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Mick Bonwick's Blog

A blog by Mick Bonwick in RMweb Blogs

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About this blog

A record of weathering work, intended to show both good and bad results, including explanations of what is used and how.

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White Coach Roof Weathering

I have been asked, and sometimes see questions, about weathering colouring of white coach roofs. I have ploughed through books and looked at photographs and decided that in the days when such roofs were in mainline service they discoloured fairly evenly and quite quickly. I have seen many references to such roofs in preserved service and it seems to me that they do not weather in the same way because their use differs. This is a personal view! I have attempted to replicat

Mick Bonwick in Weathering

February 21, 2021

5

There's a first time for everything.

Exploring the blog concept with a view to maintaining a record of weathering processes, materials, tools and techniques. Entries will be sporadic and entirely dependent upon time and memory.

June 25, 2018

8

Sunbeam Talbot 90 - Rather Rusty. The Beginning and The End.

Another 1/43rd model, by Oxford Diecast. Back in the days when cars were cars and boys were boys, I spent my time car spotting. Trains had no interest for me, where I lived they were all green and electric. One of the cars I drooled over was the Sunbeam Talbot 90, and when Oxford Diecast brought out their model of it in 7mm scale, I just had to have one. This is what it looks like out of the box: This is what it will look like at the end:

December 30, 2018

1

Sunbeam Talbot 90 - Rather Rusty. Step 5 - Windows.

Even though the car is pretty grotty, I thought that the driver might make an effort to keep the windows clean. Clean white spirit has been used to remove the Dullcote layer. Soaking a cocktail stick (wooden variety) in the white spirit will allow a gentle rubbing action to gradually remove the dried Dullcote a little at a time, and if you don't go right into the corners it can leave an accumulation of 'dirt' there. The tiny flakes that will be left adhering to the plastic windows through static

January 7, 2019

9

Sunbeam Talbot 90 - Rather Rusty. Step 4 - Pigment 2.

The second application of pigment is AK Interactive Dark Earth. This has been used to represent areas of bodywork where rust is only just starting to show through the paintwork, and also to impart a dusty appearance to the whole model. Note that it has been used on some of the chromed areas (bumpers and hubcaps) to give the impression of rust taking hold. Application was achieved with the filbert brush.

January 6, 2019

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Sunbeam Talbot 90 - Rather Rusty. Step 4 - Pigment 1.

The Dullcote has presented a nice matt surface for the next stage - pigment application. The aim is to use two colours to represent various rust tones. Well, two, at least! The first one is MIG Productions Track Brown, now marketed as Abteilung 502 Track Rust. It is used here to augment the rust spots by creating a larger rusty area with surface rust just starting.

January 4, 2019

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Sunbeam Talbot 90 - Rather Rusty. Step 3 - Removing the Shine.

The application of rusty areas is now finished. Some of the more obvious blobs of wash have been either removed or significantly diminished in appearance. Simple wiping with a damp (white spirit) rigger brush, holding the bristles as flat to the surface as possible, will achieve this. The model was left to dry for an hour or so (measured in coffee consumption at the rate of one every 30 minutes) and then given a generous coat of Testor's Dullcote from an aerosol can. This part of the process ach

January 3, 2019

2

Sunbeam Talbot 90 - Rather Rusty. Step 2 - Rust Spots.

For some time now I have been meaning to have a go with a microbrush. I'm sure they've been on sale for years, and been used by thousands of modellers for all sorts of useful things, but I've never had a go. Until now. By applying a very small amount of wash from the tip of the rigger brush, I was able to just about colour the tiny bristles of the microbrush. The tip was then poked carefully at areas of the car where I thought rust would form. I have no photograph of a rusty SunbeamTalbot 90 to

January 2, 2019

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Sunbeam Talbot 90 - Rather Rusty. Step 1 - Wash.

This topic will use an AMMO by Mig wash, Africa Korps Wash A.MIG-1001. Why? Because I have some and it has a red tinge to it, which I thought would work on a green vehicle. The jar needed a good shaking and mixing before being applied because the pigment had separated from the carrier and there was a ridge of hardened paint around the inside of the lid. I obviously didn't heed my own advice the last time I used it, and didn't clean the top and rim before replacing the lid.

December 31, 2018

2

Something Agricultural for Christmas

Back in the days of Summer I had a go at a 1/43rd scale Ferguson TE20 - a Little Grey Fergie. I had found a couple of these, after much searching, and wanted to work on one and leave the other pristine, just to show how much of a difference could be made with just Dullcote, washes and pigments. Unfortunately I didn't do a particularly good job when using my smartphone to take the photographs! This will keep you going until January. https://www.flickr.com/phot

Mick Bonwick in Weathering

December 16, 2019

3

Set 732. Summary.

A coat or two of Railmatch Frame Dirt mixed with Weathered Black has been airbrushed over the ends of each coach, graduating the colour from darker at the top to lighter at the bottom. No tiger stripes, just a gradual change of tone. All but finished now, just remains to add some lighter colouring to the footboards where feet fall. I'll use MIG Productions Rubbel (sic) Dust for that - just a touch applied with a filbert brush.

September 12, 2018

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Set 732. Step 6.

The roof has been airbrushed with a mixture of Railmatch Weathered Black and Roof Dirt to represent a well-used example. Care was taken to avoid paintless shadows behind the torpedo vents by painting those areas first. Only once the vents and surrounding roof were painted did the process move on to the remainder of the roof. If airbrushing the roof of a ready-to-run coach, when the roof is not easily removed, a card mask can be used to protect the sides from overspray while this is b

September 10, 2018

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Set 732. Step 5.

