ROSSPOP

Yes I agree, I`ll try more yellow first. At the moment it reminds me of the old Humbrol Enamel GW green...can`t remember the tin No: I`m going to experiment with SMS lacquer paints as I`m being drawn closer to that medium.

I think I mentioned earlier on that I had been experimenting with Tamiya acrylics for suitable mix for a 1930`s GWR Green. I have used used Railmatch Acrylic post 1928 GWR loco green as default. getting closer....... Top right is the Railmatch default green..... and on the left is;:- 7 Parts Tamiya Xf-11 2 Parts Tamiya Xf-26 1 Part Tamiya Xf-3 This produces a matt finish so I might experiment with adding some Tamiya Clear gloss....... in the mean time I airbrush Johnsons Clear to balance things up

Thanks Hal, I`ll try that and compare with humbrols tank grey and the Tamiya German grey. The 5 plank is Dia 0.23 unfitted of 1926 ABS 43two1 models O Gauge . DJparkins has the range now but has just retired due to ill health......... so??

Thanks for that Snooper, I looked at the Tamiya dark greys but could`nt decide. I`m getting to like Tamiya paint, I`ll try some of that. What do you thin yours with ?

I do have some quality expensive airbrushes, but among my most longstanding favourites is the ubiquitous and much maligned bd-130 which comes in many branded forms. This example cost me £10.99 off ebay. This type has taught me how to completely strip down , improve. and reassemble to atomise paint and perform as well as my Harder and Steenbeck Infinity CR plus. My thoughts are that if you are willing to spend a little time working on the innards of one of these you will be able to confidently service and maintain any standard of airbrush as they all function in the same way. I`ve been using this type on this journey.................. ..... and splashed out a further £2.50 on a `pinch` type aircap. But before doing so the airbrush has to be made `solvent/lacquer proof. This is easily done. It only has three seals to consider . Needle packing PTFE seal and screw. More expensive airbrushes have the PTFE part totally enclosed within the end of the screw. This one it is pushed along infront of the screw. You can purchase the special driver on Amazon for a few quid. it is this seal that stops all paint leaking backwards into the airbrush trigger area. On some airbrushes it needs to be adjusted by tightening very very slightly so as to grip the needle sufficently to make the seal effective. if your needle moves through it loosely ,paint will find it`s way past it. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHICH WAY YOU REMOVE THE NEEDLE FROM THE AIRBRUSH. Mine is adjusted to feel like the needle is being pushed through a one inch block of chedder chease. There should be a little resistance felt. Nozzle cap seal. This is black rubber and is not solvent resistant. But neither is it on all my Harder and Steenbeck airbrushes. Without it in place air leaks out from the nozzle cap on all such airbrushes. Lets not get `snobby` about airbrushes . I have an Iwata Revolution CR3 .It doesnt have a rubber seal on the nozzle cap. It is supplied witha sticky sealant on the thread instead and if you use solvents this will gradually degrade and need replacing...or it will too leak air.... another shock horror !! You can get this thread sealant on Amazon (Sagud) or use beezwax or PTFE tape. I apply the sealant to keep the rubber seal moist and lengthen it`s life. This seal is not in the paint bearing area so does`nt need removing. The needle nozzle seal. Is of course also black rubber and will melt away with solvent use. I remove this one totally............................. .......and replace it with a 40mm x 0.5mm strip of PTFE tape wound around the nozzle. I also polish the needle. The nozzle is then replaced ( FINGER TIGHT ONLY) And finally all moving parts plus the polished needle are lubricated with REGDAB (badger backwards) needle juice and everything reassembled. It is now solvent resistant. Another occasional measure is that I cut off two revolutions of the spring in the trigger mechanism to mke the trigger action softer.

...... now for the main event and the whole purpose of this journey......... To find an alternative Acrylic airbrushing scheme to Enamels. The Donor Model. I started with both chassis. using the Gaahleri GHAD 39 ( a very capable airbrush) using a .35 nozzle @ 15psi which produces a very smooth result I used my second choice for the subsequent base Primer. mixed 50/50 and airbrushed again at 15psi again giving a very smooth and strong primer coat. All left for 24 hours before reassembly. I cheated a bit with wheels and used chemical blackening. Balance weights to be touched up later with the same mix but using a 0.2 needle/ nozzle. Then onto the superstructures. All applied with 0.3 @ 15 psi still................................. But what airbrush ?

So, here we go with the `nitty gritty`....................... The Brass and Nickel Silver `gripper` Primer Coat There are a few on the market but my choice is airbrush ready. A high quality Acrylic Lacquer Paint. It needs to be applied with a 0.3 needle/nozzle at 10-15psi Being a clear coat I found it awkward trying to see accurate coverage. So, I contacted SMS via Facebook as they are an Australian company and as I suspected you can add a little colour of your choice to the mix. Much easier !! Next an Application of a standard base Primer. I`ve settled on a choice of two. For this first attempt I`ve chosen Stynylres In the UK produced by Ultimate Products ........................... MUST BE SHAKEN THOROUGHLY. Should be applied neat ( but can be thinned with Ultimate thinner) too much thinning can reduce it`s self levelling properties Needs to be airbrushed with a large size 0.5 needle/nozzle. ( Shock horror! not all 0.5 nozzles are the same) at 25psi Gaahleri GHAD 69D 0.5 nozzle on the left..... Creos (Procon Boy) ps-266 0.5 on the right. The Gaahleri struggled badly so thinning was required. nice smooth finish with the first two coats. FINAL TOP COAT. HUMBROL ACRYLIC NO 67 TANK GREY ( as Railmatch GWR stock grey is too lght a grey for me ) and there is not another livery grey product. Thinned 50/50 with Ultimate thinner and airbrushed with 0.3 @ 15psi as better applied as a wet coat. I am very pleased with the finish.

