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Burchill Edge Sidings - BR Blue Carriage/NPCCS Sidings, with a nod to Manchester Red Bank & Bristol Malago Vale


9C85
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I didn't want to spoil your enthusiasm initially, but in the long run with airbrushing you get what you pay for.

Use this set up to practice practice practice, and then move on to a decent airbrush.

Quality airbrushes dismantle into more component parts to make cleaning easier.

Don't get disheartened, we were all crap in the beginning, and some of us haven't got a lot better!

 

Mike.

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When I look back at the soldering I did when wiring up the storage yard  (taking out 4 sleepers to make space for the blob of solder) to the point where I got to being able to cut out one rib between sleepers and attach a wire, that gives me some faint hope that I will improve. That said, I have still got most of a rattle can of Sleeper Grime which I may fall back on if things don't improve :blink:

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2 hours ago, Jaggzuk said:

 

Another tip is to keep the nib free from dried paint during painting sessions.  Check out “Removing Tip Dry” section http://www.airbrushguru.com/cleaning-your-airbrush.html

 

On the cleaning front have you got an Airbrush Cleaning Pot?  If not I recommend getting one, will make life much better and less messy.  Also, invest in some cleaning fluid in a spray can (e.g. Spraycraft  Airbrush Cleaner), this helps to blast out paint residue in the airbrush.  Use this with the Cleaning Pot. Gettign the airbrush totaly clean will ensure the next session is pain free.

 

 

Thanks for the link. Some useful information and a link to a decent cleaning station on amazon.

I have just ordered the cleaning pot/stand and a face mask.

I think I have used up all my birthday money now.

Never mind, it will soon be Christmas .

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Airbrushing takes some time to learn. You've got to get the right mix of paint to thinners and then match the air-pressure to work with the paint.

 

It sounds like you didn't add enough thinners. I aim for something the consistency of full fat milk.I try to get a mix that just clings to the inside of a paint cup before it gently runs back into the bottom. With this mix I spray at 15-20psi at about 6 inches from the model. It doesn't always go perfectly but the more you do, the easier it gets.

 

Steven B.

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When I took my airbrush down to the model railway club for others to try, rather than start painting models, I got them to try things on a piece of white paper, or better still card.  First try drawing straight lines of different thicknesses. If they can do that, try painting their name.  Finally I’ve a very old waggon that they then tried to paint - it helps if the waggon is first painted white so you can see the paint going on.

 

The very fine coverage means, as others have said, you need many coats to get a full coat pf paint.  But the fine coverage is what you need when weathering.


Airbrushing has led me to switch from enamels to acrylics - less smell, less harmful to you and dry very quickly.  If you are painting say four coaches, put a very thin coat on all four, and by the time you’ve sprayed the fourth the first will be dry enough for a second thin coat.  Tamyia acrylics are pretty good and seem to cover better than other brands.

 

I had loads of failures at first, but once you’ve learnt from the mistakes you’ll find you suddenly master it.  While I still class myself as a beginner, I’ve successfully painted locos for myself and soon got asked to paint other people’s rolling stock.

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I think I may have found out what the issue was last night....

20200630_210137.jpg.65812f529a6192e9a9ba40e8060e2751.jpg

 

I bought Railmatch thinners for Railmatch paint.  I hadn't noticed the small print on the the thinners bottle. It was only when I tried mixing another batch tonight (which looked awful) that I realised that something was wrong 

Luckily I have a bottle of  (Humbrol) enamel thinners, so I had a go with that and, sure enough, got a 'milky' mix. I also put a bigger (the biggest at 0.5mm) needle in the airbrush and everything went back together and worked :rolleyes:

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I’m also new to airbrushes and have a similar cheap one to yours. I’ve found some paints I can work with and some less so and they all requires slightly different thinning.

 

I find railmatch acrylic Easiest using their own brand acrylic thinners ( weathering colours ). Also had success with tamiya paints for similar. Struggling with Phoenix . Haven’t tried railmatch enamels yet.

 

 

I was happy enough after one practice to weather some stock, most of which came out ok.

Edited by rob D2
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I tried Railmatch acrylics with appropriate thinner and ended up with a gummed up airbrush. I quickly went back to enamels for livery work (thinned with basic white-spirit).

 

For scenic work I've been using the Vallejo Model Air acrylics (with a dash of extra Vallejo thinners) which have worked well.

 

Steven B.

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I have persevered with the airbrush and had a go at improving the look of the tracks at the fuel point end.  I eventually got a workable mix for the airbrush and ran down the sleepers on the outside of the rails with Sleeper Grime.  Thanks to all my trials and tribulations last week, I have now used up all my Sleeper Grime. I have more on order.

I have seen the Everard junction video where roof dirt is used in between the rails, so I had a go with that.  At least I now have some definition between the tracks and the grimy ballast near to it.

I also noticed that the airbrush spray pattern was 'skew'. It's coming out in a reasonable pattern but at a few degrees off centre line axis of the airbrush.  I will probably end up buying a better brush but this will have to do for now.

