Little Didcot

[Castle]

Modelling Breakthru...

 

Hi All,

 

In the world of GWR heavy freight preservation, Didcot's legendary 'Heavy Freight Mob' have been at the forefront for many years. The engine they were formed to take on was an offering from Barry Scrapyard that once bore the number 3822...

 

This loco has its origins way back at the start of the 20th Century and she is a member of what must be one of the most successful and long lived heavy freight designs in UK railway history. This was one of the designs set out by Churchward in his standardisation program and the first prototype (which was one of the first 2-8-0s at work in the British Isles) was No. 97, completed in 1903. This proved a very capable machine and series production began in 1905. The original loco was renumbered No. 2800 and the first batch of locos continued their numbering from there. Superheating was fitted from 1909 and previous machines were retro fitted from this point. 84 of this original version were completed by 1919.

 

A second batch was built by Churchward's successor, Collett, from 1938 onwards and they continued the numbering policy from the last of the previous machines, No. 2883. This gave them their class designation of 2884. The most noticeable difference between the two types was the cab, the much more capacious Collett version running to the heady luxuries of flip down wooden seats and side sheets of such size that they required side windows! The other big difference was that the steam pipes that feed the cylinders were positioned so they exited out the lower sides of the smokebox unlike those of the earlier batch that were internal. Many of the earlier locomotives were rebuilt with the later cylinders and steam pipes as theirs became worn out. Production lasted until 1941 by which time a further 83 machines had been built. So successful was the design that it performed very well against the other types in the 1948 Locomotive Exchanges and indeed, the BR(W) authorities were keen to build more but were overruled and the production of the BR Standard 9F was begun at Swindon.

 

 

No. 3822 was built in 1940, those dark days when the Nazi war machine was storming across Western Europe and not long before the RAF was the last line of defence. Churchill's 'Few' were that thin red line and they rode their Hurricane and Spitfire mounts into a battle that it was by no means certain that they would win. The engine was built with the cab side windows played over as an air raid precaution. This, with the black WWII livery, is the condition in which she is currently displayed although she does have a set of cab side windows in store. It is a fitting tribute to the crews of Britain's railways and their wartime service in horrendous conditions, something that is scantly remembered today.

 

 

After withdrawal in 1964, she went to Barry Scrapyard from where she was rescued by the GWS in March 1976. Once restored No. 3822 was used mainly at Didcot, although it did make several trips to other railways including the Nene Valley, West Somerset and East Lancashire. During No. 3822's stay on the Nene Valley it was also used for a Queen video, when you may have seen it burst through a brick wall, towing Freddie Mercury and co, while singing the song 'Breakthru' which was from the album 'The Miracle'. No. 3822 was taken out of service in 1995 for it's ten yearly boiler examination and overhaul and returned to traffic in 2002 but due to issues, this ticket only lasted until 2010 and she now awaits the completion of No. 7202 so that 'The Mob' can return their attentions and funds raised in their bar(!) to making this fine machine steam again.

 

Little No.3822 is one of the batch done by Hornby in recent years and is a really good representation of the class. I have had to do little to it physically other than fit the detail pack and add my usual cab tools and fire irons. One bit that is conspicuous by its absence is the steam lance cock on the smokebox ring. This is now present in the form of a brass casting by the Alan Gibson Workshop.

 

 

 

I decided to use the post war Hawksworth livery of plain green with GWR on the tender as I wanted to represent the fact that the change from GWR to BR liveries took time and the freight and shunting locos were not first priority for new schemes. In the cash strapped years after 1945, once she received the green and it was in good order, there really was no need for further attention. To this end, I have made my weathering slightly heavier than normal. We often think of the end of steam being a low water mark for the care of our beloved machines but in truth, the late 40s and early 50s saw some pretty wretched examples too. There is a photo in The Didcot Story of No. 6998 Burton Agnes Hall, not much more than a year old but it looks far more like 1964 if you were to take a guess...

 

 

There are two layers of dirt done in my usual way with powders sealed with matt varnish. A new product I have discovered recently is that Games Workshop have started to do those acrylic washes in a gloss format so the one called Nunlan Oil was used to add a few dribbles!

 

 

 

I really did want to get on with No. 7202 and I did try but as I lifted my adjustable soldering iron out of the cradle, the handle cracked in half and left the hot bit dangling in the air with exposed wires and all. While I look for a replacement it will be smaller soldering jobs and electrical work or plastic and resin for the time being! D'oh!

