Will’s workbench - Bachmann Class 37 super detailing

[Southwich]

 

516 has been progressing over the long weekend and this evening - nearly at a point where it’s up on its bogies. The Penbits kit arrived last week (thanks to Ian for the superb service as always!). I just have the bearing carriers and the break gear left to do before full assembly. 
 

The nice weather on Sunday also allowed me to get some painting done; using Hiroboy Cellulose Zero paints. In the space of 2 hours I managed to fit the Shawplan fan grille, do a coat of primer, black top coat and the first coat of the faded orange. These paints are absolutely superb and I’d thoroughly recommend them. Even better they come pre thinned which is excellent as you don’t have to bother thinning them. I’m currently awaiting the warning panel yellow, so once that arrives I’ll be able to finish off the front of the loco and move into the smaller touch ups (especially the cantrail which I’m not particularly happy with and it needs the additional thicker ends adding!)
 

Hope everyone had a good long weekend!

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[Steadfast]

Hi Will,

Just had a catch up on your thread - excellent tractor action! It's making me want to turn the clock back, but my Colas one will do for the time being...

I've long been tempted to try Zero Paints for railway stuff, all I've sprayed so far with it are a few metallic blue teaspoons to gauge colours, but was impressed and have heard good things. 

Out of interest, what colour do you intend to use for the warning panel yellow? Presumably one in their RAL range? I wonder if there's enough interest they could be persuaded to produce a railway range?

 

All the best

 

Jo

[Southwich]

3 hours ago, Steadfast said:

Hi Will,

Just had a catch up on your thread - excellent tractor action! It's making me want to turn the clock back, but my Colas one will do for the time being...

I've long been tempted to try Zero Paints for railway stuff, all I've sprayed so far with it are a few metallic blue teaspoons to gauge colours, but was impressed and have heard good things. 

Out of interest, what colour do you intend to use for the warning panel yellow? Presumably one in their RAL range? I wonder if there's enough interest they could be persuaded to produce a railway range?

 

All the best

 

Jo

Thanks Jo - much appreciated! I think you should take the plunge  

 

RAL 1023 arrived today - which is more of a faded yellow rather than a freshly painted one. @RBE Reckons RAL 1006 may be a better option. Alternatively I may ask if I can get the BS number as a custom mix as I think for warning panel yellow it’ll be worth it in the long run! I’ll post a photo once I’ve sprayed the yellow and let you know what I think.
 

I’ve also got a BR blue for my 08 (RAL 5020) and a blue for 47145 (RAL 50023). I don’t think the weather is going to be too kind to me next few days for spraying! 

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[Steadfast]

Hi Will,

Thanks for that. It's interesting all this paint matching stuff - I'll be interested to see how RAL 5020 comes out compared to (a decent!) RTR BR blue.

Here's the list of permissible RAL colours, at least from 2014

RAL 1003, RAL 1004, RAL 1018, RAL 1021, or RAL1023 from the RAL Classic Colour Collection

BS 4800 Item 08E51

BR81 Item 202

NCS (Natural colour system) target value 1080-Y 10-R or 1475-Y 11R

EC 222.69.79 in the Eurocolour table

 

It is noticeable that different repaints are different shades - check out a DB 66 next to an EWS one for example, even without the fading, they're definitely different yellows. FGW HSTs had very variable yellow ends too.

 

If you've already heard of similar, apologies! Something I've done is to spray strips of different colour primers on a plastic teaspoon. So you end up with white, black, red oxide and grey bands or blocks across the spoon. Mask over a small patch so you can see which is which, then top coat in your chosen colour. It's amazing how much variation there is over different primers, especially with lighter colours. Prime example, Railmatch EWS maroon is a lot closer to Bachmann when applied over black than over white.

 

Jo

Edited April 7, 2021 by Steadfast

[Southwich]

On 07/04/2021 at 15:37, Steadfast said:

Hi Will,

Thanks for that. It's interesting all this paint matching stuff - I'll be interested to see how RAL 5020 comes out compared to (a decent!) RTR BR blue.

