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Mick Bonwick's Blog

A blog by Mick Bonwick in RMweb Blogs

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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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Page 2 of 8

Peckett W4 No. 883. Step 9.

Final step. Some Mig Productions Dark Mud has been added to the firebox sides that show through the frames under the cab to represent the rusty state of that area, but it's difficult to see in photographs. The whole locomotive has been subjected to cleaning up and running tests to make sure that all pickup surfaces are clear of paint. This is achieved by wiping the surfaces with a Tamiya cotton swab dipped into isopropyl alcohol, which will remove even hardened enamel paint. Wheels were turned w

October 15, 2018

4

Peckett W4 No. 883. Step 8.

To represent soot and other associated grime that falls on horizontal surfaces, I have used Mig Productions Black Smoke pigment, applied with a filbert brush, where appropriate. This means cab roof, top of boiler, running plate, tool boxes, etc. The previous layer of Black Night PLW has helped this pigment to 'stick' to these surfaces. I have also applied a small amount of Black Night to enhance the dirt buildup on the buffer beams.

October 12, 2018

0

Peckett W4 No. 883. Step 7.

Areas like the chimney, cab roof, firebox door, pipes and running plate will be dirty to some degree, even on a well-maintained locomotive. For this subject I have prepared these surfaces with some brush-on AMMO by mig Panel Line Wash (PLW) Black Night. This fluid is a very thin enamel paint, basically, and has a very small content of pigment compared with carrier. I have used it here to introduce a small build-up of dirt around the chimney top and base, the cab roof, the pipework and the runnin

October 11, 2018

0

Peckett W4 No. 883. Step 7.

The saddle tank on this model is a hefty lump of metal, but still well detailed. In order to emphasise the uneven surface of the tank, I have used T-Cut applied with small cotton swabs to create the shine. Yet again, only small quantities have been applied, and the result is a nicely subdued shine that has proved extremely difficult to photograph successfully.

October 9, 2018

3

Peckett W4 No. 883. Step 6.

The paint finish on this model as supplied is very good, but satin. The idea with the weathering to be done is to present a well looked after locomotive, so the satin finish needs to be altered to a shiny one, but not uniformly so. The cab sides and bunker have been polished with a gentle application of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) on a Tamiya cotton swab. These swabs are very tightly bound and shaped, the ones that I normally use being pointed at the tip. This shape allows me to be quite precise wit

October 8, 2018

9

Peckett W4 No. 883. Step 5.

It's all been left to dry properly for 36 hours. To represent well worn but properly maintained underparts, a layer of AK Interactive Fresh Engine Oil has been brushed onto the rods and wheels. This fluid has some strange characteristics in that it will react with not-quite-dry enamels and make them wrinkly (maybe I should not get quite so close to the bottle in future ). Once again, to keep the applied layer even and consistent, the wheels were rotated during the process with the P

October 7, 2018

5

Peckett W4 No. 883. Step 4.

With the model still in its foam cradle I have airbrushed some more Sleeper Grime onto the buffer beams. I left it to dry for 15-20 minutes (time for a coffee) and then started to remove the paint with a damp brush. The brush is not dampened by dipping it into thinners, but by placing a couple of drops of thinners onto the bristles with a disposable pipette. The combination of not-quite-dry paint and slightly damp brush gives a lot of control over how much paint is removed. With the use of light

October 6, 2018

2

Peckett W4 No. 883. Step 3.

Further paint is removed so that the wheels can be shown as relatively clean but oily. The brush was dipped in white spirit and the wheels turned by faithful PP9 battery. At a later stage the wheels and motion will be treated with a fluid that gives a wet, oily appearance, but the white spirit needs to be given time to evaporate completely.

October 5, 2018

0

Peckett W4 No. 883. Step 2.

