Jump to content
 

Recommended Posts

Hello!

So I've been a long time lurker but haven't really contributed to RMweb until now... Anyway, I've decided to break cover and create a workbench thread! My interests are modern image (generally post 2010) although I'm guilty of being a magpie and modelling anything that takes my fancy. Having been a 'box opener' for many years I decided I had to make my passion for model railways become slightly more affordable, I couldn't simply buy a new model every time I needed a fix for it's getting far too expensive for that and in 2015 I decided to very tentatively have a go at detailing and 'improving' various items of rolling stock. Month by month I'm slowly getting more bold with both my ambitions and my undertakings. So without further ado, here's where the last 4 years have got me...

 

Kit Building - I started with a couple of Parkside wagon kits, granted hardly modern image, and I was never good with Airfix at a teenager so the wagons are not entirely square and the bolster lollops along a bit. I also have a couple of card building kits that I hope to detail up with Ratio guttering as well as curtains made from an old T-shirt.

 

DRS Class 47 - My first detailing project! I bought a dummy runner ancient Hornby 47 from a popular auction site for £5 and decided that I would cut my teeth on something that I could run on flask trains on my layout, I am a DC modeller but wanted to have two locos hauling a flask plus it could double up on railtours etc so this seemed like a good idea. 

 

IMG_20160330_195046_hdr.jpg.e4e64f2f19198a80ebe04093c60d39cb.jpg

 

I purchased a 47 detailing kit from somewhere (Shawplan I think...) and set to work. I am kinda self taught with all of my techniques, gleaning information from RMweb users and their threads and any books I can lay my hands on. I did join a model club for about a year in the hope of learning more but for a few reasons it wasn't to be.

Anyway, I started by using wet and dry paper to file down all of the raised details, removed the hand rails (keeping them somewhere safe) and for added challenge removed the headcode box as I had bought a brass replacement. I stuck on brass window surrounds and carefully rolled the roof mesh - I've made the accompanying roof fan but it's yet to be stuck in to anything and sits in a draw - At this moment in time I also chose to stick the buffers on, I later regretted this...

The next warm day I took it outside to paint! Only problem is I have no idea how to paint a model. I had purchased a bottle of Railmatch DRS Blue paint and a wide flat paint brush. I sprayed the body with Halfords car primer and with a reference photo to hand set to work...

 

IMG_20160508_143830_hdr.jpg.e63b1cf10f6a21ffae6964a4d1e70019.jpg

 

Please excuse the fact the paint and thinners are lined up like a promotional photo, they're not meant to be.

One coat of blue paint and I must admit my hand painting is... shocking! Brush strokes clearly visible. I didn't use the thinners, wasn't sure what I was doing. In a further moment of madness I tried to wash the paint out of the palette under the tap. It was at this moment I learnt about enamel paint and how it's oil based and thus covering it in water simply made a mess of the kitchen. That palette is still a shade of blue today...

 

So the 47 sat on a tray waiting for another spurt on inspiration. In the meantime I became interested in Network Rail test trains. I work for the Railway and would sometimes go out to Swindon station at lunchtime if there was something of interest coming through. NR Yellow trains took my fancy and after finding Mick's (of Newbryford fame) thread then I decided to have a go myself... I'll continue with NR Yellow Coaches in my next post.

 

Whilst beginning work on the test train coaches I had a recurring thought - if I struggled painting the 47 I wasn't going to suddenly get better overnight and this problem would rear its head again. But I didn't want to invest in an airbrush because it felt like a major investment and I wouldn't know where to start with any of it. But since I was already using primer in a rattle can then what if I could find a paint can in the correct colour? 

 

IMG_20170319_184014.jpg.ba76ef20c4afd918fd9110cc3165049e.jpg

 

Ta Da! I found a pretty close match to DRS Blue and suddenly the 47 was back on the table (I didn't have a literal workbench back then.)

 

And so that was the beginning - that probably covers 2015 - 2017, the 47 was put away and left for a very long time and from one painting experience I managed to convince myself I didn't have a clue what I was doing until I plucked up the courage to have another go remembering that the loco had only cost me a fiver in the first place and everybody has to start somewhere.

Edited by Afroal05
  • Like 5
  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

NR Test Trains - So as mentioned previously inspired to create yellow Network Rail test trains but where to begin? Well I thought something simple, were there any coaches that required minimal modifications but could be changed into something that one couldn't get off the shelf? Well I settled for a brake force runner. There are a variety that are used, some are based on Mk2 coaches and some are based on former Great Western Motorail vans (there are probably more that I haven't mentioned here too, I'm no expert). The Motorail isn't available as a propriety model so that was out of the question but the Mk2 most certainly was and after raiding a web retailer for a variety of Hornby TSOs and FOs for bargain prices I was set to have a go. My first example was/is to be number 99666. A friend asked if there was anything I wanted for Christmas and I found a detailing pack that contained blanks for the windows, perfect!

 

I removed the glazing and rubbed the bodysides down with wet and dry paper trying to break through the blue grey finish of the coaches. After much elbow grease... little progress. I removed the window blanks from their frets and glued them over the window holes. Once this was dry I sprayed the body with a yellow rattle can. I can't say I'm entirely sold on the shade of yellow and for some reason the paint doesn't seem to go on evenly. I now had this...

 

IMG_20170325_131143.jpg.5a0a043c28adbdc5fff58723bafe0d06.jpg

 

The only problem was that my model looked nothing like the photos I could see on the internet, had I stuck the blanking plates on the wrong side?!

Then I found it, a picture of a brake force runner in its previous guise. Ah dang it!

So the window blanks have been removed, beyond that 99666 has not progressed in 3 years, I'm not satisfied with the shade of yellow or the quality of the finish and my attempts to simply chuck on another coat certainly hasn't helped! The other MK2s I had ready for yellow coaches were then used for another project but I have since had an online auction frenzy to acquire more. Additionally I have been noting down test train consists either when I have seen them or from TRUST when in the office. From this I have a long list of consists which has helped me to identify some trains I can model that I know are prototypical. Something like test coach Mentor is going to take a lot of progress in my modelling before I even vaguely attempt it but others shouldn't need major modification.

 

DRS Mk2s (the Cumbrian Coast set) - It will become apparent that I have quite a soft spot for DRS. This is because 'home' is the West Coast of the Lake District, in the shadow of Wainwrights and a certain nuclear reprocessing plant! I grew up in the area and then lived with my Mum for a bit in 2013/4 and her house was right next to the railway. We never bothered straightening the pictures in the house which were all rattled out of place by the roar of 37s accelerating away from the nearby station, she said it was all part of the charm, I wasn't complaining! Anyway, I was bitten by the bug of light engines, over powered one wagon [flask] trains and latterly the Cumbrian Coast loco hauled set. As I had intentions of acquiring DRS liveried loco(s) at some point (and was already working on the 47 dummy runner) I decided I would have a bash at the coaches and DBSO.

I purchased the PH Designs etch and bits for the DBSO and then shied away from it for a bit, another bout of lack of confidence. It was in March 2017 I finally sat down one night and decided it was time to have a go!

 

First up I removed the end gangway from the BSO and filed down any detail using my newly purchased set of files and wet and dry paper. I then folded the brass jig, taped it onto the end of the coach and drilled out the headlights followed by chain drilling the windows and filing out the drilled voids to roughly the right shape.

