PDK B12/1 Kit

[rob]

This a repeat of a request about Stratfords interpretation of Apple Green-was it in between Doncaster and Darlington in shade as suggested in the RCTS prelim?My B12 is in primer and I may as well try to be someway accurate-furthermore from looking at Yeadon and RCTS I think some may have had the casing of the four column Ramsbottom safety valves painted green as well -anyone know for sure?Thanks!

[rob]

Am I the first person to reply to himself??! Anyway heres the sad story of my attempt at"Stratford Green".I decided to try a mix of Precision Doncaster and Darlington greens (I normally use Railmatch but I had these lying around for some time).Firstly,it turned out much closer to Doncaster Green,secondly,it wasn't dry 36 hours later.Luckily I had only done the wheels,and it stripped off easily with cellulose thinners;I didn't think it was worth repeating the experiment so I've used Railmatch Doncaster Green instead-this amazingly is a jar first opened in 1994 to paint a SEF Gresley A1 and it dried in no time! Either Precision has a shorter storage life or the two shades don't blend happily-has anyone else had problems with Precision drying once its no longer a freshly opened tin?Where I am really lucky was that I hadn't gone on and done the body as well!

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Drying of paint is actually oxidation of the molecules in the oil base to form long chains, thus converting liquid to solid.

Failure to dry usually means not enough oil in the paint or not enough "driers". Mixing paints of similar spec should not affect the drying.

My only paint question concerns GE royal blue - I have seen some models painted in what seems quite the wrong colour, and I suspect that like "Midland Red" the prototype used several coats to get the deep blue and very glossy effect.

[rob]

Andrew,thanks for the reply-I'm going to bin that paint anyway but would you approve of adding a small amount of terebrene to model enamels?I've had 12"to the foot problems with varnish on our floors and have a stock of the stuff! Can you suggest a reason why the paint didn't dry? Humbrol and Railmatch have never shown this tendency -is it due to the composition of this paint as it ages? And why does it tend to affect gloss or satin more than matt?Sorry can't help with the blue but a chap called Nigel Digby did a series on liveries in BRM up until recently and did cover GER-I think hes a M&GNR specialist and has a website so might be able to help on pre-group liveries

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Rob - I'm making a big assumption, here, which is that model enamels are similar to the 12" to the foot stuff. If they are, then a little terebene driers will do the trick very effectively indeed.

It is possible that since model enamels are made in relatively tiny quantities with great attention paid to the colour mix, quality control might fall down from time to time with the other ingredients, eg driers were not mixed in effectively in a batch.

[GeoffB]

Just a thought. There is a book called railway liveries - can't remember who it's by or the publisher - borrowed it from the library - and the LNER green was actually called "Grass Green" - there is a swatch in the book of the colour.
I've used a match to the "Doncaster Green" of the Precision Paints in cellulose, mixed at my local car trade suppliers and supplied in aerosol cans. It worked pretty well - have a look at the J71 of mine on the forum here - and anyway, who's really going to say whether it is correct or not - after all, it's nearly 60 years since they painted them in those colours - and the colour matching of paints in those days left a little (lot?) to be desired anyway.

GeoffB

[rob]

Thanks Geoff and Andrew - the loco is now happy in its smart new coat of Railmatch Doncaster green! As an essentially "coarse scale" modeller I don't really know why I was being so fussy in the first place but I am intrigued by all the subtle variations involved.The saga of Stratford green is over as far as I am concerned!