20171010_140102_1.jpgIMG_20171010_141650_1.jpgIMG_20171010_141710_1.jpg

Hi Martyn

 

Are you stopping to take a breath,  you are really motoring with this model.

[Signaller69]

Hi Martyn

 

Are you stopping to take a breath, you are really motoring with this model.

Hi Clive,

Thanks to the 12hr shift pattern I get quite a bit of time off work and have been able to crack on; aside from the TC chassis I have almost everything to hand for once!

 

Martyn.

[Signaller69]

Had a bit of a setback, the varnish has bloomed very slightly on the DMBS (why I have no idea, same paint used on all 3 vehicles. . . ). This, coupled with the Matt varnish being a little TOO matt will hopefully be resolved by overcoating something a little more satin when I get to my local model shop.

 

In the meantime I have been working on the interiors as shown by the TC, which was created from first class compartments cut, stretched and spliced. I have settled on BR Blue for 2nd class seats, and Humbrol Prussian Blue (as it was handy) for first class; these colours being taken from photos of the preserved unit interior; I acknowledge they may not be 100% accurate for 1970 but can always be repainted if evidence comes to light! Some brown and a little red were mixed to represent the wood panelling; floors being light grey.

 

 

A further decision has been made which may result in my complete madness; the whole unit is going to be flush glazed using clear acetate sheet cut to size and fixed in place with varnish. Yes, it will be a long job I fear!!

[timbowilts]

So long as you remember so set the sliding vetilators back a bit you’ll be fine......

 

Coat, hat, run :<)

 

Tim T

[MJI]

Do you have access to a LASER cutter at all?

[Signaller69]

So long as you remember so set the sliding vetilators back a bit you’ll be fine......

Coat, hat, run :<)

Tim T

 

Yes, apart from the open ones. . .

 

 

Do you have access to a LASER cutter at all?

Sadly not. But shouldn't be too hard to mark out a sheet of acetate in a grid pattern to get consistent sizes, just a matter of snipping tiny corners off then. No awkward curved windscreens to worry about thankfully!

[Signaller69]

The other area which needed attention was couplings. Working on the KISS principle a simple close coupling bar was devised between vehicles, consisting of a plasticard bar with a round plastic peg glued into a hole at one end (which locates in a hole drilled in the bogie of the next vehicle), and a Trix screw through a hole in the other end, screwed into the remains of the Lima bogie coupling mount. The plastic peg was glued into the bar with plastic weld. This results in reasonably close coupling, yet with the ability to negotiate crossover 's' bends and 2nd radius curves if required. The coupling cannot ride up high enough for the peg to uncouple due to the bufferbeams. Needs painting yet of course!

 

Last photo also shows the slight paint bloom on the DMBS (right), referred to earlier. Off to Chester on a varnish hunt now! :-)

[Signaller69]

It has been a frustrating couple of days, a case of no steps forward and several steps back, thankfully I am almost back to square one!

 

Several rattle cans of varnish were purchased on Sunday at not inconsiderable cost. They are not really to blame for what happened next in fairness.

 

Long story short, Citadel "Purity Seal" varnish came highly recommended for an eggshell, slightly satin finish, which I have no doubt of. However it really does not like going over Humbrol acrylic matt varnish. The slight blooming that was there already, disappeared as the varnish was tested on one end of the 126 TC; foolishly, in my joy I then went on to do not one, but both sides.

 

Oh dear. Schoolboy error.

 

As it dried over the next five minutes the slight bloom reappeared, then spread to become a total white-out of the entire coach. Aaargghhhh! Time to go and sit in a dark place. . .

 

Had it been an ordinary coach, I would have just used paint stripper and started again, but this was out due to it being a patchwork of glued parts with etched door details etc stuck on with varnish so I fear a bag of large and tiny parts mixed with a mulch of paint would have ensued. What to do?

 

In the end a combination of T-Cut and thinners have removed all the varnish, along with coach numbers and a first class stripe and the odd door handle, but the sides and underlying paint are thankfully intact! A little retouching of paint in odd corners was necessary too.

