Modern Outline Kits GWR Armstrong Class 7 4-4-0 - Part 4
Ian Rathbone
We conclude the story of Raymond’s GWR Armstrong 4-4-0 with a visit to the paintshop
See also Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3
Raymond Walley first asked me to paint the GWR Armstrong 4-4-0 at Guildex 2012 and duly delivered it fully assembled as shown above. The loco had been cleaned, which was good; not everyone does this.
I started by dismantling as much as possible. It is always an advantage if the bright parts, for example, the dome and safety valve bonnet can be removed, to save masking, and the backhead made removable so that the cab interior is much easier to do. The weights within the boiler were removable, a great help to the painter as the model won’t roll around on the bench scrunching footsteps and the like.
The chassis stripped down very easily despite having working inside motion. My first tasks were to check for excess solder and remove where necessary, check the edges for etching cusps and tabs, and file back to a straight flat edge. This is particularly important where a model has lots of lining close to the edges, as the edge itself becomes the template. I finally check the strength of bits that are sticking out when the model is on its side or back during the painting process.
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I recently had to replace all four step plates on a model as they fell off one by one. The builder had not soldered up the half etch bending lines but he had stuffed loads of lead in the loco, a certain recipe for destruction. Next I decided to solder on the brass numbers. These are quite slim so it would be difficult to glue them on after painting without the glue squishing out on to the paint. An alternative would have been to stick them on with varnish, which can be cleaned off the surrounding paint, but ultimately soldering is the best mechanical solution. It is instant and the figures can be polished in situ without fear of movement.
I always polish bright beading and window frames with extremely worn 1200 emery as it makes it easier to strip paint off them later. After all this mechanical stuff, it was time for cleaning the parts again. I usually use a floor cleaner like Flash to remove finger residue and any dust or filings that have landed during the dismantling and checking stage. This is followed by an abrasive limescale remover such as Shiny Sinks to remove tarnish and generally matt down the surface finish. Both these washes were followed by a good rinse. Next was the ‘blow dry’ session with an air brush wound up to about 80 psi and a hair dryer, one in each hand. This will remove the water from the surface but invariably there will be some left in the voids, for example, inside the smoke box and its saddle.
Because of this I leave a model on top of the central heating boiler overnight. The next stage, after a further inspection, is to use a liquid masking on any bright parts that cannot be removed. For liquid masking I use Copydex (a tip given to me by Graham Varley) as it lasts longer in situ than Maskol. As mentioned above, the splasher beading was not masked off.
I always use an etching primer sprayed through my spray gun, mixed very thin and sprayed lightly and slowly to give a smooth even finish. I always do the underside first as this is far less critical than the top side. It gives me a chance to check that the spray and the paint are behaving before more important areas are done. I mixed a red oxide etching primer for Gooch as it is a good undercoat colour for the Indian Red frames, and is an exact match for the Venetian Red inside the frames and on parts of the valve gear.
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Photo 4 shows the state of play after priming the underframe and associated parts. The paint on the bogie’s brass trims has been scraped off – this has to be done as soon as the primer is dry enough to handle because after twenty four hours it is much more difficult to remove. The main frames have had a coat of black applied after masking off the inside face; for the inside and some of the motion, the primer is the top coat. The masking is still in place on the wheel treads, as the wheels require a further coat of paint, but has been removed from the connecting rods which the GWR left unpainted.
The superstructure painting sequence is different for the engine and tender. On the engine the cellulose black is sprayed first – underside, cab roof, smoke box and running plate as far back as the first splasher, masking only the front end of the valance with a hand held mask. When it comes to spraying the green the kit designer has made the masking very simple, as the brass ring between smokebox and boiler is removable, easing the task of masking at this colour boundary. A brilliant idea. The cab roof mask is a simple rectangle of masking tape and newspaper. The green paint is four parts cellulose Land Rover Deep Bronze Green and one part black. The paint is applied as a mist coat first followed by a heavier wet coat, continuing until all is evenly covered.
For the tender the sequence is reversed simply because it is easier to mask the green from the black and Indian Red rather than vice versa. You can see that I forgot to mask the valance and frames.
Photo 6 shows everything ready for spraying the Indian Red. All the superstructure is masked and beadings clean of paint. I felt that Precision Paints’ GWR Indian Red was too dark a colour so I opted for their SECR Frame Brown. This is enamel paint so I swapped the spray gun for my ancient Badger 150 airbrush to apply that. The masking was removed immediately the painting was finished so that I could tackle any errant paint before it could dry.
