Mick Bonwick

I'm sure you'll find out soon. I hope it's not too much of a shock . . . . . . . . . . .

Buffer beams get dirty. They're not alone in that, obviously, but this aspect of weathering doesn't always get the attention it deserves, and I include myself there. There is much opportunity for detail weathering in O Gauge, so I decided to put a little more effort into this subject by applying a wash to the varied protruberances on the buffer beams. A straightforward process, involving a rigger brush, white spirit and MIG Dark Wash. The brush bristles are first loaded with white spirit and then dipped into the bottle of wash. The tip of the brush is applied to the edge of a detail (bolt head in this case) and capillary action will take the fliud as far as the consistency permits. The thinner the wash the further it will travel. You should be able to see just where it has been applied by studying the photographs. Note that the colouring will be lighter once the wash has dried, as is always the case with the paints we apply to our models.

Thinking about first steps in weathering, it occurred to me that it might be possible to achieve a 'lived-in' look with just the application of a suitable wash. A recently acquired Murphy Models Class 121 was given the treatment and an account of it can be seen on the Irish Railway Models blog. https://irishrailwaymodels.com/blogs/announcements/weathering-murphy-models-121-class-locomotives-with-mick-bonwick

Aha! A box girder bridge.

Love those trees! The bridge looks impressive, too. How much modification did you have to do?

That would depend on the required result, Tony. If it was to represent a fairly recently outshopped engine then I would apply the "grease" to the bare metal. If it was to represent a well-used engine and, therefore, a coupling rod covered in oil and grime, then I would colour it before applying the paint.

The Sharpie is indeed used for removing the bright shiny finish of the wheel rims, and the coupling rods, too. I have found in the past that airbrushed paint on these bare metal surfaces can rub off too easily, and even flake off if applied too thickly. I read, many years ago somewhere, that this could be prevented by blackening the surfaces before applying the paint. At the time I didn't fully understand the term, 'blackening', and used a marker pen. That looked blue to me, rather than black (yes, I did use a black marker!) so immediately rejected the idea. If I now work on something with bright surfaces that will be airbrushed, I will apply a coat of black (still looks blue to me) from a marker pen before airbrushing starts. You might be able to see the difference in this photograph, where the wheel rims and coupling rod have been done, but the flanges have not. Perversely, they look pink in the photograph rather than blue.

You don't know the half of it!

If you have a few moments to spare, there is a story here that is partly about these motors: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/151137-easton-isle-of-portland/page/17/ You will have to be prepared to read a load of other stuff as well (!) but there may be some helpful information, nonetheless.

A full story for this subject - I remembered to take photographs with my newly serviced camera while doing it. The plan is to weather it in a used but serviced condition, working from a photograph in a book from my reference library. I'll be using a selection of materials from my usual stock and will hopefully remember to introduce them as the steps progress. Being a small engine it sits quite comfortably on the painting turntable. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin . . . . . . . What might we use a Sharpie for?

Thanks, chaps. You're very kind. It's not too difficult to make these little folks look good though, is it? I've been using them to try out all sorts of things, some of which have worked.

Nicely done, sir.

I'll admit that I haven't read every post in this thread, so somebody might have already voiced my opinion, which is that you've got it right. Not too long to wait, time to save up (I've started saving for the next three announccements regardless of what they are!) and I'm not too bothered about duplication. Just keep 'em coming.

There are some interesting gradients there, and that track plan looks rather intriguing.

Splendid!

A good start! We need photographs. How can we pick holes in everything if we can't see what you've done? You're not likely to bore people. With an area and a story like yours we'll be drooling with envy. Well, I will, anyway.

A manufacturer of materials for weathering amongst many other things. https://www.migjimenez.com/en/

I'd go for Layout Topics. Most people go there to see what's been happening recently (or not!)

Yes, I mean exactly that. No rush, took my time, waited for it to dry, had another go, waited for that to dry, amd so on. Just built up the layers slowly.

Just can't resist them. Can you? This one started off with a layer or three of water mixable oil paint (black) that was left to dry for three weeks. Not because it needed that long, but because I was doing other things. Each of the three layers was disrupted slightly by rubbing gently to remove that area of paint between edges of panels. The next step was to use an airbrush to apply a layer of AMMO by MIG Rust Wash, thinned with white spirit, across the upper surfaces to give a matt finish. Chimney, cab roof, dome and top of saddle tank. This was given 24 hours to dry. The same wash was airbrushed over the wheels and chassis to tone down the bright colours and impart a dirty tinge to the surfaces. Once the wash had hardened, an application of black pigment was added to the cab roof and a few random areas of the running plate ro represent accumulated dirt. Final touches were the addition of some metallic gunmetal pigment to some of the handrails and some rust coloured pigment to the firebox showing through the frames behind the rear wheels. There's another view of it here:

Do you want the sides of your coach to be clean or dirty? If you are modelling a period when there were no coach cleaners employed, your windows would have the same level of dirt as the sides. To my mind this would mean that if the sides were glossy then so would the windows be, but if the sides were matt then the windows would be, too. What can you see in your reference photographs?

Just do it, Andy. I didn't start mine until it had been on the go for many years, and I had been making mistakes all over the place. My approach was to relate what had happened, good or bad. It has provided a certain level of entertainment for quite a few people! You won't regret it.

Significant progress. I'm intrigued by the cleanliness of your turntable.

Nope.

Packs ordered, photographs obtained, airbrush ready, pigments selected, level of aniticipation chosen. Now for the long wait. . . . . . . . .