High gloss, smooth paint for restoring Lone Star pushalong 000 bits

[Il Grifone]

The original girder bridge did not have a 'base' and just consisted of two girders to peg into holes in the top piers which completed the incline Tri-ang style.

 

There were also a variety of American freight cars - box, flat, tank, crane and caboose IIRC to go with the diesel. The steam locomotive only appeared with the electric series, but was available (less the tender which hosed the mech.) in the later series. (I have one but am undecided how to (whether to) motorise it.

 

I have a N scale Rivarossi set with the 0-4-0 and cars (the price was so Grifone friendly - new in a shop in San Remo - that it overcame my (admittedly limited) reluctance to purchase it - they also provided me with an H0 version with the tank version of the 0-4-0). Ignoring the different scale, they have different couplings which preclude running together.

Edited July 19, 2021 by Il Grifone

[Lacathedrale]

Repainted my silver Lone Star A4 into BR Green:

 

 

[009 micro modeller]

4 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

Repainted my silver Lone Star A4 into BR Green:

 

 

 

Looks lovely. Didn’t they do a green one originally?

 

While it’s not an original Lone Star colour, I have one* which I quite fancy repainting into LNER garter blue with red wheels. The only issue at the moment is that it doesn’t have a tender (probably a legacy of their policy of selling the tenders separately), but I’m sure I could get hold of one from somewhere.

 

*Well actually it’s a chassis from a broken one plus a spare body, but anyway...

[Lacathedrale]

@009 micro modeller I have no idea, mine was mostly unpainted (?) mazak and black when recieved - must've been that experimental Silver Link BR livery lol. 

 

Speaking of colours, I'm not even trying to paint match - that's Vallejo Heavy Green.

 

The A4 i have also has the BR crest molded onto the tender so unless you wanted to file that off there's no dice for a garter blue version, though I had considered (and may yet) sort one in BR Express Blue. I have a coach stripped and ready to paint also, I'll let you know how that goes!

[009 micro modeller]

1 hour ago, Lacathedrale said:

The A4 i have also has the BR crest molded onto the tender so unless you wanted to file that off there's no dice for a garter blue version

 

I know. I was thinking that I might file it off, if I can get a tender.

[Lacathedrale]

They go for peanuts on eBay - normally attached a completely unrelated piece of stock like a diesel shunter!

[Ben B]

I love the Lone Star range; I've used some of the metal stock for an Inglenook shunting puzzle game for the kids, as it's pretty indestructible, though there can be derailments with the smaller items of stock.  It's come in useful for art projects too, particularly the plastic track (though a lot of that seems quite brittle).  I've also started on converting some of the smaller box vans for an NN3 experimental layout, as they are pretty small compared to 'standard' N gauge stock; one good thing about Lone Star is it's cheap as chips on eBay if you shop around a bit and don't mind restoring the battered paint.

 

Much as I'm a fan of the models though, I'd genuinely never before realised just how obvious a rip-off of the Triang range it is!  I'd twigged the track looked similar, but not properly realised until seeing the side-by-side shots how the rolling stock and locomotives are just scaled-down versions.  Did the two companies have any links?

[Silly Moo]

Getting back to suitable paint, I repainted some of my tattier Lone Star stock using aerosol enamel paint. I’m sure you will find something suitable at Halfords. 
 

I have quite a collection, kept for sentimental reasons, as they are what got me interested in model railways when I was four or five. 

[009 micro modeller]

44 minutes ago, Ben B said:

It's come in useful for art projects too, particularly the plastic track (though a lot of that seems quite brittle). 

 

If I remember correctly, the plastic track was done later and actually is 9mm gauge (like the electric trains, but unlike the 8.25mm gauge (half 00, which is taking the ‘Triang rip off’ theme to another level) of the earlier die cast track). I did look at getting some a few years ago for an outdoor 009 concept but I’m not sure how suitable it would actually have been.

 

48 minutes ago, Ben B said:

I've also started on converting some of the smaller box vans for an NN3 experimental layout, as they are pretty small compared to 'standard' N gauge stock

 

Because they’re 1:152 rather than 1:148? Or are they just under scale?

[Il Grifone]

IIRC the A4 and Princess only came in pale metallic green or blue. As befits their introduction date, all the British locomotives have the 1956-9 'Ferret' facing forwards.

I am not aware of any link between Lines Bros. and Lone Star (which isn't to say there wasn't one).

 

The Vallejo green looks to be a good match for BR loco green.

 

As regards scale, it was supposedly 2mm/foot, but being a children's toy this would have been a secondary consideration. I haven't any to hand to run a ruler over them, but the open/coal wagon should be 16' 6" over headstocks by about 8' (or so) wide. Vans were typically 17' 6", but some were shorter. The cattle truck, as a copy of Tri-ang's, is probably too long as well.

[009 micro modeller]

19 minutes ago, Il Grifone said:

IIRC the A4 and Princess only came in pale metallic green or blue.

