HORNBY 8F READY FOR SERVICE

Hardworking War Department 2-8-0 boasts a few interesting features 

After a few days of frantic activity, my Hornby 8F has enjoyed its moment in the spotlight... well, under my camera's spotlights during a photo shoot! As will be explained in the August issue of Model Rail (out on July 3), this War Department-built Stanier 8F has received a number of detail upgrades and scratchbuilt fittings. Most obvious is the air brake equipment and associated plumbing, but other bits and pieces include blackout blinds and a different pattern of balance weights on the driving wheels.

I always enjoy this sort of project, but the painting stage also proved particularly rewarding, using a process that I've never tried before; not on a full repaint anyway. Instead of painting the whole thing in a plain black livery and then trying to add shading, highlights and weathering, it was all done from the offing, by building up a wide variety of 'greys' over the primer coat; almost as if I was painting a copy of the real thing on canvas.

Trying new methods and materials helps to keep up the interest in the day job and I'm more than happy with the look of this model. Furthermore, with the entire painting process being done in a day, it's something I'll definitely do again. Indicative of the loose approach I adopted is the fact that I didn't even bother masking up the red bufferbeams properly. Instead, scraps of card were employed as loose 'stencil' masks instead. Fast-drying Tamiya acrylic paints helped the rapid progress, as did my new Iwata Custom Micron CM-C plus airbrush.