The Little World

Modeller take warning.

They used to think that shepherds and sailors were the best folk meteorologists – reading the sky and waves for signals of storm or calm. Pooh – that’s nothing. Compared to modellers contemplating airbrush work, the sheep farmers and mariners might just as well be at the bottom of a mine. They could only lose a flock or a ship – we are threatened with bad finishes on our clear coat.

Which is why I look very carefully to see when the next patch of bright sky and dry weather coming. I do everything I can to get several models in preparation for the lull – then brigade them up in the workshop and assign paint bottles to each section.

As soon as the warm bright starts I mix and spray steadily – light colours first and dark ones to finish. I’ve got a section of corrugated cardboard packing that acts as a giant drying rack and there is a heated box and a warm hair dryer to speed some of the work on. Now that I wear a respirator mask for the spraying I can breathe at the end of the day and not blow purple boogers out.

It is surprising just how fast you can work with lacquers. They dry quickly and with the new premium thinner from Supercheap Auto I can leave off undercoat for some plastics.

Mind you, it’ll be back onto the Levelling Thinner when summer comes. And no spraying when the workshop gets over 37º.