MLE Library
Tips, Techniques and Other Good Stuff
This page will be used for information, tips and techniques, videos, modelers photos and other such content. Check back often to see what's new.
Modelers Photos
Describe your image
Modeler: Bill Smeink (HO-scale CPR #5 Station - 102A-HO)
Modeler: Larry Dickinson (O-scale CPR Portable Station - 111-O)
Paint Mix Information
The following are the paint mixes and blends that we use on all our model structures. They include using available model paints and other techniques for the more adventurous. You can avoid all of this and purchase our pre-mixed colours available on this website. Click here for more information. The colours listed here are for structures only and not for application on rolling stock or locomotives. Don't rule out the use of craft paints as they work well and are relatively inexpensive. More on this later.
Mixing Model Paints (Mission Models Paints)
We originally began using Mission Models Paint for our model colours. It is primarily used by the armour and airplane modelers and is an excellent quality paint for your purposes. It is a water based acrylic, brushes on well and airbrushes beautifully. It is recommended to use their thinner if thinning is desired. Go to missionmodelsus.com for more information. It is available from many hobby shops in Canada or directly from them.
Canadian Pacific Colours (CPR)
CPR Red/Brown
- 2 parts red
- 1 part brown
CPR Dark Chocolate Brown
- 40 parts brown
- 10 parts red
- 3 parts black
CPR Cream or Light Sandy Yellow
- 20 parts white (less if you want a darker shade)
- 1 part tan
- 1 part yellow
Canadian National Colours (CNR)
CNR Red/Brown
- 4 parts red
- 1 part brown
CNR Dark Green
- 1 part green
- 1 part yellow
CNR Yellow
- 4 parts white
- 2 parts tan
- 1 part yellow
CNR Olive Green
- 18 parts white
- 3 parts yellow
- 1 part black
Pacific Great Eastern (PGE/BCR)
PGE Light Green
- 2 parts green
- 1 parts tan
PGE Dark Green
- 1 part green
Other Colours
Roof Black (Grimy)
- 2 parts tire black
- 1 part black
Roof Red
- 1 part Red
White
- 1 part White
Mixing Artist Acrylic Colours and Other Paint
It isn't obvious to many modelers that there are many paint options available, at a much lower cost, than the expensive paints at local hobby shops or online. We now use Liquitex tube artist acrylic colours to mix and blend our paint. The paints are thinned with blue windshield washer fluid. Yes, you read that right. Windshield washer fluid contains alcohol and surfactants (lubricants) that mix extraordinarily well with acrylic paint. They brush on well and when thinned properly, airbrush as well as any hobby paint. They also provide a very smooth finish. Craft paints also mix very well for brush and airbrush and come in a myriad of colours. This is an option if you'd rather not mix your paint as you should be able to find a close match. The other option is to buy mixed colours from our custom paint page.
Canadian Pacific Colours (CPR)
CPR Red/Brown
- 40 parts Primary Red
- 8 parts Burnt Umber
- 1 part Primary Blue
- 49 parts Thinner
CPR Dark Chocolate Brown
- 5 parts Primary Red
- 7 parts Burnt Umber
- 2 parts Primary Blue
- 14 parts Thinner
CPR Cream or Light Sandy Yellow
- 30 parts Titanium White (less if you want a darker shade)
- 1 part Burnt Umber
- 1 part Primary Yellow
- 32 parts Thinner
Canadian National Colours (CNR)
CNR Red/Brown
- 5 parts Primary Red
- 1 part Burnt Umber
- 6 parts Thinner
CNR Dark Green
- 20 parts Light Green Permanent
- 1 part Mars Black
- 21 parts Thinner
CNR Yellow
- 30 parts Titanium White
- 2 parts Burnt Umber
- 4 parts Primary Yellow
- 36 parts Thinner
CNR Olive Green
- 20 parts Titanium White
- 3 parts Primary Yellow
- 1 part Mars Black
- 24 parts Thinner
Other Colours
Roof Black
- 5 parts Mars Black
- 1 part Titanium White
- 6 parts Thinner
Roof Red
- 1 part Primary Red
- 1 part Thinner
White
- 1 part Titanium White
- 1 part Thinner
Grain Elevator Brown
- 1 Burnt Umber
- 1 Primary Red
- 1 Primary Yellow
- 3 parts Thinner
Alberta Wheat Pool Aqua
- 1 part Light Green Permanent
- 1 parts Primary Blue
- 2 parts Titanium White
- 4 parts Thinner
Articles & Blog Posts
Construction article link for kit #115-HO
craftsmanstructures.blogspot.com/2024/04/canadian-pacific-railway-st-marys
Tips & Techniques
Assembling and Finishing Brick Chimneys (Brick Mortar Technique)
The first step is assembly if necessary by gluing the caps to the main stack. Next, prime the surfaces. Once the primer is dry, brush paint the chimneys a brick red colour being careful not to fill in the engraved grout lines. We used brick red
('craft smart' - Micheal's brand craft paint). 2 light coats were required.
We used drywall 'spackle' to represent mortar between the bricks. The nice thing about this technique is that it is fully reversible just by washing the spackle away. First place a small amount of spackle in a mixing container. You can apply it to the chimney now if you want white mortar. It's more realistic if you tint the mortar with brown or black craft paint depending on the final colour you want. We used a couple of drops of black to tint it a light gray colour. Add paint or spackle until you get the colour you want. Apply the mixture to a chimney with whatever you used to mix it or your fingers. Work it into the grooves and then wipe the excess away from the surface. Do the next 3 sides in a similar fashion. LIGHTLY dampen a facial tissue or paper towel with some water. Very lightly wipe the surface of each side of the chimney to remove the haze from the face of the bricks. If you remove too much, simply add more spackle and wipe again until you get the results in the photo. Be careful not to wipe away the paint as well.