Photo 7 shows the main painting complete. What remains is the brush painting of small areas where masking was difficult. On this model it amounted to the black splasher tops and the narrow parts of the running plate adjacent, and the China Red buffer beams. For the black I used Humbrol 85, Satin Black and for the buffer beams a paint I was kindly given by one of the preservation centres. China or Chinese Red can be mixed from Humbrol 19 and a drop of black.
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Once the paint is sufficiently dry, cellulose needs one day and enamel two, the lining can start. I know that many believe it is one of the dark arts, bordering on the supernatural, but providing you have the right instruments, knowledge of tech - niques, oodles of patience and many, many hours of practice, it reduces from ‘impossible’ to ‘fairly difficult’. This period of the GWR, in common with many other pre-grouping railways (LNWR excepted) smothered its engines in lining, and very good it looked too (but then so did the LNWR locos).
A particular problem is knowing where the lining was actually applied as it is very difficult to see on contemporary photo - graphs of engines in service. I used the Works Grey photos in Russell’s Great Western Engines, not just of the Armstrongs but other classes too. The orange lining is rendered as white in the photos, although it is so fine as to be virtually invisible but the black lining stands out, and you can guarantee that a black line will have an orange line adjacent to it.
For GWR lining orange I use Humbrol No. 9 Tan with a little red added. In the can it looks quite brown but on a green background it looks a dull orange, which is what I want. Lining colours on a model should always be darker than the full size if it is to look subtle.
For lining I use a draughtsman’s bow pen, miniature spring-bow compasses, a fine brush, and a heavy ruler. I use the bow pen for straight lines and sometimes for curves, the compasses for curved lines and sometimes for straight ones, and the brush for corners, some curved lines and some straight lines. All highly confusing but it will be apparent what is used where as I take you through the most difficult lines to apply to this model.
On most models the most difficult lining to apply is on the weatherboard. The Great Eastern and the LNWR were very pragmatic – plain black did the job. Here though, the weatherboard is bordered by a 1/2 in black line with a 1/8in orange line inside it. Also the spectacles have a similar border. It is not through any sense of bravado that I start with the most difficult bit but because there is a good practical reason for it – it is the least vulnerable lining on the engine, so it can be gently curing while I tackle other parts. The other less vulnerable lining is that on the boiler and firebox cladding over tops of the splashers. Difficult to see on prototype photos and difficult to execute, it has to be done.
The most difficult line on the weather - board is the one that follows the cab angle around the firebox. Usually this is obstructed by whistles, safety valves and hand rails but thankfully not on this model.
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I was able to use the bow pen, resting on the fire box as a guide, for the parts below the spectacles, while the top curve between the spectacles was brushed on. The brush, by the way, is a Winsor and Newton Series 7 size 00, I know of none better. The vertical line up the edges and the curve under the cab roof are done with the compasses, using the point (replaced with 1mm brass wire with a smooth end) to run along the edge while the pen part is set at a scale 5/8 inch in from the cab front beading. This will put a line a precise distance from the edge up the front of the cab. Repeat for the other side then the edge distance is reset to do the top curve under the roof overhang. Here one of the whistles did get in the way so the line was finished by brush. The final bits are the short straight lines across the top of the splashers; as there is nowhere to rest a ruler this has to be brush work too. Next are the circles around the spectacles which, as you can see, meet the other lines at an acute angle. Again this is compass work with the point running around the inside of the beading and the pen putting down a line offset from the edge. Not easy, as the compasses must be rotated as they go along to keep the line a true circle, and the firebox tends to get in the way. Now if the cab and firebox had been separate…
The lines on the cladding above the splashers were done with the pen, using the splasher tops as a rest. Here the technique was more ‘dotting in’ than a continuous line, slower but more accurate. That, in the main, covers the more difficult areas.
By contrast the lines around the brake rigging and around the bogie frames seem very difficult but in fact are only ‘quite difficult’ as opposed to ‘very’. It’s nearly all done with offset compasses running along an edge, with a few brushed-in details. The sandboxes are lined the same way with the compass point running along the bottom edge for both the lower and upper lining. I have no idea if the jack was lined in real life, but I put a line around the top and bottom of the casing anyway. It gives it a nice finishing touch.
The bogie frames are lined mainly with the offset compasses but the lines around the axle box opening and the lower edge of the splashers require pen and brush work. The wheel centres are lined but not the tyres. Here the compasses are used in normal mode to do the circles and offset mode to do the short straight lines (which should continue around the crankpin boss but are prevented by the over size boss).
