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Bob Moores lining pen


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Hi Guys

Has anybody got or used bob moores lining pen. I purchased one recently but cannot get decent results. I am lining blue/grey mk3 and mk2d coaches OO gauge. the coaches were sprayed with gloss varnish and I am using humbrol white matt for lining. I cannot get the paint to run properly through the head i think it is the fine head i am using. When using it the pen seems to cut into the varnish. Can anyone help. :icon_frustrated:

Cheers

Steve

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Hi Steve

 

I have used Bob Moores Lining Pen I have two nibs the fine and the standard I must say I have not used them for lining coaches but use them for the cant rail lines on locos they are difficult to get used to, the trick I have found is to line on a very glossy surface, only ever use gloss paint and to tilt the pen so that it runs along your straight edge and the tip is not at right angles to the body, do not press on when you use the pen just let it glide along the straight edge and body. I have never thinned the paint I have warmed the paint on occasion buy boiling some water and putting the tinlet in a saucer and adding the water and leaving it for about 8mins this thins the paint naturally,

 

Once applied leave the line for 24hrs before you do anything with it.

 

This class 66 had its Cantrail lines with the fine nib on my Bob Moores Lining Pen

 

Pete

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Hi Guys

Has anybody got or used bob moores lining pen. I purchased one recently but cannot get decent results. I am lining blue/grey mk3 and mk2d coaches OO gauge. the coaches were sprayed with gloss varnish and I am using humbrol white matt for lining. I cannot get the paint to run properly through the head i think it is the fine head i am using. When using it the pen seems to cut into the varnish. Can anyone help. :icon_frustrated:

Hi, in addition to all the other good advice already offered. I'd recommend putting the lining on the base paint, i.e. not the varnish.

 

I'd paint the base colour on the coach first, leave it for several days so that the paint not just dries but hardens as well. The lining can go straight onto the base paint. If you make a mistake it's easily wiped off with a cotton bud with a few drops of lighter fluid on. The varnish layer should be the very last coat, after transfers and lining.

 

When lining with the pen just draw it back with no pressure. You need to find the balance point of the pen so that it's only the weight of the head that keeps it on the surface, you shouldn't need to push the pen onto the surface at all. I tend to wipe the pen across a paper kitchen towel first to get the paint to start flowing before going near the model. If you have problems getting the paint to flow have you tried a couple of drops of lighter fluid in the back of the pen.

 

I've a small lining job to do in the next week, if you want I might have chance to photo the steps involved.

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Hi, in addition to all the other good advice already offered. I'd recommend putting the lining on the base paint, i.e. not the varnish.

 

I'd paint the base colour on the coach first, leave it for several days so that the paint not just dries but hardens as well. The lining can go straight onto the base paint. If you make a mistake it's easily wiped off with a cotton bud with a few drops of lighter fluid on. The varnish layer should be the very last coat, after transfers and lining.

 

When lining with the pen just draw it back with no pressure. You need to find the balance point of the pen so that it's only the weight of the head that keeps it on the surface, you shouldn't need to push the pen onto the surface at all. I tend to wipe the pen across a paper kitchen towel first to get the paint to start flowing before going near the model. If you have problems getting the paint to flow have you tried a couple of drops of lighter fluid in the back of the pen.

 

I've a small lining job to do in the next week, if you want I might have chance to photo the steps involved.

 

Thanks for all the advice

If you could take photos that would be great. I will go and get gloss paint and keep on trying.

Thanks

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Is this the first time using?

 

If so then I really would advise something better than a freshly painted coach to practice on!

 

The pens are amazing (I have fine and std) BUT as people have said above there is a feel to using the thing. You don't press, the paint simply runs.

 

take a sheet of paper and draw loads of lines. Clean the pen, reload and try again. As soon as you get the feel you will be fine

 

HTH

 

Russell

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Excellent topic and advice!

 

But what head size (for the pen) is suitable for the white line around the grey in a Blue/Grey liveried Mk1 coach in 7mm?

 

Thanks

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Just one other tip regarding these pens.

 

i rember Nigel Burkin using them for thicker strips when he did NSE livery.

 

He basically used the pen to do the upper and lower part of what ever band and when the paint dried it left a natural ridge. This could then be filled in with a fine brush. Straight lines of any size without masking.

 

May help on the 7mm if stirpes are thicker than head sizes???

 

Russell

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But what head size (for the pen) is suitable for the white line around the grey in a Blue/Grey liveried Mk1 coach in 7mm?

The standard head is fine for any width of lining, I've seen it used on good effect from a fully lined 4mm Castle to 12" to the foot loco.

