Garden Railway Forum

Dear Dignitaries,

I live in Utah in the USA. I've been running G1 live steam since I got involved with Ron Brown of Steam in the Garden, and the folks at Aster in Japan (I was living there as an expat) back in 1991.

I have so admired the beautiful locomotive lining that many UK 16mm locomotives are adorned with. I'd like to have a go at it with a Roundhouse Lady Anne and a IP Engineering Jane that I have.

30 years ago I did a lot of drafting and picked up line width management techniques way back before CAD. However, I'm stumped on what kind of paint to use. The RH standard gloss paint seems difficult to get anything to adhere to. Also, I've Googled around and found paint pens of many types but no definitive obvious choice. Can anyone point me in the right direction on this? I figure I can't lose. If I botch it badly it will give me even more respect for the pros when I send the bodywork off for a professional paint job.

Thanks,

-Richard

Richard,
I think most liners prefer Humbrol enamel thinned with lighter fluid or something similar for their work. When I was in the U.K. last spring, I bought a Peter Spoerer Lining Pen which I have shamefully not put to use as yet. One of my traveling companions has employed his pen and had good results.

Best regards,
Paul

I've got a Bob Moore pen that I have used on a few of my engines. I use warmed Revell paints in mine. It takes a little while to get the action right, I've got a bit of sheet metal sprayed with some left over paint that I practice on.

doublereefed:122475 wrote:However, I'm stumped on what kind of paint to use. The RH standard gloss paint seems difficult to get anything to adhere to.

I use Humbrol gloss enamel straight out of the tin and do the lining with a bow pen. I've found enamel works better in a bow pen if it is applied to a gloss surface and isn't thinned. Thinning lowers the surface tension and the line tends to spread out. The same happens on a matt finish, even if the paint isn't thinned.

I have a tubular pen similar to the Bob Moore pen, or the Easi-Liner, but haven't used it for a while. I find the bow pen more flexible to use, as it can be adjusted for a wide range of line widths. With the tubular pens you need a different pen for every line width.

I haven't lined a Roundhouse loco, but haven't had any problem getting enamel to stick to their paint when over painting. Roundhouse use a two part paint which is very resistant to solvents, so if lining goes wrong it can be easily wiped off with thinners, without any damage to the paintwork, before starting again.

Any lining and lettering needs a clear finishing coat to protect it, otherwise it starts wearing off in areas that get a lot of handling.

Practice lining with whatever pen you choose on a piece of metal painted with well cured gloss enamel, until you get the hang of it. Start with straight lines and work up to corners.......

I use a 6" plastic ruler for straight lines, with a couple of thin spacers stuck on the bottom surface to space the ruler up far enough that paint can't creep under it and then do the corners free-hand with a brush. You can make up templates out of plastic sheet (again with spacers) to use for lining. this lets you do the straight bits and the corners in one hit.

Another technique I've used in smale scale is to draw out the lining on clear waterslide transfer film with the pen and then apply the transfer to the model. Might be a bit unwieldy on a garden scale model, but useful for small areas.

There are several good books from the UK available about lining small scale models. The technique is much the same for larger models.

Ian Rathbone's book is still in print.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Modellers-Hand ... 1905184549

There are photos of a couple of my lined models below. I'm no expert, as I don't get a lot of practice, but I'm happy with the results.





Regards,
Graeme

Richard,
I have used a Peter Spoerer lining pen to line a couple of locos and a couple of coaches. I have just started a thread called Winter projects in the Projects section showing a Roundhouse Garratt which I've just done. According to his website Peter doesn't sell these himself any more but a friend of his has taken them over.

The instructions do recommend using a drop of lighter fluid to help the paint flow - it doesn't actually thin the paint - but I tried that once and it made a horrible mess. Now I just use Humbrol enamel straight out of the tin and gently tap the nib on a piece of plasticard until the paint comes through. Then it continues to flow fine.

The standard Roundhouse finish seems very tough and if you make a mess of the lining it can easily be wiped off and done again. When I did the Garratt I did the front tank first and was reasonably happy but later in the day decided it wasn't good enough and, although virtually dry, it still wiped off easily with white spirit.

GTB, your locos are looking great there. Thank you all for the pointers and info. I had no idea that those sorts of pens were available. I've got a steady hand and some pre-CAD drafting experience, I think I should be able to figure this out and get reasonable results.

Best!

-Richard