The compass point was another piece of brass wire with the end turned to fit the hexagonal Allen key hole.
At this stage, I have not yet finished any lining off by adding the black lines. One has to be patient. It’s time to go back to the loco body where the offset compasses get a lot of use. Inside the cab, yes the rear edge inside the cab was lined, as was the rear rib of the cab roof. The splasher beading is sufficiently proud of the cab side to enable it to become an ‘edge’ for the compasses so now you can see how the elegant cab side lining is produced. The outer line goes in first, followed by the inner after resetting the compasses. I‘ve detailed how I do the curved corners in the next section – the tender. And so it goes on – splashers, frames, springs, buffer beams – I’ve barely used a ruler yet. The lining on the lower edge of the splashers is mostly done with offset compasses bearing on the underside of the running plate. Where the splasher is obscured by the strengthening rib above the running plate the rib itself serves as a rest for dotting in the remainder with a pen.
I haven’t got a photo of progress on the tender so Photo 12 shows it nearly comp - lete. The lining on the back of the tender is the most difficult so it comes first (because it’s least vulnerable). In 7mm scale, the tender can be held between the knees while the back is lined, either by using offset compasses if there’s a handy edge to follow, or with the bow pen and a variety of short straight edges, usually bits of brass angle, to get around all the obstructions. The sides are straightforward except for the setting out of the vertical lines. The panels are usually the same size, although not always, so it sometimes means scaling off a photo – fun when the photo is taken at an angle. The curved corners are put in with a brush.
Begin by drawing all the straight lines in pairs, horizontal first and then vertical, so that the inner corners nearly touch. Leave the paint in the pen, it will be needed later. Now, using a scale rule, set a pair of dividers to the radius of the corner, (3in for GWR) or make a couple of marks on a piece of card. Dip your clean brush into white spirit, blot most of it out and then, with your radius measure in position, remove unwanted paint by brushing over it with the spiritdamp brush, a little at a time.
‘Brush-clean-blot’ around every corner on the side until each line finishes at the ‘tangent point’ where the curve and the straight meet. Now dip your brush into the paint left between the blades of the pen and draw it towards the tip, shaping the brush to a sharp point then paint in an inner corner. Use this as a guide to brushing in an outer corner. Repeat for the remaining eleven corners on that side. Use the spirit damp brush to tease the corners into shape and hide the joins. All this has to be done in one session – you can’t come back tomorrow to do the corners as the straight lines will have dried out. It also makes sense to have a practice before you start.
Once all the orange lines are on and tidied up the black can go on. This should be fairly plain sailing. On the green parts the black is not the dominant lining colour so, although care should be taken, it is not so critical. However, on the Indian Red parts it is the dominant colour as the orange barely shows up, so here extreme care has to be used to get the black just right.
The tender was finished with a ‘Methfix’ GWR monogram. Photos 13 and 14 show how the application of the black paint brings everything to life. The bogie is not quite there yet as the guard irons are not complete and there is still some paint to be taken off the beading.
The final part of this stage is the boiler bands. I normally have spares left over from previous jobs – especially BR and later GWR, which are the most popular – but these bands are rather special. Study of the photos showed that on each band there were two black stripes with a green stripe in the middle, each edged with an orange line, which is invisible on the works grey photos. So, seven lines within a scale 2.25 inches (1.3mm). While paint was drying on other parts of the model, I sprayed a strip of decal paper with a matching green enamel.
When fully dry I drew in the four fine orange lines for each band. After a day I ruled in the black lines within the outer orange lines and then set aside to dry until needed. The boiler bands were treated as normal waterslide transfers and applied to the boiler and firebox. It didn’t end there though as the GWR had elaborate methods of closing off the lines where they met an obstruction.
This is shown in photo 15. Where the band stops at the clips on top of the firebox and boiler the orange line turns to meet its opposite number. At the bolt on the lower firebox side one of the orange lines continues around the bolt and back up the other side. There are similar junctions where the bands cross the boiler-side lines over the splashers. The transfers were given a light coat of brushed-on varnish to fix them.
The (almost) final act was to fit the various plates. These were by Guilplates so needed their edges filing smooth, a task usually done quite quickly. I scored the back to create a key then painted the garter and shield and the two crests. When dry they were stuck on with Evostik.
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Finally, I gave the model a light coat of Ronseal polyurethane gloss varnish with a little added Precision Matting Agent. She duly appeared on my stand and the MOK stand at Guildex 2013, and at Guildex 2014 she was on the Guild display of secondary passenger trains.
