Detailing a Bachmann TTTE Coach

BakerJohn

BakerJohn

Baker, Modeler, future husband
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I am starting to detail the TTTE Annie coach I bought to portrait another coach: Victoria. She was only seen in Rev. Awdry's original stories. The first thing I did was remove the molded plastic handrails and test-replace with a brass rail. 20180327_144742.jpg camerafv5_0606.JPG

Next I will be repainting the coach a blue and white livery (railings will actually be silver), and finally repaint the roof.

Does anyone have any tips/suggestions/comments about painting a bachmann model?
 
BakerJohn said:
I am starting to detail the TTTE Annie coach I bought to portrait another coach: Victoria. She was only seen in Rev. Awdry's original stories. The first thing I did was remove the molded plastic handrails and test-replace with a brass rail. View attachment 235055 View attachment 235056

Next I will be repainting the coach a blue and white livery (railings will actually be silver), and finally repaint the roof.

Does anyone have any tips/suggestions/comments about painting a bachmann model?
Click to expand...

Sorry I have no suggestions about painting but I am very interested in how the conversion goes as I would like to create a similar coach for my railway. Please keep us updated on progress. Keith
 
If you are using spray cans I think automotive acrylic lacquer is probably best. The budget acrylic enamel paints at the hardware store are OK but tend to go on thick like jam and have a satin orange peel surface. If you want the coach to be slick and shiny like the Thomas range is, you could buff up the Automotive paint to a shine but a raw finish will probably look better anyway.
Shaking the can well and sitting it in hot water before use can help it atomize to a fine mist a little better.
Just keep even long strokes over the model from various angles so all the nooks, crannies and difficult spots get covered first. Only a light coat each time then spray final coats to keep the overall surface consistent looking. Don't put too much on otherwise it will flood over details and run.
 
Heating the item to be painted gently with a hairdryer set on low to warm it up helps, too, especially if the day is cool and/or damp.
 
Thanks, all! I may go out and get some materials today to paint the roof. We shall see...

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I took out the window panes and will be replacing them with black plastic, or maybe Ill paint the windows black. Not sure yet. But, since the coach isnt detailed inside, I think I can black it out.
 
As I'm sure you know, the surface must be clean and grease-free. Slightly roughing it with fine sandpaper will make the new paint adhere.
I usually spray a primer coat first - it sticks to almost any surface and provides a good base for new spray paint.
 
I bought Krylon Paint & Primer. There's not enough tooth with the gloss coat on, so I need to remove that.

However, I did paint the windows black today and fabricated all the handrails / door latches / etc. Not much to see, but here's a photo of them. I drilled holes for them in the coach and numbered them all so I know which is which.

camerafv5_0623.JPG
 
UPDATE
Having forgotten about this thread I started, it moved on to Custom Building Henrietta which now has been merged into LHRR Equipment. Any updates for this project will happen there. I went from building a Victoria to building a Henrietta somewhere between 2018 and 2024. I now remember it was because Victoria was more in-line with Annie & Clarabel. Maybe I'll still do that someday.

Not much is still true of this thread now that I'm well into building Henrietta, but I am using the door handles that I made for Victoria!
 
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