Leek & Manifold Kitson 2-6-4T

[tedp]

To my shame, I see I haven't posted photos of the Kitson in full lined out works grey which it appeared in at Kegworth. So before continuing the tale with painting the Kitson, here are the missing photos:








Painting the Kitson

Tonight I finally decided I had to get a move on painting the loco so I can take it to Expong next week. Despite the attractive 'works grey' it was in, the loco will be painted in a livery close to the LMS crimson lake, but with some details conforming to the North Stafford state of the loco. The main differences I have been able to make out is a slight difference between LMS 'crimson lake' and NSR 'madder lake' which I won't bother with (howls of sacrilege!) and the black borders on the LMS livery which I find most attractive. In addition, the LMS put their crest in place of the small works plate on the bunker.

Painting a loco with a complex lined livery, in my experience, is a matter of trial and error. What I'm going to try is paint the crimson panels, LMS fashion, using the black lines of the grey works livery as a guide. Then I'll put in the black borders and tank tops. Any glitches (of which there will be a fair number) will then be covered using straw lining made up of pre-painted paper strips. This is what Mick T refers to as the 'fag paper method' which I used in one or two locos. Old 'Ariadne' uses it to good effect, but here I will have to do something about the curved corners.

As soon as the lining is put in I will seal the paper edges with varnish before attempting any correction of the crimson panels and the black borders.

Let's make a start. I have a nice fresh tin of Revell SM331 crimson, which I stirred with one of my matchstick stirrers. The stirring has to be repeated on a regular basis when putting on the paint, as the pigment tends to separate from the oil base. If you dip the brush into it you get a transparent solution that will not dry properly. I put some of the stuff I stir up on the inside edge of the tin where I can easily reach it with the brush.



The loco body has been removed from the chassis so I won't damage the delicate rodding by all the necessary handling. Here you see the first coat has been put on the panels inside the lining. I'm now touching up the side framing of the footplate.

Note the grey is left in peace so as to minimise the amount of paint that goes on. Probably the red will have to be done twice, the same is to be expected of the black. The cab rear and the bunker have been done in the same session. Note I only paint one side of the loco at this time, and the cab and bunker ends together with the boiler. The other side of the loco will be done tomorrow.





Next I turned to the boiler. I first touched up the part of the boiler that can be seen below the sandboxes and the tanks, then I did the sandboxes for good measure and continued with the boiler top and the dome. The paint is still wet in this view. Note I use the raised boiler band as a guide for the brush so the edge stays as clean as possible. This is one of the tricks in painting a model you learn very early on. The paint still flowed a little on to the tank top, but that can be corrected more easily on the flat surface of the tank tops which will be painted black, LMS fashion.



The steam manifold detail ahead of the cab front is in the way when painting the cab. Inevitably you touch parts with red that you don't want to touch, but this can be corrected later on. Again, I use the window frames as a brush guide. These were touched up with black felt tip and they will stay black. Note that the dome is already acquiring its semi-matte sheen as the paint is drying.



Finally, here are a few photos of the loco after its first painting stage. The grey will eventually be black, and the black lining will be replaced by straw colour.





To be continued!

[gtmspyder]

Hello Ted, probably one of my last posts for a few days. ;)

Are you working in Acrylics or oil based paint?

Regards,

BrianT.

[tedp]

For locomotives I normally use oil based paints. Although I painted one loco (the T&D Hunslet) in acrylic and put on an oil varnish later on. This seems to be keeping very well. The reason for this was that Tamiya do a nice off-black colour called 'NATO black' which works rather better on a loco than pure black. Here is a photo of it. I may do the same on the Kitson.

[tedp]

The modern oil-based enamels don't cover as well as the old ones did. Probably the solvents have changed to something less harmful. I prefer brush painting - never liked a spray gun or a spray can, although I use it for large areas or for a primer coat.

The colour tends to sink to the bottom of a tin and the solvent lies on top. So I stir the tin and I bring up as much of the colour base as I can, and I take it directly off the stirring tool (a matchstick), or off the inner edge of the tin.

Inevitably the paint will seem to go on quite thickly, but as it dries it will shrink to a far thinner coat - the dome and boiler in the photos now look far better than they did.

Earlier today I painted a 'fag paper' strip in Mick's parlance. Actually a piece of thin printing paper. I found two old tins of gloss Revell paint, yellow and white. These had never been used so the paint inside was rather viscous. Some coaxing with a matchstick and a syringe of white spirit produced paint of the right consistency. I put a few drops of each on the piece of paper and mixed them to a straw yellow shade - perhaps there should have been a tiny spot of brown in there, but I think it will be all right. The paint then was spread over the paper using a brush, with a drop of white spirit to aid the process:



Meanwhile I found I have been stupid... A good look at the LMS style colour scheme proves the radiused corners of the lining are very sharp. I think I can get away with straight strips of lining and perhaps cut a tiny bit from the corner. This is very different from the original L&MVR and the NSR schemes. The Crimson Lake panels will therefore be corrected when the lining is on.

