thegreenhowards

I'm not familiar with those kits - have you posted your efforts on RMWeb? With Kirk kits I normally add brass coach grab rails (because these aren't provided in the kit) but make do with the moulded door handles with a blob of Humbrol brass (number 54). This doesn't look as good as brass handles but it's good enough for me and bears scrutiny as a layout coach. Andy

All I can say is keep going. You learn from your mistakes and it doesn’t take too long before you can get a decent result.

If anyone needs some practice then they should look you up!

John, Overall, I rather enjoy painting although, as you say, it does have the ability to be very frustrating! The bit I don’t like is masking. And I’m still nervous if my airbrush. Give me a palate of browns and a sable and I’m happy!

John, That is a very good question! As far as my railway is concerned the answer is ‘all of them’! As a rule, I hate painting crimson and cream or indeed anything which requires masking. It always seems to go wrong for me. If I have to paint things ‘crimson’, I use Halfords Ford Rosso Red which is the colour on the Tourist TTO. The suburban mk1s are, as you say, the Bachmann colour. While the Kirk BSO looks more like maroon than crimson but I didn’t paint this. I’m far too young to remember crimson and cream and photo rendition of reds was notoriously unreliable, so that’s my excuse! I’m told that the shade varied and/or faded in real life so a range of reds is probably acceptable, I think the Bachmann shade and the TTO shade are OK, but I suspect I really ought to repaint the Kirk BSO. That’s not going to happen though for the reasons above. I’m thoroughly enjoying painting my O gauge stuff in teak liveries - no need for masking or even spraying. It can all be done by brush with which I’m much happier. Andy Andy

It’s not fair. We need more than one vote for the GNR! The K2 is worthy for the reasons given by Papyrus. I’ll omit the K3 on the basis that there is a preserved K4 and that’s basically the same engine with smaller wheels otherwise it would be a clear winner. But it comes down to two magnificent designs - the J6 and the C12 which I find it very difficult to chose between. In the end I’ll go C12 as there are very few Atlantic tanks from any company preserved.

This evening we have an up returning excursion headed by 60800, Green Arrow. And here it is running through platform 3. I suspect this should be formed largely of open stock, but I don’t quite have enough and I was thwarted on some of the vehicles I do have by coupling incompatibility. Green Arrow is my recently completed Jamieson Comet V2 which I bought in two parts off eBay, finished off the body and got it to fit on the chassis. The Bachmann body which came with the Comet chassis has been sold on. Now the weather’s improving it might actually get weathered this week. There are five opens at the front of the train. A Kirk Gresley BTO. A Mailcoach tourist twin TO. And an Isinglass D.307 steel twin TO. This one should probably have straight ends, but the kit came with domed ends and that’s what the diagram shows so that’s how it was built. Subsequent pictures from Headstock and Clive M have proved that they were actually built with straight ends so I need to change this one but can’t summon up the enthusiasm at the moment! Then we have an ex-GNR 6 wheel kitchen car which was built from cutting and shutting bits of Kirk kits. The end of the train comprises two EV TKs and an EV BTK (all Kirk bought largely as is off eBay). I intend to replace these with an FO (which I have but it has Hunt couplings and this rake doesn’t yet), a couple of D.186 TOs and a tourist BTO in due course. Andy

Today’s train is a returning horsebox special from the SR to Newmarket headed by B12, 61553. Here it is heading over the viaduct. ...and a side on view. The horse boxes are Hornby, Parkside, D&S and Bachmann in order.

Many thanks for all the suggestions in my warehouses. I shall see if I can move the tunnels and reflect on the other suggestions and report back before long.

I’m not voting for 4-6-0s in any of these polls. Too boring and too many preserved already. And, whisper it quietly, I’m not a great fan of the Robinson long splasher type styling. So for me it’s a choice between an Atlantic and an A5. I can’t choose between the Atlantics, so I’ll go for the tank.