Here's the list of permissible RAL colours, at least from 2014

RAL 1003, RAL 1004, RAL 1018, RAL 1021, or RAL1023 from the RAL Classic Colour Collection

BS 4800 Item 08E51

BR81 Item 202

NCS (Natural colour system) target value 1080-Y 10-R or 1475-Y 11R

EC 222.69.79 in the Eurocolour table

 

It is noticeable that different repaints are different shades - check out a DB 66 next to an EWS one for example, even without the fading, they're definitely different yellows. FGW HSTs had very variable yellow ends too.

 

If you've already heard of similar, apologies! Something I've done is to spray strips of different colour primers on a plastic teaspoon. So you end up with white, black, red oxide and grey bands or blocks across the spoon. Mask over a small patch so you can see which is which, then top coat in your chosen colour. It's amazing how much variation there is over different primers, especially with lighter colours. Prime example, Railmatch EWS maroon is a lot closer to Bachmann when applied over black than over white.

 

Jo

Hi Jo,

 

Thats very useful indeed thank you very much! It’s incredible how each vary ever so slightly. I’m tending to use Mr Surfacer Black 1500, as pretty much anything will go over it nicely - although I’m tempted to give the white a go as well. Love the idea of plastic teaspoon - certainly will give that a go!

 

In terms of work on 516 this has been focused on the Penbits bogies - which are now nearing completion:

 

Just need to assemble the brake rodding, put the Gibson wheelsets together and apply the side frame then she’ll be ready to go! Hoping to have a decent session on 516 this evening to get it all assembled and actually look like a model rather than a box of bits. Then it’s onto thinking about detailing the underframe...

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[The Fatadder]

Very nice, 

will have to get you to run it on Wheal Imogen sometime. Will be very interested to see the performance relative to my standard locos with my smaller centre wheel fudge.

 

I came across a photo of 516 on clay recently....

[Southwich]

On 09/04/2021 at 12:23, The Fatadder said:

Very nice, 

will have to get you to run it on Wheal Imogen sometime. Will be very interested to see the performance relative to my standard locos with my smaller centre wheel fudge.

 

I came across a photo of 516 on clay recently....

Thanks Rich - definitely would be happy to bring it along. Need to get one finished first! I’ll also have 698/425 ready to go as well as they’ve both got ultrascales. A more modern takeover!

 

Will

[Southwich]

 

Penbits bogies for 516 are all but complete apart from final tweaks now. Really happy with how these have come out - the extra brake detail, lowered right height and running quality is definitely worth it IMO. I need to fettle the way the chassis sits on the bogies to make sure it’s sitting perfectly square and then I should be able to make a start on the bogie detailing.

 

Hope everyone’s had a good weekend!

 

Will

[The Fatadder]

53 minutes ago, Southwich said:

Thanks Rich - definitely would be happy to bring it along. Need to get one finished first! I’ll also have 698/425 ready to go as well as they’ve both got ultrascales. A more modern takeover!

 

Will

Plenty of time for that, will take me long enough to get the fiddleyard working...

 

coming along very nicely 

[Departmental203]

On 11/04/2021 at 21:26, Southwich said:

 

Penbits bogies for 516 are all but complete apart from final tweaks now. Really happy with how these have come out - the extra brake detail, lowered right height and running quality is definitely worth it IMO. I need to fettle the way the chassis sits on the bogies to make sure it’s sitting perfectly square and then I should be able to make a start on the bogie detailing.

 

Hope everyone’s had a good weekend!

 

Will

 

Coming on very nicely here Will! It will be at least 10 or so years before you catch me doing something as involved as thisso it's very nice to see this!

 

Keep up the good work, Jules

[Southwich]

On 16/04/2021 at 19:16, Departmental203 said:

 

Coming on very nicely here Will! It will be at least 10 or so years before you catch me doing something as involved as thisso it's very nice to see this!

 

Keep up the good work, Jules

Thanks Jules that’s very kind! You can always get some cheap body shells and have a go that way. Your work is superb so you should have a go!

 

I dug out my Tim Horn stock stand this weekend and began painting it (first coat of primer on!). It will keep my projects without a box much more organised than on the windowsill!