I have two of the three boards still to do: the one with the majority of turnouts on; and the one with the six sidings.  I am hoping that I will have cracked it by the time I do the latter.

Some pictures.  They actually look better than they do with the naked eye.  Probably because I only have one fluorescent strip light in the garage and the camera adjusts its lighting. 

20200704_151841.jpg.e6b5862856978b1f2b908814eb9a8175.jpg

 

20200704_152118.jpg.007ecb660719e075516e90982ccdce58.jpg

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2 hours ago, Jaggzuk said:

Looks dam good to me, really nice and grimy with the weathering being nice and random, as  it would be in an area like this.

Thanks a lot.  I wish I had more Sleeper Grime now as I want to get this done 

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On 10/06/2020 at 20:09, 9C85 said:

I have just had my first ever dabble at weathering. I bought some Humbrol Black Wash to have a go with. I have just tried it out on one side of a BG. I am not entirely sure that I am doing it right.  I took the model straight off the layout - no cleaning, no varnish

 I still need to do the underframe and roof, but I am going to wait until I get an airbrush for those jobs.

20200610_190216.jpg.1533075c0a3d8d0b9bb1f2f8e035a2c0.jpg

 

So I have started repainting a maroon GUV and in the process of rebranding an Express Parcels blue GUV, both to Newspapers branding.  I have realised that I have still only weathered one side of the BG pictured above . So that's got me thinking that, as my layout is a shelf layout and I only see one side of the coaches, do I really need to paint/weather both sides of the stock? Or what about having two different paint/weathering schemes on either side of a coach? It opens up the possibility of a dual-era layout with one set of stock.

I have seen a real life example of this as, when I first visited Peak Rail at Rowsley/Matlock, the 'customer-facing' side of the Mk1 and Mk2 coaches was painted maroon, but when I did the obligatory 'pull down the window and stick your head out of the window' thing on the opposite side of the train, the coaches were all faded Blue/Grey, which was a far better look IMHO :D

I am guessing that I am not the first person in the world to think of this. Has anyone else done this or know of any layout that uses this technique?

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On 01/07/2020 at 21:26, Steven B said:

I tried Railmatch acrylics with appropriate thinner and ended up with a gummed up airbrush. I quickly went back to enamels for livery work (thinned with basic white-spirit).

 

For scenic work I've been using the Vallejo Model Air acrylics (with a dash of extra Vallejo thinners) which have worked well.

 

Steven B.

 

Getting back into British outline recently I've got Railmatch acrylic to spray thinning with Vallejo airbrush thinners although I've found them a bit more temperamental that say Tamiya acrylic or Vallejo Air

 

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I am still getting to grips with the airbrush. I can definitely say that I know how to take it apart and reassemble it :o

I had a few problems this evening but I eventually got it working well enough to put a sleeper grime weathering coat down on the remainder of the tracks. I have run it down the outside edge of the rails  and over the ends of the sleepers.

20200709_230601.jpg.38209b9acbdf8987673aeec5686a0c3c.jpg

 

I will do in between the rails with Roof Dirt, as per the first section I did. I have managed to avoid 'colouring in' the 6-foot, which I did a bit on my first attempt on the 'fuel point ' board. I am quite pleased with how it has gone this evening, although I wasted quite a bit of paint through silly spillages.  I am still waiting for my airbrush holding/cleaning station. The things I have learned are that it needs quite a bit of thinner to get a workable mix, and you need more airbrush cleaner than paint. 

20200709_230707.jpg.ff0e02e97e9771b18019c5c2dda80df4.jpg

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20 hours ago, 9C85 said:

I am still getting to grips with the airbrush. I can definitely say that I know how to take it apart and reassemble it :o

I had a few problems this evening but I eventually got it working well enough to put a sleeper grime weathering coat down on the remainder of the tracks. I have run it down the outside edge of the rails  and over the ends of the sleepers.

20200709_230601.jpg.38209b9acbdf8987673aeec5686a0c3c.jpg

 

I will do in between the rails with Roof Dirt, as per the first section I did. I have managed to avoid 'colouring in' the 6-foot, which I did a bit on my first attempt on the 'fuel point ' board. I am quite pleased with how it has gone this evening, although I wasted quite a bit of paint through silly spillages.  I am still waiting for my airbrush holding/cleaning station. The things I have learned are that it needs quite a bit of thinner to get a workable mix, and you need more airbrush cleaner than paint. 

20200709_230707.jpg.ff0e02e97e9771b18019c5c2dda80df4.jpg

 

Looking really good. Are you putting down sleeper weed growth like grass tufts? 

 

Ian 

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11 minutes ago, Crisis Rail said:

 

Looking really good. Are you putting down sleeper weed growth like grass tufts? 

 

Ian 

 

I am contemplating doing that.  I was thinking about getting a static grass applicator, but if I bought one I would probably end up overdoing the effect just to justify the purchase :D

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