 

I do have a model of No. 5227 to finish and I have done all the metalwork with the Brassmasters detail kit on that - perhaps a trip into the GWS Barry Ten is next?

 

I won't get bored!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

Edited March 17, 2017 by Castle

[Castle]

Hi All,

 

A quick post to show that I have finally got my self in gear and I have finished the POLLEN E models. Here is the post 1930s ex centre pair as preserved.

 

 

The civil engineer's train now has two of these POLLEN E sets - each with a bridge girder, the twin MITEs and a nice AA3 brake van. As for motive power - lots of choices there! If only there was somewhere to run them! Oh well...

 

I will do a bit of a catch up of other things at the weekend!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[Nick Gough]

Would the bridge girder have been physically attached to the full size Pollens or just rely on its weight to prevent fore and aft movement? In any case I presume there would have to be a severe limit on trailing vehicles?

[Castle]

Hi Nick,

 

That's a really interesting question. It wouldn't be difficult to leave out a few rivets and then bolt the girder to the turntables on the POLLENS I guess... The loads were pulled in pretty tight with some fairly substantial chains and screw tensioners so they weren't going anywhere! I have a picture in one of my books that shows a close up of a very substantial girder (far bigger than the ones on my model) being transported on a pair of similar BR wagons as it goes round a tight bend and that has had two short girder sections fixed (welded?) to the turntable to at least control side to side movement. This sort of load wasn't put in regular freight trains, so the likelihood is that two sets of POLLENS with a girder on each, in a train wouldn't have had much else behind them except a TOAD. In that case the weight of the girder and the tension of the chains may well have been enough but I am guessing here.

 

Does anyone in RMWEB land know better?

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[Nick Gough]

I do have this small booklet, obviously aimed at customers, but unfortunately it doesn't go in to the practicalities involved.

[Dazzler Fan]

+

The Post 1930 Pollen E centre wagons conversion at Didcot

shows 3-hole wheels, and that is how the kit is supplied.

 

Noel
 

Edited March 25, 2017 by Dazzler Fan

[Castle]

Hi All,

 

+

The Post 1930 Pollen E centre wagons conversion at Didcot

shows 3-hole wheels, and that is how the kit is supplied.

 

Noel

 

Indeed it does! The picture shows Noel's clever solution to getting it round really tight curves which is 3D printed flangeless centre wheels. They look really obvious like this but you see so little of them when it is the right way up, and on the track, you just can't tell! The frames of the wagon are really quite close to the rail head. I cheated a bit further by trimming the supplied axle into two stubs and that got me the ability to use a bolt as a pivot point for the turntable. The kit works well enough without but I DO have to fiddle about with stuff...

 

 

 

You can also see the tricky bit of these beasts which is getting enough weight into them - it is stuffed everywhere!

 

Nick: Thanks for showing us all that really interesting pamphlet! The cover is really striking and redolent of its era isn't it? Also interesting is the fact that the POLLEN Es didn't look like that in 1936 when it was published and couldn't carry gun barrels like that any more.

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[Castle]

Gone But Not Forgotten - Part 1

 

Hi All,

 

In the first of an occasional series, I am going to produce models of the locomotives that have been used as part of various rebuild projects under the GWS. The first of these is a little out of place under the 'gone but not forgotten' title as it is the only one still around in recognisably its original form - albeit in its Barry Scrapyard condition. No. 5227 is one of the erstwhile heavy freight 2-8-0 tank locomotives that were synonymous particularly with the Welsh valleys and coalfields.

 

The first 2-8-0 appeared as part of Churchward's experimentation at the start of the 20th Century and were intended to augment the 0-6-2 designs so prevalent in this area - particularly on the Taff Vale line. The prototype was built in 1910 and this resulted in the first production machine entering service in 1912 and in all 105 machines were built to the original design. The second updated version with 19" cylinders first appeared in 1923 and were again modified a second time, with a stepped running plate in place of the earlier straight version from loco No. 5275 to No. 5294. Now, things get confusing when you realise that several of these locos, including all of the 5275 batch were rebuilt to become 72XX class machines and that further 5275 type machines were built that reused numbers that had been vacated by pre 5275 machines that had been rebuilt into 72XXs! Confused? You will be... Our subject here is No. 5227 which was built in 1924 and was withdrawn to rest in that locomotive Valhalla that was Barry scrapyard. The thing is that some stayed longer than others and this one was one of the last to leave. It spent time as part of an abortive railway museum project but eventually the owners, Glamorgan Council, decided to enter talks with the GWS on using the locomotive's they had as a source of parts to bring back to life long scrapped classes, taking advantage of Swindon's standardisation policies.

