murphaph

Ok so the longest project in the world draws a big step closer to completeion. I was satisfied with a test spray of the laser cut NIR logo on the side of one of the 111s but felt the actual paint job was letting the end result down. I took back down to bare plastic and I ordered Stynelrez primers as an alternative to what I had been working with and I am very glad I did. Priming is a breeze with my setup and these paints. I chose to "zenithal prime" these three, that means priming them all black, then priming the upper surfaces white, so that when painted over, the upper surfaces would be more bleached out due to the effects of the sun. A lot of this will disappear under roof dirt and soot but I wanted to give the technique a try and it works, at least for these darker top colours. I then painted the blue and finally the NIR logo was airbrushed on through the laser cut mask. For me the results are far superior to using a transfer. There's no translucency in the white, it's proper opaque white like the factory finish. It's obviously not quite as good as the factory finish but the actual shape of the logo is closer to the real thing IMHO. I will use the same technique to cut out masks for the yellow warning panels. These were a mare to prepare by hand previously and the result still wasn't as good as I expect to be able to achieve with the laser. It was just too tricky to get the corner radii right/uniform doing it by hand.

The way you can pay online and then your parcel is released and delivered as normal is very elegant. Here in Germany I get a note in my letterbox telling me how much is due and that I can go to my local post office to pay it and collect the item myself. There is no way to pay from home and let them deliver it. Before Corona they would take cash (and only cash and they never gave change) at the door IF you were at home but usually you weren't and the item would then go to the local post office as above. An Post's way is very customer friendly in comparison (and the handling charge is a little over half what we pay in Germany, though ok, our VAT is only 19% on most things but that's not An Post's fault). Credit where it's due!

Nice one. Very much looking forward to these beauties. I've already made a space in the display case

Sorry for reviving such an old thread but it's better than starting a new one. Does anyone have any more details on 1518 and 1520 and for how long they operated with bars (Irish Railways Traction & Travel November 1989 refers to them as being fitted with "bars", the 3rd Edition from October 1994 lists both as standards) and in what liveries? Seems to be very little mention of them. When they went back to standards, were the plated up windows left as they were or opened back up and glazed? I'm guessing things happened like this because these snack cars are pretty basic and so it was easier to grab a pair of spare standards (1508, 1509) to convert those rather than take 1518 or 1520 out of service to refurbish them?

Good idea to split this out from the main thread. It's deserving of one of its own. I for one had no idea there were upper quadrant signals anywhere in Ireland so that's pretty fascinating already and a valuable history lesson for me. You have made a terrific start (unsuprisingly!) on what looks to be a fairly big project in itself. I shall be following with interest.

That's serious commitment to the hobby! It looks amazing.

That's the second one. I had two.

I have a 5224 that's sharp anyway. It's for sale too if anyone's interested

I'm out, as they say. The gearbox in a model locomotive should last more than 30 minutes of continuous running, no excuses. Sure that's the recommended running in time for most manufacturers!

Transport to the venue sorted Dave?

Yes, there have been several reports from members here of poor running 00 Works locos unfortunately.

Ah it was bought in haste before I had really settled on an era and now I have, it's a little too late in that livery. I would prefer the delivery livery and I'm sure there are some people who'd prefer the later one, hence the swap offer.

Medium term I would not rule out an IRM J15 given how numerous they were.

Hi all, I have a surplus to requirements MM 210 River Erne bodyshell, with the full yellow ends that I would like to swap for either a 203 or 220 bodyshell (original 201 livery, without the full yellow ends. My one is in brand new condition. Your one needs to be in reasonable but not necessarily perfect condition as it will be renumbered and weathered anyway. Obviously it should not be cracked or in bits altogether. We can exchange pics beforehand if there's any interest in the swap. I am in Germany but you can post your swap shell to an Irish address or hand over in Dublin area if you prefer. I will post my shell directly to you using An Post on your end and cover the international postage. Any interest reply here or by PM please.

Nice one Adrian. Fair play.

Hi all. I have been asked by a couple of people to write a more detailed "how to" on my IFI Net Nitrate transfers for the IRM fert wagon loads. So, here is exactly how I do it. 1: Apply microsol to the degreased wagon load. If you haven't been mauling them they should be fine out of the box to be honest. The one in the pictures here was not degreased as I had not handled it. 2: Cut out the transfers by cutting right down the middle line between each column & row decal design, leaving all the white border material attached. 3: Soak one transfer at a time in cold water and after about a minute it will release from the backing paper. Remove it from the water and slide the decal off the backing paper onto the top of the double pallet stack load. 4: apply some microsol (microset would probably work too) around the overlaps, even the undersides and fold the flaps down at one end, then the longer sides, then the other end, tucking the corners in like wrapping a present. It will stick to itself.then smooth around the edges with a wet finger. apply some microsol all over and let the whole thing dry. 5: Optional: After letting an hour or so, you can work on getting the transfer to sit down into the crevice between the two pallets. It would be ok to pierce the transfer in this crevice in a number of spots with a sharp scalpel or needle and apply more microsol, to get the transfer to "pull in" to the crevice. It's not really necessary though, but I think it's a nice touch. 6: Optional: Apply a protective coat of clear varnish if you expect the loads to be handled much. Some pictures to illustrate the process. Remember, this is just how I do it. As long as you are happy with the results your way is fine too Once more, a big thank you to everyone who has bought one or more packs from me. Thanks especially for your kind words of encouragement. If you would like a set, which is enough to do 4 of the IRM wagons with a few spares for mishaps, feel free to message me directly. And then optionally the crevice line can be pierced or even cut aling with a sharp scalpel and decal softener applied along it and the result is the following once dry (The gloss finish can be left or matted down according to taste): Other decal softeners also seem to work ok, though decalFix could maybe do with a little dilution:

Pack F sold out now too. Less than 50 units of the other packs remaining. They'll be gone by xmas.

Thoroughly agree. It seems to be another one of those colours that looks much better in real life than photographed. I am glad I grabbed a pair. I don't need Taras per se on my intended layout but they don't hurt so I decided to pick up some blue ones for a bit of variety and they are well worth getting.

Maybe it was just the unpainted ply silvering that gave me the impression it was metallic.

Yeah the pics I mean are from much later Mark. Perhaps the ply was itself substituted later in life, at least in individual cases? I'll have to dig out a couple of the pics but they have all been posted on here I am sure. It could still be ply with just an undercoat applied maybe.

Where the doors always plywood? I have seen pictures where the sheeting looks suspiciously metallic. Like galvanised sheet steel.

You should ask Chris Dyer if he has any A30's left.

Do they cost twice as much if you do it that way Noel?

Fert wagons rapidly becoming an endangered species now. Only about 50 units remaining in total across the range with some already sold out or about to sell out. Great sign for the future of the hobby.

Why is there import duty on model railway items? Should be zero rated.