Chuffnell Regis

[Compound2632]

"The date when the horse box ends changed from brown to black is unknown, possibly mid- to late-1930s, although there is some doubt about whether this change was applied on a consistent basis." - http://www.gwr.org.uk/liverieswagonsiphon.html.

 

I don't believe the black ironwork on that preserved horsebox.

[MrWolf]

4 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

I don't believe the black ironwork on that preserved horsebox.

 

Me neither, it puts me in mind of "Traction engine bling".

[57xx]

7 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

That's a very good idea and I would add don't weather rooves in batches, otherwise you unconsciously get a similar look to half a dozen vehicles.

 

Hmm I was about to edit my lost to say that I do them in batches. 🤣

 

That's the reasoning for tweaking the mix in the cup between each coat and between each wagon. Like Graham, I'm not a fan of cleaning the brush so doing several together saves on clean-up time.

[MrWolf]

Oops! 

 

Shuffle them about and treat them as individuals!😆

 

I don't use an airbrush and deliberately try to add variation, but I suspect that a decent one is on the shopping list.

I think that my Ingersoll Rand 14CFM compressor might be overkill, so that's another few hundred. I have an Iwata spray gun which is really good, I suppose their airbrushes are of similar quality?

[longchap]

4 hours ago, MrWolf said:

I have an Iwata spray gun which is really good, I suppose their airbrushes are of similar quality?

They certainly are Rob. I tried before I bought mine by attending a course and find a 0.35mm needle gives a perfect coverage for 4mm scale models. The Eclipse range are particularly easy to maintain and come in several configurations.

[Graham T]

10 hours ago, 57xx said:

 

This what I do with van roofs, building up layers of dirt and grime depending on how old/last repaint time of the wagon. Constanly vary the muck mix in the cup for variation on each wagon.

 

That's the method I'm going to try later today, time permitting.  The dual action brush means I can vary the amount of paint of course, so that will help with avoiding uniform roof colours.  But I'll also change the paint mix too, and then shuffle the wagons around on the layout.  That combination should fix it!

 

[Graham T]

5 hours ago, longchap said:

They certainly are Rob. I tried before I bought mine by attending a course and find a 0.35mm needle gives a perfect coverage for 4mm scale models. The Eclipse range are particularly easy to maintain and come in several configurations.

 

I've heard good things about Iwata brushes, so might have to look into those. 

 

[Andy Keane]

13 minutes ago, Graham T said:

 

I've heard good things about Iwata brushes, so might have to look into those. 

 

One key choice is if you want a trigger action or a dual action gun. Iwata make both types - with the trigger action you only have one control to worry about. Before you spend out it may be worth trying the trigger action if you have not done so before - its what I ended up with.

[57xx]

11 hours ago, MrWolf said:

I have an Iwata spray gun which is really good, I suppose their airbrushes are of similar quality?

 

When I was getting my decent airbrush, I had narrowed down to an Iwata or Harder & Stienbeck. I can't remember what swung it for the H&S (possibly tool-less nozzle changes), but I'm sure I would have been happy with an Iwata given the reviews I had read and watched  during research.

[Graham T]

Thanks for that Ric.  Just been having a quick browse of those two types and was pleased to find that I can buy them locally in Austria (meaning that I don't get hammered for extra charges).  I need to read some reviews and watch some demos, but am leaning toward the Harder & Steenbeck Evolution two in one set at the moment.  Which model do you have?

[57xx]

4 hours ago, Graham T said:

Thanks for that Ric.  Just been having a quick browse of those two types and was pleased to find that I can buy them locally in Austria (meaning that I don't get hammered for extra charges).  I need to read some reviews and watch some demos, but am leaning toward the Harder & Steenbeck Evolution two in one set at the moment.  Which model do you have?