 

I think the A4 was available in silver as well (though it may have actually been a very, very pale metallic blue but definitely much lighter than the Princess’ dark metallic blue - I have a Princess as well so I know what this looks like).

 

23 minutes ago, Il Grifone said:

I am not aware of any link between Lines Bros. and Lone Star (which isn't to say there wasn't one).

 

I always assumed it actually was just a rip off, with no “official” permissions being granted.

 

Regarding scale, this relates more to the later electric trains than the unpowered ones but I’m pretty sure they did use 2mm, as opposed to the odd, slightly larger scale of 1:148 now used for British N, which didn’t exist at the time. I think this was also used for the American prototype stock, though again the idea of a fixed “scale” for that was probably a little loose.

 

Isn’t one of the locos on Copenhagen Fields made from a Lone Star body?

[Il Grifone]

Much of the Treble-O-Lectric rolling stock was identical to the earlier die-cast range, apart from wheels and couplings. The locomotives were all new (possibly apart from the F-unit diesel?).

Why it was considered necessary to invent British N I have no idea. 2mm scale had been around for a long time.

[009 micro modeller]

2 hours ago, Silly Moo said:

Getting back to suitable paint, I repainted some of my tattier Lone Star stock using aerosol enamel paint. I’m sure you will find something suitable at Halfords. 

 

With mine, I was thinking of cleaning some of the old paint off first. Does anyone have experience of doing this? I’m slightly concerned about the possible effects on the mazak. I can of course try it on the scrap body first but was just wondering if anyone had already attempted this.

[BernardTPM]

1 hour ago, Il Grifone said:

Much of the Treble-O-Lectric rolling stock was identical to the earlier die-cast range, apart from wheels and couplings. The locomotives were all new (possibly apart from the F-unit diesel?).

Yes, all the locos were new and there were two additional coaches: BR brake coach and TC Vista dome. The pushalong US diesel was half-size Tri-ang (which was freelance) whereas the Treble-0-Lectric one was a reasonably accurate F7. This later appeared in the 'Woolworth' pushalong range on 9mm plastic track.

1 hour ago, Il Grifone said:

Why it was considered necessary to invent British N I have no idea. 2mm scale had been around for a long time.

You'll have to ask Peco since they came up with it. The excuse was the extra size was needed to get British style bodies over the Arnold chassis they were importing. The truth is that the resulting models were still overscale. The difference gained between 1:152 and 1:148 is only about ½mm in width and ¾mm in height.

[009 micro modeller]

1 hour ago, BernardTPM said:

You'll have to ask Peco since they came up with it. The excuse was the extra size was needed to get British style bodies over the Arnold chassis they were importing. The truth is that the resulting models were still overscale. The difference gained between 1:152 and 1:148 is only about ½mm in width and ¾mm in height.

 

But surely the size difference is more to do with why we don’t use 1:160. It doesn’t really explain 1:152 vs 1:148.

[BernardTPM]

Actually 1:160 came later as the very early Arnold was nominally* 1:200 scale while Trix's miniature pushalong system (without track!) was 1:180 scale. The early days of what became N are quite varied, but 1:160 was the 'standard' scale for N by 1964 at the latest.

Lone Star's origins as half-size replica of (mostly Tri-ang) 00 models explains their nominal 1:152 scale. I can't tell you why Peco chose 1:148 other than that it gave more internal space for motors and more width for outside motion on steam locos. I wonder if they may have considered 1:144 but decided that would be a step too far. Given the decision must have been made the best part of 60 years ago the exact reasoning may be lost in the sands of time.

Incidentally Japanese N for their 3' 6" gauge system uses 1:150 scale, though that means the modelled track gauge is actually too wide rather than too narrow.

 

* scale would vary according to what you measured, the early models were not well proportioned.

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by BernardTPM

[Il Grifone]

On 29/09/2021 at 18:18, BernardTPM said:

'

omis

 

* scale would vary according to what you measured, the early models were not well proportioned.

 

I see what you mean, but then it was a toy....

(I expected my trains (and cars etc.) to at least look reasonably like something real from an early age. I assumed the Hornby 0 gauge was modelled on something I'd never seen. Delusion set in when I realised this was not the case!)

 

I think they just started with a gauge and then designed/invented something to fit.

 

[Lacathedrale]

On 29/09/2021 at 13:38, 009 micro modeller said:

 

With mine, I was thinking of cleaning some of the old paint off first. Does anyone have experience of doing this? I’m slightly concerned about the possible effects on the mazak. I can of course try it on the scrap body first but was just wondering if anyone had already attempted this.

 

I've done a short video of me refurbing the above A4 if that's of interest to upload?

[009 micro modeller]

7 minutes ago, Lacathedrale said:

 

I've done a short video of me refurbing the above A4 if that's of interest to upload?

 

Yes please, that would be very interesting to see if possible.

[Il Grifone]

Caustic soda (handle with extreme care - it's in the name!) will shift most paint. Other commercial strippers are available, but I find they don't work as well as they used to.