Having read some books on weathering steam engines with paint and chalk, I was eager to get started on my practice models, one of which has already been stripped of its original paint, but I had no supplies yet. I have an airbrush and compressor that I received as a gift several years ago from my dad, but I had no paint or thinner. So I made a list of paint colors I’d need, based off of recommendations in Kalmbach’s books Steam Locomotives: Projects & Ideas and Basic Painting & Weathering for Model Railroaders, both of which suggested specific paint colors. Some of the suggested colors were from Polly Scale and Floquil paint lines, which have been discontinued, but I was able to identify close matches in Testors’ Model Master acrylic line using The Model Railroad Hobbyist’s Guide to Acrylic Painting in a Post-Floquil World.
My first shopping stop was Skyway Model Shop in Bryn-Mawr-Skyway, but they only had a few of the colors I was looking for, and the guy at the counter had a bit of an attitude when I asked if they could special order colors that weren’t on the shelf, denying the existence of any other colors. I bought the few they had, plus some Model Master brand thinner for acrylic paint. My second stop was eBay, which has every color I need, including the ones that don’t exist. So I purchased all of the colors on my list, plus Testors Dullcote, Testors Glosscote, Micro Mask, Micro Set and Micro Sol.
Once I received some of my paint, I began to realize that my airbrush and compressor situation was not ideal. The compressor has no gauge, no moisture trap, and I’m not sure that the regulator is doing anything. Previously, I thought I could just buy an add-on moisture trap and gauge, but when I went looking for them online, I realized they don’t work with my compressor because of the location of the valve. So now I plan to sell off my old compressor and replace it with a new one of similar size, but with a moisture trap, gauge, and reservoir tank, for more even pressure with less noise.
So here I sit, with another summer of reading and research behind me, more eager than ever to get started on painting, but lacking the necessary tools. I’m eyeing up the Paasche D3000R 1/5 HP Compressor with Tank, Regulator and Moisture Trap, and I hope to buy it in the next couple of weeks. The first model to practice on will be the Model Power Shifter.