I'm trying to paint the Espee bloody nose paint scheme. This is the beginning with primer and the red color. Masking next.
Jason is posting just in time to see my masking work. I owe it all to Jason as he introduced me to Tamiya masking tape and I have been a better person ever since. That was a very good tip, Jason. Thanks! :thumbs_up: Here I am masking the noses before the dark gray. Here is the result. I did spray a clear and then the dark gray. The clear helps prevent runs under the mask. Worst result on the left; best result on the right. Maybe some touch up will get it through. That or more weathering.
Got my "Controls" drawer done. OK...dont laugh at the cheapo DCC system. Hey...it works for now till I can afford to 'upgrade"'. :tb-tongue: I found a metal framed/plastic drawer computer keyboard drawer at a second hand store...for $1.00. I drilled some holes for the 'feet' of the Tech II to drop in (stops the controller from sliding around). Pop riveted the 'generator' for the DCC system in so it wouldn't slide around. It also holds the DCC controller hard against the side...so it don't slide. Drilled a hole in the center of the drawer for the 4PDT switch...which flips to choose either DC...or DCC. Pop riveted the switch plate in. The piece of yard stick with the flex track...at the front of the drawer...is my programming track. It has allligator clips on the wires to clip on the programming leads off the controller. I can take the programming stick out and take it in the house...to the workbench if I need to :tb-wink: ALL in all...I think it came out great. Besides...T.H.E. Wife likes it...LOL. *NO IT WILL NOT BE PAINTED PINK !!*...ROFLMAO :tb-biggrin: .
Flash, That is a tough mask job, I look forward to you finishing this. Will you try to cut down on the thick edges or do you think a clear coat will fill in around it? I recently tried to cover an improperly placed decal by painting over it and had the problem of those thick edges, even though the color was the same, it stood out more than I could live with. I tried to sand it down with not so great results. In my case the area was not as noticeable when the loco was put back together. I wonder if the colors being different might actually help it blend in better with clear or dull coat?
I just painted them with Polly Scale rust, I didn't get to the trucks yet but I usually paint them grimy black then some rust and black powders
Minor "adjustment" in prototype (SF Mallet RH vs 92'Concrete Style) required a little trimming of the floor. Below is a comparison of the side walls.
I think the thick edges may have been exacerbated by the clear coat. It made the paint thicker. My paint is some old Badger Accuflex and it is very thin. I probably sprayed too much to get coverage and caused the problem, too. A clear coat might help to alleviate the thick edges. I have to do spray a clear at the completion with an overall flat coat to seal the decals and paint. I normally spray with a gloss coat before decals, but this Badger Accuflex is so glossy that I will not do that this time. If this was H0 scale I wonder if it would still be so noticeable? As I think about this, spray technique (or bad spray technique) caused a lot of this. I should hold the nozzle slightly further from the model and not spray so much paint at one time. I have eight more of these to go so I will get better. Nothing like practice. :thumbs_up:
Lost Parts; Clean Workbench I moved on to my next two GP18 conversions. I was disassembling for details when I lost control of the cab an it flew off onto the workbench. But where? I heard it hit the top of the stack but then it bounced under all this mess. How will I ever find it except to clean my workbench? Sometimes misery just compounds itself. Why me? So it begins. This could take a few days. Might as well pack up and sort everything into piles. I do have everything labelled; I just can't remember what the labels mean. Somehow I have got to get back into this. Time for a popcorn break.
George, I think your control drawer is awesome! Gotta start looking for one of these for myself. 2slim
Since the layout room has been so cold this past week or so, I've tried to keep busy by bringing into the kitchen my Kato Cal Zephyr coaches and adding some passengers + window shades The passengers are simply a pack of 500 cheap / brightly painted N scale figures from Hong Kong I bought on eBay. Cost only about $13 which is lucky cos I chop them off at waist height for the coach seating height + about chest height for the passengers lucky enough to get a dome seat!! Strips of paper airbrushed a light medium green / cut into strips & then individual shades to vary the heights I get thru about 3 coaches a night cos it's real tedious job rolleyes: but one I think will be worth it
Hey you're right, I can't even open the thumbnail baffled: I'll take some more pics tomorrow & post them
I been working on some vehicles: 1967 Ford/American LaFrance engine. I used a shortened Athearn Ford C box truck chassis and the pump body from the Bachmann ALF 900. As you can see, this engine is pretty small compaired to a mid-70's era Athearn Short Wheelbase engine. The gumball beacon was made using several coats of Kristal Klear over a strand of fiberoptic and painted with Tamiya transparent red. Ford L8000 engine. Just a few different parts can add a lot of variety.
I also started work on a Consolidated Freightways Road Commander: The cab is cut down from a Con-Cor Freightliner sleeper. I scratchbuilt the frame and added Atlas wheels. I still need to paint the chassis red and add an Atlas exhaust pipe. Finally, anyone remember the old Lineside models Concrete truck? Here is a pic from their website: http://www.linesidemodels.com/images/cement.jpg As you can see it is a horrible model compaired to Athearn's Macks or the GHQ Ford Mixer. I purchased the model for the Mack DM800 cab, which is not avilable elsewhere. The cab is actually pretty nice and makes a great dumptruck with the dump bed from Fine N Scale. This left me with the Cement body. I pretty much threw out everything but the cement bunker and supports. The frame is scratch built, the tanks are from an old Con-Cor truck, and the railing are some etched parts I found in my parts box. The rear collector and chute are scaratch built. I plan on adding a Con-Cor Kenworth cab to complete the model.