Layers of history…

Alongside my Christmas 'cameo layout' project, effectively building a home for my Dad's old Shay, I promised myself to revisit the finish on his model, being sympathetic to his work whilst bringing a level of consistency with other items I have been producing for the cameo...

I had pondered how much body work I would undertake, as I was keen to preserve some of the finish he applied - however the 'QN' on the side of the bunker was messy, silvered and out of keeping with the location I was trying to depict... so where I've retained the paint work on the boiler, I've re-worked the cab and bunker. These will still be black, but now lettered with some new custom waterslides for the "Hilton Logging Co. Ltd." As a result, I think they will blend in beautifully with the other models I'm building or planning - and fit the wider back story of the Hilton-Mears Forest Products faux history...

So, that meant carefully removing the old decals and smoothing the surface underneath. It appears Dad had used a Stanley knife or something to scratch away at the previous finish as the sides were very scored. After soaking the decals in Micro-sol they rubbed off fairly easily, revealing the damage wasn't quite as bad as I had feared so then careful use of wet and dry smoothed out the marks to allow priming and repainting. In the process though I not only revealed some of the original 'red' colour of the model (I believe the original Roundhouse finish) but also some previous decals my Dad must have applied for the 'QNS&L' which, as I think I've mentioned before, was a favourite of his since he spent a few years stationed at Scheifferville in Northern Labrador. These layers, rather than additive as I've talked about previously, are subtractive. The model is revealing secrets that I didn't know about. My favourite so far is that it appears the original metal castings were painted in household primer - as it's got that smell of old paint when you expose (obviously being careful not to inhale the dust as it could well be leaded). Can you imagine, this lovely fine model being painted from a tin of Dulux primer!

Reflecting on the work some might consider this approach, adding my own hand to my Dad's work, to be disrespectful - but it's something I've done for years. Our modelling was always complementary, where Dad was happy working on scenic items I loved building and weathering rolling stock. I took the same hand to some of the scenery, and he did build a few items of stock (including the patience to build a lot of the Intermountain Canada hoppers we had)... anyhow, I digress, this work is actually strangely nostalgic. Dad died many years ago, this isn't some grief driven adventure - more a chance to re-connect with something that got me started in this wonderful hobby so many years ago... until next time, more soon...