Brushes

Brushes come in various sizes and forms. For most people they are of pointed tip variety, however many other shapes can often help out, depending on your needs.

For me I tend to use the pointed tip range, but I do have a few others, flat brushes can be very useful when painting large figure Gauge O and buildings. Within the range of brushes I have, they range from '5' through to 'ooooo'. Depending on make, the '00000' can vary in size, it is best to look for brushes at trade stands or from makers that you have personal knowledge of.

I once purchased a 'oo' size brush that was thinner than my 'ooooo' brush from a named paint brand.

I use four different types of brush, these are divided by my judgement of their quality.

1. High quality, these are either by brush tips or brush hair type. The finest quality brushes are reserved for detail work. I once painted a station master, complete with watch chain in 'N' gauge, 'OO' gauge and Gauge O are both excellent working scales for fine detail work.

2. Mid range brushes, normally reserved for older high quality brushes and brushes used for general painting. As with high quality, the bristles must offer a good shape.

3. Cheap brushes are ideal for large amounts of non essential paint work, such as scenery. These can vary in size, but normally cheap brushes are sold in boxes or packs, offering mainly the larger type brushes. These packs also come in handy when applying PVA glue to models or scenes.

4. These are the left overs from the above three types, idea for weathering models, applying additional paint detail in places that are non essential.

Try to use brushes until the very end of their life span. If you do use brushes with PVA, just put them into hot water and rinse the PVA off, your brush is then ready for use again.

Glues

Modelling uses different forms of glue, the most commonly used are:

PVA
Liquid Poly
Super Glues

Like paints, keep the lids on and once used recap them, never leave PVA near the track, clear-up spills immediately, forget the modelling, glue can cause disaster.

If you are lucky enough to be modelling in an environment that is wihtin your home, make sure the carpets are protected, ideally when building models, have a work bench type of area to use.

Clutter & Chaos

This might seem stupid to mention, but from time to time you need to get into the modelling room/area and give it a good clear out.

I've just spent nearly 3 hours sorting out the modelling area, including boxes that I had collected of odds and ends. Now having cleaned the storage areas and sorted the remaining boxes into a sensible order I now have more room and can see what I do and don't need.

I've binned some really old modelling items I was keeping for a rainy day, sorted the junk from good and now have a good idea of what I have collected over the last few years.

As I'm working in my shed, I've put some hooks up and put models on to each hook near to where they should end up on the layout. This gives me an overview of what I was aiming for, but also makes sure I don't duplicate models.

My next evening will be to finish the clean up and sort out the modelling bench, I might even invest in some portable storage draws for the paints etc.

Flexibility

As a modeller, you sometimes need to consider different ideas to the one you had originally chosen, especially when modelling areas within the layout.

I'm currently working on a small station yard for Elkin Station, this then leads in to the copse area by the tunnel. I had originally wanted to place an old vehicle wreck within the bushes at the back end of the yard, however room was not adequate enough and I had to change my idea a little.

I still kept the general idea of the yard, but adapted my idea around the space, my wrecked vehicle will go somewhere else now.

Another aspect in flexibility is to see how different ideas and models might work when presented. I had originally decided not to have houses on the layout, this has now changed and some houses are now included replacing the original idea.

Adding Glass to Windows

Plastic kits offer excellent detail, especially these days. However many of the kits still only offer basic windows, a plastic window with a clear piece of plastic for glass, this also goes for vehicle making.

Many modellers try and add the glass last or at least towards the end, I found this rather hard especially having large hands. So I adopted a different approach.

Instead of building most of the kit and attempting to slide the clear plastic in place, prepare the window area on the outside, undercoating and even painting if necessary.

Cut the clear plastic so it overlaps the window by some margin.

Hold the unconstructed side with tweezers and apply the glue to the underside of the kit, mainly on the overlap areas, now lay the unconstructed model on top of the clear plastic and leave to set.

The end result should give you clear windows, instead of the smudged glue on the panes.

