UG Respray

[Patrick Davey]

Now that my OO Works UG loco is working like a dream (thanks Gareth Brennan!) my mind is turning once again to the question of having the livery changed from the current UTA lined scheme to GNR plain black.  There was an extended discussion in the forum here about the UTA livery and how the ‘straw’ maybe wasn’t yellow enough but apart from that a GNR-liveried loco would be more useful to me.

Grateful for thoughts!

[Galteemore]

Hi Patrick. I think that the UG would indeed  look better in plain black with that lovely ‘GNR’ on the tender. Sadly, it’s not the same tender type as UG No 79, which was uniquely turned out of Dundalk with passenger loco style ‘G N ‘ and crest !! 

Edited February 23, 2023 by Galteemore

[Patrick Davey]

I think I'm worried about the UTA lining - it's slightly raised on the model so if it was painted over in black would it look odd......?  Might do a small area as a test....as 'weathering'.....

[Galteemore]

Good plan. You could gently sand the lining down. Or just strip the body in a bucket of dettol or IPA and start over. I recently did this to an MGW van which time travelled from CIE to MGW livery…..the danger of overpainting is that you can blur the sharp finish of the model with too many coats. 

Edited February 23, 2023 by Galteemore

[Patrick Davey]

1 hour ago, Galteemore said:

Good plan. You could gently sand the lining down. Or just strip the body in a bucket of dettol or IPA and start over. I recently did this to an MGW van which time travelled from CIE to MGW livery…..the danger of overpainting is that you can blur the sharp finish of the model with too many coats. 

Yikes that sounds scary.....

It's very tempting to respray into plain black because the loco & tender wheels are already black so they wouldn't need touched....

I'll paint over some of the lining and see what it looks like - even if the raised lining is still visible, it'll hardly be noticeable under normal viewing conditions I guess.....hope.....wish....... 

[David Holman]

Didn't realise India Pale Ale worked as paint stripper, though I've had a few beers that tasted like it! Dettol is new on me and sounds a neat idea. Anyway...

 That is a fine looking model and the lining looks very sharp too, though confess I know little about its accuracy. A freight engine wouldn't stay that way long though, so weathering could well be the way to go. That said, the boiler bands look over scale and there is a school of thought that says in 4mm scale just transfers are enough.

 If you don't fancy adding layers of paint, try weathering powders. There are some nice varieties out there, often sold for wargaming, but fine for railways too. Otherwise, Martyn Welch's The Art of Weathering  (Wild Swan) is the seminal work and, for me, never been bettered, despite being out nearly 30 years. Should be available cheaply secondhand. 

 Key colours are all Humbrol: gunmetal 57, bauxite 133 and metalcote gunmetal, plus matt black and leather along with talc for texture. The key to it all is to find colour pictures (not necessarily the exact loco) and copy what you see.

 All my Irish locos are weathered using Martyn's ideas and his book is invaluable. While an airbrush is recommended, dry brushing and stippling (short stabbing strokes) can also be used and are what I've done. You can see the effect on my thread in this section.

Take your time and enjoy, but make sure you only drink the right sort of ipa and certainly not Dettol - though root beer smells like it to me, so you never know!

[Tullygrainey]

It’s possible to gently abrade the transfers off using T-Cut and cotton buds. Might be worth a test in a corner somewhere?

[GNRi1959]

My UG, probably the last ever OOWorks model to be made, arrived in plain black with no lining whatsoever nor transfers. It looks fine to me, pretty authentic looking. What sort of money are these fetching at the moment. I also have the U class, totally lined.

[StevieB]

Like most things out of production, silly money.

Stephen