When the whole underframe had been airbrushed it looked too pale, so I added some Railmatch Weathered Black to the mixture and airbrushed a thin coat of the new colour combination over the top of the previous layer. In this photograph you ought to be able to see that the left hand end of the chassis looks a bit darker than the right hand end, which has yet to be completed. The roof has been removed for painting, something which is not usually possible with ready to run coaches. With

September 9, 2018

0

Set 732. Step 4

A recycled piece of protective foam strip from a worktop is used while airbrushing the underframe. This helps access to the inside underframe details on the opposite side of the coach to the one I'm painting. The whole of the underframe will now be treated to a thin coat of Railmatch Sleeper Grime, starting with the bogies. The air flow from the airbrush is used to turn the wheels and paint is then ejected for long enough to coat the whole wheel as it turns.

September 5, 2018

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Set 732. Step 3.

The application of dark wash to panel edges has been allowed to dry for at least 15 minutes. You can see from the photographs below that the colour has lightened and the white spirit has evaporated. To remove blobs and other unwanted paint after application surpluses, I use the rigger brush dipped in clean white spirit and gently lay the bristles as flat as I can against the areas to be treated. By moving the tip of the brush around, I can absorb the only-just-dry paint from the appr

September 3, 2018

0

Set 732. Step 2.

The process continues. When hardly any fluid transfers from the brush to the panel corner, it is time to replenish the brush with thinner and wash. However hard you try there will inevitably be blobs appearing in some of the panel corners. Leave them! They can be dealt with later - at least 15 minutes later. Don't worry (at this stage) about uneven application, either, it will all be sorted in a subsequent step.

September 2, 2018

0

Set 732. Step 1.

A rigger brush, a thin wash and capillary action are all used to get dirt into all the edges and corners of panels, doors and windows. By dipping the brush into clean thinners (white spirit) and then into the wash (MIG Productions Dark Wash), a good volume of fluid is ready to be transferred onto the model. The inevitable large blob on the end of the brush is removed by touching the tip against the rim of the bottle and the tip is then gently touched to a corner of a panel or junction of door sh

August 31, 2018

0

Set 732. Introduction.

Set 732 is to be depicted as a BR(S) liveried pull-push pair fairly late in the life of its green livery. An example of similar stock was found in a Michael Welch book containing many images of the southern region at the end of steam. The plan, such as it is, is to produce a weathered pair of coaches that shows a build-up of dirt around panel and window edges, a very dirty underframe and roof, but cleanly maintained sides. The dirt build-up will be achieved using MIG Prod

August 27, 2018

2

Rails/Dapol SE&CR Diag 1424 Box Van

This model will present several challenges to my approach to weathering. It is 3D printed, so there will be print layer striations to deal with, and the capillary action that I rely upon to highlight detail will, I am sure, not work very well if at all. When Rails announced the first run of this type of model, I hummed and hahed for too long. They sold out before I decided to do anything positive about it and when the second run was announced I plumped for a pair of SR liveried ones.

Mick Bonwick in Weathering

April 24, 2021

3

Rails/Dapol SE&CR Diag 1424 Box Van

When tackling weathering subjects I usually start with the underparts and this is no exception, as you have already seen. The Dullcote application has given a good matt finish for the pigment to be applied. I have used MIG Productions (now Abteilung 502) Dark Mud in this instance and although it has produced a very slightly textured finish it has not hidden the striations completely, which is pretty much as I expected. On the other side of the v

Mick Bonwick in Weathering

April 25, 2021

4

Rails/Dapol SE&CR Diag 1424 Box Van

Attacking one end with my standard wash on a rigger method produced this: Just as I expected, capillary action has taken the wash into wrong places as well as right ones. The striations are at right angles to the detail that I want to highlight, so all may not be lost. I may still be able to remove the unwanted material by dragging the wash downwards with a damp brush. I tried it but met with limited success: The edge of the roof at this end has

Mick Bonwick in Weathering

April 25, 2021

3

Rails/Dapol SE&CR Diag 1424 Box Van

The sides of this van are similar on texture to the ends, although I have to say that the vertical striations on the plank surfaces are not as noticable. The use of a wash was rejected because of the reaction when doing the ends, so the plan was to use pigment(s) on one side and thinned wash applied like paint to the other. The starting point: A thinned wash (MIG Productions Dark Wash) applied with a damp (as opposed to wet) wide flat shader diagonally

Mick Bonwick in Weathering

April 26, 2021

1

Rails/Dapol SE&CR Diag 1424 Box Van

The roof. In its pure, unadulterated, white and irregular/asymmetric form the roof will be loved by some and not by others. The markings are really strange and on my sample really can be seen from three feet away. Once covered with my favourite very light airbrushed wash for white roofs it takes on a life of its own: There is nothing for it but to completely repaint it, so I've chosen Railmatch Roof Dirt. If I eventually want to vary the shade sightly, I'll u

Mick Bonwick in Weathering

April 26, 2021

7

Quick Advertisement.

D3721 and Peckett No. 883 will be at the Hornby Magazine Great Electric Train Show this weekend, so if you plan on going, come and see how/if they differ from the photographs. Look for a bloke doing weathering demonstrations. Point and snigger all you like, he won't mind He'll have his back to you.

October 9, 2018

7

Peckett W4 No. 883. Temporary Diversion.

Before starting work on this locomotive I decided to remove the rather large supplied couplings. My original intention was to simply have no couplings at all, but then I noticed that there is a coupling hook on both buffer beams, albeit grossly over scale. A delve into a box labelled 'Couplings', that hasn't been opened for years (because it contains, mainly, supplied couplings from RTR rolling stock) revealed the presence of a couple of packets of Roger Smith unassembled 3-link couplings. A qui

September 25, 2018

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