UK Railway modellers seem to be poorly served with alternative railway livery Acrylic paint. Railmatch Acrylics are the default choice for me. They are a quality product and spray well if thinned correctly. Lifecolor Acrylics supply equal quality products and have sets for mainly early BR liveries. They do have a good range of building colours and weathering paints. Humbrol Acrylics Gen 2 in particular I have found to be really good as long as you avoid their acrylic thinner which encourages tip dry at low psi settings. They have good general building colours but only minimal railway stock colours. These are my choice of quality water based acrylics for airbrushing. Tamiya Is not strictly a water based acrylc and cannot be mixed with them. It can be thinned with water(up to a point) but this reduces it`s quality finish. It is a hybrid acrylic which is mostly alchohol based and is usually thinned with it`s own brand of thinner. But is stronger if thinned with self levelling lacquer thinner and gives a superior finish if used so. Tamiya have no railway colours ( other than black and white but their military colours can be mixed together for a reasonable match as they give a superior and stronger finish than water based variants. I have been experimenting with Tamiya for a 1930`s GWR loco green. More about this at a later date. Thinners in my opinion , there is only one quality overall Thinner for all the above products........... and is this one. I`m pretty sure it has a flow improver and seems to produce self-levelling qualities when using Railmatch and Humbrol Acrylics. It also helps reduce tip dry................................ `nuff said. Airbrush Cleaner Distilled water with 5-10 drops of washing up liquid in a long spouted container. Heated in the microwave so is not too hot to handle. Home made cleaner. 1/3 rd Isopropyl Alchohol............ 1/3rd distilled water............. 1/3rd winter grade windscreen wash. And, of course, Ultimate Cleaner for any stubborn paint. ..... a lot of airbrushers get a bit hung up over cleaning airbrushes.....but listen ! .... some airbrush artists clean theirs by totally immersing them in a bucket of water and blasting air through them....... shock horror!!

Starting with changing from Enamels to Acrylics for brass kits. The whole idea is to speed up the finishing time as acrylics dry very quickly ( bearing in mind the need to manage airbrush tip dry if using water based paints). To use quality paint products and appropriate thinning agents. To achieve a reliable adhesion to brass, white metal and nickel silver materials. To have an understanding about choosing the correct airbrush needle/nozzle size to suit the size of the project and the type of acrylic paint chosen for the task. Using multiple thin coats that will not drown details. Bearing in mind, that you don`t always need a small needle/nozzle size to airbrush detail work as any size airbrush needle is capable of achieving this outcome. To be able to correctly set up and service any airbrush. To use dual action airbrushes as default. With or without floating nozzles. To be able to thoroughly clean an airbrush between and after completion of a task without the constant need to strip down an airbrush to it`s underpants. To find quality alternative acrylic model railway livery and weathering paints for stock and building kits.

Over the past 18 months I`ve been working towards completely upgrading my airbrushing standards and methods. I`m not new to airbrushing and have built many railway models and layouts over the past 50 years and since retiring , mostly now in O gauge particularly brass and nickel silver loco builds. Building them is relatively straight forward, but painting them has always been a daunting challenge as there was never a guarrantee I would be able to achieave a final finish that was free of airbrushing problems. Not to mention the time it takes waiting for enamel paints to dry sufficiently for safe masking. Time for a change. The last build was this one, all in enamels after using a rattle can of etch primer first coat ,as brass can be problematic with paint adhesion.. Looks ok at a distance but close up reveals the problems with using rattle can applications of paint. I have been ignoring model railway airbrushing forums and discussions as they seem to me to be somewhat stuck in the past and rather dated when it comes to alternative paint choices and airbrushing techniques. So I`ve spent a lot ot time on Youtube , studying airbrush portrait artists who use multiple airbrushes and acrylic paints for a living. I`ve also been following Aeromodellers uses of modern acrylics and airbrushing methods and weathering techniques. The result is, I hope, that I have found a non-enamel method of airbrushing brass built kits, including a non acid acrylic `etch` primer `gripper `coat using easy to obtain modern products. I have also studied airbrush choices

Happy New Year Everyone !! Buncombe is still covered up for winter. The last work on it was to replace the mouldy centre tunnel with a new structure. All the lasercut structures have been designed to be removeable when the layout is winterised or moved. Detailed painting of the brickwork will resume in the spring. Of course, underneath Buncombe is Sarsden which also needed some attention. I decided to re-roof the stone engine shed, which had warped badly in the last great heatwave, by scratch building a more substantial structure than the resin kit version. back in the Spring folks !!!

Cavalier Coaches!! I managed to find a complete set of GWR B set coaches 15 years ago on Ebay . They were a joy to build and paint. They are carefully looked after on my small layout.

Buncombe has a set of new buildings which I have mould proofed by painting all mdf layers in Shellac and then once completed hand painted with Johnsons Kleer.....

Hi Barnaby, I Don`t seem to spend so much time on RMweb at the moment and having two layouts on the go has slowed me down somewhat. Buncombe had a bad winter whereby only the lasercut building models produced by one manufacturer went mouldy from within the material it was produced by........ Apparently, the mdf material they were produced with may have been kept in a damp environment and in my shed they went mouldy and were ruined, so I have had to rebuild a new different set .... all the lasercut kits from other manufacturers have been unaffected... I have recorded all the work done so far , but its mixed up in various places. I`ll sort it all out in the next couple of weeks ( waiting for some new specs) and publish it here on RMweb. Cheers John

Successfully fitted the pickups today and after sorting out a wonky crankpin bush the chassis has run it`s first tentative turn....... Hence the large Brandy and Coke to celebrate... 20240510_222807.mp4