Now to remove some of the paint applied to the motion and wheels. Remembering the intended clean state of this loco, the coupling and connecting rods will be portrayed as 'wiped clean'. The sleeper grime thus needs to be removed from the areas where that wiping would have taken place, so some clean white spirit was applied with a small brush and rubbed gently to remove some paint. I have also removed some from the slide bars and whatever else might have been kept clean or wiped clean in normal u

October 4, 2018

4

Peckett W4 No. 883. Step 1.

In much the same way as D3721 was started, the loco is upside down in a foam cradle and has been airbrushed with Railmatch Sleeper Grime, the enamel version. The wheels were rotated 1/4 turn after each light spray so that there were no shadow areas behind wheels or motion. This process also helps the pickup wipers to clear the wet paint from the rear of the wheels if any strays that far. The airbrush in use this time is an Iwata HP-SB Plus, one of my two favourites, which allows me t

October 3, 2018

5

Peckett W4 No. 883. Research.

Before starting on any weathering task, I look for photographs of the intended subject so that I can determine what needs to be done. It's not always possible to find the right condition at the right time in the subject's life, but a combination can usually be found that gives enough information. Three opinions have been given on how this model should look when weathered. so this being a democratic society, we will go with the majority vote and make it well used but looked after. I h

September 25, 2018

2

Peckett W4 No. 883. Preparation.

The whistle on the cab roof is very fragile and particularly vulnerable. There will be a lot of work to be done with the locomotive upside down, so some sort of protection is going to be needed. I just happened to have some blue coloured sticky stuff available, so I've used that to provide some protection. Something that must be done before any weathering is started is to remove all excess grease and oil from the motor and drive mechanism. If this is not done then at som

October 2, 2018

2

Peckett W4 No. 883. More preamble.

After searching at least 10 books for usable photographs I have managed to find a few that allow me to establish which parts of a cared for locomotive are cleaner than the rest. I thought that Gordon Edgar's wonderful books would help, but subsequently realised that a lot of the photographs that might have helped were re-touched black and white ones. Note that this is not a criticism! I have found many other photographs of small industrial locomotives that have provided clues about colour and pl

October 1, 2018

0

Peckett W4 No. 883. Introduction.

A casual enquiry at Scaleforum this weekend has brought forward the idea of working on one of Hornby's Peckett W4 models. What do you think should be tackled? Looked after or neglected?

September 23, 2018

6

PDK Maunsell L1 class 4-4-0 No. 1783. Step 9 - Finishing Touches.

To finish things off, some Black Smoke has been added to the wheel centres and the tender axleboxes and springs. I have also applied some Dark Mud to the seams in the tender, to indicate the start of rust, and some Rubbel Dust to the horizontal surfaces of some of the steps. The requirement was for a very grubby workhorse, which might suggest that piles of paint and pigments are to be applied, but it is just as effective to apply small amounts of both to achieve the effect, adding mo

October 4, 2019

1

PDK Maunsell L1 class 4-4-0 No. 1783. Step 8 - Other Pigments.

More work with pigments now, to add to the random dirty bits that have been created with Black Smoke. I normally use MIG Productions Industrial City Dirt or Rubbel Dust (that's what it says on the jar) for lighter stains, like ash and sand, and Dark Mud and Track Brown for rusty bits. In this case it will be Rubbel Dust (ash and sand) and Dark Mud (rust). The lighter colour represents ash staining under the smokebox door and sand staining around the sandbox fillers, and the darker co

October 3, 2019

1

PDK Maunsell L1 class 4-4-0 No. 1783. Step 7 - Black Pigment.

There are several areas on a steam locomotive where dirt buildup is of a very dark nature. The smokebox, the cab roof, the coal space, the running plate and so on. I like to represent this with a brushed pigment (in this case, MIG Productions Black Smoke) rather than with airbrushed paint. The pigment is applied with a filbert brush and is taken on the brush from the lid of the container, because there is (nearly) always a thin film there consisting of the finest particles.

October 2, 2019

4

PDK Maunsell L1 class 4-4-0 No. 1783. Step 6 - Up Top.

