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James Makin's Workbench - 1990s dirty diesels & grotty wagons


James Makin
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19 hours ago, rob D2 said:

I had a cashcow for three years and it was really comfy, especially the heated seats that made you think you’d wet yourself,

 

Please enlighten us Mr swifty on what you drive and it’d better be exciting as per 911 upwards.... ;)

 

I can't think of many occasions that I've been in one, to be honest!  The point I'm trying to make is if Oxford isn't making ordinary cars then why have they done a Quashqai? Admittedly, they've not done a Juke but I always thought it was one of the better-selling cars in the UK? In the same way, I'm surprised we've not seen a modern-day Golf made?

Personally, I think it's double standards. 

 

On a side note, my fun size ferrari 1.25L Fiesta in "race red" (more mud than paint after a trip to Daresbury!) is the pinnacle of driving performance with 0-60 in 2.5 days, a top speed of something like 104mph and 87bhp under the bonnet. What could be better than that? *tongue firmly in side of cheek*

 

Edited by Swifty11
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Nothing wrong with a fiesta , had a couple as a young man .

 

As long as it is a fiesta , not adorned with £2000 of crap from Halfords , and one of those stupid exhausts for attention seeking miscreants , whilst they desperately await the call from  mclaren :)

Edited by rob D2
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On ‎20‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 22:37, rob D2 said:

Nothing wrong with a fiesta , had a couple as a young man .

 

As long as it is a fiesta , not adorned with £2000 of crap from Halfords , and one of those stupid exhausts for attention seeking miscreants , whilst they desperately await the call from  mclaren :)

All my classic motors have nice exhaust system on,

but it doesn't mean I rag mine around on the open roads...:D

Just few trackdays every few months...

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Loving the Class 60s James, there were some really to pay ones around at the turn of the century.

 

 I remember the article you did at the time about the blue Focus as I had a 56 plate 1.8 Ghia TDCi as my first company car from new in the same colour. It was a great motor, sadly I think the driver who collected it at the end of the lease wrote it off (it was snowing that day) as it never had another MOT which was due the next month. Between my wife and I we have had 2 Fiestas, 4 focuses (no 5 is about to be ordered) and 4 Mondeos, so would love a couple of modern models of Ford's to replicate the cars over the years. 

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On 21/08/2019 at 08:36, Duple said:

Looking fantastic as always James, can't beat a good 60 (or 2) !

 

What adhesive do you use to apply the name plates?

 

 

With regards to licensing for model cars, it can't be that prohibitive.. they've managed to produce a mundane Galaxy and all those Jags and Astons, I will make some enquiries, I bet there would be a market for Mk7 Fiestas / Focus's especially those of us that grew up with them.. anyone fancy a crowd funded project??

 

 

 

Thanks, for the nameplates my preferred method is using varnish - just the Railmatch Matt Varnish from aerosols does the job, it takes a while to set so there's plenty of time for adjustments and any overspill will disappear under the mandatory coating of varnish that all the stock gets given in any event! It also seems long-lasting and secure too, I first used the technique on projects in 2003 and they've still got all their plates firmly attached some 16 years on!

 

I tend to keep the dregs of the aerosol can (that's not enough for a whole loco/wagon) left for a quick squirt into a tin foil dish and then a thin film is applied on the back of the plates with a cocktail stick before lowering onto the loco for the miniature naming ceremony!

 

On 22/08/2019 at 10:13, 37114 said:

Loving the Class 60s James, there were some really to pay ones around at the turn of the century.

 

 I remember the article you did at the time about the blue Focus as I had a 56 plate 1.8 Ghia TDCi as my first company car from new in the same colour. It was a great motor, sadly I think the driver who collected it at the end of the lease wrote it off (it was snowing that day) as it never had another MOT which was due the next month. Between my wife and I we have had 2 Fiestas, 4 focuses (no 5 is about to be ordered) and 4 Mondeos, so would love a couple of modern models of Ford's to replicate the cars over the years. 

 

Thanks Rob, absolutely there's a right mix of '60's around from then, from very down-at-heel forlorn grey ones with missing branding and nameplates to bulled up new EWS ones, something for everyone! I do wish my modelling period went slightly earlier than it did though as my favourite condition of the 60s was when fully stickered up in sector livery with some of the awe-inspiring mountain names to match, too many crackers had been lost to the shadow privatisation rebranding in the mid 90s and that's even before the mysterious nameplate thieves came along pinching one or sometimes both plates!

 

Shame to hear about your company car, they were great, I do always give a second glance to the old Mk2 Aquarius blue Focus's that you occasionally see out on the roads, there seems a lot less of them about these days, and the ones you do see are often in a bit of a state now!! Good luck with the new Focus, I sat in one at the dealership the other month and they are very nice inside! It might take me a while to get used to the electric parking brake but other than that, all seemed like a great upgrade on the outgoing Mk3!

