RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted November 28, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 28, 2019 (edited) Locos are wonderfully detailed these days (although not all the details are always correct!) but I realised that all my GWR locos were missing something: Brass washout plugs. The plugs themselves are usually very carefully moulded but they are not coloured... So I had a go at addressing this using some ATK Brass True Metal Wax: This product is thick and has a high pigment level, which means that just a touch completely obscures whatever colour is underneath. This is important because it would be unthinkable to try to paint such small, recessed details let alone having to use multiple coats! I picked up some of the wax on the end of a cocktail stick and, using an optivisor to magnify the view, very carefully touched each plug-head to transfer the colour. The results are very pleasing. Maybe the brass is a bit too shiny but that will get toned down when the locos are weathered. There are a few mistakes to be cleaned up but not so many to put me off doing more in future. Edited November 28, 2019 by Harlequin 2 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 4 hours ago, Harlequin said: Locos are wonderfully detailed these days (although not all the details are always correct!) but I realised that all my GWR locos were missing something: Brass washout plugs. The plugs themselves are usually very carefully moulded but they are not coloured... So I had a go at addressing this using some ATK Brass True Metal Wax: This product is thick and has a high pigment level, which means that just a touch completely obscures whatever colour is underneath. This is important because it would be unthinkable to try to paint such small, recessed details let alone having to use multiple coats! I picked up some of the wax on the end of a cocktail stick and, using an optivisor to magnify the view, very carefully touched each plug-head to transfer the colour. The results are very pleasing. Maybe the brass is a bit too shiny but that will get toned down when the locos are weathered. There are a few mistakes to be cleaned up but not so many to put me off doing more in future. I have never seen Brass Washout plugs so I have just looked and found the following heritage railways document that specifically rules out the use of brass. Where did you find they were made of brass? mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted November 28, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 28, 2019 (edited) The point for the model is that they are brass coloured, of course. https://www.heritagesteamsupplies.co.uk/fusible-washout-plugs.html?cat=5554 This is 6000 King George V at STEAM, Swindon: Edited November 28, 2019 by Harlequin 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Wellyboots Posted November 28, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 28, 2019 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Mark said: I have never seen Brass Washout plugs so I have just looked and found the following heritage railways document that specifically rules out the use of brass. Where did you find they were made of brass? mark The specified metals (BS1400 LG2 or LG4) are Leaded Gunmetal/Leaded Bronze which is copper based and has a colour similar to brass. Leaded Gunmetal for sale on the RS website Edited November 28, 2019 by Wellyboots 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted November 29, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 29, 2019 I have to say that I have never seen washout plugs that bright and shiny, the cleanest ones are on the firebox backhead where the footplate crew might give them a bit of a clean, but the exterior ones would hardly be given a glance and I very much doubt that they were given a polish in the store whilst awaiting use. The ones on the king have been given a museum display finish, not a day to day finish of an engine in use. The only place I have seen bull***t to that level was on Britannia. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted November 29, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 29, 2019 (edited) 13 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said: I have to say that I have never seen washout plugs that bright and shiny, the cleanest ones are on the firebox backhead where the footplate crew might give them a bit of a clean, but the exterior ones would hardly be given a glance and I very much doubt that they were given a polish in the store whilst awaiting use. The ones on the king have been given a museum display finish, not a day to day finish of an engine in use. The only place I have seen bull***t to that level was on Britannia. I said above that the current finish is pre-weathering. It’s surely better to weather on top of the correct colour than loco green. Furthermore, I reckon that they would have been wiped with an oily rag during boiler washouts, every 10-30 days depending on which source you read and the period under consideration. Edited November 30, 2019 by Harlequin 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted November 29, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 29, 2019 The threads on both the plug and the hole being clean to ensure that a steam tight fit is the most important part and getting a box spanner on the square is the 2nd most important part. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Wellyboots Posted November 30, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 30, 2019 Thinking a little further about the colour of the plugs, over time the exposed metal would tarnish and take on a brown colour, I've found a couple of pictures of plugs take from in service engines which show this. This shows the washout plugs from GWR 28xx Class 2807 This shows a washout plug from SR U Class 31806 So probably a brown wash applied to the brass would help to create the effect although AK Interactive also do Old Bronze and Gun Metal in their True Metal range which both seem to be brown and might be closer to tarnished bronze. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo675 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Hi Phil, Washout plugs are as variously mentioned above made from LG4 which is a grade of leaded gunmetal. The colour of a new washout plug is indeed similar to bass although it has a slightly more orange tone to it when new, however it does discolour due to oxidation and the effects of soot and graphite paste, fading through shades of brown and ending up pretty much black. I would suggest that the only locomotives with shiny brass washout plugs would be those to be of exhibition finish. Any newly replaced plugs may well be shiny bronze colour for a few days but wouldn't stay that way for long. Gibbo. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted November 30, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 30, 2019 Thanks guys, I hadn’t thought about oxidation. I will get some darker True Metal Wax and report back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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