Well, after a fantastic wedding last night and a raging hangover today - I finally got round to finishing the class 25. The final reassemble took ages to finish, not least because I could not get the lights to work when reassembled, probably a result of the hangover!!
The class 25 has been a project that has literally dragged on for months. A lack of transfers from modelmaster caused a delay, which meant the project lost momentum. The body shell was stripped of the Bachmann finish. The base layer of the livery was a mix of faded rail blue and normal rail blue. Over the top of this about 10 layers of weathering were applied, using lifecolour acryclic paints, being frame dirt, sleeper grime, track dirt and weathered black. Final varnishing used Railmatch matt varnish thinned with Humbrol thinners.
Overall I am pretty happy with this one. There are one or two things I would do differently. I would definitely added etched windscreen wipers and take more care with the masking. The biggest issue I had was using some 10 year old modelmaster transfers for the double arrows, which did not adhere properly. I did consider replacing them, but in the end tried to blend them in with the weathering. There is also a little light bleed around the headlights, which needs to be blocked out with some black paint. I also think the glazing is a little weak, but I am not sure if someone produces a replacement option. However, these minor points aside, the overall effect I am happy with - and it is all a learning process.
The weathering is loosely based on a photograph of a class 25 at Lapford station, in 1977. Class 25s were regular traction on the southern branch lines in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In general they were kept in a terrible state and many of the photographs show them in a faded, grimey condition. This is the first of several I want to model, all will be turned out in a similar state!!
On a slight tanget, I also wanted to finish the whale wagon off this weekend. Looking at modelmaster's website, the transfers for the whale will not be ready for at least another couple of months. So the whale and the tunny wagon will remain in the modelling boxes waiting for transfers and finishing.
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