81A Oldoak Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 Some time ago I built an N7 from the excellent Connoisseur kit and for quite a long time it ran on my home layout in plain black. I knew that it ought to have BR mixed traffic lining (although I am aware that some of them did run for a while in plain black). When I tried to add the lining with waterslides I was unhappy with the results (pigs-ears spring to mind). So after a little soul-searching I decided to pay somebody else to paint and line it. A friend recommended John Dobson so I phoned him and looked at his website. The photographs of his work online were most encouraging so I talked to him about the job. He said it would be best to remove the paint back to bare brass, which I did and sent him the loco body (not the frames). I also sent him a good photo of 69727 in ex-works condition so that he could see exactly how the lining was applied. When I got the model back I was really pleased with the job he's done on it, it looks delightful, a real gem! Here are a few photos of the loco posed on Dock Green in all its ex-works finery. It needs the Dingham couplings and the crew refitting and a little light weathering. I don't want to obscure that beautiful lining but it does need some dirt to make it convincingly a coal-fired steam loco. Some soot along the top of the boiler and the cab roof and a little grime on the horizontal surfaces (footplate, tank tops etc) and those buffer beams must be toned down a little! Quite how the loco ended up parked on a spur in the industrial estate is anyone's guess, but those surroundings do make a good backdrop... Here it's on more familiar territory running onto the headshunt, with the exit starter somersault signal in the background. As the loco is obviously ex-works Hornsey must view this spell of shunting as a running in turn before they send it off to Hatfield to work the Hertfordshire branches. Chaz Very nice Chaz and quite a transformation from when I saw her in stripped down brass. Money well spent. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 Very nice Chaz and quite a transformation from when I saw her in stripped down brass. Money well spent. Thanks Chris. As you might imagine I opened the box with some trepidation but was bowled over by how very nice the loco looked. Incidentally I always did like the N7s which I thought looked much better proportioned than Gresley's N2s. Although to be fair most of the N7s were built under Gresley's regime - with the Doncaster round topped firebox replacing the GER Belpaire. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 Chaz, That N7 is a stunning model. The painting and lining is exquisite. I am envious, even though it would be totally out of place on my SR branch line. I must agree with you Paul, John did a really good job and "exquisite" will do. Now can't you imagine an Adam's Radial or an O2 painted in similar fashion for your SR branch? Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 Once again that beady-eyed little camera will spot the defects in a model quite mercilessly..... That yellow "thingy" under the boiler, which is part of the DCC decoder badly needs a spalsh of matte black - and how could I have missed that buffer not sitting flat? Damn. Risky to the paint but I think I might have to show it a soldering iron (from behind) and seat it properly. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr2 Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 That is a really lovely loco! And the photos are excellent too, Chaz, they really show it off to best effect - as well as reinforcing just how good your layout is! Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 (edited) That is a really lovely loco! And the photos are excellent too, Chaz, they really show it off to best effect - as well as reinforcing just how good your layout is! Keith Thanks for the comments Keith, a GE Stratford shedded loco is a bit of a foreigner for Dock Green - whose motive power would probably come from Hornsey - but I do like Jim McGowan's Connoisseur kits and he doesn't do an N2. Incidentally I was please with how good these photos make the ballast look. If you have been following my topic you will have seen there was a time when it was rather too ECML! Chaz Edited November 7, 2013 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 (edited) ...... I think I have a lot to do and much to improve to get it to the standard I hope for. Christmas is my self imposed deadline to finish Dock Green and I think it's possible (just). . Well I didn't say which Christmas, did I? With a fortnight to go to Warley it will go looking finished. There is quite a list of things I would have liked to get done but their omission will not show. So only a year late on that "self imposed deadline". A pretty constant effect has been that every time I crossed off a job on the list one or more new ones would be added. One fixed aspect is the overall size - Dock Green will remain 16 feet by 2 feet - it was always conceived as a hemmed in space, and will remain so. Edited November 7, 2013 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 (edited) A couple of wagon shots.... First a rectangular tank wagon built from the excellent Slater's plastic kit. Incidentally it is possible to make enamel paint run down the sides of a tank wagon just like spills do on the real thing. Wet the tank first by allowing thinners or white spirit to run down the tank and then apply the paint, thinned to make it runnier - it will obey gravity. The nice thing about doing it this way is that it will run behind any ladders and stay wires. Best to do this over a piece of newspaper so the drips have somewhere to go. On the rectangular tank I used a similar technique to form the "gungy" pool around the tank filler - the white spirit allowed the black paint to spread across the tank top. While the paint was still wet I added some talc which added to the mucky effect of spilt tar. YUK! The next shot is of a Weltrol built from an etched brass kit by Majestic Models, a nice little kit that went together well. It's actually a model of an LNWR wagon but is typical of four wheeled trolley wagons. The buffers in the kit are solid white-metal but with the spindles polished with a thin strip of fine emery they look good. Bottom left of the photo is a strip of self-adhesive Velcro ready for the curtains which will be fitted to butt up against the wood trim strip. Chaz Edited November 7, 2013 by chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted November 7, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 7, 2013 I hope to call into Warley briefly I must try to see this though. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 I hope to call into Warley briefly I must try to see this though. Don Don't make it too brief and if I'm operating say hello, Don. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 (edited) One of the team reckoned that the timber decking on the railway overbridge looked too clean. I thought he was probably right and if there was any passenger traffic over this bridge maybe unpleasant additions would be made to the muck dropped by steam locos. While I was dry-brushing the filth down the four-foot I also gave the chairs a bit of dirt and dry-brushed the rivets on the top girder plates, which has made them more visible. DG is getting very close to being finished (hang on, that might be a rather rash statement...... ) Chaz Edited November 7, 2013 by chaz 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 What do you think? Yes... or no... If I am going to put it in I think it has to go here. Would a yard like Dock Green have such a convenient (!) structure? Chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
