Improving Hornby Railroad Gresley Teaks

[@stephenpike3147]

That is an excellent and worthwhile improvement. I have loads of them, totally agree are brilliant value for money, will definitely do this upgrade. Thanks for sharing. Best regards Stephen

[@richardhiggins6471]

Thanks, Stephen - go for it!

[@saltspringrailway3683]

I found an old tin of varnish which had lost its paper label decades ago and decided to just brush it onto one of those dreadful plastic coaches without even bothering to remove the glazing. When some went on the glazing or over the lettering I rubbed it off with a tissue. It took 5 mins and I was so pleased with the result that I varnished the rest. I wanted to email Hornby to encourage them to varnish their coaches but didn't know what on earth I had used!

[@wolfiedubois]

Nice video. Lack of lining was a wartime measure, as were grey-painted roofs (less visible to enemy aircraft). 'LNER' was also abbreviated to 'NE' on ex-works coaches during wartime; many of these measures were still in place into the BR era.

[@richardhiggins6471]

Thank you - I didn't know about the LNER being abbreviated to NE on coaches (though I've seen it on locos). Painting over white roofs certainly sounded like a good wartime move!

[@flmabhwd]

Hello Richard Another excellent video. I really like your layout and your approach to model railways. Personally I feel the super detailed Gresley coaches have the wrong profile - they are flat sided and there should be a curve, especially tapering in at the sole bar. Kirk and the railroad coaches get this right. In terms of painting, have you tried Citadel Paint - Shade: Seraphim Sepia. It is water based and makes an excellent wash and much easier thank oil based paints. I hadn't noticed the battery boxes in the wrong place, thanks for pointing this out. Kind regards Simon

[@richardhiggins6471]

Thanks for your comments. I've seen others using the Citadel paint - and it looks just as good, if not better, but as I already had the Railmatch enamel paints I stuck with them - I'm a bit of a cheapskate! The enamels take longer to dry but that has its advantages if you make a mistake - more time to wipe off any excess with a tiny bit of white spirit.

[@ausfoodgarden]

Sorry to comment on 2 of your videos in 1 day. I just wanted to say I've used the tinted varnish method on these coaches and had good results. So, using a tinted varnish (teak colour maybe) The deeper colour tends to build up a little in the panel lines and gives a nice result. Don't know if you've tried that or not, maybe on your next coach :)

[@richardhiggins6471]

As a matter of interest, did you use gloss, satin or matt varnish?

[@ausfoodgarden]

@@richardhiggins6471 The coloured varnish is gloss but I sprayed a clear satin topcoat over it afterwards.

[@richardhiggins6471]

@@ausfoodgarden Thanks.

[@borderlands6606]

In preservation it's possible to see teak coaches partly bleached, dark brown, honey coloured and toward the red end of the spectrum. Not too different in service from period photographs, especially post WW2.

[@richardhiggins6471]

Hi, thanks for your comment. Like you I've seen plenty of variation in colour photographs, but I'm not 100% confident that the colour film of the 1940s and 50s is very reliable. Some colours seem very washed out, and yet at the same time the locos seem much darker than ready to run models. BR green often looks almost black, due to a layer of soot, no doubt.

[@borderlands6606]

@@richardhiggins6471 I agree on the distorting effect of time on photographic emulsions, however similar coaches differ in colour in the same slide. By the post WW2 era labour was in short supply and cosmetic maintenance took second place to running repairs. Except for crack expresses, most locos look like they rarely saw an oily rag, and there must have been years between coach refurbishment in the same rake.