Happy accidents…

As any seasoned modeller or artist will tell you, we all make mistakes. It is what we choose to do next that can take our work to another level, in our case, of emotional connection or realism…

Last week my long anticipated Scale Trains SDL39 arrived and I was very happy, in general with the model. However, the Wisconsin Central lettering on one side was slightly skewed and my Engineering eye could not unsee this! It bugged me so much I’d almost decided to only ever run it the other way around, but then, since I was stripping lettering on the Winchester and Western cars I thought why not try it on the SDL39, nothing to lose!

Micro-Sol soaked kitchen towel was laid over the lettering and a 5 minute timer set. Once complete, the towel was removed and the surface of the model gently dabbed dry. A piece of Scotch magic tape was burnished over the text and then peeled off, taking most of the lettering with it. I’m this case, this was less of a mistake and more of a happy accident. I decided to leave the remains behind, and work them into the weathered finish you see here. The model will receive a new number under the cab window along with railroad markings, but I’ll share those when she’s finished. Until then, more soon…