I've had a crack at weathering the nose bulkhead this evening, and I must admit that I'm rather pleased at the way it's turned out - used, but not too grubby (please excuse the rather cruel enlargement).
Can you spot which bit has had the attention from the fitters boot?
Most of the effects have been done using gouache, but powders have been used in a couple of places to tone down the effect.
Engine room bulkheads are next.
Edit - I've taken a better, not so out of focus, pic
A combination of things in the title - do it yourself transfers and why am I going this far? I could have the body assembled by now, I reckon, but it is getting to a point where the extra work seems worthwhile - I just have to keep thinking 'it'll look great once it's finished!'.
The transfer making wasn't as tricky as I feared it might have been. I ordered some of the clear and some white paper from Crafty Computer Paper, which comes with fairly comprehensive instructions. The first atte
No not class 20's, (or that, you smutty individuals ), but one of these:
Which has proved invaluable this weekend, as I've started adding detail to the cab of 415. It's great for cutting multiple, identical, pieces of styrene, with the supplied adjustable fences - angles are included too. It's very easy to set to the size you want too:
Various people have said to me that the problem with going up in scale is that you end up adding smaller and smaller details, because you can. Th
Erm, rinse my kits after washing with soapy water - isn't that what everyone does?
It doesn't seem right that a 7mm kit bodyshell can be built out of this few parts, but here are all of the main structural components. These are now drying off before work commences on the cab bulkheads and sanding down the filler on the bodysides.
I've also discovered a few more parts I need that aren't included in the kit. The ETH gear is missing, despite stating that it was for a /4 at the time of
Links for later parts of the saga:
2 - What do you do in the bath?
3 - Giving the Chopper a good workout
4 - D, I, Why?
5 - Interior design
6 - Interior design - too
7 - I'll be your number one
8 - Of weeny LEDs and orange
9 - The real slim Shady
10 - His name? Number two...
11 - Mikkel made me do it ;-)
12 - Wax on. Wax off.
I have probably just made a mistake, probably quite a big mistake - I've opened the big white box of joy...
For those of you who are not aware of the
There are probably more time consuming bits to come but doing the detailing bits is going to be the most time consuming part of the whole project, it certainly has been in the case of the DTS I've been focusing on today, even more time consuming than removing all the raised detail!
The first pic is here to highlight just how much of a difference the windows make. Admittedly it is additional expense on top of a rather expensive kit, but the difference is amazing - they really transform
I've made a bit more progress with the 455, with all four bodyshells assembled. The bodyshells go together quite well, but I have had to do a fair bit of fettling to get the ends to line up properly with the roof and the sides to line up properly with the ends. No major surgery was required, just a little judicious filing here and there, particularly the vertical section of the rebate in the sides, where it meets the end of the roof.
All 4 cars with filler applied around the ends, awaiti
I've finally managed to get all the bits I need to start this little project together, so I've made a start today - I've only had the kit since June...
Opening the box (well, bag really )
The parts are sealed in a series of bags, within one big bag. Each of the 4 cars is comprised of 2 ends, one roof, one floor and two sides. The instructions are pretty good - there is a part list for each car and a basic exploded diagram, but no numbers to identify the parts (some of which don;t a
As the title suggests, I'm at a stage now where I think that this loco is complete.
I've not done too much since the last update - I've added a few subtle streaks here and there using gouache, and done a little more to the coupling rods - I wasn't entirely happy with the way they looked. I've also given the body a coat of matt varnish, as some of the finishes I've used are a little fragile. If this wasn't a project destined for ebay, I'd have probably left it as I could easily touch it up a
After wasting time on various things that could most probably, well definitely really, wait, I've cracked on with the 09, to the point where it is nearly done, I think.
On both ends, I wasn't happy with the black, it was looking too faded after the spray fade. Luckily, as I used Vallejo acrylics on the fade, I could easily remove it from the black whilst leaving the yellow intact. I applied Tamiya thinners onto the black, and gently rubbed it off with a cocktail stick. The thinners s
With TFMP being out for the day, I've been able to crack on with this little project all afternoon. I go through phases with this, sometimes I really get into it and can achieve a lot in a what feels like a short length of time. Other times I don't really 'feel it' so get distracted, and don't achieve much at all.
The second side is just about there now, I think. I've highlighted the panel lines with dark grime washes, and added the rust underneath the door hinges with powders - a mix of
A little more, much the same as before. The tank spillage needs a bit more work, I'm not entirely happy with that bit yet, but everything else is coming on nicely. The underframe has been done in much the same way as before, but this time I tried using raw umber gouache to tint the Tamiya Smoke for the oily bits on the underframe, instead of using the gloss tan.
It's worked rather nicely, so that's another combination of materials added to the arsenal!
Next stage is putting a bit
This new blog format has deluded me into thinking that people may be interested in the reasons behind what I do, the inspirations and how it all started, really. They probably aren't, but I'm going to do it anyway
It really started with the introduction of the Hornby Class 50, back in 2003. I'd had a model railway before, but sold up in 1993/1994 to start modelling US prototypes due to the superior models available. That too soon fell by the wayside once girls, cars and beer were disco
As is kind of hinted at by the title, I'm pretty happy that I've finished the first side of the 09. It's just been a matter of adding the the little details with gouache and powders, so again it won't look much different to last time.
The masking tape depot plaque seems to have worked as intended, a bit more gouache washes and powders in this area have made it look as it should.
The trickiest part of this phase was the marks on the battery box where the BR arrow had been remov
There are periods of doing this kind of thing where I feel like I've spent an awful lot of time doing something, but don't really have much to show for it.
I've started on the roof of the 09, with the cab roof getting the most treatment. A mix of weathering powders and hairspray was used for this - mostly Mig Europe Dust, with a little Brick Dust and Gulf War Sand chucked in for good measure.
This is mixed up and applied with a brush. If it goes on too thin, add more. If it go
A bit more progress has been made with the 09 - I've still not been tempted back to making track, even though I really should be getting on with it!
The powders and gouache have been broken out to add further dirt and grime, and I've also made a start on the underframe.I've decided to try a different method to the one I used on my last 08, which was straight out of the Martyn Welch book. This time I've used slightly different materials - acrylic gloss black, grimy black weathering powde
Follow these links for the other stages of this project - I've had to trim the number of entries in the index box, to the right:
Part 2 - More Gronk progress
Part 3 - It doesn't look much different, does it?
Part 4 - End of side 1, please turn over
Part 5 - Side 2
Part 6 - End of side two - approaching the end(s)
Part 7 - Nearly the end(s)
Part 8 - The finished article
I know its in the archive, but seeing as this is still a current project, I'd better move it over here.
Based on
