The first job was to touch in the details on the backhead and for this I used three paints. I gave the main backhead surface a light dry brushing with RailMatch oily steel to help bring out some of the details and I used Humbrol acrylic buffer beam red (number 406 from their Rail Colour range) for the regulator handle. For the brass I used Alclad 2 polished brass lacquer. This isn't something I'd used before but it gave just the effect I was looking for. You are supposed to airbrush the lacquer over a gloss surface to give a high shine finish, but I brush painted it over a satin surface which gives a more aged look. I used this lacquer rather than a paint for two reasons. Firstly I couldn't seem to find a brass paint in any of the ranges my local model shop stocks, but more importantly I'm not really a fan of using metallic paints at this scale, unless they are being sparingly dry brushed. I find that the shiny flecks in the metallic paints (that give them the metallic look) are always fairly large and just look really wrong at the small scale we are working with. This lacquer doesn't suffer from this problem at all and I'm betting it would look fantastic airbrushed onto a larger area.
The second job was to paint the inside of the cab walls. From photos, and from having visited the odd cab over the years, I've noticed that generally the bottom half of the walls are painted black, while the top half is usually a buff or cream colour. I'm guessing the use of the lighter colour is to make the cab feel bigger and less claustrophobic. Given the paints I had to hand I used ivory and black from the Model Color range; painting the ivory on first and then masking to get a straight edge to paint the black against.
Personally I think both parts have worked really well, and now that they are assembled together it really does look good.
You seem to have the metallic finish sorted.
ReplyDeleteThere used to be a range of very fine pigmented oil paints. I think they came from an artists supply shop on Surrey Street. They were very expensive but only small quantities are needed.
Beware of 406 'Buffer Beam Red' - I used it on a s.g. diesel shunter and its more pink than red! Not too bad with heavy weathering for that bleached and faded look but no good for a clean loco. Signal Red is much better.
ReplyDeleteThe backhead looks good, you've picked out the detail nicely. Painting cab interiors is a job that I hate, especially when the cab is in place. Ivory is a good choice, I've used Citadel 'Bleached Bone' on one of mine which is close.
I'm in agreement with you on metallics, flat metal paint looks far better in this scale, but are harded to find.
Keep up the good work!
I must admit I was shocked at the colour of the 406 "Buffer Beam Red" when I first opened it. Not only is it not red, it is nothing like the colour of the sticker on the top of the pot. It does, however, seem to match perfectly the Graham Farish N gauge loco sat just to me left. Like you I wasn't sure about it so tried Model Color red (70.947) on the rear buffer but decided it was just too bright and so wiped it off. As you'll see in an upcoming post I've now painted both buffers using the buffer beam red and while it certainly isn't red, I don't think it looks too bad. I'm still not 100% sure about it though, so it might get a quick wash over with another colour before varnishing.
DeleteLooking really great!
ReplyDeletePainting inside the cab looks like a nightmare of a job. But then painting the outside looks difficult to me so perhsps I'm not the best person to judge.
ReplyDelete