BNSF GP40M 3018, Page 8
With the major building phases done, it is time to start painting. My first task is to put a primer coat on
everything. I used Floquil primer gray. I did not prime the frame, fuel tank and trucks because they will be
painted black. Black covers well without a primer. Everything else though received a coat of gray. I let the
primer dry for two days and then applied a coat of white to the areas that need to be white. I used Tamiya flat
white. My plan was to paint the model in acrylics. That changed because I like Floquil paints so much. They air
brush so nicely and I like the finish. I do like the finish Tamiya paints give also, but Floquil wins out with me. Next
time I will use Floquil refer white.
The parts that needed painting white are the cab face, side sill, upper pilot face and step edges. Also a couple
grab irons, plow grab irons and coupler lift bar hand hold at the top.
I let the white dry for two days and it is now time to mask. My preferred masking material is metal foil. This goes
back to when I used to custom build and paint N-Scale locomotives. I also use an artist masking fluid.
When I lived in Arizona, I found a wonderful product called Bare Metal Foil at a local no frills hobby store. The
stuff worked great. It came in a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet. I bought two packs and the stuff lasted me a long time. When I
moved to Illinois, I lost the packages I had or at least I can't remember where I put them. So I started searching
again. I found another foil product that will remain nameless because I do not endorse it. It is not at all good for
masking. The adhesive backing material is way to thick and sometimes when I peel it off, the backing stays and I
have to work at it with another piece of tacky foil to pull it off. I had also recently purchased a package of
another foil which I will name in a moment. I started using the crappy stuff on this model first. I was getting
frustrated with it because the sticky backing was transferring to my cutting blade and causing my blade to stick
to the foil when I tried to cut it. I decided to use the other stuff I had. I thought it would be just as terrible, but
what the heck. I'll give it a try. To my surprise, it was better than I thought. Actually it was EXACTLY what I have
been trying to find. It just so happens that just about any decent hobby store will have it in stock. It is Model
Masters 50637C ULTRA THIN METAL FOIL. The characteristics of it are exactly what I remember using in
Arizona. It is very thin, just enough adhesive backing to not bee seen and it does not leave an adhesive residue
when removed. It does take some practice to use it though.
Another product I use is Winsor & Newton Art Masking Fluid. This is like a rubber cement, but much more
liquidy. I use to mask handrails after painting. I hate painting handrail ends with a paint brush, so I use an air
brush. Aftr teh paint dries, I use the artist masking fluid to mask it.
everything. I used Floquil primer gray. I did not prime the frame, fuel tank and trucks because they will be
painted black. Black covers well without a primer. Everything else though received a coat of gray. I let the
primer dry for two days and then applied a coat of white to the areas that need to be white. I used Tamiya flat
white. My plan was to paint the model in acrylics. That changed because I like Floquil paints so much. They air
brush so nicely and I like the finish. I do like the finish Tamiya paints give also, but Floquil wins out with me. Next
time I will use Floquil refer white.
The parts that needed painting white are the cab face, side sill, upper pilot face and step edges. Also a couple
grab irons, plow grab irons and coupler lift bar hand hold at the top.
I let the white dry for two days and it is now time to mask. My preferred masking material is metal foil. This goes
back to when I used to custom build and paint N-Scale locomotives. I also use an artist masking fluid.
When I lived in Arizona, I found a wonderful product called Bare Metal Foil at a local no frills hobby store. The
stuff worked great. It came in a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet. I bought two packs and the stuff lasted me a long time. When I
moved to Illinois, I lost the packages I had or at least I can't remember where I put them. So I started searching
again. I found another foil product that will remain nameless because I do not endorse it. It is not at all good for
masking. The adhesive backing material is way to thick and sometimes when I peel it off, the backing stays and I
have to work at it with another piece of tacky foil to pull it off. I had also recently purchased a package of
another foil which I will name in a moment. I started using the crappy stuff on this model first. I was getting
frustrated with it because the sticky backing was transferring to my cutting blade and causing my blade to stick
to the foil when I tried to cut it. I decided to use the other stuff I had. I thought it would be just as terrible, but
what the heck. I'll give it a try. To my surprise, it was better than I thought. Actually it was EXACTLY what I have
been trying to find. It just so happens that just about any decent hobby store will have it in stock. It is Model
Masters 50637C ULTRA THIN METAL FOIL. The characteristics of it are exactly what I remember using in
Arizona. It is very thin, just enough adhesive backing to not bee seen and it does not leave an adhesive residue
when removed. It does take some practice to use it though.
Another product I use is Winsor & Newton Art Masking Fluid. This is like a rubber cement, but much more
liquidy. I use to mask handrails after painting. I hate painting handrail ends with a paint brush, so I use an air
brush. Aftr teh paint dries, I use the artist masking fluid to mask it.
Here you see one of the handrail pieces. First thing I do for paint prep is to grit blast them. As all of you know,
that special slippery plastic that is so commonly used in handrails is not exactly friendly to paint. Grit blasting
them is the best solution I have found to making paint stick like glue.