IMG_20170310_201817.jpg.3edd62e32fd50a70e15c91f3d638e492.jpg

 

There were some more tweaks to be made and they were all clearly laid out in the instructions and from the jig, sadly I don't have anymore photos until after I had applied the plate that fills in the void left by the gangway door. I also folded the etches for the window surrounds and stuck these on. This highlighted that I had been a little too enthusiastic with my filing out of the windows. Fortunately I had also bought some modelling filler stuff - I didn't use it at this time as that would have been logical! 

 

IMG_20170311_004306.jpg.409aef53473ad007c917bae902f31069.jpg

 

The above photo also shows some of the additional work required to one side with a partial window blank fitted to reduce the width of the (now) cabside window and drivers door.

 

Next up was folding the etches for the headlight clusters. It was at this moment that I learnt that the Network Rail DBSO (or RTOV technically) and DRS' DBSO have some subtle differences. The NR example has a a light cluster on 3 lights on the driver's side and 2 lights on the other. The DRS examples have a pair of lights on either cluster and a top light above the centre window. This was going to require my first kit bashing.

IMG_20170311_095832.jpg.fd6511e848020b7da07be0639a129cff.jpg

 

In the above photo the components can be seen, the 3 light block was carefully cut to remove the centre hold. On the fret can be seen 4 rings plus another square with a hole. This 5th hole creates a raised headlight present on the NR examples. However on the DR DBSOs both of the headlights are raised. AH, a problem.

Well having made successful progress thus far I was feeling pretty good about things so I bodged one up using several small squares of plasticard all glued together with polycement. I then drilled through the plasticard to create the headlight hole. In all of this I only used 2 of the light rings shown on the fret above. To make the headlight above the centre I window I used one of these left over rings and it looked something like this...

 

IMG_2271b.jpg.f3021e61e3486f195eb4db70f56fafb3.jpg

 

This then went off to the paintshop (the kitchen) to await the arrival of the MK2 TSOs. More on them soon!

  • Like 3
  • Craftsmanship/clever 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest teacupteacup

The most important tools for repainting are preparation, cleanliness and patience.

 

Rather than try sand the livery off a model, strip it chemically - personally I use Dettol (original Brown formula), others use brake fluid, Superstrip, oven cleaner etc etc

 

Once the paint is stripped off, and you've done whatever work you need to, clean the shell to within and inch of its life.  Then do it again.  Leave to dry naturally in a dust free environment.

 

When it comes to painting, prime with an appropriate base colour - grey works great for the majority of colours, but yellow needs a white base and reds work best with a red/oxide primer.  Spray the primers from about 12" distance, in a slow steady left to right/right to left sweep, pressing the nozzle before you reach the model and letting go after you've reached the other end.  A few sweeps will be enough at first.  This will give you a chance to make sure there are no imperfections in the shell, such as glue makes, sanding scores etc and give you a chance to fix them before the top coats go on.  If you need to fix things, then go over again with the primer (after a good clean!) and leave to thoroughly dry

 

For top coats with rattle cans, go easy!  Shake the can properly for a good few minutes.  Again, light sweeps over the model, 2/3 passes and leave to dry, then another 2/3 and repeat until you have the density you need - dont be tempted to get all the paint on in one go, that will lead to overly thick coats which will obscure detail and there is a high chance of runs in the paint.

 

From stripping a shell down to applying the final rattle can top coat (ie a Network Rail coach), give yourself a good week or so to do it.

 

If you are planning on painting a few models, invest in an airbrush and compressor, there are plenty advertised on eBay at reasonable costs.  Airbrushing is a skill, no doubt, but it can be learned.  There are plenty of tutorials online to help you.  Again, preparation and patience are the key ingredients to a successful paint job.!

 

Paints need thinned to pass through an airbrush nozzle, use thinners/white spirit (not turps!)  Different manufacturers need different amounts of thinning.  I find I use a formula of 30/70 paint to thinners, up to 70/30 depending on the make.  Generally its around 60/40 though - aim for the consistency of milk.  Acrylics are best thinned with acrylic thinners (some will thin with water though), I don't spray with these so couldnt tell you the thinners/paint ratio.

 

Before adding any thinners, stir the paint thoroughly!

 

To apply decals to a top coat, there needs to be a gloss finish on the area the decals are going.  This can be sprayed using the appropriate varnishes, airbrushed, brushed or you can use Gloss Coat from Humbrol etc, brushed on.

 

Once the decals are on and set, they'll need protected from damage by a coat of varnish.  This is best sprayed on, coating the entire model to give a consistent finish, and can be done in the effect you wish - Gloss, Satin, Matt.  Most RTR models are finished to a Satin finish.

 

Give it a go!  Yes its a skill to learn, and you have to invest in the right tools, but you'll never look back!

 

Don't limit yourself to looking at model railway tutorials, Aircraft/Armour/Ship/Vehicle modelling communities all use the same basic principles.  Preparation and patience!

Edited by teacupteacup
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 17/03/2019 at 22:54, teacupteacup said:

The most important tools for repainting are preparation, cleanliness and patience.

 

Rather than try sand the livery off a model, strip it chemically - personally I use Dettol (original Brown formula), others use brake fluid, Superstrip, oven cleaner etc etc

 

Once the paint is stripped off, and you've done whatever work you need to, clean the shell to within and inch of its life.  Then do it again.  Leave to dry naturally in a dust free environment.

 

When it comes to painting, prime with an appropriate base colour - grey works great for the majority of colours, but yellow needs a white base and reds work best with a red/oxide primer.  Spray the primers from about 12" distance, in a slow steady left to right/right to left sweep, pressing the nozzle before you reach the model and letting go after you've reached the other end.  A few sweeps will be enough at first.  This will give you a chance to make sure there are no imperfections in the shell, such as glue makes, sanding scores etc and give you a chance to fix them before the top coats go on.  If you need to fix things, then go over again with the primer (after a good clean!) and leave to thoroughly dry

 

For top coats with rattle cans, go easy!  Shake the can properly for a good few minutes.  Again, light sweeps over the model, 2/3 passes and leave to dry, then another 2/3 and repeat until you have the density you need - dont be tempted to get all the paint on in one go, that will lead to overly thick coats which will obscure detail and there is a high chance of runs in the paint.

 

From stripping a shell down to applying the final rattle can top coat (ie a Network Rail coach), give yourself a good week or so to do it.

 

If you are planning on painting a few models, invest in an airbrush and compressor, there are plenty advertised on eBay at reasonable costs.  Airbrushing is a skill, no doubt, but it can be learned.  There are plenty of tutorials online to help you.  Again, preparation and patience are the key ingredients to a successful paint job.!

 

Paints need thinned to pass through an airbrush nozzle, use thinners/white spirit (not turps!)  Different manufacturers need different amounts of thinning.  I find I use a formula of 30/70 paint to thinners, up to 70/30 depending on the make.  Generally its around 60/40 though - aim for the consistency of milk.  Acrylics are best thinned with acrylic thinners (some will thin with water though), I don't spray with these so couldnt tell you the thinners/paint ratio.

 

Before adding any thinners, stir the paint thoroughly!

 

To apply decals to a top coat, there needs to be a gloss finish on the area the decals are going.  This can be sprayed using the appropriate varnishes, airbrushed, brushed or you can use Gloss Coat from Humbrol etc, brushed on.

 

Once the decals are on and set, they'll need protected from damage by a coat of varnish.  This is best sprayed on, coating the entire model to give a consistent finish, and can be done in the effect you wish - Gloss, Satin, Matt.  Most RTR models are finished to a Satin finish.

 

Give it a go!  Yes its a skill to learn, and you have to invest in the right tools, but you'll never look back!

 

Don't limit yourself to looking at model railway tutorials, Aircraft/Armour/Ship/Vehicle modelling communities all use the same basic principles.  Preparation and patience!

