Ian Rathbone

You need an ochre but there is no Humbrol equivalent so mix No.9, Tan with No. 69, Gloss Yellow roughly 50:50, then add a tiny drop of green. You will end up with a khaki colour which is ideal for the lining on MR & LMS non corridor stock and vans. When the shows reopen get some Precision 'Ochre Brown' or M&GN 'Golden Gorse'. Hope this helps. Ian R e

Barry Is your Black 5 a Scottish engine? The classification 5MT was only used on engines painted in Scotland. South of the border it was simply '5'. Regards Ian R

Taz My mistake, the colour is called 'Ochre Brown' and is RAL 8001, it doesn't have a P number. M&GN Golden Gorse P625 is very close and is one I have used. Ian R

Use Precision Lining Ochre or a mix of Humbrol Gloss Yellow (69) and Tan (9), about 50:50. Ian R

Thank you to those who helped out. Maedhbh is now with a happy customer. The kit, most of you will know, is by Studio Scale Models and was built by Mike edge who has scratch and kit built a number of GNRI locos in 4 and 7mm scales. This one is built to run on EM gauge track as a compromise between 16.5 & 21mm. Keep safe Ian R

The 800 is now complete using the transfers provided in the kit for the coat of arms, GS and buffer beam number, varnished overall, glazing and tender coal. Regards Ian R

All the painting is now complete. Lining to follow. I did the yellow lining, with a bow pen, first as this is the most prominent. The position of the lining is dictated by all those rivets, some not quite in the right place, especially on the splashers. Black lining to follow. The interior of the cab is more than just brown below and cream above. There is a black band at the bottom, level with the top of the slashers. The model splashers are a little large so this runs just below the top. The brown/cream junction is level with the top of the cab doors (absent here). There is also a 2" wide brown border on the rear edge of the cab. The black lining was a pig to put on. Most of it goes over rivets so there was a danger of flooding as the bow pen clattered over the rivets. The loco valance is less than a millimetre deep yet there has to be room for the green, the yellow and the black. I noticed from photos that there is a black border to the buffer beam, I presume the tender is the same. I liked the system for locating the tender axle boxes and springs. It meant they could happily be left off until painting and lining was complete - it made it so much easier. All for now. Ian R

Painting is progressing well on the 800 class (which is to be 800 not 801). The first photo shows the result after spraying the body colour over a grey etching primer. The next is after masking and spraying the major black parts. The loco frames had already been painted by the builder (Mike Edge). And with the masking removed, together with some of the other bits. The wheels were brush painted, somewhat tediously. More anon. Keep safe. Ian R

Thank you Eion for the cab photos. Just what I needed. Regards Ian R

Back to the topic! I've sprayed the main body colour but the next problem is the cab interior colour. What colour is the underside of the roof, ditto cab walls? I assume CIE would have continued the GSR scheme so the preserved 800 cab colour would be correct. Can anyone help out please? Thanks in advance. Regards Ian R

Thank you for your replies. There is a video on YouTube of GW railcar No. 22, its upholstery looks like the colour I'm looking for. Any comments? Regards Ian R

I am painting a model of 801 which is to be in the early bluey-green colour. Can anyone point me in the right direction regarding a mix or reference for this elusive colour? Ian R

A few points. Phoenix two part etching primer is good providing you add cellulose thinners to the mix, it won't work otherwise. Mix the Phoenix thinners and primer 1:1 then add 2 parts cellulose thinners. Spray lightly, you don't need much. Etching primer is meant for brass and nickel silver and has little effect on white metal where a filler primer, rubbed down, does a better job. Just remember to give your airbrush a good clean with cellulose thinners, which I am sure is available in Spain. BR green is not Brunswick Green, it is Mid Chrome Green (or Landrover Deep Bronze Green). Brunswick was used by the GCR and SECR; it has more blue in it. In BR livery the A2 should have green valances, not black. Regards Ian R

I have seen this and someone doing a photoshop of one A1 in Great Central livery. Was this the A1? Definitely not photoshopped. I've done 'North British' too. Both locos are repainted Bachmann. Ian R

I've been using Precision paints for over 40 years. Thin with white spirit 50:50 then test on a flat sheet and adjust if necessary, (I rarely have to). Spray a mist coat on the model first to see where the shadows are and then a wet coat, watching the paint surface very closely to avoid runs. Good lighting is essential. A series of light coats is a safe method but this tends to give quite a matt finish which is no good for transfers or lining. I always use their gloss paints. I have no problems spraying at about 20deg C. There is a good book that covers this Ian R

