Getting the paint on

Prime some MDF and the amount it soaks in varies more than I'd expected. This isn't a problem for what will be a heavily weathered loco, but if I'd been aiming at shiny, there would have been some sanding between coats. Maybe even some sanding sealer first.

Anyway, I'm quite pleased with look of the model in grey. It's a little cartoony, but in an appropriately garden railway way. The scratchbuilt exhaust, made from several bits of plastic tube, looks fine, even if I have had to cheat on the way it exists the bonnet doors.

I fancies painting this loco yellow and found a pot of Precision faded signal yellow to do the job through my airbrush.

The radiator was harder. First attempts at masking were scuppered by the bonnet handles so I decided to hand paint. Fine until it comes to the mesh where you can't get paint far enough back. In desperation, I cut a square hole in some card, slightly smaller than the central core. This acted as enough of a mask to let me spray with an aerosol, the overspray being limited to the other black bits around the edge which I handled with a brush.

After that, a quick-dry brush with some gunmetal and it's looking good. On to proper dirt!