 

 

In terms of all of the projects, the stages are as follows:

37047 - nose ends need finishing/Penbits Bogies

37516 - had paint touch ups this evening. Penbits bogies need fettling then onto the Underframe. 

08561- awaiting the Brassmasters rods, handrails and then onto painting.

37114 - windscreens need redoing. Not looking forward to this! 

DRS 37s - awaiting the windscreens to be finished. 

47145 - awaiting final springs for the Penbits bogies. Then onto bogie detailing. 

37698 - awaiting fitting of P4 ultrascales

 

Thanks as always for looking at my projects.

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

 

[Southwich]

Progress on 37516 this lunchtime in the lovely sunshine. Apart from a few small touch ups the painting is now complete. Nearly ready for transfers and weathering! 
 

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[Steadfast]

The 37 looks banging Will, can't wait to see it weathered up and finished.

Which yellow did you go for in the end, did you stick with 1023 or use another shade in the end? It looks great, whichever you went for.

 

Jo

[Southwich]

39 minutes ago, Steadfast said:

The 37 looks banging Will, can't wait to see it weathered up and finished.

Which yellow did you go for in the end, did you stick with 1023 or use another shade in the end? It looks great, whichever you went for.

 

Jo

Thanks Jo much appreciated sir! I’m quite pleased with it, although quite a way to go yet. I went with 1023 which is a brilliant faded yellow, although I think for newly painted locos it may be a bit too lemony! In terms of the paint though it’s superb and couldn’t recommend it enough! 
 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[Steadfast]

Cheers Will, I'll definitely be sticking up on these. 

A friend of mine at work has recommended Molotow spray paints, £4.50 a can and very good quality apparently. A lot of the colours seem to share RAL names, so I've emailed to find out if they're proper matches. More the merrier etc!

 

Jo

[Southwich]

Evening all,

 

A quick update on two ongoing projects. First off one of @jonhall superb CargWagon kits:
 

 

Nearly there, just a few more underframe details left to go.

 

Second up the 20/3 has been renumbered to 20310 from 306 and had the bodyside logos removed:

 

 

 

New bodyside DRS transfers next!

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[Southwich]

 

 

My Bachmann 20/3 has been converted to P4 using ultrascale wheels kindly sent to me by @Wolf27. Ive managed to renumber and rebrand it using dry rub down numbers (no backing film) and Railtec logos respectively. I’ve sealed these this afternoon with zero paints dullcote through the airbrush. A few days needed now to harden off the onto weathering next.
 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[PeteScR]

Will, great job. What method did you use to remove the decals and any particular prep required? I am just about to do mine.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

[Southwich]

14 minutes ago, PeteScR said:

Will, great job. What method did you use to remove the decals and any particular prep required? I am just about to do mine.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

Thanks Pete much appreciated - although I’ve had a nightmare trying to fade the transfers so back to square one. The best way I’ve found is white spirit (screw fix is my go to) applied with a cotton bud. It gives you a lot of control and doesn’t easily go through the paint below.

 

Hopefully that helps - looking forward to seeing your 20!

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[Southwich]

 

Something I wasn’t particularly happy with was the paint finish on 56049 (please excuse the rubbish workbench/desk photo!). Since moving over to lacquer based paints the paint finish I’ve managed to achieve has been significantly better than that with enamels. A big thanks to @newbryford for providing the Colas RAL colours - which were duly purchased from Hiroboy. I stripped the Precision paint off using IPA, and then reprinted using my favourite Mr Hobby Surfacer 1500 black.
 

Then, during a nice afternoon of sunshine, I did the repaint - the paint dried really quickly which is a great feature of the lacquer paints. Following the painting I used dry rub down transfers to do the lettering and numbers, no carrier film at all - perfect! Following this gloss varnish was applied through the airbrush in preparation for the few water slides (colas logos/cantrail strips and OHLE flashes), and to seal the DRD transfers.

 

Last few parts/transfers need adding, some small touch ups then I can Matt varnish and give the loco a light weathering.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[Southwich]

After losing my mojo for a bit following the sale of Motts Lane, @MRDBLUE17 has helped my mid 2000s tractor addiction by trading two 37s for two redundant DMUs that I wasn’t going to use. 37510 has been stripped to become 37517. The latest shot of my progress:
 

I realised that on 114 and 516 that the Shawplan windows were too high up, so 114 has donate it’s Penbits bogies to 517 so then I can crack on more quickly. 
 

