Hibelroad

I’ve read that paint containing more than .01% Beko can be labelled as such and then it’s OK to sell it to the trade. Presumably tradesmen are a tougher lot than us modellers. On a practical level a tradesman may apply several litres of paint every day, as modellers we apply the odd tiny brush full occasionally therefore it seems to be another overreaction by “them”.

Reading the above is fascinating as I regularly drive across the bridge to visit and work on my retirement bungalow on the island. I often think of the lions as I cross and hope to visit them soon once I move in and have the time to explore.

There is this YouTube video which might help

Good thing we only get this posted twice a year.

Thanks to all who have provided information above, I too was wondering what was happening to Humbrol and I rely on it for much of my painting. It sound as if retailers have been severely affected and are seriously out of pocket. I wonder what will happen to the stock piles of “illegal” paint, I suspect I would join the queue if some shady character was selling it for cash on street corners, maybe it will leak out via eBay. Meanwhile it looks like I will have to start using acrylics. Like others on here I have had little success in the past and feel like it’s too late in life to be learning new tricks.

Here’s one I made earlier, a Ramsbottom 4ft shunter. It’s about 20 years old from a Gladiator kit which doesn’t appear to be available now. It’s not seen the light of day for several years but I’m hoping to bring it back into use if my projected layout ever gets off the ground.

Well my 7mm scale Jubilee is approaching completion. Thanks to a suggestion from Jol it now has plates (Narrow Planet) and the lining is done. Of course having got it together it has now decided to have running problems, however that's the beauty of kit building, I can tinker around with the chassis as much as I want until its running well.

No good asking me, I got 11% in the school end of year Latin exam and they transferred me to metalwork and tech drawing instead, which up to now had proved more useful when modelling. But looking at this maybe I should have stuck to the Latin.

Then leave them on for a couple of weeks.

Harry looks like he is plotting his revenge.

Harry looks like he is plotting his revenge.

That bench is far too neat and organised, it needs a cats touch to mess it about a bit and make it looked lived in.

In the March edition they also advised medium radius points but they have disappeared again this month.

People who talk at you rather than speak to you.

Try Shawplan model products.

What about 08 shunters? My prototype knowledge is poor but I know they date back to the early 50s so are there any really old ones still in service?

Yes, peak rate charging will be introduced on the back of smart meters, but I also suspect that those with dumb meters will be put on a putative tariff. I will resist until it becomes financially unviable.

Despite being old and retired I don’t have many memories of steam as the local line was an early electrification candidate. I’ve waited all my life for rtr class 304 emu, no idea why it’s always ignored by the manufacturers. Unfortunately I’ve pretty much gone to 0 gauge pre grouping now so would be unlikely to buy one if it did appear now. However I could make it part of a small diorama, umm, that’s got me thinking.

Lining has started so the end is in sight. The camera is cruel and shows up the warped platform. The accepted advice is to always use an odd number of plastikard lamination, this is a good example of what happens if you think 2 layers will be OK.

Another build which I have been progressing over the last 12 months is this Fourtracks model of a Webb Jubilee Its recently been painted and now awaits lining which will be pressfix transfers. The excellent artwork for the body etch will be familiar to a regular contributor to this forum. I suspect it was originally designed for 4mm scale and I found bending all the curvy bodywork quite difficult in the thicker sheet used for 7mm but the effort is well worthwhile as its a very attractive prototype. One outstanding item is name and numberplate. Since the demise of Guilplates I'm unsure where I can now obtain these, I have thought of asking 247 developments but any advice would be welcome.

I’ve read quite a bit on here about painting and lining and thought it was time I made a positive contribution. The LNWR livery is extremely attractive but notoriously difficult to achieve. I have tried it on a few models over the years but not had any success, so spurred on by contributions to this and Jol Wilkinson’s thread I have been making a determined effort over the last few weeks and think I am now making headway. The photo is an old Northstar 7mm scale 45 ft full brake, a kit which I have had in the kit cupboard since I bought it in 2004. The painting and lining follow the principles set out in MRJ 52 ( I think this is still available as a back number) except that I have yet to master the bow pen. The body is sprayed with Precision Paint LNWR coach plum and coach white, though I find the white is too blue for my eye and mixed it with plain white. The yellow lining is Humbrol No 7 applied with a Bob Moore lining pen using a standard plus head. The plum is a mix of Rotring red and black ink (roughly 70/30, but is not really critical) applied with a Rotring pen with 0.4 nib. The transfers are from an old HMRS pressfix sheet and a coat of Precision satin varnish completes the job. Golden rules which I have learnt the hard way:- Always draw a lining or tubular pen towards you, never push it or it will dig up minute flecks of base paint which will block the tube/nib Only ever used gloss paint in the Bob Moores pen, the matting agent in any other paint will block the tube no matter how much you hope you can get away with it. Only ever use inks in a Rotring pen, never thinned paint as this will ruin it and you will have to buy a new one, don’t ask me how I know this. Having got this far I’m quite pleased with the result. I know it has errors and blodges but I think you get to the point where you have to stop reaching for the paint stripper and decide that its good enough. Hopefully my next kit will be better, but at least I have finally conquered my fear of the LNWR livery and look forward to my next attempt. One final word of advice, beware of showing a full brake to your other half as there may be a comment of “very nice but have you forgotten the windows?”

I definitely recommend Iwata brushes and if you can stretch to a high spec compressor so much the better. You do need a plentiful and reliable source of air. It is best to avoid cut price but inadequate products which will cause endless frustration so avoid the bottom of the market.

I think the ends are painted to seal them and stop them drying out quickly and splitting the board. I’ve seen other colours used so I don’t suppose the colour matters and the paint is probably waxy to help seal the wood.

I think that the main thing to bear in mind is that kit building is a life long craft and you will always be learning. Its inevitable that you will not make a very good job of the first few builds so choose kits that are low cost, not a favourite and maybe easy to replace. You will learn a great deal by diving in and just having a go and will soon be saying to yourself "what I should have done was..." Its all valuable experience and will help you to overcome problems with more complex or poorly designed kits later. You will soon discover what tools you need and how best to use them. The main thing is to have a go, learn on the job and above all just have fun.

It also reminds me of a story from when Idi Amin was running Uganda and a journalist was on trial on some trumped up charge. The journalist was sentenced to death and 10 years imprisonment. On the way back to the cell he asked the guard which sentence would be carried out first, the guard didn't know and said he would go away to find out.