Tipples & Relaxation

This is really for the adults (males). One thing that railways or modelling in general can offer is escapism, so it is worth keeping that favourite drink nearby.

I often have a beer or a glass of my favourite whisky when working on the layout, mellows the brain and lets you escape into a world beyond space time and eternity...

Oops I think I've been drinking the Glenlivet too much!

Dry Brushing

Dry Brushing is a technique used by modellers to apply very light coats of or traces of paint to models, mainly used for weathering effects.

To use this method you need only a minimum amount of paint and a nice brush for detailed work. If weathering large areas, the brush does not ned to be of high quality, just a nice shaped head.

Dip the head into the paint, no begin to wipe the paint off the bristles by brushing it over either some rag or paper towel. Keep doing this until you can only see a trace of paint coming off the brush.

Now flick the brush over your area on the model that requires the dry brush effect. It is a technique that requires practice, so be prepared for mistakes, like having too much paint on the brush for starters. I learnt by weathering larger kits, 1/35th scale military kits, then moved down the scales to 'OO' and 'N'.

If you want something to practice on, buildings such as sheds or wagons offer a good place to start.

Paints

Enamel paints were the norm a few years back for modelling, but Acrylic paints now offer much more freedom wihtin the modelling scene. I paint nearly everthing with Acrylic these days, but there are times when good old fashioned Enamel paints offer a better choice.

If you are using Enamel paints they always need a good stirring, one way of doing this is to use an electric stirrer. Paint stirrers are common, but an easy way is to get yourself a modellers drill, a large paper clip broken down and bent one end to create an L shape. Use the modellers drill as the stirrer.

Modellers drills - most come with a power pack, when I first purchased them they were just one speed, but I think more modern drills offer various speeds. Now for stirring paint this of course can create a problem, so a good idea is to purchase a cheap drill and use a controller to vary the speed of the drill. This works great, if you don't mind not using the transformer that came with the drill, just snip the end off the drill wire and you're ready to go, if not buy a couple of wired clips and connect that way.

Wiring

If like me you don't understand electrics you'll need someone to either wire it, or at least help point you in the right direction.

For me Roger Elkin of The ET-MRC helped me out. I sent him a diagram of my layout, where I wanted locos to be held and he then sent it back as a wiring diagram - so many thanks Roger!

Now it's Sunday 6pm and I spent the best part of two hours trying to solder a section of the layout, only to find out I was soldering the wrong end of the layout. It turned out the problem was a broken connection via the switching box, once I'd located the problem, I fixed it in 30 seconds.

So here's the second tip, before re-soldering something, check to make sure it's the correct connection!

Paints & Thinners

Keep paints and thinners away from heat, store in cool place and keep the lids on.

Making Platforms

If like me you want long curved platforms that are completely one section, you need to mark out the run for the curves.

To do this you need the platforms in a raw state, i.e. in my case the MDF in one lump. Place the track on to the wood and and pin in place the curve you wish to create. Attach a pencil to the carriage and run the carriage over the track, this will draw a curve on to the wood.

Now use a jigsaw to cut the curve. Once finished fix the platforms in place and lay the track through the curve and test with a carriage then a loco, you can refine the edge if need be.

All my platforms are screwed into the base boards for easy removal, just use some scenic models to hide the screws.

PVA Glue

PVA glue is used frequently in modelling, it's transparency drying abilities are fantastic, but it's the versatility of it when watered down that offers much more. I use between one quarter to a third PVA to water, and a squirt of washing up liquid, shaken and stirred. Put it in a washing-up liquid bottle and it'll last for months, give it a stir and a shake from time to time, when mixing I tend to use warm water.

Plaster

When you make plaster for scenic use, always add some PVA glue with a touch of washing up liquid included, this allows some flexibility in the moulds. This is especially useful when building an exhibition layout, but also useful when adding scenic kits like tress to scenic areas, as the moulds will not crack as much.

Cleaning a Plastic Kit

One of the most common problems new modellers face is painting their first kit, the prepartion secret to painting it is to wash the entire kit whilst on the spru in warm soapy water, this then removes the grease.