I have been working at the tank sides but I'm not happy with the second Crimson lake coat - I think it can do with some rubbing down, followed by a very thin coat to finish. I think the paint didn't flow too well. The coverage is good though. I'm now adding the black edging. The NATO black was finished so I had to make do with ordinary flat black, but it doesn't look too bad.

Rubbing down between coats can be done on surfaces that are accessible, like tank and bunker sides without a lot of detail. I use very fine wet-and-dry (no. 400 or finer) and a drop of water, but always sparingly. I hardly ever need more than two coats to get full coverage and sometimes only one will suffice.

One thing I didn't mention is that I de-greased the tank sides and other exposed areas of the model where it has been handled in its grey state. I used white spirit and a discarded but clean handkerchief.

Right now you'll agree the finish looks awful due to the crimson paint not having run as it should. I will probably have to take a piece of wet-and-dry to some areas to correct that. It is a typical problem of semi-matt enamel, it is neither matt nor gloss and it seems to have taken on the less desirable properties of both.

Tonight I have been busy with the matt black which proved to be much more user friendly. In the end, all the loco will be varnished with semi-matt varnish to get an all-over finish. But we are nowhere near to that stage yet.

Here is a view of the loco as it is now.



You will notice the rough borders between the red and the black areas. I don't really bother with that as the straw yellow lining strips will be fixed over that so the rough edges will be hidden. In addition, the red will be patched up right into the corners where the lining will show the radiused bits that will have to go. Which I should have thought of before.  :'(

You'll also see a few uneven patches in the red areas on the tanks where the paint refused to flow. I should have used some more white spirit.

As I said before, painting a complex livery is a trial and error business. I will do the right hand tank and cab tomorrow, and I hope I will do better with them.





To be continued.

[James Bradley]

That looks very nice indeed.  :)

[tedp]

Thanks, James - glad you like this loco. But I'm not there yet by far! One stage further in the work, I first tried to even out the trouble spots on the tank sides I did yesterday. Here the tank side is being attacked with fine wet-and-dry. I put on some water, then set to work with a tiny strip of wet-and-dry. This took off the ridges of paint that refused to flow yesterday.



Here is the result, showing the areas that were thinned down.



Next I diluted the crimson paint and tried again, taking opportunity to widen the red areas as the lining has to be closer to the edges. The result is still below standard, but it may improve when the paint dries. Any areas that look too thick will be reduced by at least half. Note there are still a few marks from the wet-and-dry. I mush find some finer stuff than I have now. I will probably have to see how the varnish will improve the surface. Note that I'm not yet unduly bothered.



Meanwhile, I did the other side, and here the paint has smoothed out much better:



I think in hindsight it would have been better to paint the tank sides red all over with quick strokes and not to bother with the lining as a guide. That way the red would have smoothed out much better. But the right hand side is good enough for me. If all fails on the left-hand side, I can always remove the paint from the tank and start again.

I'll now leave the paint to dry, with the model in a box lid on the radiator.  ;)

[tedp]

Sneak preview

The paint is dry, now waiting for the lining to be applied, and the running gear to be painted.

[tedp]

Meanwhile, the fag paper operation has started.



The photo above shows the necessary ingredients. I cut strips as narrow as I can from the pre-painted paper, using a sharp scalpel. The tin of semi-matt varnish has been stirred and the varnish brought to easy flowing consistency with white spirit. Then the area for one line is prepared with varnish, and the paper strip is tensioned slightly before applying to the varnished area.



Note there is a limit to the width of the strip you can apply. My workable minimum is about 0.5 or 0.6mm. Inevitably the line will be slightly overscale at between 1 and 2 scale inches wide. The strips are cut with a scalpel on the tank sides whilst the varnish is still tacky. Any disturbance of the strip is corrected by pushing it in place with the scalpel. Note that the angle at which you hold the model during application of the strips is critical - your working hand needs to be in a relaxed position, similar to when you paint a model.

Here the lining on the tank sides and bunker is completed:



Note the etched brass plates for the loco, by Narrow Planet, have been prepared for final application. They were painted in Tamiya signal red and given a wipe with a cloth after the paint had dried. They will be fitted later.

After correcting the inevitable scratches in the paint next to the lines, the entire tank and bunker area is varnished in semi-matt varnish. Here the varnish is still fresh and very glossy:



I couldn't resist this:



To be continued.

[tedp]

Video of the L&MVLR train on the C&DR, with the loco in its present state - painted but devoid of further detailing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK117MI7Dsg

I confess I had a lot of trouble getting the loco to run well this time. Probably due to the chassis having been painted, some surfaces on the bogie that I think touch the frames on curves, didn't slide as smoothly as they used to. In consequence the bogie derailed several times. Investigation needed!