Thanks John, Should the black gloss go straight on the back of the windows or set back a little? And couldn’t the dock be used for unloading directly through the doors? Also does anyone have a bright idea what I should do to the right of the warehouse where the loft ceiling comes down to prevent a full height warehouse? Andy

The back scene is the wall between the two rooms in my loft. I don’t think it’s structural but I’m not sure I want to put that to the test! Bringing the tunnels forward is possible...but quite a lot of work I suspect. I like option B! Thanks Andy

That’s good to know Richard, It was going well until the glue failed and it fell apart, creasing the brass overlays in the process. It then went in the too difficult pile for a while and got forgotten. I seem to remember there was a problem about the way the cab joined onto the sides/ boiler but I can’t now remember exactly what the problem was. I will follow your attempts with interest. I hope the pictures/ drawings are useful. Andy

Thanks Manna, I think I could paint the wall behind the windows to give that effect. I think there would still be a problem that the warehouse is too close to the canal. This photo shows it better. I think I somehow need to raise the warehouses and paint in some foreground but I’m not sure that would work. Andy

Well I’m pleased to report that @richard ihas taken on the challenging task of trying to make something out of the bits of the F2 that I rejected. He’s taken the remains of the Bachmann body and bits of SE Finecast N5 kit and the old kit chassis and is going to try to resurrect them - brave man! As he lives near my Mum who I’m ‘bubbled’ with, I dropped off the bits this afternoon. I think he will report back on here and/or his Dettingen GCR thread as and when he has any joy. Andy

Today we’re back to the mundane with an N2, 69546, on an inner suburban working from KX. On the right you can see my test fitting of the new running in board. I still need to work out how to bed in a ‘square peg to a round hole’. Any tips welcome. The other scenic work I’ve been doing is to produce a warehouse style back scene above the canal. This will replace the two photos I had of the Kings Cross goods yard. Here is a distant view. They obviously need the windows weathered or obscured to hide the sky behind but I’m struggling a bit to get the perspective right as they’re too close to the canal. Could anyone with more artistic ability than me (I.e. any at all!) suggest what I should do with them? If it doesn’t work at all they will be built into a ‘full fat’ warehouse for the factory area on the other side of the room. Finally here is a view of the train at rest in platform 4. The mark 1 set you have seen many times before on this sequence but at least the N2 is making its first appearance for about a year.

Claud for me too

I find it dries very quickly such that I leave the brush in the pot and put a second coat on after 30 mins. I get lots of small bubbles after I apply the Klear - don’t worry they disappear as it dries. Andy

Another ‘trophy’ train today, the up Heart of Midlothian headed by A4, 60007, Sir Nigel Gresley. This is the Summer 1952 formation and was one of the Festival of Britain all Mark 1 example trains - loading to 13 coaches in this case. I have two similar pictures of the train as I couldn’t decide which I preferred. Any views welcome. Most of the train is RTR, but the catering core consists of an RF/RK/RSO combo of which only the RFO is available RTR. The RK was comet and the RSO Southern Pride. And finally the video.

A couple more O gauge wagons ready to go today. One is the Slaters mineral wagon I showed a few days ago. This has been backdated to LNER livery. It seems likely that this would have been a PO wagon rather than a company one but it still looks convincing (to me at least) viewed from a distance and ‘PO’ing it was not really practical. I’ve added the missing hinge bar. The other is a van bought off eBay described as ‘unknown kit of box van’. A bit of research showed it to be a Slaters MR 8 T box van and I dug out some photos from the MR wagon book to copy. So here it is in LMS livery. Just need to get the club layout working now to run them on! Andy

An F2 for me for no other reason than I’m building one at the moment! Andy

Gilbert, I prefer the second photo, but better still would be the more traditional front 3/4 view taken a little to the left of your viewpoint for this one. Having said this variety is the spice of life and I know from Gresley Jn. that it gets boring taking the same view again and again. So go with both alternative views from time to time. Andy

Looking again at the photos in Yeadon vol 36 (p45 and 46) and the Middleton Press Ally Pally - Finsbury Park book (plate 23,26,36,38), some pictures have the same vehicle as in @65179's post. But others have a panelled vehicle which looks similar and which I think I'd previously identified as being of NE origin. If any coach experts have access to those books, I'd be grateful for a second opinion.

Thanks. Now the obvious question...does anyone do a kit of the GE vehicle?

And I thought you were a died in the wool steam man! I think they were Hornby sleepers with the horrid silver windows.