WRAP A TPE ‘NOVA 1’ CLASS 802

Dave Lowery was asked to replicate a Hitachi Class 802/2 unit in the striking Transpennine Express livery. With no RTR version currently available, a decal ‘wrap’ was the only option…

From time to time, Angel Trains – one of the UK’S leading rolling stock leasing companies (ROSCOS) – updates its collection of models on display in the reception of its London head offices. The models depict some of the various trains owned by the ROSCO and operated by a wide range of franchise holders across the network.

Most recently, Angel Trains required models of the new Hitachi Class 802/2 five-car bi-mode multiple units, in use with Hull trains and Transpennine Express (TPE) since 2019. Although Hornby announced a Tpe-branded Class 802 in its 2022 range, it’s unlikely to arrive until later this year. In the meantime, I was commissioned to produce a version a few months ago and employed a Hornby five-car LNER ‘Azuma’ set as the donor model.

Owing to the complex nature of the TPE livery, the most important part of this project was going to be the transfers. As with many previous projects of mine, I once again turned to the team at Rainbow Railways for a set of bespoke livery decals.

A happy benefit of working for a client on the ‘real’ railway is the ease of access to official colour livery specifications. These diagrams, with information regarding the exact colours and placement of logos and numbers, were sent to Colin at Rainbow Railways, helping him to produce an excellent set of transfers.

While Colin was doing his thing, I broke down the Hornby models, stripping away the original paintwork to reveal bare plastic bodies. This then gave me a blank canvas upon which the new livery could be applied.

For the TPE models, the bodies needed to be sprayed silver first, and I used enamel paint from Precision Paints, sprayed over several light coats, building up to a fully covered paint job. Once dry, this was gloss varnished, to provide the perfect backing for the transfers.

Initially, Rainbow Railways provided a test set of transfers, which were offered up to the repainted model. Any adjustments to the size and shape of each element could then be noted and fed back to Colin, who then produced a full, definitive set.

Work began on each of the driving cars, with the transfers being cut up into various shapes, using the outline of each element as guides. Each part was laid onto the model, over a brushed coating of Micro Set decal setting solution, taking care to ‘float’ the transfer into position – don’t pull it, or allow it to dry out, lest the transfer film is torn.

Copies of the livery diagrams were kept close at hand at all times, to help position each element in the correct place. When each section was aligned, it was lightly pressed into place and allowed to dry naturally before the next one was applied.

As you can imagine, it took time to build up the livery segments accurately. Any ‘bunching’ was left until the decal had dried. Then, small incisions were made with a scalpel before more of the Micro Set solution was brushed on. The fluid softens the decal film just enough to allow it to be manipulated and flattened out. There’s no denying that it was a long, slow process, but the end result was worth it.

The intermediate coaches were much simpler, as the sides are, at least, flat. Again,

I cut the livery elements into separate sections to make the transfers easier to handle.

Finally, the smaller transfers for vehicle numbers, door controls, destination displays, and other legends were applied, again using the official diagrams and prototype images to ensure that everything was in the right place.

Once all the transfers were applied and allowed to dry, a good coating of clear varnish was sprayed on to fix the whole job. When completely dry, the cars were reglazed, reassembled and mounted on a base ready to go on display in Angel Trains’ London HQ.

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Roof panels and ‘furniture’ were removed. Some elements are clipped in place, while others are held in position with screws. It was easier to paint these sections remotely, as they’re a different shade to the rest of the body.

Care was needed to remove the pantographs and rooftop fittings, as some of the parts were tricky to dislodge. The original roof colour was to be retained, so anything that hindered masking up was temporarily removed.

Most of the glazing was removed, although some of it was left in situ and carefully masked. The roofs were masked before the sides and ends were sprayed silver. The black front sections were also masked and sprayed.

A full array of colour livery diagrams was supplied by Angel Trains to help with this project, which were used to create a bespoke set of transfers, produced by Rainbow Railways.

Starting with driving ends, the livery elements were cut into sections, to make application easier. The coach bodies were given a good coating of gloss varnish to provide a suitable base onto which the decals could adhere.

The mid-blue sections to the side of the nose end, were added first, floating the transfers into position with plenty of clean water and a coating of Micro Set decal solution.

When the transfers were fully dry, a scalpel was used to trim the decals around the windows and light clusters. When complete, more Micro Sol was applied to re-soften the decal and help the edges bed down around the apertures.

The other sections followed, with each sections being allowed to dry out properly before the next decals were applied. Note how the transfers cover the window and light apertures.

Once all the smaller decals were also added, the model was allowed to dry fully before sealing coats of satin varnish were applied. Glazing was refitted, along with any detail parts, before the model was fully reassembled.

Dave’s starting point for this project was a Hornby LNER Class 800 ‘Azuma’ five-car set.

The process of adding all of the various livery elements was slow and laborious, but a patient approach proved worthwhile.

The intermediate coaches were a little easier, as they’re fairly flat. But again, the various separate sections were added one at a time.