TERRY SMITH explains how to modify plastic kits for other regions.
While the Fordhampton range of plastic building kits are unashamedly moulded in the colours that suit the post war years of the Southern Region, in this article I will show you how to adapt these kits to any region.
Firstly you have to decide what area you wish to represent, and then do a little photographic research either using books or the internet. In most cases by just changing the parts moulded in green to an alternate regions colours will do the job, and for this article we are going to model Midland BR steam era.
Picture evidence shows that there were huge variation in the shade of red/maroon but we have plumped for RM610 LMS Crimson Lake from Railmatch Paints. One thing I have found out over the years is that when painting over pre-coloured plastic parts it’s better to paint these bits white first as you will get a better finish and you will need less coats too.
Luckily most of the parts that need painting on the GM401 Fordhampton Station kit are actually moulded in white already which makes life easier, so the doors and gable end were treated with a coat of Crimson Lake. Other parts painted this colour are the gutters and downpipes which may well have been painted black in real life, but I just think that the more you can paint in the regions colours the more it will help the overall effect.
We used the stone overlay for the station for a northern rural look and with the windows surrounds painted grey and the frames a mid-sand colour both from the Humbrol Spray paint range. The model has been detailed with a few BR(MR) station signs from the Tinysigns range and we now have a pretty good representation of a Midland Region station circa the late 1950’s.
The GM402 Fordhampton Signal Box is next up for the change of region treatment and I found the easiest way of changing its colour is with the use of white spray paint in the form of Humbrol Matt White. Simply spray all of the sides white, and then pick out just the raised woodwork and doors in the colour of the region you wish to model. The white paint can be left for the window frames which in most regions were white anyway, and then the wood panelled inlays can be affixed into place.
The resulting contrast of the Crimson Lake and the cream of the panels look just like shots of the real restored box at St Albans and of course had the frames been painted brown you can easily see how this could have become a Western Region structure.
Photographic searching however showed that many of the signal boxes on the Midland had their wood panelling painted white, so it was out with my trusty can of Humbrol Matt white for a quick repaint.
Just before I leave you I quickly shot some matt white paint on what was the green sprue of the GM403 Fordhampton Footbridge kit and again painted it with Crimson Lake, and this will be the subject of a later build up.