Historically, the difference between primers and basecoats had much clearer boundaries, a primer sealed and provided a surface to which paint can adhere and a basecoat was all about providing a coloured foundation on which to build desired...

Wasp stripes are the yellow and black stripes featured on the cab fronts of shunting and most industrial locomotives in the UK.The vivid paint scheme was first introduced in the very late '50s and more commonly in the '60s. They were applied...

These days, panel lines are something most modellers desire, but some older plastic kits came with raised panel lines, and many modellers like to replace them with recessed ones instead, but how is that done?The process of removing raised...

Army Painter Quickshade is a special wash-like paint solution that will add shadows to models and miniatures quickly and easily.Quickshade is available in several shades allowing the modeller to choose the effect most suitable for their needs....

In theory, any analogue model railway locomotive can be converted to DCC, but instead of having a socket to plug a decoder into (like you would on a DCC-ready loco) you will need to hardwire the decoder directly to the locomotive yourself.But...

Model locomotives can become weaker over time, but finding the cause is seldom a cut and dry case.There are many reasons why a model railway locomotive may lose some of its power over time. Unfortunately, no single reason offered here is likely to...

Metal Medium is an acrylic paint by Vallejo that can be mixed with other acrylic paints to give them a metallic effect. It can be used with an airbrush but may require thinning a little first.Vallejo describes Metal Medium as 'an acrylic...

A reversing loop is a railway track that splits at a turnout, the diverging track then makes its way around in a big loop before joining the same turnout, but from the opposite direction.For modellers who have enough space to fit a reversing...

When used as a noun, and in railway terms, a 'consist' refers to a formation of rolling stock put together to make a train.In the UK we mainly call that a rake, especially when referring to coaches, but over in the US, the word 'consist' is...

One of the most common scatter-related questions asked in model shops around the world is - How much do I need? And that's a fair question, after all, you need to know how much to purchase, one bag? two? ten? It's almost impossible to guess when...

A programming track is used to read or program a DCC locomotive's decoder. It comprises a short section of track that's completely isolated from the main layout and connects to the controller via a dedicated programming port.Using a...

For many regular airbrush users, the size of their needles is of the utmost importance.The range of needle sizes available for airbrushes can be thought of in three distinct categories: Fine, Medium and Large.The 'Finer' category includes...