 

 

No. 5227 arrived at the railway centre in August 2013, after being used as a source of parts for the project to build 47xx Class 2-8-0 No 4709. The locomotive is displayed in its current condition as a lasting reminder of what things were like in Barry scrapyard and the huge challenges faced by the preservation movement in restoring rusted hulks like this back to their former glory.

 

 

The obvious starting point here is the Hornby model and a a little voice in bargain pile at the Hornby Visitors Centre (while down for a spell of eating festive comestibles at chez Castle Senior) spoke to me as I passed by. Well, it would be rude not to wouldn't it?

 

 

Well, a short period of disassembly later and a thorough read of the extensive Brassmasters detail etch instructions later (they really are well done!) we had better start making a mess!

 

 

The easy bit first, the rear spectacle plate was soldered up and trial fitted after popping out the rear windows and consigning them binwards. This is a massive improvement right from the get go!

 

 

I then did the most difficult bit and soldered up the brake rigging. This requires many things if you want to have a go yourself, you will need to:

1. Have a good read of the instructions and a cup of tea

2. I soldered this together with the main rigging still in the etched frame as it holds it all straight.

3. I assembled it on a bit of balsa wood so I could use it as a jig to hold all the little bits together. There are quite a few little bits but it's ok with the little bits of brass rod pressed into the balsa and the laminates of brass pushed over them. I cut them over length and filed them back afterwards.

4.It was done in small sections with solder paste and it worked well. It's takes time but the result is good.

 

This method was discovered after I tried it without the balsa wood. This method requires:

 

1. Burn your fingers as it falls apart and say a naughty word.

2. Trying again and burning your fingers as it falls apart again. Then have a bit of a curse.

3. Burning your fingers as it falls apart for a third time, using some really quite 'interesting' language and then going away for a cup of tea, a read of the instructions and have a rethink...

 

I advocate the first method described.

 

 

The rear part of the brake mechanism is soldered up and added to the bottom of the frames. We then have a trial run of the rigging.

 

 

Then I added all the other details to the frames. The bits at the back really bring this area to life and the pivots for the brake arms and the injector pipework lift the whole thing. The great thing is that I didn't have to think about this - the kit has it all worked out for you.

 

 

It was all stripped down and then painted as required. I didn't attach the rear spectacle plate as the rest of the loco is nicely painted. Seems silly to redo what is already there in my opinion... I also removed the late BR totems and replaced them with the early crests and renumbered it to become little No. 5227.

 

 

It was then put into larger assemblies and then put into the paint shop for weathering. Matt varnish went on first.

 

 

And there we have it. 2-8-0 GWR Heavy freight in tank engine flavour!

 

 

 

The Brassmasters detail kit really makes the already good Hornby model, really accurate and it it well worth the £10 or so I spent on it (usual disclaimer). I have actually bought the whole chassis kit as well for little No. 7202 to cut up and detail the PDK chassis as doesn't have springs and so on and the brake rigging is incorrect. It's nice to have options!

 

That's all for now folks!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

Edited March 26, 2017 by Castle

[jrg1]

Could we have a few words on the weathering that you did?  It looks very convincing indeed.

[Castle]

Could we have a few words on the weathering that you did?  It looks very convincing indeed.

Hi JRG,

 

Sure - it's not difficult to do at all! There is a write up on how I did an open wagon much earlier on in this thread if you look back. The next time I do a loco (I have another Castle to do for a friend in the not too distant future once he buys the DCC chip and firebox flicker LED for it) I will do a step by step if that is useful? Best done with pictures I suspect rather than trying to describe it!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[jrg1]

Hi JRG,

 

Sure - it's not difficult to do at all! There is a write up on how I did an open wagon much earlier on in this thread if you look back. The next time I do a loco (I have another Castle to do for a friend in the not too distant future once he buys the DCC chip and firebox flicker LED for it) I will do a step by step if that is useful? Best done with pictures I suspect rather than trying to describe it!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

Great-I look forward to it

[Dazzler Fan]

+

 

The Post 1930 Pollen E centre wagons conversion at Didcot

shows 3-hole wheels, and that is how the kit is supplied.