 

I have the Evolution Silverline 2 in1, Graham. Pretty much identical to the Evolution 2 in 1, except it is all silver (purely a cosmetic feature!) and also has an adjustable needle stop at the tail. They are a breeze to clean with the tool-less nozzles and have plenty of spares/accessories available. I've got myself lids for the two paint cups and fineline nozzle caps to make it easy to clean the needle tip whilst spraying acrylics.

[Graham T]

37 minutes ago, 57xx said:

 

I have the Evolution Silverline 2 in1, Graham. Pretty much identical to the Evolution 2 in 1, except it is all silver (purely a cosmetic feature!) and also has an adjustable needle stop at the tail. They are a breeze to clean with the tool-less nozzles and have plenty of spares/accessories available. I've got myself lids for the two paint cups and fineline nozzle caps to make it easy to clean the needle tip whilst spraying acrylics.

 

That's exactly the one I was looking at.  Excuse my numptiness, but can you tell me a bit more about the nozzle cap please?  Anything that makes cleaning easier gets a massive thumbs up from me, as it's the main reason I don't use my airbrush all that much.

[57xx]

The normal cap looks like this:

 

The fineline cap is like this:

 

You can see the tip of the needle would be exposed in the 2nd one, so you can use a sponge to clean it by pinching it over the end and pulling away. I'm not sure if other brands have a different name for this sort of cap, I just came across a youtube video on airbrushing showing a chap using this type of cap and showing how he cleaned the tip during sessions.

 

As far as cleaning at the end of the session, just unscrew the cap with your fingers and the nozzle itself is simply held in place with the cap and can be removed without having to use a spanner.

 

The needle can then be withdrawn and full clean given. Assembly is similarly simple, pop the nozzle in place, screw on the cap, replace needle and end cap. Away you go!

[longchap]

16 minutes ago, 57xx said:

As far as cleaning at the end of the session, just unscrew the cap with your fingers and the nozzle itself is simply held in place with the cap and can be removed without having to use a spanner.

That is a very useful and worthwhile feature and saves a lot of time and hassle in stripping and assembly. My mid-range Iwata Eclipse has the same set up and it's brill.

[Graham T]

38 minutes ago, 57xx said:

The normal cap looks like this:

 

The fineline cap is like this:

 

You can see the tip of the needle would be exposed in the 2nd one, so you can use a sponge to clean it by pinching it over the end and pulling away. I'm not sure if other brands have a different name for this sort of cap, I just came across a youtube video on airbrushing showing a chap using this type of cap and showing how he cleaned the tip during sessions.

 

As far as cleaning at the end of the session, just unscrew the cap with your fingers and the nozzle itself is simply held in place with the cap and can be removed without having to use a spanner.

 

The needle can then be withdrawn and full clean given. Assembly is similarly simple, pop the nozzle in place, screw on the cap, replace needle and end cap. Away you go!

 

Thanks for explaining that Ric.   Am now getting sorely tempted!

[Graham T]

I'm also getting rather tempted by a boxed set I've spotted online.  £200 would get me a DCC sound-fitted Black Five and three Stanier coaches.  Now obviously I don't need another three coaches, but I've always thought the Black Five was something of an icon, and wanted to get one.  Looking at prices online, buying just the loco and then getting a sound decoder for it would cost me as much as, if not more than, this boxed set...

 

But I also like the idea of a new airbrush.

 

Not to mention getting sound decoders for the locos I already have.

 

And I will need to pay the rent at some point as well, I suppose 🙃

[longchap]

Hi Graham,

 

Airbrush thoughts:

 

Harder & Stienbeck and Iwata are two very popular brands of quality airbrushes, with models to suit most modellers and users with other interests. In order to subjectively choose between the two brands and then drill down to which model best suits your usage, you really need to handle them, strip and reassemble them (or better still, get the dealer to do this for you) and if at all possible, use them both. Fortunately, you have local stockists, which is a great advantage. Best not to get totally seduced by the sexy photos and blurb on websites, no matter how tempting they seem.

 

Having them in your hands is an absolute must. You’ll learn if the size and weight fits comfortably in your hand and if the trigger works easy for you (resistance needs to be adjustable), so it later becomes second nature to use. Best advice is try before you buy.