 

First photo shows side after some work with T-Cut:

 

Second is more or less where I am now; the inside of the opposite side shows what the scale of the blooming;

 

I did pick up a useful tip though; if after one coat of varnish there is a very slight bloom, a small amount of olive oil rubbed into the offending area will remove it - I tried this and it does work - but not recommended if you want to then apply another coat of varnish.

 

Once the touched up paint is dry it will be out with the transfers again; I don't want to think about varnish again at this point, but I suspect the answer is to get some Railmatch satin varnish.

 

And an airbrush is on my Xmas list!

[Kelly]

Disaster! I have seen a couple of threads mention that games workshop have changed their aerosols and paint formula and so no longer interact well with others.

 

It may be best to use humbrol with humbrol , I've found that the humbrol varnish has been pretty good (over artists acrylics on polymer clay jewellery projects mind and not interacted badly). In theory that should give you a barrier between the humbrol paint and other varnishes.

[GRUNFOS]

A bit late, but there was a discussion earlier in the year about purity seal, apparently the formula changed and many people, including myself, were caught out with the same blooming. The consensus was that Halfords matt varnish is the best to use from now on.

 

Keep up the good work.

Paul.

[Legend]

Sorry to hear of your varnish issues, the model was looking so good in your post#152

 

From memory I can't remember these running as sets . For a while I used to trainspot and it never occurred to me that they were in sets, I'm sure it would have done had it been widespread. I just thought they put together whatever serviceable vehicles they had. The set numbers only appeared on the end from about 1979 by which time they were all in blue grey livery . I thought the coach seat colours were primarily green .

 

Really enjoyed this thread. Almost fancy giving it a go , but my skills are way short of yours. Love 126s though, they are my favourite unit

Edited October 17, 2017 by Legend

[Signaller69]

Disaster! I have seen a couple of threads mention that games workshop have changed their aerosols and paint formula and so no longer interact well with others.

 

It may be best to use humbrol with humbrol , I've found that the humbrol varnish has been pretty good (over artists acrylics on polymer clay jewellery projects mind and not interacted badly). In theory that should give you a barrier between the humbrol paint and other varnishes.

Thanks Kelly, yes Humbrol satin acrylic is the other option, though it was their matt acrylic which bloomed in the first place (only slightly, the Citadel stuff caused the worse reaction though), possibly because its over Railmatch BR Blue, I'm not 100% sure. I much preferred Humbrol enamel varnish sprays but not sure they are still available. Although the Humbrol enamel tinlets I've bought over the past couple of years - varnish included - have been awfully thick, gloopy like stuff - even after stirring, not a shade of what they were (presumably they have removed something "nasty" to make it "safe for the kiddies")?

 

Moan over. :-)

Edited October 17, 2017 by Signaller69

[Signaller69]

A bit late, but there was a discussion earlier in the year about purity seal, apparently the formula changed and many people, including myself, were caught out with the same blooming. The consensus was that Halfords matt varnish is the best to use from now on.

 

Keep up the good work.

Paul.

Cheers, hadn't thought of that one, despite using them in the past!

[Signaller69]

Sorry to hear of your varnish issues, the model was looking so good in your post#152

 

From memory I can't remember these running as sets . For a while I used to trainspot and it never occurred to me that they were in sets, I'm sure it would have done had it been widespread. I just thought they put together whatever serviceable vehicles they had. The set numbers only appeared on the end from about 1979 by which time they were all in blue grey livery . I thought the coach seat colours were primarily green .

 

Really enjoyed this thread. Almost fancy giving it a go , but my skills are way short of yours. Love 126s though, they are my favourite unit

Cheers, yes I thought the same regarding set numbering. The Railcar site http://www.railcar.co.uk/type/class-126/ has a useful search function (go into images and its at the bottom of the page iirc) where you can search for info on a car number. Where known, this gives images of that vehicle and observations of formations; I noted in some observations that set numbers were quoted from the early seventies yet as you say they were definately swapped around as required, and I have gone with this for numbering my unit.

 

I would also say it is worth having a go at building one (or something similar), there is nothing particularly "difficult" as such, the main necessity is a razor saw and mitre block to get (hopefully) "square" cuts. All the old Trix coaches and the Lima DMU I used were very cheap so the financial outlay has been very modest compared to new RTR.

