Something New

 I am playing around with airbrushing.

And by playing, I mean that in the most literal sense. I am using a really cheap Testors external mix airbrush kit that I picked up really cheap several years ago from somewhere I don't even remember, it's been that long. I have been meaning to give it a try for a while yet, and so I decided that now is the time.

The impetus for the project was a complete non-running Atlas/Kato RS3 frame that I got on the auction site for parts. When it arrived, just out of curiosity, I pulled the motor and tested it. It was completely dead, but when I pulled the brush caps off of it I found a broken brush. I installed new brushes and it ran.

I reinstalled the motor and found the wheels to be so gunked up that it wouldn't pick up power, so of course I had to clean them thoroughly and apply some Conduct A Lube on the axles and truck contacts. After that I had a perfectly running mechanism.

I have a couple of RS3 bodies, complete with handrails and Micro Trains coupler conversion kits, that had been repainted rather badly, but some time in the ultrasonic took the paint right off. I wanted a better paint job than brushing would produce, so out came the airbrush kit.

So far, I have to say I'm happy with the results. I only have the light color (very light gray/green) base coat on it. I need to mask it off and put on the second color, which will be much darker (Brunswick green), but I don't have the proper size of masking tape. It's on order and should be here tomorrow. Gotta love Amazon next-day delivery.

I'm hoping for a final result of a Brunswick green locomotive with a pale gray/green stripe running the length of the body side. If it turns out as good as I hope, I will also try putting some diagonal yellow or gray/green lines on the front and rear. I will then print out some black decals for the light color stripe to complete the body shell. 

If it works out, this will give me the first locomotives for the standard-gauge portion of the Path Valley Railroad. And, if they end up looking the way I want, I have some GP7 shells to paint in the same scheme.

I also have a bit more expensive (but still relatively cheap) Harbor Freight internal mix airbrush kit that I haven't unpacked yet. The internal mix is supposed to produce a much finer coat than the external, so that is probably a better way to go anyway.

From everything I have read about it, and from the review videos I have seen, the Harbor Freight kit is actually not bad (although I think a compressor with a tank would give more consistent results). It might be time to finally break it out.

And if I like it, there is a tank kit for it on Amazon.

Apropos of nothing I suppose, ten years ago yesterday my lovely missus agreed to go out with me for the first time, thus sealing her fate.