Adding A Bit Of Colour
In between mowing the lawns and pruning the wisteria at the weekend, I managed to get some base colours onto those 3D prints. As my Halford’s primers are running out, I’m replacing them with Plastikote from Toolstation. Halfords have apparently changed their paint supplier and gone is the range of manufacturer-specific colours for matching your restoration project, along with the quality. I can’t remember who told me to go to Toolstation instead but I’ll be forever grateful. Plastikote rattle cans are very good.
A tip I picked up many years ago was to warm them thoroughly in hand-hot water, then shake them for twice as long as reccommended in the instructions. This has the combined effect of reducing the viscosity of the paint and atomising the propellant, resulting in easier spraying and a finer finish. In addition, always spray the fiddly bits and edges first, then fill in the untouched flat panel area. Don’t be tempted to do it the other way around or you’ll be sanding out runs and worse.
The paint spraying is deliberately patchy, with red oxide as a base for rust and grime inside and sprayed upwards on the lower half and plain grey sprayed downwards on the outside for residual body colour. I have an enquiry in with Chivers Finelines for some bogie castings and I’ve already acquired bearings and wheelsets. I think some brake wheels and hopper wheels might also be in order. as I haven’t decided on a name for my railroad yet, I’ll just number the wagons individually, when I find the Railroad Roman decal sets I purchased and put in a safe place!