C J Simpson

Hi Guys. When I made my Scorpio Achilles I didn't solder in the pivot pin. I simply used a bolt and nut. I even thought of making the front part of the chassis a permanent fixture to the footplate, and having the driving bogie as the only removable part. In the end 'cos I was writing a review for the Guild Gazette, I left it essentially as designed. Chris

Hi Kev, I used some enamel thinners I bought from a motor paint supplier.....about 20 years ago. I bought a gallon and recently had to decant the remaining half gallon in to coffee jars 'cos the gallon can had gone rusty. I have used ordinary white spirit in the past with no problems. I did make it quite thin, and sprayed gently. I use a compressor which I bought from RDG tools, which has an air tank, a pressure regulator and a water trap. (cost £95 with two airbrushes). It can be set to any pressure from about 5 psi up to 50 psi. I generally load the airbrush, then experiment for a few seconds at different pressures, until I think the flow is going to be even. I find lower pressures tend to be helpful. Interestingly the two airbrushes that came with the compressor seem quite useful. I tried one on my later model and couldn't really discern much difference from my efforts with the Badger. Peter, there are is one photo of my Achilles in the Gallery. It's not the best one there by a long chalk. Chris

There's a beautiful build of a Scorpio Achilles in the latest Gauge O Guild Gazette by a Mr Chris Simpson, who blithely says that "After a few test runs, I stripped and painted the loco." How Mr Smith? How did you paint it? The finish is absolutely stunning! I shall try and find out.. I saw this posting, so here's a response. First let me say the finish is not as good as the photos suggest. I guess I'm better at photos than painting models, but I am generally happy with the result. First I used Halfords etch primer Upol Acid 8. This is a tougher primer than normal grey primer. The green is Railmatch sprayed on with a Badger airbrush. At first I used the pre 1928 green, which in theory is the correct shade for this loco. I wasn't happy because it appeared to me to be too dark, so I stripped the model and started again with the later shade. Black is Humbrol satin black brushed on. Indian red is Railmatch sprayed. Lining was where I had most problems. I used Pressfix at first, and the boiler bands turned out ok. For the cab sides there was no exact match on the transfer sheet for the curvature needed, so I had to cut and join. Further, I needed to use two sheets to get enough bits. Unfortunately you can see the odd join still. The main problem with these transfers is that the two sheets I used, were not consistent either in colour or spacing between the orange lines. Another problem is that the black line was not consistently centred between the orange lines. I ended up removing most of the transfers, but not those on the cab sides (I now wish I had), and relining using a bow pen and some brush work. The tender has no transfers on it except the crest (Methfix). The end result is a compromise. I wish I had removed all the transfers, and one day I might revisit. I finished with a light coat of Ronseal gloss polyurethane. I'm now reading Ian Rathbone's book on painting and lining, which is inspirational, and for my next loco I'll do a better job. Regards, Chris

Hello all. I've just been told my name has been used on this forum relating to the Dean Single I reviewed in the latest GOG Gazette. So I've joined. Happy to have a discussion. Best wishes Chris Simpson.