It is a common myth that white spirit can not be used to remove paint from cured enamel. Use gloss enamel as a base coat (Phoenix Precision are available in gloss but need to be ordered) and use gloss enamel for lining. Test your lining paint with the cocktail stick test. If it runs off the stick it is too thin, if it stays on the stick and doesn't drip off it is too thick. If it drips off but can be retained by twisting the stick it is just right. Set your pen so that you can just pull a piece of printing paper between the blades. Match your speed to the viscosity of the paint. Read 'A Modeller's Handbook of Painting and Lining', (Wild Swan), twice. Unwanted paint can be removed by stroking with a brush that is just damp with white spirit. Forget Kleer. I hope that is clear. Ian R

Try Warren Haywood in Wakefield. Ian R Ianrathbonemodelpainting.co.uk

I will be demonstrating Painting and Lining at the Warley Show this week end 25/26 November at the NEC. Ian R

Go for the 228 Ian R

Darren, the ejector pipe and the pipes connected to it should be black, and no lining. You do not need to cut through Xtradecal, just score it well and lift the top veneer of paper, but only if you have a hefty layer of paint on it. Yes, it's flimsy but easier to position boiler bands and the like. Be careful with Microsol as it will distort transfers. Boiler bands and lining transfers can be fixed by over painting with varnish. Ian R

Here is the completed T1. Ian R

You should be able to line the splashers without making transfers (except the centre splashers of the Duchess, which have a load of lubricators in the way). The whole point of the holding frame is to give you somewhere to place the compasses' point to in order to draw an arc. Alternatively you could line the top curve by offsetting from the edge. The easiest and quickest way to find the centre is trial and error, it will only take a minute or two. To do it by geometrical methods will never be accurate enough, trust me, I've tried. The jig comes into its own when doing stuff like this on a LSWR T1. There are eleven concentric arcs to draw - four white, four black (to give the extra thickness) and three brown. The centre was found by trial and error in just over a minute. Ian R

Sorry, the last 4-4-0 design was the GNRI VS of 1948. The modified U was also a 1948 build. Ian R

Well done, this is the first time I've seen my jig copied, glad it works for you. Try setting your pen so that a piece of paper will just pass between the points. Avoid trying to draw a line over rivets, your top line needs to be lower. Can we see the lining on the back of the bunker? Only joking. Ian R

Additional lining on the GWR Fowler I received the Fowler after its body modifications (after David L. O. Smith, see post 22nd March) had been completed by Mike Morris. The first thing I did was to look at the photos in Russell to find the extent of the prototype lining. The model comes with the main panels on the cab sides, engine housing and sloping top of the gear box housing lined in GWR style panels. There is also lining on the ends of the buffer beams but in white rather than GWR orange. There is no other lining. Additionally, the valance and footsteps are in green rather than the black one would expect. A thorough examination of the photos in Russell showed that the front of the cab was lined in a rather extravagant way, far more elaborate than standard GWR styles. Also, each louvre on the engine and gearbox housing was lined, presumably with a black edge and offset orange line. The starter engine’s louvres were not lined but the transverse transmission housing was, on its narrow top and side. I have never seen a photo of the back but it is a reasonable assumption that the rear of the cab would have been lined in a style similar to the front. I could not see any evidence that there was lining on the red part of buffer beams or housings but, curiously, there was lining behind the buffer beams and on the main frames. There was also lining around the wheel centres and there appeared to be lining on the spokes. The ex-works photo in Russell seems to have been taken using panchromatic film which renders red as white so the buffer housings appear white, as do the rods. A close examination shows that the bosses of the rods are not painted. It also shows that the blocking to the cab side lettering is not a uniform red but red fading to pink, and black. My first job after taking off the rods was to put them in the vice and file the tops smooth to get rid of the untidy mould marks. I also filed the front to smooth out the plating (they appear to be nickel plated brass). The bosses of the rods were masked off and the remainder sprayed with a red oxide etching primer. Once cured (24 hr) I airbrushed on three coats of Humbrol 174. Red is a difficult colour to spray as it is so translucent when thinned. I sprayed the three coats at roughly ten minute intervals, allowing the thinners to evaporate before continuing. Once dry I chemically blackened the bosses to reduce the bright finish. The next job was to brush paint the valances, steps and buffer beam ends black. After a day’s curing, I could line the buffer beam ends on one side, then, after a further day, the second side. To do the extra lining on the superstructure I needed to remove it from the footplate unit but, as Mike had already been through the process, this was easily done. All the lining on the superstructure - front and back of cab, louvres and starter transmission housing - was done with bow pen compasses, offsetting from an adjacent edge. The same method was used on the frames, wheels and back of buffer beams. Rounded corners were done with a fine brush. The final task before reassembly was to mask off the windows then airbrush a satin varnish on the front and back of the cab just to tone down the gloss lining.