As you can see, the part has been primed and also a coat of white has been added to the end rails. Toward
the bottom of the end rails you can just barely see a band of metal foil. This is because the ends on this unit
are painted black. I have no idea why BN took the time to mask off the ends and not just paint the whole end
rail black. I first masked the ends. Then I took the artist masking fluid and liberally painted it over the rest of the
end rails up to the first stanchion. If you use this stuff, do not be shy about putting it on. It comes off much
easier in thick coats than thin. Also, this stuff is extremely tacky if you touch it with dry masking fluid. It will pull it
off right away, so DO NOT touch it dry masking fluid to dry masking fluid. If you need to add more, make sure it
is wet masking fluid. In there is a hint. I sometimes use this stuff to mask off grills for when I weather them. If it
gets into tiny nooks and crannies and is difficult to pull out. Just dab it with a rolled up ball of dry masking fluid
and it will stick to the piece and pull it out.
that special slippery plastic that is so commonly used in handrails is not exactly friendly to paint. Grit blasting
them is the best solution I have found to making paint stick like glue.
As you can see, the part has been primed and also a coat of white has been added to the end rails. Toward
the bottom of the end rails you can just barely see a band of metal foil. This is because the ends on this unit
are painted black. I have no idea why BN took the time to mask off the ends and not just paint the whole end
rail black. I first masked the ends. Then I took the artist masking fluid and liberally painted it over the rest of the
end rails up to the first stanchion. If you use this stuff, do not be shy about putting it on. It comes off much
easier in thick coats than thin. Also, this stuff is extremely tacky if you touch it with dry masking fluid. It will pull it
off right away, so DO NOT touch it dry masking fluid to dry masking fluid. If you need to add more, make sure it
is wet masking fluid. In there is a hint. I sometimes use this stuff to mask off grills for when I weather them. If it
gets into tiny nooks and crannies and is difficult to pull out. Just dab it with a rolled up ball of dry masking fluid
and it will stick to the piece and pull it out.
Here you can see the metal foil being used to mask the upper pilot stripe and the step edges. I have also added
masking fluid to the plow grab irons as well as over the foil joints to seal them up.
masking fluid to the plow grab irons as well as over the foil joints to seal them up.
Finally, the side sill is masked. Here is when I started to use the Testors foil. There are many tricks and
techniques to help you use foil, one of them is when you are masking an edge, try not to allow the foil to go
under or over the edge. Cutting it straight along the edge will be much easier. Also, ALWAYS use a VERY
sharp blade.
With the masking done, I can now add the BN green.
techniques to help you use foil, one of them is when you are masking an edge, try not to allow the foil to go
under or over the edge. Cutting it straight along the edge will be much easier. Also, ALWAYS use a VERY
sharp blade.
With the masking done, I can now add the BN green.
| STEP BACK TO DETAILING FOR A MOMENT |
Thanks to a fellow modeler named Jay, I now have the necessary Detail Associates 101803 RADIO
ANTENNA - SINCLAIR (Brass). You can also see here I have the cab face taped up which is already painted
white and I have BN green painted on.
ANTENNA - SINCLAIR (Brass). You can also see here I have the cab face taped up which is already painted
white and I have BN green painted on.
Another part I nearly forgot about, but remembered when I saw it sitting on my desk in front of me is the Details
West VF-161 DYN. BRAKE VENT & ELECT. CABINET FILTER, EMD DASH 2'S. I only needed the ECAFB
from this package. I had to rebuild the top details on this part. The parting line was killing them. I cleaned up the
parting line on the sides and then I just barley shaved off the handle and bolt head details on the top so I knew
where to locate for drilling. I used a 0.0105" drill bit and drill down a good distance. I then used 0,010" brass
wire and glued it into the holes. To make all the bolt heads the same height, I drilled a hole in a piece of 0.005"
sheet styrene and slipped it over each piece of brass wire. I then used my PBL sprue nippers, pressed down
around the wire so the styrene was flat up against the top of the part and nipped off the wire. The handle is
simply a piece of 0.010" wire bent to shape. After all that was done, I grit blast the part. It is now ready for paint
and to be installed.
West VF-161 DYN. BRAKE VENT & ELECT. CABINET FILTER, EMD DASH 2'S. I only needed the ECAFB
from this package. I had to rebuild the top details on this part. The parting line was killing them. I cleaned up the
parting line on the sides and then I just barley shaved off the handle and bolt head details on the top so I knew
where to locate for drilling. I used a 0.0105" drill bit and drill down a good distance. I then used 0,010" brass
wire and glued it into the holes. To make all the bolt heads the same height, I drilled a hole in a piece of 0.005"
sheet styrene and slipped it over each piece of brass wire. I then used my PBL sprue nippers, pressed down
around the wire so the styrene was flat up against the top of the part and nipped off the wire. The handle is
simply a piece of 0.010" wire bent to shape. After all that was done, I grit blast the part. It is now ready for paint
and to be installed.
Earlier on in this article I mentioned I was going to add the coupler lift bar after paint. Well, I got the coat of
white on and asked it and I also now have the green on and it is masked. It is time to paint the black, but first I
want to add the coupler lift bar. Look closely at the lift bar brackets. You'll see that I have slit them open and
slightly spread them apart. I did this with a very sharp #11 blade.
white on and asked it and I also now have the green on and it is masked. It is time to paint the black, but first I
want to add the coupler lift bar. Look closely at the lift bar brackets. You'll see that I have slit them open and
slightly spread them apart. I did this with a very sharp #11 blade.
Now I insert the lift bar and with needle nose tweezers, I close the brackets back over the bar. I then add a drop
od ZAP-A-GAP to fill in the slit and secure the bare in place.
od ZAP-A-GAP to fill in the slit and secure the bare in place.