Knocking back the silver…

I knew I would have to tackle this, to address the factory fresh stainless steel finish of my Rapido RDC. A wash had transformed the underframe realism but the bodywork remained, gleaming, beautiful…

These machines spent their lives working hard - and I’m not able to rely upon memories and feelings to inform the models finish. Instead falling back on photographs and a sense of their character gleamed from captions and short stories. 

A wash felt too heavy, up top; as if it would accentuate the corrugated bodywork and reduce rather than increase a feel of realism. Airbrushing though can be a dangerous game - it is easy to go too far and difficult to dial back. I wanted to preserve much of the finish but add the subtle grime on the pilots and exhaust and radiator hump on the roof…

I selected my usual Humbrol shades of 133, 245 and 27004, adding a touch more 133 than usual because in photos I detected an almost burnt shade to the dirt or discolouration of the roof pod. Incredibly gently this was blown on avoiding the carriage side to try and catch the shaped ends. I almost continued beyond the few puffs shown here, but I decided restraint was best… 

The same shade was very sparingly applied to the pilot and lower steps to soften the edges of the wash. I had painted the exhaust recess in the roof black already, so mixing up some pure Humbrol 33 I applied a few puffs around the area to suggest sooty deposits.

The result is very pleasing. Enough dirt to suggest use, but a well maintained machine. Passenger service meant cleaning, stainless steel stayed shiny despite use… sat alongside my dirty F7 and the in progress passenger station I’m feeling like things are on the right track… excuse the pun. Until next time, more soon…

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