 

I'd recommend starting with the standard head, this was the original design and works very well with neat humbrol enamels. The fine head was a later development after demands from the 4mm crowd, it still works well but it's easier to clog up if you're not used to the technique. i.e. for a beginner I'd recommend the standard head.

 

Even with the standard head you can vary the line thickness. For a wide line you only need two straight edges and you can fill in between using a brush. If you need a narrower line then in your case put down a white line of standard width. Then once dry put in a base colour in the pen, eg the BR Blue and paint a blue line half on and half off the white line, et voila your white line is now only half the width of the standard line.

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Is this the first time using?If so then I really would advise something better than a freshly painted coach to practice on!

I think the accepted way to practise after card, is on an old Hornby Dublo metal sided coach; (tip from Mr Rathbone's XLNT book)

Sincerely

B.Lot

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I too am very interested in having a go with a BM lining pen at some point...

 

Would anybody be able to do a 5 minute video to pop on YouTube perhaps ? I'm sure it would help us all, and there's nothing quite like 'seeing' it work to help us out.. :)

 

JB.

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If you can get to an exhibition where Bob Moore has his stand, he always has one available for demonstration and you can also try it out yourself.

 

I use mine with neat Humbrol gloss which I sit on a radiator for a little while before using an electric (Badger) stirrer in the paint for a long time, before use.

 

It needs to be used at a slight angle (like a Rotoring Pen) to let the paint flow.

 

Fantastic tool, but take Bob's advice and always clean it properly after use with cellulose thinners.

I purchased a glass syringe from him at the same time as the pen for this purpose.

 

regards

Stewart

 

 

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Would anybody be able to do a 5 minute video to pop on YouTube perhaps ? I'm sure it would help us all, and there's nothing quite like 'seeing' it work to help us out.. smile.gif

Never done videos or YouTube before but I can try next week if I get the time

 

Not the same as a demo but if you Google "bob moore lining pen" you get a couple of references to Phoenix Paint sites which may help although I don't think there is any reference to the pens being designed for use with neat Humbrol enamel paints.

It might not be referenced in the literature but I can confirm that the pen was specifically designed to run Humbrol enamels neat, as long as it was a fresh tin and not some ancient specimen found at the back of the paint box that you don't remember buying.

 

I use mine with neat Humbrol gloss which I sit on a radiator for a little while before using an electric (Badger) stirrer in the paint for a long time, before use.

As an alternative, if you can plan ahead a bit just stick the tin in your trouser pocket for a while, warmed and shaken in one go.

 

Adrian

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He also recommends some lighter fuels as an alternative to the cellulose thinners.

 

Just to clarify the lighter fuel is only for use with the paint and lining. Do not thin the paint with the lighter fluid, put the paint neat into the lining pen and then add just one or two drops at most of lighter fluid to the top of the paint. The lighter fluid is not meant to thin the paint, it just reduces the surface tension which allows it to flow through the pen more easily. This reduction in surface tension is great for brush painting straight from the tin. A couple of drops in the top of a tin of paint and watch the brush marks melt away.

 

Finally - still use the cellulose thinners for the cleaning, lighter fluid just isn't sufficient for the cleaning of the pen.

 

Adrian

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  • 1 year later...

Hi,

 

Could anyone assist and let me know whether they think a lining pen with fine tip would allow me to paint in the white tyres in on this Golden Age OO A4, in Apple Green? I am unable to disassemble the model, so would be doing it very slowly, part of the wheel at a time, (before running it around).. alternatively is there a recommended paint shop that I could send this to to get a really sharp professional looking result?

 

Picture of loco below, help very welcome!

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Si

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Could anyone assist and let me know whether they think a lining pen with fine tip would allow me to paint in the white tyres in on this Golden Age OO A4, in Apple Green? I am unable to disassemble the model, so would be doing it very slowly, part of the wheel at a time, (before running it around).. alternatively is there a recommended paint shop that I could send this to to get a really sharp professional looking result?

That's a fairly easy job with Bob's lining pen. In the kit there are a couple of collars which slip over the end of the pen. Use one of these to place the pen on the tyre in the right position, you then use the tyre as guidance for the pen, the pen will simply follow the edge of the wheel. If you make a mistake then just use a cotton bud dipped in lighter fluid to remove the paint. Then try again.

 

 

 

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That's a fairly easy job with Bob's lining pen. In the kit there are a couple of collars which slip over the end of the pen. Use one of these to place the pen on the tyre in the right position, you then use the tyre as guidance for the pen, the pen will simply follow the edge of the wheel. If you make a mistake then just use a cotton bud dipped in lighter fluid to remove the paint. Then try again.

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks for the advice, it does sound like a job I ought be able to manage myself, will have to get hold of a lining pen, and get practicing!

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