Another dumb question about painting: :tb-confused: from a Kato F drive/shell swapping I have a Kato F7 shell in Empire Builder colors left which I would like to paint as an ex-WAB N&W F7A. The N&W livery shall be the straight black with Hamburger logo. My question is whether it is necessary to strip the Kato paint before, or whether it is possible to airbrush some black (Revell gloss black because I have it and it is better for the decals) over the existing paint. I think I will try to mask off the silver grilles because they already have the right color. Any hints from the experts? So far I have airbrushed some cars, I was surprised how good they came out (see the first two pictures in my railimage album if interested). Thank you for hints. I think I should get this project going.
Christoph, You really need to strip the shell. The pad printing used by the manufactures leaves a little bit of relief which will show through the layer of paint you would put on. You would be able to read "Great Northern" right through your black overspray. Don't ask me why I know this! Another layer of paint will also obscure some of that great detail. After many years of painting, I have discovered, mostly the hard way, that there are very few short cuts worth taking if you want a great result. I would also use etched metal grills after your finished. This detail you CAN place directly over the cast on grills and it looks fantastic. Good luck with the project!
One more vote here for stripping the paint,probably 93% alcohol..And,not to be a party pooper,but weren't all the Ex Wabash N&W F's either dark blue,or blue and gray? Never saw a black Hamburger F unit...
I'm afraid those other guys are right. You can't cheat on quality. Strip the model shoot it grey, then put down your colors.
How about I save you from the hazzle of stripping it and buy your GN shell. Then you can get a new undecorated shell from Kato's parts department.:tb-cute: / Kenneth
IMHO, buying undec is better than stripping as far as effort and a good model. The financial issue may cause you to strip what you have.
Actually, this is more project to reuse the existing shell and to try engine painting. What Pollyscale color fits the N&W blue? The most pictures I have are blue, but I have a few where it seems to be black. Could be as well a lot of grime on blue. I also have an undecorated F3A Ph1 that I need to paint, don't know in what scheme since the PRR did not have that body type. I bought the engine as a special and used the drive under my PRR F3A. A F3B Black Widow became the drive for the PRR F3B, so that shell is left, too (unnumbered). So selling it might be the better alternative. But: the side glass inserts of the shell have been swapped with the F3, which means that the shell would only fit on an old Kato chassis. Just as a warning The shell's road # is 364C.
Problem solved, no stripping, shell sold I still have some other engines that await repainting, so I will follow your advices. Thank you.