 

Many thanks for all the tips! I will certainly take it all on board, alas I have fallen into some of the mistakes listed above which I'll confess to when I can get a couple of pictures of the errors I've made. I hope that over time I can look back on this thread and see an improvement and a development.

 

I have tried more recently stripping a couple of coach bodies back using isopropyl alcohol and a scrub with an old toothbrush, seemed to work fairly well at stripping the finish back.

 

White primer! Definitely something I shall need to procure, I have used grey for the one coach I have sprayed in yellow and I've never been happy with the finish (that and I've clearly laid it on too thick!)

 

Thanks again for the comprehensive advice!

 

Alex

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

NR Class 97

A couple of months prior to starting work on the DBSO I thought I'd have another go at detailing up a model. The previously mentioned 47 dummy runner was still sat on the side whilst I debated the painting issues so the challenge was how could I detail up or edit a model without worrying about painting? By good fortune Hornby brought out their Network Rail Class 37, or 97 as it is registered, with TTS. Now I'm still a DC modeller for the moment but after some enquiries with a friend they enlightened me that I could simply remove the chip and it would run as a DC model. I quite fancied a yellow 37 and so snapped one up. With it being a TTS model the mould is an old Lima one I believe and thus fairly basic but an excellent starting point.

I chose not to get more etched parts to update the window frames, roof grills and fans because this would require some remedial painting but what I was able to do was renumber the loco and add some more detail in transfers. The original model not having overhead electrical warning flashes, lifting jack points, data panels or other details.

I ordered transfers from Railtec and set to work, I would renumber the loco as well from 97301 as bought to 97302. Armed with a handful of reference photos I carefully scraped away at the old numbers with a scalpel blade. Now saying 'carefully' does not instruct you how much weight to apply other than to be... careful. I was a little heavy handed and have ever so slightly left scratches on one side of the model although these aren't very obvious. The answer was to use the lightest of scrapes. Having removed all of the numbers I dunked the new ones in water before removing them and carefully placed them on the model as per the instructions. To do this I used a pair of tweezers and the back of the tip of the scalpel to carefully pull them off the backing paper. Kitchen towel was then used to carefully wick away the excess water after the transfer was straightened to my liking.

 

14316773_10153740334492001_4600548158181926159_n.jpg.0d108cc1d3d3ab9aa66915c2fb765d2a.jpg

 

I actually found this incredibly therapeutic and I may have found something I really enjoy doing. All of the transfers went on with ease and after letting them all dry and completing the other side and noses I must say I was pleased with the result! I painted the buffer heads silver with a splodge of black in the centre to represent grease. I also painted the kick plate by the bottom of the cab side doors and this might be one of my favourite touches.

However I did feel the model still looked a bit plastic and a bit yellow, which was a shame. Brimming with confidence from my simple accomplishment I decided that this model needed... weathering.

 

Weathering - So like a bull in a china shop the next day I went out and bought some Humbrol weathering powders (because I was still fearful of using paints) and, after reading around about how to use them, set about stippling them on with a paintbrush. Well, it went okay I suppose, I was trying to fade a little black onto the roof with more around the exhaust port and a rust/oxide brown/orange over the noses as seen in prototype pictures. Dark earth was rubbed in patches along the sides. The black sadly looks more like the roof has been scorched than an exhaust-y dirt.

My enthusiasm didn't stop there, I also took out a set of 3x HAAs and decided to brush down the sides with a good coating of black powder. With hindsight I didn't focus enough on the variation in the dirt on these wagons with some clearly showing the marks of where something has brushed horizontally along their sides whilst they've been going about their duties. I have another 5 of these somewhere so I will have another go in the future. 

My overall feelings on this weathering - needs improvement, more research into techniques required. Because of that I purchased George Dent's guide to weathering last week when in a book shop in Birmingham.

 

The weathered 97 and HAA with a clean one for comparison:

IMG_20161113_162123.jpg.5691ae872dfb20ff293d6a43386f11ea.jpg

IMG_20161113_162107.jpg.b64b11adda3dd5d783346da597c2f6a6.jpg

 

You may notice the windows on the 97 are no longer transparent - I decided that to seal the powders onto the model I would use a spray can of acrylic matt varnish. In a moment of foolishness I forgot to mask off the windows and so they are now cloudy... always a learning process!

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Cumbrian Coast Set Mk2s - Having made a start on the DBSO and set that to one side my next task was to work on some of the mk2s for the formation. I had purchased a few air con mk2s when they were being flogged off by one of the big retailers and one evening set to work. First step was to remove the gangway doors at either end, nice and simple as they are held in place by 4 little dimples. They took a little persuasion from a scalpel blade but popped out nice and easily - although some of the pips sheared off and are still in the end of their respective carriage! I masking taped them all together to try and make them slightly less easy to lose.

Removing the bodies from the chassis was equally simple - I did try a technique recommended to me by a friend to use the stick part of a cotton bud, flattened between some pliers, and these can be put in place next to the lugs that hold the body to the chassis prying them apart slightly. I find this saves my hands going all over the place whilst trying to ease the body off either end of the model. Perhaps I'm over complicating it!

 

To strip the blue/grey livery from the coaches I tried a new technique that I had read somewhere on RMweb - isopropyl alcohol, or IPA. I bought a 1 litre metal tin of the stuff from the now defunct Maplins and poured it into an old washing up bowl which I covered with a bread board (ingenious or insane, you decide...). After a couple of hours I removed both bodies and gave them a good scrub with an old firm toothbrush. This stripped most of the original finish nicely and I ended up with a very faded blue/grey. Satisfied with this I left them to dry and put the IPA back in the tin. I did lose some of the IPA as it evaporates and I have since changed tactic and I use a tupperware tub with a lid that clips on, this has a good seal and so doesn't allow anything to evaporate away.

Next step was to cover both coaches in primer - I used a rattle can with a grey car primer in. Once this was dry I applied the first coach of the blue. My choice for DRS blue was another aerosol can claiming to be a shade of blue for Vauxhall Astras! This seemed to my eye to be a fairly good match.

Here are the coaches (with the DBSO) after a coat of primer:

 

IMG_2285b.jpg.213a320d983f18f33bc6590fc757ac0c.jpg

 

After leaving to dry and the application of a few more coats of blue I removed the masking covering the roof, masked up the bodysides and sprayed the roof black. With this done and looking a lot better than I had expected it was on to the doors. After some scrabbling around I found someones suggestion that the best colour match for the doors was a Revell paint. I popped over to my local WHSmiths which used to have a Modelzone in it, as it was closing down they were selling off their rag tag selection of stock. But absolute chance they had the colour I needed (and little else), so I purchased two tins.

This left me with the daunting task of hand painting the doors, I was worried I would ruin my progress so far but on a wing and a prayer (and good fortune I imagine) it appeared to come out pretty well:

 

IMG_20171230_1944322.jpg.02d59d7f1492ab1b2e4b6c87324f356b.jpg

 

The cruel nature of the photography shows up where there was some paint bleed but also where I had crudely tried to patch up bits of the paintwork with a blue Humbrol tin that was a poor match to the original coat for the body. So I masked up the model again and resprayed my original blue:

(Please ignore the junk mail in the background... even if it does look like shoddy product placement!)

 

IMG_20170325_131123.jpg.ef30907b89efcd620e2f2700d521b5d5.jpg

 

One final touch up around the doors and it was on to my new favourite thing - transfers!

