Three little engines

A quick update on some dirty locos...



The NS2 has been sitting around for nearly a year since the last update when it was ready for painting. As you can see I did decide on red, using Humbrol enamels mixed to a shade I liked and applied with my airbrush. Then both this and the green NS2F - an unmodified Minitrains loco - got a dose of my usual weathering, consisting of a dirty well thinned enamel wash, followed by weathering powders. Both still need glazing and a crew, or perhaps tarpaulin sides for the NS2.



I'd also had the Minitrains Bagnall in a box for some time. This required a change of couplings, and something doing to tone down it's shiny, plasticky finish. However I liked the colour as being a bit different, and the lining is nicely done, so I settled on a simple weathering exercise. I've probably over-done it a little, but it suits an industrial setting and it certainly looks a lot less toy-like now. There's plenty of potential for detailing this loco, and I may add some pipework or toolboxes - as much as anything to try to disguise the slab sides under the boiler - but for now I think it just needs a crew.



So three more locos ready to enter service, all run sweetly thanks to the Minitrains chassis, but they are unlikely to fit Awngate (except perhaps the Bagnall). However, they will fit in well on Slugworth, so I think my Son will be borrowing them...

Progress with the NS2

I've been making irregular but steady progress with the Narrow Planet NS2 kit I got last Christmas. It's not a difficult kit at all, but I've been tackling it alongside (i.e. in gaps in) other projects. My first step was to blacken the etches, which helps paint to adhere later. I'm using some gun blue applied with a cotton bud.

The etches were sprayed with an etch primer, while the 3D print was given a normal primer (both Halfords). The print was given a little attention with emery paper and home-made sanding sticks (emery paper glued around a coffee stirrer) between each of two or three coats of primer to ensure a good quality finish on the areas that would be visible (bonnet top and sides, and under-frame). Even though it's a top quality print a few minutes work between coats of paint is a worthwhile investment.



The etches were then assembled - here you can see their lighter shade shows the etch primer, compared to the slightly darker shade of the standard primer. They fit well but once again, to get a good finish I filled any gaps (you can see the green filler) and spent a little more time with the emery paper.



As usual the Microtrains couplers took some thought to mount, though the solution proved relatively easy. I drilled four holes in the coupler block at the corners of the slots, put a fine coping saw blade through a hole and cut out the square opening. A similar square opening was needed in the buffer beam behind, making space for the coupling draft box. After painting a wire pin will be passed through the buffer block and coupling to secure it in place.



Handrails came next, and those bonnet panels needed a lot of handles! As the etches are laid over the print they needed drilling out too, with a fine bit in a pin vice. The 0.5mm wire was bent around the flat nose pliers, you may be able to see the mark I made where the width was correct to form the handle to a "U" shape. The strip of 20 thou plastic was used to space them equally from the sides while superglue was applied from inside.



So it just needs the cab roof adding, then I expect another coat of primer before the top coat. I've not yet decided on a colour, though I'm quite tempted by red for a change, as on this NS2f, though the wasp-stripes may be a challenge!