 

Noel

 

 

To confirm, the Post 1930 outside wagon pair

are supplied with flangless spoked 3D printed

wheels.

 

Fabrication of the Girder about a piece of brass

sheet could also work as ballast.

 

A light reaming of the turntable mounts will ease

movement.

 

Noel

[Castle]

Hi Noel,

 

As you say good sir! The reason I didn't go for the weighting the beam option, which is DEFINITELY the easy way to do it by the way, was that I have some vague notion of doing them so they could be run empty and full, hence weighting the wagons themselves. It would mean fabricating a little removable coupling between the pairs (by no means beyond the wit of man) and getting a second set of turntables finished one day! They are done for now however, with a return to them on the cards when I get a bit more into the rest of the Little Didcot fleet! By doing it this way they are kind of 'future proofed' you might say and they should be fine to run as an unloaded pair should I wish to.

 

Thanks for your efforts here in making these wagons available to us GWR / BR(W) modellers (I know it saved me a great deal of scratch building!) and the for the great suggestions above. For those that don't know, Noel does, under his Hazelwood Models banner, a number of other unusual GWR wagon prototypes as well as his loco kit for the S&D Dazzler too. There is a Hazelwood Models thread on the Small Suppliers forum here on RMWEB that Noel keeps updated and where you can chat to him about his projects.

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[Mikkel]

Hi Castle, that's a very nice job you've done to produce 5227. I like the details you provide as background to your projects. They always reveal just how different every individual loco, coach and wagon was. More of that occasional series please!  

[Castle]

Hi Mikkel,

 

Thanks for the kind words. Im glad the format I use is appreciated. It's a bit different approach to most but I do have unlimited access to the real thing and it's nice to be able to share that as well as my modelmaking with people.

 

I am having a bit of a push on the wagon fleet at the moment so loco purchases will be quiet for a while but as soon as a good deal comes up on either type of Hall, a large prairie, a 28XX or an LMS 8F, we will do another Barry 10 machine! I also need a 47XX and a Saint. At least one of those is going to be easy and when No. 2999 comes out I would guess one of the big companies will make the other one will turn up. Some smart tooling on the 29XX would lead to a very wide range of possible variants. Combinations such as straight or curved running plates both fore and aft, 4-6-0 and 4-4-2 versions would be great as well as some early 3,500 gallon tender types...

 

I have a few wagons that are almost done so we will turn to those for the next few posts I think!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[jrg1]

Hi Mikkel,

 

Thanks for the kind words. Im glad the format I use is appreciated. It's a bit different approach to most but I do have unlimited access to the real thing and it's nice to be able to share that as well as my modelmaking with people.

 

I am having a bit of a push on the wagon fleet at the moment so loco purchases will be quiet for a while but as soon as a good deal comes up on either type of Hall, a large prairie, a 28XX or an LMS 8F, we will do another Barry 10 machine! I also need a 47XX and a Saint. At least one of those is going to be easy and when No. 2999 comes out I would guess one of the big companies will make the other one will turn up. Some smart tooling on the 29XX would lead to a very wide range of possible variants. Combinations such as straight or curved running plates both fore and aft, 4-6-0 and 4-4-2 versions would be great as well as some early 3,500 gallon tender types...

 

I have a few wagons that are almost done so we will turn to those for the next few posts I think!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

Just like the real thing in fact-47xx and 29xx can be seen as full-size mix and match Airfix kits

[gz3xzf]

Hi JRG,

 

Sure - it's not difficult to do at all! There is a write up on how I did an open wagon much earlier on in this thread if you look back. The next time I do a loco (I have another Castle to do for a friend in the not too distant future once he buys the DCC chip and firebox flicker LED for it) I will do a step by step if that is useful? Best done with pictures I suspect rather than trying to describe it!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

Hi Castle

 

I would also be very interested in a "how to" on the weathering.

 

What layout do you run these models on, do you have Didcot shed in miniature?

 

Keep up the excellent work, your posts are always interesting and full of the very helpful tips.

[Castle]

Hi All,

 

Just like the real thing in fact-47xx and 29xx can be seen as full-size mix and match Airfix kits

It seems that was the inspiration doesn't it?! It's not quite as easy as that though...