Anyway, I hope you like the video.

Here is the loco sitting on the end of the line at Dunalistair:

[tedp]

Nearly there!

Tonight I have completed most of the outside detail, bar the odd lamp iron and one or two items that need to be repositioned. What now remains is fitting the cab detail and window glazing, and of course a crew. Note that I toned down the lining a bit using thinned black paint. It seems to work, but perhaps you'd best judge yourself.





A rather painful close-up, which apart from some glitches, dust and one handrail out of position shows the beautiful name and works plates by Narrow Planet. Thanks again, Steve - they do very much for the model.





I think I have now deserved a dram, a book and my bed. Sleep well!  :)

[tedp]

Right then. To all accounts the loco is now completed.

I will first show some of the cab detail. The cab is full of motor, but I put a screen over most of the motor, made of the end of a tube that used to contain a drill bit. This suggests the firebox top inside the cab. I painted it in the same crimson lake colour as the outside of the model.



Left to right can be seen the vacuum ejector (painted bright red), two screw valves suggesting the injector valves, with the pressure gauge right above and some unspecified stuff beneath on the firebox top (the detail doesn't need to be quite correct as long as it looks the part through the windows), and to the right the lubricator.The motor tail shaft is behind the driver and the fireman, in a green sweater and a highland cap, needs to watch his face as he might bump into the brake stand.

The 'injector valves' are N scale buffers. They make excellent valve substitutes. The brake stand is a handrail knob inserted in an aluminium tube, with a piece of wire through it. The reverser will be made the same way once I get round to replacing the present lever.

Below is a view of the back of the cab showing a sliding hatch in the bunker front, and the driver's hand on the regulator.



Another view of the left side of the cab, showing the driver, the incorrect reversing lever, and the valve wheel for the blower. The blower pipe runs along the left side of the boiler. I didn't model the handles of the sandbox rods. These run over the top of the LH tank. There should be tiny cranks on the sandboxes in the tank and in front of the tank, but I skimped and bent the rods at right angles. The RH sandboxes were operated with a linkage under the boiler, from the LH boxes.

The fire iron racks have been fitted with the appropriate implements, and the fireman left the broom on the LH tank.



Another view of the back of the cab, showing the motor (which is invisible from the sides).



Finally, here are three state photos of the completed model. The ashpan can dimly be seen between the drivers and the bogie. Note the pleasant view through the cab revealing all the detail inside. The front and back windows are glazed, and the forward windows in the cab sides.







The loco will now be put into service, but first I will have to clean the layout as it hasn't seen regular service for about 6 months. Undoubtedly I will find some trouble spots during operation, but these are to be solved.

I hope I didn't bore you stiff with my endless chatter about all the details. I think I have (again) deserved my dram for tonight!  :)

Cheers

Ted

[gtmspyder]

You have indeed Ted, a lot of work has gone into the Loco, it's been an excellent learn in which had resulted in a model worthy of any layout.

Very well done, and thank you for sharing it with us.

Now if only my current postings had come to as satisfactory a conclusion, but I am making no headway at all with the radio control thread, despite Franks help and great patience, I wished we lived nearer each other.

Anyway, nice to put a face to the postings Ted at Kegworth.

All the very best,

BrianT.

[petersmith1942]

Its been a really interesting story Ted- I was going to say journey but thats only just beginning
The best single move in that last sequence was to tone down the lining, a simple step that makes all the difference. I had doubts about those square corners but the end result is excellent; hope we dont have to wait for another anniversary convention to see it in the UK again
The big lesson for me is to not be afraid of reworking or apparent failure with the chassis. Most problems can be overcome but not sure if my resolve would have been as resilient as yours
Love that centre spread in the Gazette. it would have been even better with the finished loco
many thanks
Peter Smith

[Paulc]

Well you're certainly not boring me, Ted. 

As I don't own an airbrush, not really practical because of my modelling set up, I've been particularly interested in the superb finish you've achieved with a brush.  I always get the impression from the modelling press that if you don't use an airbrush you may as well forget it.  I'm sure someone will be trying to paint the loco crew with one soon!  You've proved that view wrong and provided some excellent tips for brush painters like me.

I don't think my skill set is up to building a loco from a kit yet but it is posts like this that help to inspire new modellers to have a go.  I'd say that dram is well deserved.

Cheers

Paul

[Tigger]

Indeed - a superb piece of work, Ted and as usual superbly documented.  Well done and thanks.  I particularly like your work in the cab.  I know from the work I did with locos like the Chiver's Lew, Snowdon Ranger and Cackler kits it makes such a difference; even if it isn't quite correct it just gives a nice finished look to the cab.

Good luck with getting the railway running again.  After 6 months it shouldn't take too long to expel the gremlins that have taken up residence!

What's next on the build list? ;D