These transfers posed a new challenge compared to the ones I had previous done on the 97, they weren't just warning flashes and data panels and contained a very large bodyside decal with the DRS stripes and logo. Deciding to bit the bullet these were the first ones I attempted to apply. After watching them loosen slightly on the backing paper I carefully lifted them out of the water with my trusty scalpel and tweezers, lined them up and slid away the paper. I did this in one fairly smooth motion for fear that if would go wrong if I faffed about too much. A little dabbing to remove excess water, some re-positioning and then finally wicking away the remaining water.

The results:

 

IMG_20171231_0114334.jpg.2e0498da2e5df9749ce1e7ab138ef520.jpg

 

I gently ran the back of the scalpel blade along the long transfer to make sure I pushed out and wrinkles and air bubbles and nudged it if required to straighten it up. Et voila! There was only one moment with one of the bodyside transfers where a small tear appeared and by very carefully nudging the transfer around I managed to line it all up and settle the edges down so that it was not obvious.

Carriage numbers, data panels, warning flashes, lifting points etc were all added. I must say, my best project to date and I am delighted, this has provided so much of the confidence I required to carry on with other projects!

 

But there was one more thing I needed to do to finish the model - passengers! I felt that if I was going to respray the set I might as well go the whole hog and add some locals to travel on it! I found on that popular internet auction site that there is a business in China selling 1:75 scale people. Sure they're not perfect and the finish on them is a bit gaudy but it would give the right idea. Once the bag of people arrived I set about plonking them in seats... only problem was they don't fit without much butchery. Many legs were severed and some hips filed to be narrower. Liberal amounts of polycement were applied and the finished result:

 

IMG_20190305_1918368.jpg.df69fdeb4efe1292d82b025525dd73a5.jpg

 

With that the glazing was glued back in to the inside of the coach bodies, the bodies clipped back onto the chassis and the gangway doors popped back on to the ends. I now had two mk2s from the Cumbrian Coast set! At some point in the future I will make up a 3rd to make the set the correct length but as my transfer pack only had enough for 2x TSOs and a BSO I'll stick with that for the moment.

  • Like 6
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 5 months later...

Aaaaaand I'm back!

 

I can only apologise to those of you who have read and commented on this thread and the 5 of you who are following that there has been just over 7 months of radio silence! It was a couple of things that came about all at once; firstly I met someone and one thing led to another and we went for a date. From a past experience when my modelling was not, how shall we say, 'understood' by the other party I have been a little sensitive about my modelling and how it's perceived. We all have our own interests and that's what makes us interesting but sadly I feel modelling has a stigma. Anyway, wishing to seem 'normal' my modelling took a back seat until it was ousted when they came over and saw the workbench in the corner of the sitting room! Long story short it's worked out on both fronts and I'm getting back into modelling and they've even said they might go to Warley with me at the end of the month to try and see what all my fuss is about!

Secondly and more positively I started a new job, same company but a promotion within the Control Room. I've gone from being responsible for the response to disruption from a passenger perspective and arranging replacement road transport to managing the fleet and making the decisions in real time about whether a train is terminated short, runs fast missing out stations or other service alterations. I've also got to make sure trains end in the right place for maintenance and exams. It's chaotic because my fleet of trains isn't the most reliable and my geographical area spans from Swindon to Great Malvern, Cardiff, the Bristol metro, down to Weymouth, Portsmouth, Exeter and Penzance (and a lot of branchlines in between.) It's a real challenge and one I've aspired to do for as long as I've worked on the railway but my gosh sometimes I leave work and I feel like my brain is bleeding out through my ears and sometimes the last thing I want to do is come home and manage a fleet of 1:76 trains!

 

So back to modelling!

I have a number of projects line up on the workbench, most of which I've had the donor models for some time and I was mid project on something when my hiatus began. To attempt to whet your appetite this is what I've got on the list to do:

 

Revisit the DRS DBSO which need filling, sanding and potentially stripping the yellow paint from the front to have another go...

47828 The dummy runner DRS class 47 featured earlier in this thread.

37194 a dummy runner DRS class 37 using a Lima donor

37510 a respray of a Lima 37 into DRS guise (with working motor)

There's another motorless Hornby 47 that's future livery is undecided, either a DRS 57/0 or WCRC 47

37602 with WIPAC lights and new noses created from a Bachmann shell

47323 'Rover Group Quality Assured' - a family inspired project using a Heljan donor

A DRS Class 20/3 (I currently have a Bachmann 20 chasis)

Many NR test train vehicles.

 

The above is in no particular order and a couple of projects are already underway and hopefully I can get some pictures/posts up in the next few days as I'm on a week of rest days!

 

But to conclude with a picture: I bought my first house back in August 2018 and earlier this year I managed to finally get myself set up with my first proper workbench rather than using any flat surface or the kitchen of my previous place. A trusty IKEA desk in the corner of the sitting room complete with magnetic whiteboard to keep track of projects (and stick information/guides/reference photos to). It is not this tidy anymore...

IMG_20190215_1740202.jpg.cf295ead10c1df971ef2c28954da92ea.jpg

  • Like 3
  • Round of applause 1
  • Friendly/supportive 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I’ve got the very same set up Alex, the classic IKEA workbench with the top section. Very glad to hear everything has worked out ok...I too had similar misfortunes with people not understanding but luckily I’m in a better place now, as you are. Just keep modelling, regardless!! :yes:

 

Looking forward to more projects.

 

Jack.

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

 

On 06/11/2019 at 08:00, Jack374 said:

I’ve got the very same set up Alex, the classic IKEA workbench with the top section. Very glad to hear everything has worked out ok...I too had similar misfortunes with people not understanding but luckily I’m in a better place now, as you are. Just keep modelling, regardless!! :yes:

 

Looking forward to more projects.

 

Jack.

 

Thanks Jack, really appreciate it, your modelling is somewhat of an inspiration! I've attempted to crack on with a couple of things but they have not gone well as I will try and elaborate soon...

Link to post
Share on other sites

So I've attempted to get some more things done over the past couple of days but I've hit a bit of a roadblock today. For most I think it's probably just another day but sadly 7th November is not a date I shall forget in a while!

My Mum was always my biggest supporter when it came to my modelling and she was delighted to hear I was building a railway in my first flat after leaving home. When she saw the baseboards (just about) standing for the first time with a length of track wired up and a loco able to run backwards and forwards her reaction was 'You built all of this?! And it works and you didn't burn the flat down?!' - allegedly she never knew I had it in me :laugh_mini:

 

Anyway, having married a railwayman many years ago she had become quite the fan on the railway herself, she had a particular thing for 37s and 20s (her whistling impression of a 20 was hilarious). Living on the Cumbrian Coast and with a house that overlooked the railway was perfect for her, she stopped straightening the pictures in the house because the next flask train would rattle them all out of kilter anyway! She also insisted on fuelling my desire for locos as well and birthdays and Christmases I must admit I was spoilt and was usually generously bought a loco from my wishlist. 

In November 2015 she tripped up out of the back door and smashed her right shoulder up pretty well, she was discharged from hospital but died of an embolism the following day.

 

The following weekend I was at the Workington model show and the model at the top of my wishlist had just arrived, Bachmann's DRS 37405, which seemed rather apt considering her interests and what we used to watch roaring past from the bedroom window.

After a little research I came across Narrow Planet etched nameplates, the chaps there were very helpful and by the time it would have been her birthday the following February I was able to unveil this...

IMG_20161103_212816_hdr.jpg.0024a181e326b88d22531a963f395689.jpg

 

Shame about the slight glue bleed along the bottom edge!

 

Normal modelling shall resume shortly I hope and I can update you on how I've managed to paint 3 models in the wrong shade of blue and yellow and how my 'quick win' project resulted in me destroying an LED and both the etched parts I had to use...