 

 

Hi Castle

 

I would also be very interested in a "how to" on the weathering.

 

What layout do you run these models on, do you have Didcot shed in miniature?

 

Keep up the excellent work, your posts are always interesting and full of the very helpful tips.

Thanks Bryan! I will have some time to apply to the parts we got for the next batch of Castles at Alexandra Palace in the not too distant future...

 

Sadly, all my stuff lives in a display case for the time being. I have a small test track but nothing else. The larger plan is for my friends and I to produce a large layout in the not too distant future for both our home and exhibition use. This is pending a house move of one of us to provide us with a suitable venue to build it. We have an idea, we just need the space which is on a coming soon basis. I also have a plan to do a loco shed layout, again, when time and space permit. For now though, I have the time to build and the kits are available to produce the vast majority of the real 12" : 1' collection at Didcot, so I'm quite happy doing that for now! Progress is progress!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[Dazzler Fan]

"Sadly, all my stuff lives in a display case for the time being. I have a small test track but nothing else." {Castle]

While I like the big engines, they require a big layout,
My collection is the small stuff, for a layout I can afford..

 

We all hear you.

 

Your posts are full of knowledge we all crave

 

Thank you..

[Castle]

The Odd Squad

 

Hi All,

 

Something a little different in the wagon department for you all. The three wagons in the Didcot Railway Centre selection that are not the norm and although they all have their place in the collection, not a great deal is known about them.

 

Firstly is, er, No. 1! This is a rectangular tank wagon that was used for carrying stuff such as bitumen and tar. It is a Charles Roberts design that was built in 1898. It was operated for certain on the once extensive Slough Estates railway system. It may have lived there its entire life but the team just don't know for sure. As a large feeder on and off the GWR, the presence of a Slough Estates vehicle in the collection is quite appropriate. What also isn't known is the livery it carried in its time there, although it could well have been an all-over black. The livery it now wears is known to have been applied to a very similar vehicle.

 

 

The second is a real mystery in as much as that it's true identity is a complete mystery! The society does know that it is a 1927 Sheffield Carriage & Wagon Works product (it says so on the side!), that it is a 5 plank open and that it has a 10 ton capacity. That's it! That's the lot! It is currently in the livery of No. 18 from John North & Sons which was a local firm from Abingdon. It does of course represent the many thousands of private owner wagons that were moved around by the GWR so it's place at Didcot is quite proper.

 

 

The third and final wagon for this little set is actually quite an interesting one. The Taff Vale Railway was absorbed into the GWR at grouping but before that happened it bought a wagon... Well, it actually bought lots of wagons but one of them was a certain 7 plank 4 wheel wagon built by the Gloucester Carriage and Wagon Company and numbered No. 10153 on grouping. It is unique as far as I know and hopefully it will get its time in the restoration shop in the future.

 

 

The models are quite simple. The Taff Vale wagon is a Parkside kit of an RCH seven plank end tipper wagon which perfectly matches No. 10153. Some Lanarkshire Models and supplies buffers were also thrown into the mix.

 

 

Which, after a bit of this...

 

 

...results in this.

 

 

I got a representative 5 plank wagon and buffers from the same sources which resulted in this for Little No. 18

 

 

 

 

Smiths couplings were fitted to all of them and to the Dapol rectangular tank wagon that I found to stand in as No. 1. Like the unintentional choice of livery?! It's a shame it's not No. 1, I might have left it if it was!

 

 

A spot of additional weight for No. 1.

 

 

The top of the rectangular tank wagon needed modifying to look like the real No. 1 so a few spares from the scrap box and a few chunks of brass came to the rescue.

 

 

Am I the only one who thinks these Dapol fixing screws are a bit big?

 

 

So - to the paint shop! No. 10153 is getting BR Unfitted Grey as that is pretty much the colour it is in today. As it was an absorbed wagon and got a GWR number, I don't see why not... I also added a couple of etched handles on the tipping end from one of the various Dart Casting subsidiaries as they are present on the real thing.

 

 

No. 18 is getting to go into the John North livery so I will need to do the whole black and red thing. I have transfers on order with Robbies Rolling Stock as the good chap there actually does this very wagon! We start with black...

 

 

...then add red...

