I have just bought the praire tank and noticed when running it for the first time that the Chinese have got carried away with green paint and painted the "dome" green aswell. I am not sure if dome is the correct term on a GWR engine. What shade of paint do I need to touch this up, is there a modelling paint called brass?
Kevin
"Kevin" wrote
The safety valve casing to which you refer was often painted green, especially in British Railways days, but this also occurred in some instances during GWR ownership.
All I can suggest is that you take a look a some prototype photographs and then make a decision. After all it's your loco and you can do what you like with it.
John.
You mean the brass 'safety valve cover' rather than dome. Provided the model represents a GWR tank loco outshopped or repainted prewar in the
1930s (ie with GREAT WESTERN or from 1934 a 'shirtbutton' logo) or post war (GWR logo) 1945-48 the safety valve cover would 'normally' be painted the body colour ie GWR green so the model is correct. During the war locos were normally outshopped or repainted black and even express locos would have painted over shiny surfaces. Post nationalisation tank engines were normally painted black although some ex GWR sheds later repainted some engines green occasionally with polished brass safety valve cover and some even were lined out like an express loco which they never carried in GWR days. However in preservation shiney brass safety valve covers became popular.Alan
I did look on the Hornby web site after I posted the message and the casing was green so maybe green is the correct colour. If so I am surprised.
John's right - this did occur on more 'everyday' locos, the full decorative finish with lots of brass and copper being given priority for higher-profile classes like 'Castles' and 'Kings' which had much more publicity value in terms of catching the travelling public's eye. Some goods engines were even given plain cast chimneys with no copper cap!
David E. Belcher
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