The upper surfaces of this steam locomotive are shown with a heavy layer of soot-based grime. This is achieved by adding more weathered black to the mixture with frame dirt. If you look at the attached photograph you will see the difference between the wheels and the cab roof, for example, but I doubt (hope?) that you will see the join. By gradually changing the proportion of black and brown in the mixture, as work progresses upwards, the chance of 'tiger stripes' is significantly reduced.

October 1, 2019

2

PDK Maunsell L1 class 4-4-0 No. 1783. Step 5 - The Other Sides.

The next step was a repeat of the previous, really, but I have deliberately posted separately to illustrate the difference that one light coat can make once manipulated. The process is the same - a light airbrushed coat from one end of the locomotive to the other, followed by a vertical brushing with a dry flat shader. It is possible that the paint has dried too quickly for this to have an effect, so there is a process that can address that. The flat shader can be slightly dampened by adding a c

September 30, 2019

4

PDK Maunsell L1 class 4-4-0 No. 1783. Step 4 - The Sides.

The aibrush now turns to the sides of the locomotive and has been loaded with a mix of frame dirt and weathered black. The former is prominent - only a small amount of the latter has been added to the mix. A very light coat has been sprayed along the bodywork and immediately manipulated by brushing downwards with a dry 1/2" flat shader. The paint was drying fairly quickly and the use of a dry brush moved it downwards inconsistently. The result is a deliberately uneven layer of dirt.

September 27, 2019

5

PDK Maunsell L1 class 4-4-0 No. 1783. Step 3 - Underframe.

When the driving wheels were being airbrushed, the paint was being applied to the complete underframe on each pass of the airbrush. Spraying started off the left hand end of the model and continued along the whole length, not stopping until the airbrush had passed the other end of the model. This produced a relatively even coat of dirt everywhere under the running plate. In later stages this evenness will be disrupted by other materials and effects that are intended to show the differing shades

September 26, 2019

1

PDK Maunsell L1 class 4-4-0 No. 1783. Step 2 - Driving Wheels.

Underframe dirt is being represented by Railmatch Frame Dirt, variously altered in shade with random additions of Railmatch Weathered Black. It is applied by airbrush in very thin coats, turning the driving wheels a quarter of a turn between coats. This allows the complete wheels to be dirtied without leaving a paint-less shadow behind rods, motion and other necessary gubbins. When it comes to areas behind the wheels (frames, ashpan, springs and so on) then the airbrush will need to be carefully

September 25, 2019

2

PDK Maunsell L1 class 4-4-0 No. 1783. Step 1 - Preparation.

Work will start with the underframe and to facilitate this I have used a scrap piece of protective foam channel and inverted the locomotive into it. Like the vast majority of materials and methods I use this is not a Bonwick original idea. The idea came from Tim Shackleton (who may well have copied it from somebody else) and the channel came from Gilbert of this parish (who may well have liberated it from a skip) as a free gift at a Missenden weekend session. While the inversion is i

September 23, 2019

0

PDK Maunsell L1 class 4-4-0 No. 1783

Another kit-built Southern liveried locomotive, this time a Maunsell L1 4-4-0 in lined olive green. The PDK kit was built by Chris Phillips: http://www.crphillips-models.co.uk/srmodelspage8.html This locomotive will be filthy! First step to be illustrated this time is the preparation of the workspace. Before commencing any work I have cleared the decks from the last project, laid down clean paper towels to give a little bit of protection to the old bedsheet co

September 22, 2019

4

Oxford Diecast JCB C3X 1980s - Step 6. Finishing Off.

The final tasks for this project are to sort out the cab windows and finish off the dirt and mud effects. The muck on the windows is removed by dipping a cotton bud into white spirit and gently rubbing the glazing until the underlying Dullcote softens and comes off. I have deliberately not got right into all the corners to leave a film of dirt there.. The glazing can be polished with a dry clean cotton bud to finish off with. Final touches to the dirt and mud involve abra

July 17, 2019

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