I am returning to this lovely hobby of ours after twenty years away. I haven't neglected my workbench in that time, it has been full of German Armour, and the calender has been set at 1944 forever.Everything else in this hobby has changed.From the outside looking in quality has improved exponentially.

Some dear friends have encouraged me to return to my previously devoted hobby. Armed with my military modelling knowledge i have been trying to edge my way back in slowly.

My friends have suggested I try some weathering,Though i had no stock of my own that too has been readily nay eagerly supplied.

I have read plenty in the last century and this .On the worry some people have of actually starting out in the weathering process.I shall aim with this blog,to show how i achieve my results based purely on my long experience. So if you fancy having a go come along with me on this blog of weathering mayhem.

The first concern for me ,(being of the Yorkshire version diagram 1/1) is cost. Paint is my primary source of weathering solutions I have never used weathering powders and my projects therefore have never been temporary. If it goes on it stays on. Be brave people be brave. Paint as i say is my weapon of choice. Railmatch is my preferred choice but i still have some Precision and Humbrol pre-millennium. You will need some brushes but don't buy the expensive stuff.Between 2/0 and 2 just te cheapest option they will get wrecked and you will be buying them again soon. 5/0 to 3/0 get some nice stuff quality pays in the smaller brushes, Railmatch do some natty brushes at £3 a go in the smaller sizes and a range of fine stippling/hammering brushes above 2/0. Always keep the sprues from your kits they make lovely stirring sticks for paint and save you using the handles of files and brushes. Maskol £3 a jar locally brilliant stuff ,we will come back to it later,yes you will need it.you will also need some brushes for the maskol cheap is best size 1 should do;

First things first what are you going to try your skills on? Don't go for that two tone class 25 you had a go at with an aerosol. Thats for another day try something small,Something you can afford to lose.Something you can easily coat in Brake Fluid if your not happy. Brake fluid small bottle £2.99 locally ,plus brush for same size 4 and above.

Well lucky me,I was deluged with vans and minerals.The minerals will be the focus of this blog entry.I should at this stage mention a lovely book i bought in 1993 before the Sturmtigers and Nebelwefers took me away.

The Art of Weatheringby Martyn Welch ISBN-13: 978-1874103110 at £20 its quite pricey but contains all the vital information to get you started and spur you on. It is a railway weathering book so if you end up with a fire damaged Panther check the ISBN number above.

Right so you,ve been on Ebay and bought a rake of Bachmann Diagram 1/108 16 ton minerals.You will as ever need some good reference material: British Railways Wagons the First Half Million by Don Rowland (1996) £9 for a used copy is a good start. David Larkin/Geoff Gamble are names youshould type in to Amazon they have plenty of books for you to go at.

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/ should be all you will need on the net.

Right, so we have our stock materials and reference you won't need transfers on this project since we willkeep the original numbers and lettering this time.

You will have already have your chosen period and region.These are of course as vital as ever.It may seem that 16 steel minerals have been around forever.Well they have but you still have to be careful. Rebodies running alongside your topflap stuff ! mid sixties you would want to show a difference. Light weathering on the rebodies but you can go to town on the topflap wagons. 1950s you could have a variable collection.By the 70s your back to the heavy weathering really on your unfitted minerals.Due to various miners strikes in this period the acidic coal in the very ferous wagons ate one-another mercilessly.

I think at this stage you should consider a painting reference for the corrosion you are about to recreate. A lovely piece of scrap metal with plenty of a rust upon it.Something not too unwieldy,something you can leave on your bench as an actual colourchart .All the pictures in the world will not improve upon the real thing. I found this lovely piece on Barmston beach.

Perfect for our needs,what all good 16t minerals are made of.

How many colours can you see? this is what your up against. Rust is not just one colour its about six in scale terms.Then there's the texture.Talcum powder 79p locally from bodycare is the answer here. MartinWelch recommends it his book. The principle is simple since rust rots from the inside out so underneath the paintwork.Each spot of rust generally spreads from its centre outwards in pattern.

So out with the maskol, mask off all those lovely markings,numbers and tare weights.The end door stripe and the centre door markers will also need to be masked off.The following method is that recommended by Martin Welch.the areas you want to be rusty you stipple on now Your cheap brushes are very necessary now.Dark rust with a mix talcum powder.Remember at the stage rust needs to be scaled.Less is more since what you put on is unlikely to flatten,So by all means build it up in coats but just don't leave too pronounced.this is my first attempt.

To my mind it is a little overscale in terms of corrosion but since its destined to be a hotbox static,stuck in a siding it can still be justified.

This is my second attempt.

A more subtle approach here.

Left to dry for 24 hours then masked of in patches with maskol.

Left to dry for another 24 hours then its painting time.As the corrosion happily munches it way through the metal the beautifully applied grey paint is history,From now on its battle to survive till the next overhaul 5 plus years away. So now a good daubing of freight stock grey for your chosen period,applied quite thick over your chosen patches.Leave to dry for another 48 hours then its time to carefully pick off your maskol patches with tweezers.Your basic rust patches are now revealed.

Now to pull out that rust reference and apply miniscule amounts of the various colours using a drybushing method (dip in jar wipe 90% off,apply).Following your reference rust carefully as a colour chart and corrosion tracker you should now have rust patches in a multitude of colours Always apply in light strokes barely touching the surface. build it up

over time.If it looks right it is right in weathering.try and balance out the ratio of colours too much of one colour will create an unnatural effect.

This was my first attempt at this stage, I highlighted the edges of the curling paint with some weathered black,this gives shadows and depth close up it can look odd but a normal viewing distance its quite an eyeful.

Obviously this is all a little too bright for everyday use.so a wash of weathered black should level it all.If you have an airbrush now would be good time to blend the top half.Pick out some areas with oily steel, top half done.The interior can recieve all this treatment if you wish.

For the underframe i like to pick out wheels spring and the morton brake gear in dark rust with light rust on the wheels.Blend all in with a wash or airbrush full of frame dirt. bingo your first masterpice can now take pride of place in the pickup goods.

I urge you to have a go.You only have a mineral wagon to waste. If you followed all this and still ended up with battle damaged Panther tank,well there's always that brake fluid you bought earlier.

Rule number 1 Build up texture in layers

Rule number 2 Always leave to dry between stages,at 24 hours don't rush it.

Rule number 3 Never use straight matt black it is too black use very dark greys instead

Rule number 4 Matt varnish will level everything off nicely.

Rule number 5 Only paint what you can see in the quantity you see it.

If you are interested in having similar work done to your stock please contact me at :

https://www.facebook.com/groups/356502814462332/