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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.

Entries in this blog

Oxford Diecast JCB C3X 1980s - Step 2. A Wash.

Before making a start on any discolouration, the model is given a good seeing-to with Testor's Dullcote. This immediately removes the high gloss finish that is found on diecast models. The windows will be rectified much later on - at the end.   The rigger brush is dipped in clean white spirit and then into the wash (it's an enamel wash) , and the tip used to apply the thinned wash to various areas of the model - wheel centres, engine bay,  rear bucket and a couple of areas where detail
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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Oxford Diecast JCB C3X 1980s - Step 1. Introduction.

Definitely not an exercise in minimalism, this one.   A JCB that is earning its living in a rather muddy environment, getting itself covered in all sorts of muddy substances.   The plan here is to work on one layer at a time, and leave the model at each stage in a state where it could be regarded as finished. This will serve to show (I hope) how to build up layers of dirt gradually until satisfied with the result, whatever stage that might be at.   No airbrush. This
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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GWR 70' Post Office Sorting Van - Step 7. Summary.

The finished vehicle can be seen to have a very light weathering, road dirt accumulated from a short time in service (possibly since its last heavy overhaul) and nothing allowed to become totally obscured by grime. Windows are still relatively clean and only edges and corners have accumulated dirt so far. There is a slightly heavier accumulation in crooks and nannies and on the underframe but,  for the most part, it is a good advertisement for the company.   Materials and tools used we
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

4

GWR 70' Post Office Sorting Van - Step 6. Finishing Touches.

The filbert brush has been used to pick up the 'dust' remaining in the pigment pot lid, and the brush is then gently wiped on a paper towel to remove the larger particles.  The brush is then gently wiped against the panel edges, at right angles, so that the very edge of the detail collects the 'dirt'. Easier to do than describe. No need for precision, this group of panels was done all at the same time by wiping from the left hand end of the coach along to the right hand end, without stopping, an
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

3

GWR 70' Post Office Sorting Van - Step 5. The Underframe.

The panels and the rest of the sides are now completed, and it's time to attend to the underframe. The shade of black used to paint the underparts represents a fairly worn state, so the only work required is to add something to break up the evenness of colour. Once again, AK Interactive Dark Earth pigment is used for this in the main, but some small amounts of MIG Productions Russian Earth were used as well. When looking at the carriage through a camera lens the difference is barely noticeable,
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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GWR 70' Post Office Sorting Van - Step 4. Removing the Pigment.

Continuing the panel work, the same method as in step 3 is used to place pigment in all edges and corners, making an absolute mess of everything. Please note that I didn't do this without first testing on something that didn't matter!   Once all the pigment has been applied, work begins on modifying the appearance. Clean cotton buds were used for this, but not the type that fall apart as soon as you look at them. The ones I use are intended for use with make-up rather than with small c
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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GWR 70' Post Office Sorting Van - Step 3. Applying the Pigment.

Very small amounts of pigment are placed, using the tip of the brush, into the panel edges to create a strong shadow effect. At first the effect will be too strong, but later work will reduce the contrast. Because the pigment will go everywhere if given the chance, the work area is being kept as clean as I can possibly make it. When working on the panels the vehicle is laid on its side, and if there is any excess pigment lying on the paper towel, it will transfer itself to the coach side when ap
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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GWR 70' Post Office Sorting Van - Step 2. Materials and Tools.

The main pigment to be used for this model is AK Interactive Dark Earth. This choice comes from studying photographs of lightly weathered brown and cream coaching stock from many eras, including preservation examples. The paint finish on the model is such that it will hold pigment very well, so care will need to be taken in where it goes in the first place.   Most of the application will be done using a normal round (or candle flame) brush, size 2. This gives a fairly narrow point for
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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GWR 70' Post Office Sorting Van - Step 1. Introduction.

Something a little bit different, for me, at least.   This coach is to be lightly weathered, to represent a vehicle running in the 1930s. I don't envisage using large quantities of anything, but the difficulty will be to portray a very light coat of dirt without making it look blotchy.   I plan to use pigment for most of the work - AK Interactive Dark Earth. Application will be done using small brushes, probably a round no. 2 and a filbert no. 2 or 4. Being a panelled coach,
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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Accurascale Cemflo. Step 6 - Finishing Details.

Final touches include the wiping of the pigment brush, which still has a residue of light grey pigment on it, over horizontal and protruding surfaces. Note that this does not mean that the brush is dipped in pigment at all, we just make use of the miniscule traces that are still embedded in the bristles. A bit like dry brushing with paint.   The Blue Circle board on the tank has also been rubbed with the pigment brush, in vertical streaks, to replicate the dusty buildup of cement dust.
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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Accurascale Cemflo. Step 5 - Underframe (Details).

The holes in the underframe strengthening plates presented a small problem. How do you get an even coverage of paint on the solebars that will be seen behind the plates? I put the nozzle of the airbrush right up against the holes and sprayed through them onto the solebar. The consistency of the paint allowed it to spread far enough inside the gap to cover the whole area.   The Railmatch frame dirt was applied first, to give an overall tint to the whole area. Wheels were done by using t
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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Accurascale Cemflo. Step 5 - Underframe.

