Detailing Kato Amtrak Superliners and Amfleet
I recently installed the Kato interior light kits (11-212) in my Kato Superliners and Amfleet cars. The white plastic used to create the interiors causes a pretty harsh reflection which makes for a pretty un-prototypical appearance.
To help cut down on the glare I decided to paint the inside pieces a darker color and while I was at it increase the realism.
Supplies
- Airbrush
- 2/0 paint brush
- Mr. Color 327 (Red FS11136)
- Mr. Color 328 (Blue FS15050)
- Mr. Color Gundam Color UG09 (Zeon’s MS Gray)
- Testors 1167 (flat tan)
- seated people
Inspiration
As a sourse of insiration I referenced Amtrak’s next-gen Acela Express train interiors.
Progress
The first thing I did was disassemble the the cars and remove the interior sections. For the Superliners, once I removed the top sections I pried the copper strips from the sides. They were a bit of a pain to remove but with some wiggling they slid out.
I then sprayed the casts with the Mr. Color UG09. I know this is much darker than the grey Amtrak uses on their interiors but this allows some of the light to be asorbed and the inside will appear a bit lighter.
From there I followed Amtrak’s new interiors using colors closest to what they would prototypically be. Based off of the images, I used a fine 2/0 brush to detail the first class seats with a Mr. Color 327 red line along the top. All the tables, bars and dividing walls were painted with a thinned Testors 1167 flat tan so some of the grey shows through and gives it a more ‘woody’ texture. The last layer of paint was Mr. Color 328 blue on the bedding in the sleeper cars.
While testing, the cars were drastically less bright once painted.
I have an endless supply of tiny seated people ordered from eBay. They’re about $2.50 for a bag of 100 seated people (including some bonus attached pairs).
While they are by no means highly detailed they work really when when used on the insides of cars since they’re brightly painted and only partially visible. I usually removed the legs from the knees down so they fit in the seats but they don’t require much modification otherwise.
Using a pair of tweezers I gently dabbed a dot of glue on each figure’s back and held them to their seat for a second to properly adhere.