TAKE THE STING OUT OF ‘WASP’ STRIPES
Q I’m building a kit of a small industrial diesel locomotive and need to apply black and yellow chevron stripes to the ends. What’s the best way of doing this? Dave Burrows, Coventry
George says: I’m hesitant to claim which is the ‘best way’ of painting the distinctive ‘wasp’ stripes, as there are several possible approaches, each of which can be effective. In virtually all cases, applying the yellow paint first is essential, with the black stripes added on top. The stripes can be applied with waterslide decals, paint, or they can be drawn on with a fine ink pen. Whichever method is chosen, the level of difficulty is often dictated by the complexity of the model’s surfaces.
Working on a kit-built locomotive offers several advantages, as the cab ends and bufferbeams can be treated to the ‘wasp’ stripes before raised detail fittings are installed, such as buffers, coupling hooks, lamp brackets and handrails. This provides a flatter, unencumbered surface onto which the decals or masking can be applied. It also allows the stripes to be marked out more accurately, leading to a neater finish and, once the work is complete, the extra fittings can be installed and touched in with paint as necessary.
I haven’t tried ‘wasp’ stripe decals myself (they usually involve just the black elements which can be cut to the desired length), but they’re available in various sizes from the likes of Fox Transfers (www.fox-transfers.co.uk).
My preferred method is to employ an ink pen to render the edges of the stripes, before filling in the gaps with black paint. A simple homemade template can be created to speed up the marking-out process and ensure consistent results, while any unevenness in sheen is later cured with a coat of clear gloss varnish.