It's the turn of the underframe. Railmatch Weathered Black and Frame Dirt are used in this case. A first layer of frame dirt is followed by a second layer of weathered black/frame dirt mixture, giving some variation of colour to random areas of the chassis.    
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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Accurascale Cemflo. Step 4 - Encrustation 4.

Cement dust builds up gradually on the tank sides, forming a crust as time and precipitation both do their work. In places the weight of this buildup is too much for the grip of the gunk on the metal of the tank, and lumps fall off. On the model this effect can be shown by using a cocktail stick, or similar precision tool, to chip away at the previously created mess. The pointed end will remove small areas at a time, or it can be used at a much shallower angle to reduce the height of the lumps m
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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Accurascale Cemflo. Step 4 - Encrustation 3.

Once the Dullcote has dried, the pigment is well and truly stuck. Working with an old filbert brush, the mess is being reduced to smaller lumps by the simple expedient of rubbing the lumps down to size. The harder you rub the smaller they become. Notice the piece of paper in a nice shade of pink. This is being used to capture the powder falling off the tank, so that it can be re-used.
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

Accurascale Cemflo. Step 4 - Encrustation 2.

The idea of using the Dullcote is to create a quick-drying sticky surface upon which the pigment can be plonked. Sorry for being technical.   No attempt has been made to be careful where the pigment goes because the Dullcote dries very fast, and the pigment needs to land on it while it's still wet. You would have been amused had you been able to see me struggling to spray Dullcote, plonk (sorry again) pigment and take a photograph all in the space of 10 seconds.    It looks a
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

4

Accurascale Cemflo. Step 4 - Encrustation 1.

Preparation for the cement application. Materials to be used now are Testor's Dullcote and Lifecolor N. Europe Dust pigment. I searched through many pigments to find a suitable grey cement powder colour, and this one is the closest (to my eye) I could find.    
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

2

Accurascale Cemflo. Step 3 - Couplings.

Not a weathering post, I know, but I thought that I'd remove the supplied couplings and fit the cosmetic screw couplings before proceeding. They look so much better that I took a photograph. Or two.    
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

3

Accurascale Cemflo. Step 2 - Oxidisation.

The bright shiny aluminium bodies of Cemflos soon turned dull through the oxidisation of the metal surface. My original plan was to represent this by using Testor's Dullcote, but a friend mentioned that he planned to apply a coat of Lifecolor Tensocrom White Oxide to his models, so I thought I'd unashamedly copy his idea. Very little of what weathering I do is my own idea, nearly everything is copied from somewhere or somebody else.   Tensocrom acrylic paints are semi-opaque colours th
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

2

Accurascale Cemflo. Step 1 - Introduction.

This splendid model will be the next topic.   I have already tried to weather one of these but am not completely happy with the result, which can be seen below.    The next attempt will use the following products:   Testor's Dullcote Lifecolor N Europe Dust Ammo by Mig Light Dust Railmatch Frame Dirt Railmatch Weathered Black MIG Productions Black Smoke   The model will be depicted at a later stage in its life but still before TOPS
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

2

Accurascale O Gauge HUO. Step 9 - Interior Afterthought.

I mentioned in the beginning that this blog would record good and bad. Here is an example of the latter.   You have probably noticed an absence of interior shots for this hopper. Firstly, it didn't turn out as I wanted it and, secondly, the photographs are completely out of focus.   You can verify that now:    
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

4

Oxford Diecast JCB C3X - Photograph Only

Yesterday (Sunday 28th April) I had the good fortune to visit the RMweb South West Area Group's Members' Day in Taunton. What a blast!   During my early walkabout (I had a late one as well) I visited Lord & Butler's stand and found a JCB, all bright, shiny and yellow. I decided to use it as an example of what could be done with a few materials - Testor's Dullcote, MIG Productions Industrial City Dirt, MIG Productions Dark Mud and Railmatch Sleeper Grime. By the end of the day and a
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

1

Accurascale O Gauge HUO. Step 7 - Underframe.

The underframe in my reference photograph doesn't show too much in the way of rust colours, being mostly built-up track grime. To replicate this appearance, I have used a thin airbrushed coat of Railmatch Sleeper Grime to form the basis. There was already some deliberately unmasked overspray from the Revell 84 used on the hopper body at the beginning of the process.   The airbrush (Iwata Eclipse) was held at about 4" from the underframe with the vehicle upside down on the turntable and
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

Accurascale O Gauge HUO. Step 1 - Checking colours.

An O Gauge HUO hopper from Accurascale is the next challenge.   The first thing to do is to choose the colours that will be used for this, and another seven to follow. Each of them will be tackled as a separate task, in the hope that the completed set will all look similar, but definitely not the same as each other.  The plan is to use Revell no. 84 as the basis for the rusty look, MIG pigments Dark Mud and Track Brown for shading in corners and around edges, Railmatch Sleeper Grime fo
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

1

Accurascale O Gauge HUO. Step 6 - The Rust Gets a Hold.

The old rust application is now finished. Greater volume of pigment (although still only small quantities at a time) has been applied in corners and at edges, and now it is time to add a different tone of rust where more recent corrosion is taking place. For this stage I am using MIG Dark Mud. Once again, small quantities at a time and gentle application, building up the effect gradually.   You'll have noticed that there is plenty to do on the underframe.    
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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