Edited by Afroal05
  • Like 1
  • Friendly/supportive 7
Link to post
Share on other sites

37602 - This was my plan for a 'quick win' to get be back into the modelling groove and accomplish something I could have on the layout quickly.

Some time ago I bought a Bachmann 37 shell (DRS 37405) and subsequently found a 'cheap' chassis online. The desire was to have a Wipac nosed DRS 37 and having ordered a pair of replacement noses from Rainbow Railways I was ready to get stuck in. The exact identity I was trying to create was decided based on the numbers I had in a pack of transfers I had bought for another project, from memory there were 3 different numbers I could have had for 37/6s but for whatever reason I chose 602.

 

The instructions were simple enough (although subsequent steps I found to be vague!) and after a small application of force the old noses popped off. I had to apply a little more force than I wanted to and was rather worried the old noses would split or break somehow but they did eventually come out. A gentle test fit of the new noses suggests they will plug in fairly easily with little fettling.

The next step as per instructions was to paint the nose yellow (they're pre primed allegedly) and out to the garage I went with my rattle can of Rover Yellow paint. Heeding advice previously given to me and a couple of light passes saw the noses completed. There's something about this particular shade I think comes out of the can very thickly, having used several other rattle can colours I haven't had the same experience but both cans of yellow seem to me to almost be splodgy. Fortunately I was happy with the finish on this occasion.

Here they are sprayed up and ready to go...

IMG_20191105_1035561.jpg.48bc5f20c2244792a9e087276751ef1b.jpg

 

The next step was to paint the insides of the noses black to prevent any light bleed and to paint the light clusters on the front, once I had made sure I had a steady hand these were tentatively hand painted using a pot of matt black...

 

IMG_20191105_1117324.jpg.bca06393b55ff5097bed7bef94963bff.jpg

 

There is just the slightest bit that has hopped over the edge of the light surround and onto the nose, I will try and correct this at some point! The noses really came to life with the black on and I was beginning to feel great about getting back into modelling.

Next up you are instructed to make the toplight that has been added to the locos. For this there is a smart little brass etch. The instructions simply say 'Fold up the etch' - unfortunately for a neanderthal like myself this wasn't enough! Much inspection of photos of the real locos was done and some head scratching about which bit to fold first, whilst I'm aware that there are maybe only 4 folds to the etch I found this quite tricky and folded both of them up differently and had to examine them closely to figure out which one was nearer the right way! During this I noticed a couple of pieces of the etch getting quite wobbly and realised I now had limited movement before something snapped off!

Once one was folded up I tested it in position and drilled out a 2mm hole for the wiring being careful to support the windscreen as I did as I found the drill bit had to work through the glazing too and I didn't want to break that!

IMG_20191105_1146069.jpg.133c5b8165ad600083502c81e8119586.jpg

 

The next instruction was a smidge vague and simply reads 'feed the small 2mm optical fibre through into the inner cab and paint outer surfaces black.'

Now does this mean you put the light into the cab (where it will be both visible and surely just illuminate the cab space? Or do you put it in the etch and feed the wires to it through the etch and cab? If you rest the LED in the etch the the bulb will protrude from the front but if the LED is in the cab then surely the lighting effect won't shine through the etch properly? I was most confused.

I interpreted it that I needed to get the LED into the etch, so I tried to size them up... and they didn't fit.IMG_20191105_1246590ZOOM.jpg.793c40b915decabd21205c373fc6445b.jpg

 

So I had now bent the front of the etch slightly too as cruelly highlighted in the above photo and had to reopen the diagonal piece of the etch that should have sloped up the windscreen face.

Not totally flummoxed by this I decided that I could probably file the edges of the LED to make it fit... I duly did this and wondered if perhaps I had filed too far and the might have damaged the light and that the best way to test this would be to actually test the light...

So to the railway room I went, clipped a pair of crocodile clips to the legs, turned the track power onto half power and touched the rails. For a brief moment the LED lit up bright enough for you to see it on the far side of the moon and then there was a small pop and a smell of burning. So that was the end of one of the toplights then in a moment of madness!

 

Realising I had now broken one of the lights I shuffled off in a huff returning to the workbench later to investigate further how I thought the LED might actually fit into the etch, in doing so I broke a part off both of my etches. That was the end of that and all of the parts are still strewn across the workbench. I have sent an email to Rainbow Railways asking if I could purchase a new LED from them as I'd really like to hope I haven't killed this project completely! So much for an easy job!

 

**************************

 

In writing this I have had somewhat of an epiphany, I suppose now I read it again that the LED is meant to sit in the roof of the cab painted black to avoid light bleed with the very end poking out into the etch, this will probably still create the effect of the toplight. Frustratingly I think both etches are now too vulnerable to nudge and shape again into the right shapes, tightly formed up so as not to bleed light from any edges that are not sealed up! Perhaps I need to purchase another set of noses and start again...a costly learning lesson perhaps!

  • Friendly/supportive 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Bad luck Al, I’ve been there with fragile etches which have been broken beyond repair because of their fidelity and my frustration! The top light doesn’t need to be an etch; I made one from pieces of plasticard for 37259, which I fed a 2mm 'lighthouse' LED through (the one you pictured above), using the long cylindrical protrusion to allow the main LED 'body' to sit inside the cab (painted black) while the cylinder feeds into the top light.

 

There’s always more than one way to achieve anything, and I’m almost certain you don’t need to purchase another set of noses just for the headlight etch. I’d suggest either using superglue to reassemble the remaining etch parts (carefully!) or making a new light from plasticard and drilling a hole through. For either route, 1.5mm fibre optic can be used instead, with the LED inside the cab. I find 2/2.5mm black heat shrink rubber tubing fits well over the LED and fibre optic, locating each end and sealing them, whilst protecting from light bleed being black.

 

The fun of modelling for me is deducing the best way to solve a problem, by having an end goal and then using any means possible to achieve it. It may go wrong, and in that case it could mean you’ve chosen the wrong way to go about it. Just because a manufacturer makes a product, it doesn’t mean it is the easiest way to achieve the desired result. I’ve tried a couple of kits/components from suppliers and ended up making it my own way because I didn’t like theirs.

 

Hope you sort it out!

 

Jack.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Had a few days at the workbench recently, interspersed with night shifts which make my head feel like soup and not very patient!

37602 has been put to one side for the moment whilst I strategise about how to move forward, thanks to Jack for some ideas, and I shall hopefully get back on it soon.

In the meantime I have been busy placing orders for lots of etched nameplates. It occurred to me that when looking at my fleet there are quite a few named locos and having recently purchased both Bachmann's 37099 'Merl Evans' and regional exclusive 37025 'Inverness TMD', both of which came with etched nameplates (and shed plates in the case of 37099), that they added a little pop to a model. I delved into my stock boxes and made a list of all of the locos I had and perused the internet and placed an order for a number of items from Shawplan...

 

73205 Jeanette - A lovely little model from Dapol although it needs some fettling as it is a jerky runner. Interestingly the etched plates are somewhat smaller than the printed ones, I haven't stuck them on yet as I need to figure out the best way forward! I was considering wiping off the old names with a cotton bud dabbed in thinners and then hoping a spray over the top with matt varnish will take away the gloss effect where the old plate was. Here is the size mismatch:

IMG_20191113_1506523.jpg.cb43a31ff90c9303a5dbcb32e93beef1.jpg

 

Next up was a Heljan Western D1002 Western Champion for which the nameplates, numberplates and Swindon works plates came on the etch. Filing the little tags of metal from the edges of the name/number plates was easy enough but the works plates?! They were something else, so small and fine I was terrified I would drop one and that would be the end of that, lost in the carpet forever. Fortunately a steady hand prevailed and they were applied with no issue.

