Painting

Once again I'm posting a blog from an Hotel room, this time in Germany! So not much progress this week, although I guess it does give me chance to update the blog! As I indicated in an earlier post, I have managed to do some painting recently, even just an hour or so of an evening means that some progress is being made. I thought I'd say a few words about my painting techniques, though I am not especially good at it! And all I know is what I have read or been told by those much better at it!

I generally use enamel paints, though I do use artists acrylics for scenic work, weathering etc. Enamels stick to most things with minimal preparation, but whitemetal and brass gets a coat of Halfords primer in the garage first. I always buy matt paints, well - usually! I never stir or shake the paints, instead I extract some of the pigment from the bottom of the tin using a matchstick, and mix in a suitable container, the Ferro Rocher chocolate boxes are ideal (you will need to eat the contents first!). This means that different colours are easily mixed, and the paint can be thinned as required with enamel thinners - I have a big tin and use a pipette (from Squires of Bognor). The big advantage though is that the paint does not go off, as the pigment stays unmixed under the oil, the tins last for years without drying out. I use dry-brushing, though it doesn't always work that well for me, I also do a lot of weathering using washes of well-thinned acrylics - after all, if it goes wrong it can be washed off the enamel base-coat easily!

The picture below shows this technique in use. The lower photo shows what is being painted at the moment - the collection of wagons seen earlier, the lorry and also a trailer and cart, and the people I got for Christmas. There are also some packing cases for the factory and some other details to be painted. Also in the picture are some Microtrains couplers I've been making up for the wagons, and a plasticard jug I use to assemble them.