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Jo's N gauge loco works


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Yup I've got to agree with you on that front Cav, hacking the windows out was a lot of effort, and mine aren't particularly neat if I'm honest. Cost vs benefit, I think if I do another 31 I'll paint the windows and flood them with gloss varnish of some sort, almost like those scenic water products where you build up the layers. On this one, I'll probably put the visible pipe runs on the reverse of the glazing some how. I'm still thinking skinhead 31106 in BR blue would be nice, it looks good with a short yellow test train in tow!

 

jo

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Wow that's incredibly thin, I'll have to see what I can hunt down in the future.

Here's a few pictures of the current state of 31285. Transfers added, cant rail painted onto the cab rain strip and front end details starting to be painted in. The rain strip and handrails look a bit chunky with paint on, but the washes that will be applied as part of the weathering should make them appear thinner. Well that's the theory...

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jo

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Cheers Jeremy, work is just about done on transfers etc and most detail painting is done, but I have decided to do some work detailing the battery box/ fuel tank area in the mean time. Photo soon hopefully. As ever, Brian Daniels Flickr has invaluable pics of the real thing

 

jo

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Cheers Cav, was 0.2 or 0.3mm, though it has had several coats of paint on top of that. Primer, 2 shades of yellow, white.

Again, like the bufferbeam details, I remain to be convinced by the pre attachment method. Looks much neater and finer applied after painting, so long as I don't mess the paint finish up with the drill or glue...

 

jo

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  • 1 month later...

A quick update, apologies for the quality, it was dark outside and taken with the phone.

I remain to be convinced by the Farish glazing, I have a feeling it'll get ripped out and replaced. It's very thick and prismatic and seems to scuff easily, it's quite a soft plastic.

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I've run Humbrol washes down the scored on panel lines and some of the grills and details, doing what I call the 'pre-weathering weathering'. This gets all the grime into panel joins etc before a final weathering after varnishing

 

jo

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Looking like it has more presence with the pre weathering in the panel lines. A technique I always use too. I think the galzing looks ok on the pics but of its as soft as you say Im concerned that putting it back in will scuff it. I may well cut my own from styrene sheet on my 31.

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Cheers Cav, I have some clear plasticard somewhere so may give that idea ago myself, from memory it's just as soft though sadly. We will see I suppose, you never know I may get a spur of inspiration during a shift over Christmas

 

jo

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Its quite soft yeas but you arent going to be touching it with anything scratchy once installed. The original windows however could be scratched as you try to wrestle em back in. They are a bit of a toil to get in and out.

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Hmm polycarbonate is not very scratch resistant as the material itself is very flexible at the molecular level hence why its so tough (used for rc car bodies and such). Scratch resistance is a factor of material hardness and as such you need something thats harder such as an arcrylic (would be horrendous to cut and shape though for windows). TBH for N gauge windows I wouldnt think scratch resistance is a problem as they are unlikely to be scuffed due to their small size.

Edited by RBE
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These must be coated sheets then. They don't scratch as easily as styrene and, of course, they aren't fogged by styrene solvent. I had some 5 thou'" sheet that had been used as double glazing from the early 1970s until we got proper double glazing in the early 1980s and that was very scratch resistant, despite its age and previous use.

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  • 4 months later...

I didn't realise it had been quite so long!

Polycarbonate fitted, weathering started and a coat of Matt varnish applied to seal what's gone on so far. The Perspex windows are retained with a combination of Johnson's Klear and thinned down paint.

The panel joins across the roof are painted free hand. Not as hard as it sounds, definitely easier than trying to scribe them across the curved roof! I painted them roughly in place with a fine line of Matt black enamel, before cutting them back with a white spirit loaded brush. This not only concentrates the paint into a thinner, sharper line but also allows for adjustments to position. It normally takes a few goes to get them straight

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Apologies for the quick desk top grab shots, I've used the white paper to try to provide some fill in light. Next step is finishing off the exhaust dirt, probably powders and airbrushing, and some other shading on the roof and body sides. The under frame needs some weathering work still, I have barely touched it so far. I'm on nights this week so that gives the varnish a few days to dry properly before I crack on further

 

jo

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Thats very much the poodles doodles that mate. Quite apt actually as I was planning on doing a bit on my 31/4 later tonight! The painted panel lines look good. I will most likely use my preferred method of really sharp HB pencil down the edge of some masking tape but your idea works well!

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