My chosen method of sticking the plates down has been enamel gloss varnish painted on from a 12ml jar. With a nameplate I bought a couple of years ago I used polycement but had a little bead creep out from under the edges of the plates and when I tried to scrape it off I just damaged the model and made a mess. This time I painted on a thin coating of varnish making sure not to go too close to the edge of the plate and then gently placed in on the loco before nudging it with tweezers and pressing down to make sure the whole plate was bonding to the model. Generally speaking it has worked well and any that seeped to the edges is less obvious then the UHU I used last time.

 

IMG_20191121_1521344.jpg.7503c2941b5f46a21c26d3eaeaa9a5a6.jpg

 

Following the Western there was a Metals sector 37, this benefited from a pair of etched BR logos and Tinsley depot plates, I didn't get an individual photo of this as I was on a roll! Next a pair of Tinsley plates for the fictitious 14701, a Class 14 in Loadhaul livery.

Next was a class 58 in Coal Sector livery which has gained BR logos and the smaller Toton depot plaques applied to the class - these were another incredibly fiddly plate to file the tags off the edges.

 

Next was a model that I've never actually run because I was bought it as a present and always said I would run it when my layout was finished... the Deltic Prototype. Unfortunately this one also proved to be a little bit of a problem. The plates match up wonderfully but the printed detail on the Bachmann model (which is 5 years old now at least) is exceptional! It is no criticism of the plate but sadly it just doesn't compare, you can read each line of the printed plate but not the etched one, which is a real shame. At the moment I have filed these away in a drawer and left the model as it is. Now I really ought to crack on and finish the layout...

 

IMG_20191114_1515143.jpg.da1e5303f18eb8beb8f9431dc8c15b0c.jpg

 

Finally it was the turn of a pair of Great Western HST powercars. Living and working on the Western I have a particular passion for the current day (post 2015) operation and have in my collection two full 2+8 sets, one in the FGW blue/purple and one in the new GWR green.

The first powercar(s) I worked on was the Harry Patch commemorative set with 43172 in the Remembrance livery and 43154 in the plain FGW blue. I particularly liked these two as I was working in train planning at the time and drew up the drivers diagrams to work the powercars into Bristol Temple Meads station for the naming/unveiling ceremony - sadly I wasn't present.

The model received etched nameplates and 43154 & 43172 both received etched Brush Traction plates as found on the driver's side. Initially I applied a plate to both sides of Harry Patch before realising all of my reference photos were of the same side of the loco! Further research and an enquiry to a former colleague who seems to know an encyclopedic amount about the modern day railway confirmed the plates were only present on one side. I hastily whipped off the plate on the secondman's side whilst the varnish was still tacky and managed to dab/smear away the residue so you can only see a slight mark under certain lighting.

After studying a lot of reference photos I couldn't help but noticing that 43154 had a chunk missing from its side grill, the more I see photos of it the more I want to have a go replicating this but I daren't for fear of ruining a very expensive model!

 

IMG_20191121_1521223.jpg.6ea725f7be363e1259b17d4dec487527.jpg

 

The Brush Traction plates were another eye popping exercise in concentration and steady hand work.

 

IMG_20191114_1527306.jpg.75066f677fded454134280c570b80fdd.jpg

 

Finally I purchased some etched GWR logos for the sides of the green powercars which are 43187 & 43188. The plan with these is to apply transfers to turn them into 'The Welshman' and 'The Flying Welshman' as they were branded up not long after coming in to service (initially we were told that the branding was only temporary however they are still branded up some 4 years later!). I thought that if I was going to add transfers and work on the powercars then it was only fair to add etched GWR logos like the real things! (GWR only added plated letters to 4 powercars in the end; 187 & 188 were part of the first set painted in to green - LA15 - and the others were 43005 and 43041 - these all initially had their numbers written on the cargo door at the rear of the powercar, subsequently the GWR has been done as a vinyl and the numbers written on the cabside.)

I have had the Welshman transfers sat on the workbench for a while waiting for the letters to arrive. Well... this is another model that is going to require a little thought. Having battled to get the letters free from the etch without bending them I placed them on the model as a test. They don't fit over the original lettering! So either Hornby's printing is fractionally out or the etches are, I'm not pointing the finger at either. I did notice however that the plates had Bachmann written on the etch around them making me wonder if they were originally produced for their models of the GWR Class 57/6.

 

I haven't progressed any further than this at present but I think my plan of attack will be to rub off the existing GWR with a cotton bud dabbed in thinners and then put the new plates on, transfers on and then seal with matt varnish... what could possibly go wrong!

Just visible below (apologies for the less than perfect picture) is the new plate and the old printed GWR. With the letters on top of the Hornby printing the spacing is now incorrect compared to the real thing.

 

IMG_20191121_1509360.jpg.3e14f5edd4eb0724918449ddfbc3b5fb.jpg

 

A lineup of the models I stuck plates to in this piece, they've really added a nice edge to their appearance!

 

IMG_20191121_1521083.jpg.2f40e8fc6ce27a08480f80c268168e73.jpg

 

I have already started a shopping list for Warley this weekend so who knows what will join the workbench queue next... if you're going to Warley this weekend I hope you have an excellent time! More soon...

Edited by Afroal05
  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

47323 Rover Group Quality Assured - This was a project that came about through a family connection and one that arguably drifts slightly off topic from the title of a 'Modern' Workbench. Through circumstance I temporarily moved in with my Dad and step Mother (what was meant to be 6 weeks and turned into 6 months!) and as all three of us work for the railway there were often plenty of railway conversations! One evening the conversation of named engines and curtain pulling ceremonies came up as I remembered the time I made a mistake and didn't diagram a driver to take a pair of powercars to a naming ceremony (more on that another day as I will actually model the powercar involved) and my step Mother recalled the time she was present at the naming of a locomotive at the Rover plant in Swindon as a representative of BR - she was heavily involved in the automotive flows at the time.

On the 23rd February 1994 47323 was named 'Rover Group Quality Assured' at the plant in Swindon and the curtain was pulled by an employee who won a company competition. The plates were not on the loco long however and moved to a sister loco in 1996.

A comment was made to the effect of 'Maybe one day you could get a model of 47323' - I don't know how seriously it was intended but the seed was planted!

http://www.hondawanderer.com/47323_Swindon_Rover_Works_1994.htm (The original photograph I found that evening when I started my research).

 

After much research I needed a 47 in Railfreight Distribution livery with a navy blue roof. Not long after I found one on an internet auction site at a reasonable price, not 323 but then that meant I had a chance to do some work on it!

The original model is a very smart Heljan 47 representing 47245 'The Institure of Export' and this looked like quite a quick project to get done as all she needed was new numbers and nameplates... or so I thought.

 

IMG_20191121_1528056.jpg.b298e1244fe43e6767d446e29b428d96.jpg 

When researching the real loco I found that she clearly had a couple of amendments a few months after the naming ceremony, this meant I had to be quite specific about when I was going to model her so I have chosen within a few days of the naming - this is potentially at odds with my layout which is post 2010 but lets not go there! One thing I did notice though was that the cabside numbers appeared to be of different widths... As far as I could tell the numbers on the number 2 end appeared to have a wider spacing than those on the number 1 end. Sure enough when I ordered the transfers from Steve at Railtec he asked if I could send any reference photos that I was working from. I was/am very uneasy about the spacing of the numbers because it just seems odd to me for them to be different but as I can only find photos of the opposite sides 2 months apart and they are indeed different then I will have to settle for this! I admit I don't know enough about 47s/RfD in the '90s to have any understanding of whether this was a thing or not, I was even surprised to notice that the headcode box marker lights were different at each end - something I initially panicked about before noticing the model was the same!

