JONES GOODS UPDATE

The project may have begun a couple of years ago (featuring in Model Rail issue 141 and 148), but I'm now on the home straight with this DJH kit of the iconic Highland Railway 'Jones Goods' 4-6-0. The lining process is a very convoluted one, with the olive green base needing to be applied before the red, black and yellow stripes can be added. I've tried a departure from my usual bow-pen and hand brush method for this stage by using extensive masking and airbrushing and have been very pleased with the results. The masking takes ages (about 4hours) but then the bow-pen is also painfully slow and only one side can be done per day as the enamel needs 24hours to cure before handling. Swings and roundabouts...

This evening, whilst listening to a frustrating Liverpool FC performance against Wigan, I've added the black base lining to the claret underframe on loco and tender and a clear gloss coat will follow in the morning before the finer lining can be added. This is one of the reasons why complex liveries like this take so long - hours of careful prep and masking, an hour or two's painting, 24 hours drying, varnish, 24hr wait, lining decals, wait, varnish, wait, bow-pen and hand brush touching-up, wait, varnish, wait.... then you've got about 8hours worth of final assembly.

It's looking like my hopes of getting this done before the Christmas break have evaporated, so I'll be doing a few bits here and there over the holidays. The lining process will be demonstrated fully in Model Rail issue 166, out on January 26th.