Chris explains how he uses the Bob Moore pen and the bow pen for lining out Little Wonder, Taliesin and Palmerston
I thought I’d do an article explaining how I go about lining.
Basic kit includes –
Bob Moore lining pen – standard and standard plus size heads.
(Kern ruling pen and compass, but not for this one)
Metal ruler
Accurate plasticard templates
White tack (less greasy than blue)
0 size brush
Tweezers
White spirit (+ metal egg cup!)
Lighter fluid
Fresh enamel paint (I mainly use Precision Paints)
Cocktail stick
N.B. You only knock a few paint pots over before you make a paint pot holder!!
Steady hand!
Preparing the Moore pen
Prime the nib of the pen using lighter fluid and run out most of the fluid through the tip blotting onto paper towel. The Moore pen works by drawing the fluid/paint through a fine tube (nib) using capillary action. The reason for the lighter fluid is that it aids the paint to flow out of the pen more easily by breaking the surface tension.
Now prime the pen with paint by dropping a couple of drops into the cup of the pen using the cocktail stick. I find the correct consistency of paint is shown by the paint dripping off the cocktail stick in even size drops after one dip into the pot. If it runs off in a stream it’s too thin, and if it doesn’t drop at all it’s too thick!!
Fresh Precision Paints paint is usually absolutely fine to use without any thinning.
One drop of paint will likely do all the lines you need in one sitting through the standard head pen, but a second drop protects the lower paint in the cup from drying, and I usually put this second drop in if I’m doing anything more than a tiny bit of touching up. It helps keep the paint flowing well when you come back to the pen after putting it down to move the ruler or templates around for the next line.
Have a sip of tea, beer or wine or nip to the loo….
Now draw the paint out of the pen using some paper towel, and then get it running on a piece of scrap before going to the model.
Very important trust me from bitter experience!
If the pen does not draw a line easily it is likely not your technique, it is the paint is not the right consistency or the nib slightly dirty and blocked. Do not persevere, it’s the road to madness 🤪 Stop, clean the pen, flush out with white spirit using a 5ml syringe, clean with the cleaning wire provided and repeat the priming process above. Yes you can have bad technique to start with and get wobbly lines, but the paint should still flow from the pen easily.
Draw the pen across the model with the nib leaning back from vertical a little, this allows the paint to run out smoothly. It comes with practice but is fairly forgiving. Again, if the line is breaking up and not a consistent width, it’s more likely dirt or paint consistency than your technique.
Template for initial black line. I use the standard plus head size here.
Thicken up this single black line with 4 further passes of the pen down the metal ruler.
Finish the black with corners thickening up by hand with a brush or the pen freehand. Leave for 48 hours to dry and harden, meaning further mistakes can be removed without ruining previous work.
Onto the straw colour borders. All straight lines done along the ruler, spaced off the model with small blobs of white tack. This is done with the standard size head on the pen. Both straw and black can also be done with a ruling pen, which I also use. Pros and cons to both weapons I’ve found, too boring to go into here. but the ruling pen can produce a thinner line with crisper edges if used well, and the paint opacity usually seems better.
To this point, allow to dry and harden again, 48 hours, so corners can be easily tidied up without risk of removing previous work.
Corners either done with template or freehand with brush or pen, and tidied up using spirit and a small brush. For consistency I’ve made these templates and use them on all these FR panel schemes. I also have a set for the curly corners too, so can switch between depending on which lining is being applied.
Any small mistakes can be tidied with brush and white spirit, or another trick – run along straights using a cocktail stick with the metal ruler as a guide.
Big mistakes, bite the bullet, wipe off the line in entirety with spirit and go again, not worth trying to patch things up, the eye will always catch it.
Completed locomotive
Using a bowpen
If using a draughtsman’s ruling pen, also known as a bowpen, then similar techniques can be employed.
Prime the ruling pen by drawing a cocktail stick dipped in paint between the blades down to the tip. Adjust the width of the line on the pen using the gauge wheel until the desired width is achieved.
A compass pen can be used to follow an edge, setting the compass to the distance required from the edge. [ See Taliesin below ]
Bowpen practice sheet
Corners are more difficult and I do them by hand with a brush and tidy with a spirit dipped brush.
I find the ruling pen easier to hold than the Moore pen, but paint dries in the tip very fast, and more cleaning and reloading is needed than the Moore pen.
Pictures of Taliesin circa 1887 using the bowpen and compass pen
The modern Taliesin using the Bob Moore pen
The stages of lining Palmerston