 

To remove the numbers and printed names I used a cotton bud dipped in thinners and then dabbed on some kitchen towel, this was something I found on RMweb recently and was a little apprehensive to do. With a little scrubbing the numbers came away easily, with some more scrubbing so did the nameplates. Unfortunately I was a little clumsy when doing the second side of the model and scrubbed a little too hard and took away some of the grey finish! I was very lucky with the chunk on the bodyside as this has naturally been covered by the new etched plate.

Having dried off the sides of the body with kitchen towel I then noticed that 47323 in '94 did not have as many OHLE warning flashes as the model. Not only that but the model had the new style warning flashes where as the real thing had the old style back then. For the cab fronts and the bodyside I could cover these with the transfers for the old style flashes and use them to line up nicely but the model had warnings just next to the cab door and the real thing did not! These proved a real challenge to remove and the bulbous end of a cotton bud was not nimble enough to go right up to the cantrail stripe. I have sadly removed a little bit of the grey finish in some of these locations too! The photograph below is cruel and makes it looks a lot worse than it is...

 

IMG_20191121_1714578.jpg.289bb378690d6518f23ee041da46cf70.jpg

 

The loco data panels I did not touch, I did however inspect them under a magnifying glass and it was very impressive how legible the details of the printed original and the transfer replacement were. Sadly neither one is correct! The one on the loco is for a 47/7 and the transfer pack for a 47/4. I decided that you really had to get it under a magnifying glass to notice so left the original printed ones in place.

 

I have always enjoyed applying transfers and these were no different going on like an absolute dream. Cutting out the name plates from the fret was a little more tricky, desperately trying not to bend anything. These were stuck down like before with a thing painting of gloss varnish on the back and then carefully lined up with tweezers and the tip of a scalpel.

 

Pre transfers with the old markings removed:

IMG_20191121_1714366.jpg.9d922805aa5cf2456cb1e7386b128f83.jpg

 

One end with new number and warning flashes in place:

476728915_IMG_20191122_1430387lo.jpg.630776a398f45587b97ee0b35292bdc1.jpg

 

Cabside numbers (next project visible in the background):

118728572_IMG_20191122_1455000lo.jpg.93b22a0a6748593421700ceaf5081a1e.jpg

 

And finally the whole bodyside with nameplates and etched Tinsley plate:

188485440_IMG_20191122_1454520lo.jpg.cc07167109670ca8cc18ba3ba22feb45.jpg

 

All that is left to do to finish her off is a spray over with matt varnish, a driver in one of the cabs (figures were purchased at Warley!) and a black smudge on the bufferheads as was present on the day she was named.

Finally, a photograph of the inspiration for the project:

 

1042147044_WhatsAppImage2019-11-21at20_29_36.jpeg.5e3485122098f7cee20c68cef96cc9b2.jpeg

 

  • Like 6
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

43187 & 43023

Continuing with work on 43187 in its Flying Welshman guise there has been a small speed bump. On one powercar the printed GWR branding rubbed off absolutely fine and the bodyside is ready for the GWR etched replacement to be fitted. However on one powercar once the printing had been removed it was noticeable that there was a slight indentation on the bodyside where the lettering had been, this initially made it appear that I hadn't removed all of the printed detail properly, closer inspection reveals that for whatever reason there is a slight recess where the lettering was. This is a slight problem as the etched letters are slightly bigger and thus require re spacing to get the correct distance between them, this in turn exposes the indentation where the printed letters were before! I haven't managed to figure out what to do with this yet so this powercar has had to be put to one side.

 

However I have progressed with 43187. The etched GWR lettering was applied with the help of the included spacing etch and stuck down with a little gloss varnish painted onto the back. Following this it was time to add the dragon transfers! This was a new experience in that the transfers are a very peculiar shape and required some precision cutting out as the end of the dragons tail is intricately woven in with the etched lettering. I had to trim the transfers right down with a scalpel in order to reduce the amount of carrier film that would come into contact with the lettering.

These transfers gave me a little grief (more likely through user issues) and I had a couple of moments I thought I had curled one and it was game over. Fortunately a steady hand and some patience and I managed to shuffle it into the right position! All it needs now is a waft of matt varnish to seal it all in!

As for the other powercar I am at some point planning to model 43093 Old Oak Common HSTD and as I have the transfers I might try and do this hoping that the transfer if applied carefully will cover the indentation where the GWR used to be.

 

Lining up the letters:

IMG_20191203_1557386.jpg.fdbbe1706675e95bc35ba2be1543d826.jpg

 

Following this I then started 43023 Squadron Leader Harold Starr - One of the few which was named at Swindon station on 15th September 2015 by Prince Richard. Harold Starr was a Swindon born World War 2 Squadron Leader who was unfortunately killed in action.

But why chose 023? Well this is another loco with a personal connection (a la 47323 above) as I was responsible for diagramming the back to back powercar move from Laira to Swindon for the naming ceremony. Or at least that was the plan...!

 

I had been told about the naming some weeks in advance and had a big post it note on my desk to remind me. Anyway, due to the way I was checking if there were any services I had not diagrammed crew for my reports were showing HSTs but not anything that the timers had put in as a light engine move (being timed at 75mph rather than up to 125mph). Because of this I never saw the empty stock moves requiring a driver and walked into the office on the morning of the 15th blissfully unaware of what I hadn't done until someone involved in special trains movements came charging over to my desk in a panic. By this time the ECS was 15 minutes overdue to have left Laira depot and there was a certain amount of sweating going on about making the organised curtain pulling event in a few hours time!

 

Fortunately there was someone on depot at the time who was spare and had enough hours and route knowledge to take it to Swindon and the second driver that was required to sit with the set in Swindon station (whilst driver 1 was on a break and in case something dramatic happened and the extra platform was needed at Swindon in a hurry) was a few hours work that could be squeezed into someones day.

As the planning office is in Swindon a number of the planners went out to see the naming and the special movements planner recommended I come over and thank the man who had saved my bacon at Laira!

 

The donor powercar was 43154 which came as part of the pack with 43172 Harry Patch (which I also diagrammed the naming ceremony for... I didn't make the same mistake with this one!!!) and I removed the numbers easily with a cotton bud dipped in thinners. The transfers (Railtec) went on like a doddle - the nameplate is actually a 3D transfer, I haven't used these before preferring an etched alternative but I must say I am rather impressed!

A really simple job this one, new number, add a name and an etched Brush Traction plate on the driver's side!

 

This powercar, Harry Patch and the full rake of coaches is to be sent away in a couple of weeks for a weathering commission, whilst I would like to improve my weathering I thought it best that a full 2+8 HST be done properly and the quality of work from this individual is absolutely outstanding - I'll put pictures up (with permission) in the New Year hopefully!

 

43023 & 43187 awaiting a varnish:

IMG_20191204_1746560.jpg.1c00413a7192fb438f190b5e41dc0a5e.jpg

 

The inspiration photo for 43023, myself and colleagues (all looking different ways of course) after the crowds had left the naming ceremony at Swindon:

12038596_1102938126400851_7191606748106207529_o.jpg.7d0027818f513d50dfc0c3b82cbd022b.jpg

 

Edited by Afroal05
  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

Not much to report in the last week unfortunately, I have picked up a run of night shifts on spare which has limited my capacity to model; I find when working nights my head is like concrete and I struggle with both patience and accuracy when doing fiddly task - best to stay away from the workbench then!

