Commission: ‘What if’ East Kent Victory…

Last week I shared one of the Victory customisations finished as East Kent 4 (despite the fact the prototype was one of the initial pair of locomotives with a taller roof)...

This was an easy application of the Planet Industrials decals, designed for this purpose. What we have here is a bit of a 'what if' - being as it's BR black version of the same prototype. When the East Kent was absorbed at Nationalisation the number 30948 was nominally allocated to the locomotive, but alas it was scrapped before being repainted or carrying the number. 

This example uses the PI-001A black model as a base, and features Fox decals. These work best over a gloss finish so I airbrushed on some varnish before applying them carefully - selecting an arrangement similar to other models on the Southern (the USA tanks and B4s at Southampton). 

Once dry I applied a thin mist of satin varnish to seal these in place, instead of my usual lacquer as I wanted to preserve some of the sheen of the previous layer to add more tonal variations in weathering.

The weathering is based upon photos of the locomotives in industrial service. The tank tops, footplate, under frame and smokebox get a decent dose of a Humbrol 33/98 wash. The rods and buffer beams have a similar treatment but this is worked off carefully to leave a nice patina to the finish. Additional streaking is applied around the lip of the bunker (dirty coal washing down the sides).

The finishing touches are applied with the airbrush to soften the edges of the wash and further dull the sheen in places, along with a healthier dose of filth on the cab roof and along the top of the boiler. The result is a lovely mix of shades of brown/black/grey and different sheens which all lead to a pleasing recreation of a 'might have been' livery. If you'd like me to apply a similar finish to your own Victory (or indeed any other model) - or renumber, refinish, repaint an existing ready to run product, get in touch for a personal proposal using the contact form here on the website or Facebook or the Forums. Until next time though, more soon...