In terms of progress on 37517, I’ve done the following:

- Fitted etched Shawplan windscreens and filled the join

- Soldered up the roof fan from Shawplan

- Lanarkshire models buffers fitted

- Moulded fuel tanks opened out

- Bodyside windows filled (in order for the Loadhaul logo to go over it)

- Hurst etched sandite filler ports added

- Penbits bogies with 3D printed brake cylinders added

- Secondman grilles cut out ready for etched replacements

- Shawplan brake levers soldered to brake chains and fitted using .33mm nickel silver wire drilled into the plastic chassis

- Etched Lamp Brackets and snowploughs fitted from @Pete Harvey’s superb range

 

I need to finish assembling Pete’s steps, and add a few small details to the bogies then they are complete. I’ll then move onto detailing the area around the fuel tanks, which is looking very open following the removal of a lot of plastic!

 

Following this the bodyshell, underframe and bogies needs a coat of primer and then I can asses what needs tidying up before moving onto painting.

 

Thanks as always for reading.

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[dj_crisp]

Excellent progress! Ive never been able to build PH 37 steps so I'll be interested in seeing how you get on and what you think of them

[Squirrel Rail]

18 hours ago, Southwich said:

After losing my mojo for a bit following the sale of Motts Lane, @MRDBLUE17 has helped my mid 2000s tractor addiction by trading two 37s for two redundant DMUs that I wasn’t going to use. 37510 has been stripped to become 37517. The latest shot of my progress:
 

I realised that on 114 and 516 that the Shawplan windows were too high up, so 114 has donate it’s Penbits bogies to 517 so then I can crack on more quickly. 
 

In terms of progress on 37517, I’ve done the following:

- Fitted etched Shawplan windscreens and filled the join

- Soldered up the roof fan from Shawplan

- Lanarkshire models buffers fitted

- Moulded fuel tanks opened out

- Bodyside windows filled (in order for the Loadhaul logo to go over it)

- Hurst etched sandite filler ports added

- Penbits bogies with 3D printed brake cylinders added

- Secondman grilles cut out ready for etched replacements

- Shawplan brake levers soldered to brake chains and fitted using .33mm nickel silver wire drilled into the plastic chassis

- Etched Lamp Brackets and snowploughs fitted from @Pete Harvey’s superb range

 

I need to finish assembling Pete’s steps, and add a few small details to the bogies then they are complete. I’ll then move onto detailing the area around the fuel tanks, which is looking very open following the removal of a lot of plastic!

 

Following this the bodyshell, underframe and bogies needs a coat of primer and then I can asses what needs tidying up before moving onto painting.

 

Thanks as always for reading.

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

Great work Will, should look stunning when finished, cheers Jerry

[Southwich]

10 hours ago, dj_crisp said:

Excellent progress! Ive never been able to build PH 37 steps so I'll be interested in seeing how you get on and what you think of them

Thanks Will much appreciated. They’re certainly challenging but they’re much nicer than the originals. I’ve found soldering them up really helps. I’ve got another load coming so I might try and do a how to video on YouTube or something.

 

52 minutes ago, Squirrel Rail said:

Great work Will, should look stunning when finished, cheers Jerry

Thanks Jerry much appreciated! Glad to see Squirrel rail is keeping you busy. Thoroughly deserved given the quality of your work!

 

Kind regards,

 

Will

[Southwich]

 

More super detailing Bachmann 37s (516/517) this week - both are now fitted with Penbits sprung bogies, Shawplan/PHDesigns etches and new buffers. Trying to do the pair as a batch so then I can paint them at the same time given the liveries are nigh on identical, and I have the transfers for both ready to go. The bodies are pretty much ready for the first coat of primer, just a few finishing touches required before I get the airbrush out. Under-frames still need a lot of scratch building around the tanks, and bogie detailing on 516.
 

A lot of work has gone into this pair but hopefully the results will be worth it! 

Kind regards,

 

Will