[Legend]

Cheers, yes I thought the same regarding set numbering. The Railcar site http://www.railcar.co.uk/type/class-126/ has a useful search function (go into images and its at the bottom of the page iirc) where you can search for info on a car number. Where known, this gives images of that vehicle and observations of formations; I noted in some observations that set numbers were quoted from the early seventies yet as you say they were definately swapped around as required, and I have gone with this for numbering my unit.

I would also say it is worth having a go at building one (or something similar), there is nothing particularly "difficult" as such, the main necessity is a razor saw and mitre block to get (hopefully) "square" cuts. All the old Trix coaches and the Lima DMU I used were very cheap so the financial outlay has been very modest compared to new RTR.

You've really given me the inspiration, never believing I could have a model like this. While I could cut and shut, I think my main issue would be modellingthe cab of the DMBS .

[Signaller69]

Regarding the 126 setback, the really annoying thing is that the same combination of Railmatch BR Blue and Humbrol Matt varnish worked fine on an old Lima GUV I resprayed last week!

 

Hey ho.

 

M.

[Kelly]

Regarding the 126 setback, the really annoying thing is that the same combination of Railmatch BR Blue and Humbrol Matt varnish worked fine on an old Lima GUV I resprayed last week!

IMG_20171017_165047_1.jpg

 

Hey ho.

 

M.

It is possible that there are different humbrol formula around. That and the underlying plastic and primer play a part in whether you get bubbling.

[Max Legroom]

Hi Martyn

 

I'm feeling your pain regarding the blooming! I seem to recall something similar with Testors Dullcote over Railmatch a few years ago. Even now I still have a slight feeling of dread when using Dullcote for the first pass. 

 

Max

[Signaller69]

You've really given me the inspiration, never believing I could have a model like this. While I could cut and shut, I think my main issue would be modellingthe cab of the DMBS .

I claim no credit for the DMBS full cab design, I used Brian Kirby's approach (full details - see post #117 a couple of pages back and Brian's own thread here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/81538-more-swindon-and-derby-dmus/ which made it a lot more straightforward than I thought it would be, including how to get the roof profile sorted; Brian is a genius at this sort of thing).

 

I found the biggest issue with all the cutting was making the sides rigid enough to withstand handling, although they could be glued directly to the chassis, although they have held together well enough as it turns out.

 

I would say have a go; at worst if it fails you will only have lost the price of a couple of old coaches.

Edited October 17, 2017 by Signaller69

[Signaller69]

It is possible that there are different humbrol formula around. That and the underlying plastic and primer play a part in whether you get bubbling.

True, in fairness it wasn't so much the Railmatch/Humbrol combination that caused the problem, more trying to get a slightly more satin finish by overcoating with the Citadel varnish. We live and learn. :-)

[leopardml2341]

Blooming Annoying.......

 

......any paint will 'bloom' if the temperature of the surface and the paint (spray) aren't the same and the humidity level is enough to cause micro-condensation of water vapour.

 

The condensation caused by the humidity doesn't have to be at a level that may be seen or felt, just enough difference to allow water vapour to 'attach itself' (non technical term) to the paint molecules of the 'spray' and this will be seen as blooming.  Of course this is especially noticeable with varnish because it's clear and thus imparts a white haze. With 'paint' rather than varnish the effect of micro-condensation often goes unnoticed.

[Signaller69]

Blooming Annoying.......

 

......any paint will 'bloom' if the temperature of the surface and the paint (spray) aren't the same and the humidity level is enough to cause micro-condensation of water vapour.

 

The condensation caused by the humidity doesn't have to be at a level that may be seen or felt, just enough difference to allow water vapour to 'attach itself' (non technical term) to the paint molecules of the 'spray' and this will be seen as blooming. Of course this is especially noticeable with varnish because it's clear and thus imparts a white haze. With 'paint' rather than varnish the effect of micro-condensation often goes unnoticed.

Thanks for the information, I do try to ensure everything is left at "comfortable room temperature" before spraying; Monday was a very mild day too as it turned out. I have read elsewhere (and in the latest Model Rail mag) that it is worth gently warming spray cans prior to use in a bowl of warm (not hot) water. I have no idea if that would have attracted less humidity during spraying but might give it a go next time.