pdanny

3T DEMU coming along with faith amount of progress on bodyshells. Railtec Transfers and varnish now applied attention moves over to underframes and weathering.

Starting my next project. Using a spare 2EPB DTS I rescued via ebay, I have a 2H DEMU that I want to make into a 3 car unit so its ideal for a class 204. I always thought the EPB cab always looked so haunted with the cab face painted blue. 3T stripped, deglazed and now primed for putting into Blue/Grey with white NSE Logos, this DEMU moves fast. I'm looking forward to painting this one given there's no fiddly NSE stripes to deal with, lol. #VariousMultipleUnits

#VEP Upgrade 2: detailing and glazing being added. Handrails, wipers and jumper cables plus destination blinds #Route72 London Waterloo to Portsmouth and Southsea semi fast direct. Horns to be added and bogies & underframes to be weathered up. #TMRGUK #NetworkSouthEast #modelrailway #750Vdc #scratchbuild #00gauge #electricmultipleunits #SouthernRegion #class423 #handpainted #trains #modeltrains #VariousMultipleUnits #NSE

Paint job finished and weathering applied. Early NSE never really faired well, hence the darker blue that followed but I always liked the original version. Underframes and bogies next, cab glazing, detailing and interiors to follow.

So I've replaced the cabs in the same style as the previous one, however, painting a Hornby 4VEP in early NSE is not an easy task. I'm using the Blue liveried 423/0 as a base because it's the early NSE VEPs were preconversion. Because of the door window door format, masking requires a lot of work to prevent bleeding which is fine when you're air spraying but because I hand paint all my builds, it can pro e a lengthy process with a fair amount of learing up afterwards. That said, the end result is always worth it.

Pop off the bodyshells and using a 4mm wide brush, paint the curtains with Brake Fluid taking extreme care not to get it anywhere else on the carriage. You can buy it from Halfords. It's great for paint stripping but if you get it on the bodyshell it will strip the paint off. Paint the curtains and leave for 5mins, then scrape them off gently with a cocktail stick. It literally peels off.

So VEP number two is now underway. It's going to be a class 423/0 in its pre conversion format with the full sized mailvan, so I'm using the Hornby Blue liveried version as a base. It's going to be in the early NSE livery so the first job was to remove the curtains. I've also replaced the cabs using the same method as the previous one.

Right, that's 1 of 3 done. Added headcode blinds, route 52 London Waterloo to Alton semi-fast. Also added all the detailing to the NSE MLV I was working on prior. Next up I have another NSE 4VEP and a non VEP Conversion class 423/0 livery tbc.

Sadly, it's a shame as the Hornby model is superb in every other way. I was genuinely thrilled when I saw Hornby release it so it was a disappointment to find they hadn't captured the cab fronts we loved so much on the Southern. The Bachmann 4TC is closer but still not quite right as the cab windows seem too big. I wouldn't bother changing them though, lol!

That's it, job done. Cab windows back in from the original Hornby cabs, jumper cables reattached, handrails, wipers and horns added. I've pictured it alongside the next unit to be upgraded so you can see the difference. Really pleased with how it's turned out. One down, two left to go...

Glazing back in the cabs, interiors painted and detailed, I'm now ready to add all the detailing back on.

Working on the interiors now. The compartments have no doors or windows on the interiors which is a shame as the detail from Hornby is actually really good. They corrected thisbon the Blue Grey liveried model however on the NSE and Blue version this wasn't the case. I basically cut the solid panel out and fixed Southern Pride Models compartment walls on, painting the interiors and adding some detailing like headrests made from plain address labels...

With the cabs replaced, glazing and detailing to follow, I've moved on to some of the other elements, adding decals, fitting better sized roof scallop vents, correcting bogies, painting the roof grey not black, correcting the cantrail rainstrip to NSE Red instead of orange and adding the black cab fronts.

The vestibule door is literally cut out of the removed cab front and fitted inside the original vestibule door frame. This needs widening by 1mm which is done by cutting in half and filled with plasticard. The door once inside is brought forward slightly again with 1mm plasticard. The MJT cab can then be painted and the door fixed on.

First up are the cabs. The detail is exceptional however the windows and cable boxes are too far inset and the vestibule door is a little too narrow. I replaced these with MJT cabs which are correctly proportioned however I've kept the original vestibule door and cut in the physical cab door so it's much more detailed than the MJT one which is too short anyway. It also means the lighting and destination blinds are kept too. I also kept the detail such as the handrails and cabling.

Just got a couple of Hornby VEPs for a very good price so currently upgrading them. Love the Hornby VEP, I think they did a great job. Let's be honest though, there are some flaws. The cabs aren't quite right, the roof vents are tiny, the B5 bogies are fitted the wrong way round and the compartments on the earlier production have no windows or doors on the corridor side. Over the next few posts I'll show you my progress and share my tips on upgrading these units.

Practise tbh. Study photos the get the right sweep in the right place and then good masking technique pays huge dividends. You have to take your time and be patient. For masking, I use Scotch Invisible Tape. I cut the curve of the up sweep into the tape and hand paint the stripe in. Once I've removed the tape, any corrections and amends can be corrected with a cocktail stick and fine brush with white spirit. You have to take you time with NSE but it pays off when done well.

And ADB 977364 which I also want to model. Arjay models produce it so it's on my list! Great pics, thank you!!! I've now finished painting and I've added the decals. Ready to restore glazing and add on all the detailing. I particularly love the battery hatch safety catches you referred to

Oh yes I have those on my detailing list and that pic is fantastic in terms of weathering. The DCKits one will be treated to look more like this where as the Bachmann one will have a fresher look. Thanks buddy...

Dont be put off, it's harder than blue grey because you have to apply more colours one at a time but it's certainly no harder other than keeping straight lines and minimising bleed. You'll be fine ;-)

Adding the red stripe when painting Network South East always bring the livery to life. Theres a fair amount of tidying up to do, especially where you get bleeding by the doors and hinges but overall its turning out pretty good.

Following their retirement from the boat trains and Kent Coast, the MLVs were stored at Strawberry Hill and Bournemouth depots which was all I needed to know so I could bag myself a few. I had a DC Kits onealreadt in dire need of some attention and given the superb ones from Bachmann, it was only a matter of time before I found one well priced and in need of a good home. Only issue was, it was in early green. So given the circumstances, it makes it into my blog as its being upgraded into NSE alo g with my DC Kits one getting it's own little upgrade so they can run together. This meant repainting, removing roof periscopes and updating the cab front, adding roof horns and some minor tweaks. Currently at the NSE Blue phase of the paint job...

Absolutely superb day out at the Chiltern MRA Modellers Workshop in Watford today. Thank you so much @Marcus-Jayfor having me there. We had a really good time and met some superb contacts. Learned a lot too. Big shout out to www.3dprintingcorner.co.uk www.merg.org.uk and jamie@oakley-green.co.uk who were all top favourites and a special BIG shout out to Aryan from Ayjay Models for coming along and supporting me...

Awesome! Absolutely will do thanks. Looking forward to it