switcher 1 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Definately YES, where else are your poor workers going to read their daily paper in peace........ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottY80 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Incidentally it is possible to make enamel paint run down the sides of a tank wagon just like spills do on the real thing. Wet the tank first by allowing thinners or white spirit to run down the tank and then apply the paint, thinned to make it runnier - it will obey gravity. The nice thing about doing it this way is that it will run behind any ladders and stay wires. Best to do this over a piece of newspaper so the drips have somewhere to go. On the rectangular tank I used a similar technique to form the "gungy" pool around the tank filler - the white spirit allowed the black paint to spread across the tank top. While the paint was still wet I added some talc which added to the mucky effect of spilt tar. YUK! Hi Chaz, Really looking forward to seeing Dock Green at Warley. This may help with the oil stains you mentioned, This is the effect I achieve using something called Gloss Fuel Proofer, made by HMG Paints Limited. I either apply it via brush or airbrush with a dab of gun metal in it. It gives a nice wet look and here is an example on my the side of my chopper. It looks really good between the tracks and as oily puddles too. Anyway I hope this might be of help to you! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr2 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Definately YES, where else are your poor workers going to read their daily paper in peace........ Yes from me too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 Hi Chaz, Really looking forward to seeing Dock Green at Warley. This may help with the oil stains you mentioned, This is the effect I achieve using something called Gloss Fuel Proofer, made by HMG Paints Limited. I either apply it via brush or airbrush with a dab of gun metal in it. It gives a nice wet look and here is an example on my the side of my chopper. IMG_0382.JPG It looks really good between the tracks and as oily puddles too. Anyway I hope this might be of help to you! Thanks for that Scott, useful info'. I don't think I'm going to have time to improve the weathering on my EE type 1 (No TOPS codes in 1959!) to get it up to the standard of yours (excellent) but I might well have a go at it later. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 Definately YES, where else are your poor workers going to read their daily paper in peace........ Look again at the snap and you can see that one user has dropped pages of his "Herald" just outside. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 Hi Chaz, Really looking forward to seeing Dock Green at Warley. This may help with the oil stains you mentioned, This is the effect I achieve using something called Gloss Fuel Proofer, made by HMG Paints Limited. I either apply it via brush or airbrush with a dab of gun metal in it. It gives a nice wet look and here is an example on my the side of my chopper. IMG_0382.JPG It looks really good between the tracks and as oily puddles too. Anyway I hope this might be of help to you! Forgot to ask, are those pools of oil based on observation of the prototype? Unfortunately you can't see the top of the running plate in most pictures. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
81A Oldoak Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Hi Chaz, Really looking forward to seeing Dock Green at Warley. This may help with the oil stains you mentioned, This is the effect I achieve using something called Gloss Fuel Proofer, made by HMG Paints Limited. I either apply it via brush or airbrush with a dab of gun metal in it. It gives a nice wet look and here is an example on my the side of my chopper. IMG_0382.JPG It looks really good between the tracks and as oily puddles too. Anyway I hope this might be of help to you! I think I will give this a go on my Heljan Hymek. The oil tanks always seemed to be wet with oil on Hymeks. I have used gloss black paint with some brown mixed in. It is passable, but not as good as those pools on the Class 20. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottY80 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 (edited) Forgot to ask, are those pools of oil based on observation of the prototype? Unfortunately you can't see the top of the running plate in most pictures. I made assumptions based on some pictures, which while don't as you say reveal the running plate, do suggest the presence of oil. Then again you know what they say about assumptions! As the early diesels often sprayed oil everywhere I thought it was reasonable to assume that spillage, Here is blue one for good measure Edited November 8, 2013 by ScottY80 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 Thanks for the photos, Scott. Those diesel's paintwork is in a bad way. A dilemna for me is that the diesels on Dock Green are supposed to be just a year or two old so they might well be in good condition - their paint would certainly be in good condition. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 (edited) There certainly seems to be quite a bit of oily dreck around the bottom edges of the access doors so I think it's a reasonable assumption that there'd be some on the running plate in the vicinity. Edited November 9, 2013 by PatB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 Leaving Rule One aside for a moment I think I want nothing on Dock Green that would jar, that would stick out as wrong - so a blue diesel is out, but what about.... It's an ex-NER 10T brake van. I read that some of these did indeed survive into BR days, and it looks at home but what's it doing in North London....? 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
switcher 1 Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Did it develop a hot box & was left to get sorted & they forgot about it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 Did it develop a hot box & was left to get sorted & they forgot about it? All sorts of stories could be invented to explain its presence, but the fact is a 10 ton brake was (I believe) a fairly rare beast by nationalisation and its survival might well have been for a particular use. However I do like the model so it might well see service on Dock Green. WTS. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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