 

 

...and then add black strapping. Then what you do is you find out that the white sections of Robbie's transfers are clear and you have to paint the wagon white on the sides! Grrrrrrrrr! Not Robbie's fault - I didn't read the instructions. Another one of those d'oh moments brought to you by yours truly. Stop giggling at the back...

 

 

I got a bit carried away with No. 1 and painted it black, added transfers and started weathering it before I remembered to take a picture... I have no idea how authentic this livery is but there are a few of this model in the Dapol catalogue that look like this and I just copied it and slapped a number one on it. Sold!

 

 

I also added a goodly streak of the new gloss Nunlan Oil wash from Games Workshop as this struck me as something that would get more than a little dirty and if there was a spillage, well, yuck!

 

 

I did the inside of No. 10153 as if it was a coal wagon so I tried to replicate what wood with years of being exposed to and ingrained with coal dust looks like. The cab floors on the locos at Didcot go this sort of colour very quickly so I thought that was a good look to aim for. They are unpainted to, so the same type of weathering must have happened on the wagon I think.

 

 

A dive around in my stash of transfers got me here and I added a white stripe to denote the opening end of the wagon. After the photo was taken, I then attacked with the powders, matt varnish and the washes and made another grubby specimen!

 

 

And finally, white over my nice paint job on No. 18...

 

 

...and then trimming the transfers so they fit.

 

 

A hefty splodge of Microsol and Microset later gets us here. I'm sure you could do this much better by carefully cutting the transfers and positioning the chunks to get best usage and minimum stretch but this is getting heavily weathered so we won't be too precious about it. I shall pop a coat of varnish on top I think.

 

 

Then some paint and weathering happened.

 

 

The under frame doesn't allow for the split pin to be fitted to the coupling. A simple u shaped brass thing was fashioned and it hasn't fallen out yet so that's a win!

 

 

A few lumps of scrap balsa start the wagon load...

 

 

...and a few lumps of Welsh Coal finish it off!

 

 

So that's three signed off and ready for traffic!

 

 

 

 

They were fun little builds and a bit different too - all good stuff!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

Edited April 2, 2017 by Castle

[Castle]

"Sadly, all my stuff lives in a display case for the time being. I have a small test track but nothing else." {Castle]

While I like the big engines, they require a big layout,

My collection is the small stuff, for a layout I can afford..

 

We all hear you.

 

Your posts are full of knowledge we all crave

 

Thank you..

Hi Noel,

 

Thanks for the kind words good sir! I think the vast majority of us want figuratively to model Paddington Station and end up with with something off the Culm Valley branch...

 

All the best,

 

Castle

Edited April 2, 2017 by Castle

[RJS1977]

I was talking yesterday to someone who is considering commissioning Dapol to do the North & Son wagon in 00....

[Castle]

I was talking yesterday to someone who is considering commissioning Dapol to do the North & Son wagon in 00....

Hi RJS,

 

Engage tounge in cheek mode:

 

Well, isn't that the story of anybody's modelling life?!? You wait for ages until you think, well, there's a kit out there, I had better get building, and no sooner said than done, here comes Mr RTR! People will be opening boxes, then sitting down to read Little Didcot and going:

 

"what a twit, why did he build that when he could have just bought it?"

 

"I dunno - seems a bit silly to me..."

 

"The bit where he had to paint it white after he finished it is funny though right?"

 

"Yeah - it makes it double funny!"

 

Oh well, mine is 'hand crafted' and 'uniquely flawed', it is bespoke and exactly what I wanted, I worked for mine and I appreciate it more and other useless phrases trotted out in these situations...

 

I guess this is one less sale they will be getting.

 

With sincerest apologies to Mr RJS' acquaintance...

 

Disengage tounge in cheek mode:

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[Mookie]

.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Mookie

[Castle]

Hi Mookie,

 

Thanks for the kind words! With regard to fading them with the fibre glass pencil, I think it would be possible but I would suggest that is of copious amounts of decal setting solution and then a coat of varnish to plasticise the surface. I suspect that the transfer might flake off in large chunks otherwise. Don't take my advice 100% though, paint a scrap bit of plastic or an unwanted piece of rolling stock and an unwanted transfer and give it a go! I haven't done this but I would be interested to see the results!.

 

Robbies Rolling Stock does a great range of stuff (usual disclaimer) but it needs a little care to get the best out of them. He sends out a great fact sheet with his transfers to show you exactly how to do it. I hope this helps!

 

All the best,

 

Castle