 

Cheers,

James

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Liking the unit !!

 

I've just started to detail/weather a Blue-Grey 121, got as far as painting the interior and adding passengers and drivers.

I'll have to check pics of the wipers !!

 

Cheers,

Phil.

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That’s completely unrealistic, i’m rather disappointed, there was never that many passengers on the Bedford to Bletchley :jester:

 

Another superb job, I’ve been trying to resist purchasing this unit as it’s slightly out of my time zone but I do fondly remember watching it trundle along the branch in that livery and you showing what can be achieved with a lovely bit of weathering is making the task far more difficult.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Brilliant as always James. The weathering on those KFA’s is just fantastic! I don’t suppose you could give a little insight as to method and colours that were used to achieve the finish you have. I’ve always found the blue that Hornby use on their KFA’s just doesn’t seem dark enough for my eyes, but the way yours look now are spot on :good:

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On 21/09/2019 at 22:56, James Makin said:

I couldn't resist a place in the collection for this cutie!

 

48771227958_1f9d02f646_k.jpgSilverlink 121027 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

I've liked the Silverlink livery since it first appeared in the late '90s and with it being at the central theme of Worthing MRC's Loftus Road layout, it was inevitable that anything in the attractive purple and lime green colour scheme would gravitate towards my collection!

 

The starting point was Dapol's recent Class 121 release - 

 

48771763987_7f3897a67e_k.jpgSilverlink 121027 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

The basic unit is pretty good, a decent runner with full range of lighting and the livery applied well in most places, so all it needed was a bit of toning down and bringing it to life, a simple project that's only taken a few days to do, which has been a nice change from some of my recent long term projects!

 

48771762077_330eaae34a_k.jpgSilverlink 121027 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

With the windows being ever so see-through, it was essential to add some passengers, my supply of Chinese 1:75 scale people (99p from eBay) was raided again and about 36 figures added, most of them suffering horrendous amputation to get them to fit in the shallow interior, but easily disguised with a bit of painting!

 

Meanwhile, on the outside, the model was treated to a coat of Railmatch matt varnish, followed by the roof and sides being toned down with a paint-on/wipe-off coat of dark grey. This highlighted all the dirt in the panel gaps, whilst leaving the main smooth surfaces nice and clean, just as per the prototype.

 

48771760317_5fa2a5b089_k.jpgSilverlink 121027 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

With the passengers all painted, it was then time to reassemble the unit...

 

48771556171_5640f2b5f3_k.jpgSilverlink 121027 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

And here we are!

 

48771217908_c6ef06e538_k.jpgSilverlink 121027 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

48771754197_8c8faecb57_k.jpgSilverlink 121027 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

The passengers show up nicely through the windows, it's a pretty well-loaded service with only a few seats left before it becomes standing room only!

 

48771752657_c5d1e4dd6c_k.jpgSilverlink 121027 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

Just one little detail I changed were the windscreen wiper fittings, the originals being cut off, swapped around and re-attached to centre on the inside edges of the windscreen as more commonly seen in photos of 121027, compared with Dapol's factory version that rest towards the outer edges.

 

48771215023_d89c3a2740_k.jpgSilverlink 121027 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

I'm really looking forward to running this on Loftus Road at our club show in Worthing next week - more details can be found at www.worthingmrc.co.uk/exhibition - please do come along and say hello!

 

Cheers,

James

I see that Makin bloke is cheating again by observing the real thing.

 

The other day I was looking at some photos of well modelled coaches with passengers sat inside. What struck me was how high up they seem to be sitting compared with photos of the real thing. I took one look at the first photo on James' post, the passengers are just right,. Well done James your eye for detail is outstanding.

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  • 1 month later...

Fantastic work as ever, I’ve just asked SMS if those MOD containers fit KFAs......

 

I guess most of them came from kineton rather than bicester as that’s where all the things that go “ BANG” are kept.

 

I may get some for the plank, but KFAs may overwhelm it size wise 

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On 26/11/2019 at 08:55, rob D2 said:

Fantastic work as ever, I’ve just asked SMS if those MOD containers fit KFAs......

 

I guess most of them came from kineton rather than bicester as that’s where all the things that go “ BANG” are kept.

 

I may get some for the plank, but KFAs may overwhelm it size wise 

 

Rob, those Wild Boar Models MOD PFAs could be ideal for a plank layout, cute little things! I'm hoping to get some one day, only barrier is the large postage on the Shapeways(?) 3D printing store, got to order quite a few wagons to make it worth your while I reckon!

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