 

Size of needle is important in respect of getting sufficient paint out the end for the job in hand, so remember that airbrushes are used by a multitude of user types, not just railway modellers. The smaller the needle diameter, the finer work you can do, with fine lines and precise control of relatively small paint volumes. Fine detailed artwork will require small needles of 0.2mm and below, while applying base colour to a model will need something larger, up to 0.5mm.

 

My first airbrushing experience was using an Iwata Revolution (accomplished base model) with a big fixed central gravity fed cup and 0.5mm needle set up. It produces really good results at an affordable price, but was a little heavy for me and that huge central cup got in the way of seeing what you were spraying, particularly when getting in really close to the workpiece for more precise weathering work (I was on a Pendon weathering course) . I therefore went for an Eclipse side bowl HP-SBS which was a great price at the time on Amazon. The Eclipse Takumi has now superseded the HP-SBS and if my current brush ever suffers a catastrophic event, a Takumi will be high on the replacement list.

 

Have fun choosing and putting lots of finger-marks on the shiny dealers demos. Cleaning need never be a chore with smart working, so learn to love your airbrush and the results will continue to impress.

 

Oh and don’t forget the rent!!

Edited October 24, 2022 by longchap

[Graham T]

All great advice Bill, thank you.  I must go and pester a local stockist (preferably one who speaks English better than I speak German).  I think part of my reticence to use the airbrush is down to unfamiliarity, and that in turn stems from just not knowing enough about it.  So having someone walk me through the ins and outs, hands on, would be a great help.  I should play about with the brush I have a bit more as well - although of course there are no instructions with it, which hasn't helped.

 

The Evolution comes with a .2 and a .4 nozzle, and also two paint cups, so that sounds good.  Interesting point you make about the bigger paint cups getting in the line of sight as well...

 

Will make a mental note about the rent 🙂

[Graham T]

I put a coat of matt varnish on 5705 earlier today.  It's settled the GREAT WESTERN transfers down nicely, and if anything looks maybe a little too matt?  I'll give her a bit of weathering too, nothing too heavy-handed (hopefully), and then I think she will be good to go.  No I'm not going to remove the top feed, sorry!

 

 

 

[longchap]

31 minutes ago, Graham T said:

I should play about with the brush I have a bit more as well - although of course there are no instructions with it, which hasn't helped.

 

If you can put up a photo of your brush, together with any associated tools, alternative parts, etc, we can get an idea of its spec and features and give some info to aid your use and make it more helpful to you, including cleaning it. Do you know what size needle it has and if not, have you have some vernier calipers to measure it?

Edited October 24, 2022 by longchap

[longchap]

13 minutes ago, Graham T said:

No I'm not going to remove the top feed, sorry!

Top feed, what top feed?

[Neal Ball]

24 minutes ago, Graham T said:

I put a coat of matt varnish on 5705 earlier today……..    

……I'm not going to remove the top feed, sorry!

 

 

The Matt varnish looks a lot better….

….Top feeds are so easy to remove / they have to go / it’s a very satisfying job once done 😎

[Neal Ball]

As for airbrush, I meant to send you chapter and verse today, but got carried away with the H25. I’ll try and remember tomorrow…

[Graham T]

25 minutes ago, longchap said:

 

If you can put up a photo of your brush, together with any associated tools, alternative parts, etc, we can get an idea of its spec and features and give some info to aid your use and make it more helpful to you, including cleaning it. Do you know what size needle it has and if not, have you have some vernier calipers to measure it?

 

Thanks Bill that's very kind of you.  I'll post some pics tomorrow.

 

[Graham T]

2 minutes ago, Neal Ball said:

The Matt varnish looks a lot better….

….Top feeds are so easy to remove / they have to go / it’s a very satisfying job once done 😎

 

Thanks Neal.  Maybe I'll try butchering my black pannier, as it will need a repaint anyway 🙂