 

However at the start of the week I did do a little work on the FGW mk3s that form part of my HST set that I will be dropping off with a master of weathering next weekend.

I am mostly happy with the look of the Hornby mk3s, I know they might not be perfect but apart from the wheels, buffers and the bright exteriors I cannot see much to change. The exteriors and roofs will receive a toning down with weathering - mostly to get rid of the bright blue/purple roof which you never saw after a few days in traffic - the buffers were quickly removed with a pair of pliers (although those on the TGS require a dremmel as they are still fixed onto the chassis) and the wheels have always looked a bit hollow. I recently found that PH Designs do a set of etched wheel inserts to represent the brake discs and duly ordered 8 sets.

 

The etches are smart and incredibly fiddly and so I set about removing them from their frets and filing off the little tags that had previously held them in place. The next challenge was removing the wheels from the bogies, I did a quick bit of research on Youtube and found that with some prying of the bogie side the wheels should just pop out. The reality...

 

I was quite apprehensive about doing this for fear of snapping the bogie side and ruining coaches that are very difficult to replace (without selling a kidney on the internet!). I found that I had to use more force than I was expecting and that whilst trying to ease the wheel out it would then spear and into my finger - literally! Over the course of popping out 32 wheelsets I bled quite a lot, the pointy end of the axle is quite the weapon! I attempted to use a file to help lever the bogie side apart but largely this didn't stop me stabbing myself with the wheelsets, I'll chalk this up to user error.

 

The etches and a coach undergoing work:

IMG_20191129_1036042lo.jpg.f33a64da10f19e56ba5187fc4729e98c.jpg

 

So having filed away the little tags of metal on the etches I then attempted to put the first one into the wheel. It gave quite a lot of resistance, I wasn't surprised by this because I figured it had to hold itself in somehow, and eventually it went pop. This however was only half the etch, more pressure and the other half popped in but I could now see I had bent the etch and it wasn't sitting right in the wheel at all. Unable to get it back out I persevered with the rest of the coach. Over the course of the first coach I did 50% popped in nicely and 50% bent. I aligned the bent ones all on the same side of the coach and hopefully when at a distance or running at speed I won't notice... I'll just know it's there!

Realising that I simply couldn't have this rate of hit and miss for the rest of the coaches and having had a day away from the project I decided to gently file a smidgen from the inside of the etch to try and make the putting them in easier. This worked a treat, some required a little more pushing than others but perhaps through more careful application and a willingness to stop and file a little away (and I really mean a tiny amount) then out of the remaining 56 wheels I think I bent one!

 

Bent and a correct disc:

IMG_20191129_1047465lo.jpg.0e1c60a20fff2a308767382467d1f20d.jpgIMG_20191129_1047599lo.jpg.ba8ac931af736cff7f422e0c9276c4d3.jpg

 

Up close like the photos above I think it is very noticeable the difference between them but I don't think it is as obvious when on the track (I haven't got a photo of this). The wheels that are correct look absolutely cracking.

That should be everything I need to do with the HST prior to dropping it off next weekend and then by mid February I should be able to present it fully weathered as per photographs. My intention is to do some of my own weathering in the future and I will get round to practising and having a go but I'd rather someone who has done some stunning work (as featured on RMweb too) does this job.

 

Wheels back in situ in the bogie in a terribly lit photo:

 

IMG_20191205_2105419lo.jpg.3c5b3adca94e6e5d0dede70b4edf384f.jpg

 

I have made one purchase this week whilst on nights - I have always been interested in the Class 89 despite never managing to see it when I lived in North Yorkshire in the early 2000s. I have purchased a Silver Fox kit and might be able to start on it over the Christmas period (or next week when I am on rest days!). The livery is still undecided as I hadn't planned on doing a GNER set - my layout is already set in two places geographically - so I have considered doing it in a fictitious DRS livery a la 90034! But that's a story for another day... 

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

A while since my last post and I had a bit of a modelling lull over the Christmas/New Year period as I had a bit of disaster that put me right off!

 

The project was 43188 The Flying Welshman and all I was intending to do was blend the dragon transfer in with a nice waft of varnish as the backing of the transfer was showing up on the bodywork. Still using rattle cans despite knowing I probably ought to invest in an airbrush I thought a gentle coat of Humbrol matt enamel would seal the transfer in nicely as it stood out a little both in photographs and to the naked eye. I shook the can as per instructions and set up my improvised spray centre in the kitchen. Test waft and spray coming out as expected.

Error #1 - for reasons I don't quite understand I masked parts of the model off, the underframe (I don't regret this) and the rear of the powercar just in front of the cargo door in order to protect the glazing (I learnt that mistake previously with the Railroad model of the 97 earlier in the thread). I covered the cab side windows and windscreen with Humbrol Maskol and should have done this with the cargo door windows.

Error #2 - when the GWR livery on the powercars is all over gloss why would I varnish with a matt varnish?!

Error #3 - with the powercar going so badly why did I then give 47323 a very light waft on spray as if it would come out differently?! (This has suffered but not as much as the below)

 

The result was an absolute disaster...

IMG_20191230_1531494.jpg.526a8c5ada61bbf795b15cae6179b354.jpg

 

I don't quite understand how but the varnish has not dulled down and created a matt finish but has instead created a misty finish, it is blotchy in places too. However that isn't really the point, I have ruined a very expensive model through sheer stupidity! As I peeled the masking tape off the back of the powercar the true mindlessness of what I had done struck, not only had I destroyed the correct finish but I hadn't even managed to do it evenly! What was I thinking?!

 

Additionally the transfer appears to have been scratched and damaged as somewhere near the dragons tail it has cracked/split and isn't flush to the model.

 

Answers on a postcard?! I haven't figured out what to do with this. I would have thought a whole respray might be required but when I went to the Phoenix paint stand at Warley in November they said they do not produce GWR (2015) green anymore as there is no demand for it! Even if I had the paint I do not have the confidence to pull off a full respray right now, absolutely gutted.

So it has been a quiet few weeks on the modelling front as I need to pick myself up and figure out where to go from here.

  • Like 1
  • Friendly/supportive 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Bad luck Al, I’ve been there and done that and tbh I’ve never achieved a totally satisfactory finish with Humbrol rattle can matt varnish. I even had one spray turn white once...

 

For transfers I always spray with gloss first before I do anything else as I’m paranoid about damaging the transfers. I’ve had transfers crinkle up under varnish before like you’ve described...varnishing really is a dark art to me!

 

Personally I think if you get some gloss rattle can varnish from Humbrol and spray over the whole PC it should remedy it...in any case it’ll improve the look from what you have now. I’ve never had any issues with gloss but have had plenty with matt.

 

HTH,

Jack.

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks Jack, I have no idea why I hadn't thought of just glossing over it. Varnish is a frustrating one, a couple of models in the past have got away without any as there has been little residue from where I have removed a previous marking/number but the GWR powercars and 47323 had very obvious shiny patches where I had used thinners to remove previous names and numbers so I didn't really have a choice when trying to get an even finish!

 

Thanks for the help and support!

Al

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Al,

 

Humbrols Matt varnish has, at least to me always dried with a "white" finnish (im not sure why this is, but it may be the matting agent they use perhaps?), and only use Humbrol matt varnish for giving a faded look. Railmatch spray varnishes are better as they give a smooth finish. An airbrush you'll find with time and practice will give you much better results and wont flood the detail either compared to spray cans either

 

NL

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...