Model Railway Forum

I have a few that have suffered over the years in particular, as an example, the Hornby B12 in black with NE livery numbered 7476. What's the best way to bring this back to its glory? Thanks for any tips.

There are a few suppliers of transfers out there - RailTec, ModelMaster and Fox’s are the obvious ones.

You might get away with applying transfers over the old ones but it’s unlikely.
Best to remove the old ones - you can use T-Cut and a cotton bud or IPA but be careful that the paint isn’t damaged. Repainting is best done with an airbrush imho.
New transfers are best applied to a gloss surface and then given a protective coat of Matt or satin varnish to blend it all in.
Don’t rush the job either.

Hornby locos of that age were coloured plastic with a clear lacquer applied to them so t cutting may not be the best thing. Equally most water slide transfers applied will show a carrier film around them - you need a gloss finish ideally and then seal the transfer in place with further varnish(es) which can then be satin or matt. I would be tempted to try the HMRS transfers that are either Methfix or Pressfix. Methfix which use a methylated spirits and water mix are the simpler as the Pressfix sheets new are very sticky and a wrongly positioned transfer will either have to be lived with or removed damaged beyond reuse. If you are lucky they might be a good match size wise. If you can find on ebay for example an old Pressfix sheet then once the stickyness has aged a good bit they are more easily moved about.
New HMRS transfers are available here https://hmrs.org.uk/transfers.html - depending on whether the factory applied numbers are gold or yellow will dictate which sheet of LNER transfers you need, the model looks to have gold transfers in web images of it

Thanks for the replies. I've ordered NE pressfix off eBay. Hopefully will work but there seems plenty on the sheet so will be able to repeat process if problems.

What type of varnish is best to use?

The loco does seem to be pre-coloured black plastic and is very matt finish. It probably dates back to the 80s.

Thanks.

Older than that, made 1976-1978. Suspect possibly a satin varnish would be the best match if you want to protect the transfers. Alternatively given the number was carried only between 1942 and 1946 a gloss coat on the numbers alone would represent that bit of the loco has having been cleaned to show the number clearly. Before 1942 B12s were numbered in the 85xx series and from 1946 15xx, becoming 615xx under BR. The 75xx series was only party implemented with just eleven B12s receiving such a number.

Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure what to actually varnish it with. Is is better to brush or spray? Is it just like varnish that one would use on wood or a special type for plastic?

You need a modelling varnish, enamel or acrylic, sold by the likes of Humbrol. Matts can be awkward and dry with white shades. Enamels need the appropriate thinners possibly for thinning but certainly for cleaning brushes. Acrylics can dry too quickly but brushes can be cleaned with water. Do you have a model shop near you (not necessarily one selling model railways) as they should have stocks

Thanks again. I've ordered on line. No model shop near me and I'm staying home anyway. Your help much appreciated.

So, HMRS pressfix and Humbrol acrylic varnish has resulted in a pretty decent outcome. Thanks for all the help.