All of the strapping is now in place and thoughts are turning to the hand brake lever and the ratchet brake lever rack. Jon
Apologise for the poor pictures. I'm hoping that when the wagons are painted they will be a bit more picturesque. Hand brake levers in place together with toothed racks and lever stays. The one problem I have is that I am going to have to remove the lever stays before painting. The reason being is that I can't remove the levers while they are in place, bit of a nuisance really. The racks are showing pink here although they are nickle. I left them in the pickle bath for a bit longer than usual and they have become copper plated. I think that that is that. I'm going to give them a good wash followed by an etch primer with a top coat of Vauxhall Brazil Brown from a rattle can. The photograph of a similar wagon that I've been using as a guide seems to be painted a very dark colour but not as dark as the ironwork which I'm assuming is black. Anyone any suggestions for a different top coat? Jon
Sprayed with etch primer this morning. I quite like to see that first coat of paint go on as it brings all of the parts together giving a uniform look. Jon
Sorry for the poor photographs. When the wagons are finished and the transfers are on, I'll take them into the garden to see if I can get some better pictures. Top coat on but, I did apply another coat after these pictures were taken. I'm going to leave well alone for the paint to harden before I do anything else to them.
Thanks, Richard. This is as far as I can go with these two for the time being. I have ordered the transfers but the chap who is making the transfers ran out of paper. Because of the epidemic, his supplier couldn't send out fresh supplies until just recently. Nothing to do but sit and wait until the transfers arrive. Jon
As with the NB wagon, transfers on and a coat of matt varnish next week when the paint has had a good chance to harden off. Apart from the W, the transfers only had to go over a single plank and so went down very well. Jon
I've been looking at the models and am thinking that the paint is too flat giving a 'dead' look and that maybe the appearance would have been better with a very slight sheen. With a matt varnish, the transfers disappear and I'm wondering if this would be the case using say, a satin varnish. Jon
I know you aren't comfortable with the idea of weathering, but I think it would bring out the detail, more effectively than a satin varnish. I'm not sure what effect the varnish would have... the transfers, being smoother than the paint, might end up looking shinier... but you'd need to test it first on something expendable. Martin Welch's book on weathering would be worth a look, but there are literally hundreds of video tutorials for the materials and techniques for military modelling, which apply equally to railway items. These guys often demonstrate the techniques on a 'dead' model... would you consider making a quick mock-up of a wagon side, to practise on?
Steve You are, of course, quite right, they should be weathered and making a mock-up side could be the answer. The side would be a simple thing to make and I may even have a piece of styrene already planked up that will only require some 'straps' to make it usable. I'll let you know how I get on. Jon
