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


James Makin
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On 24/12/2019 at 23:32, James Makin said:

Merry Christmas everybody!

 

I thought I'd attack one of Arran Aird's boxes, the new Kien Hung 40' box from C=Rail Intermodal...

 

49271146052_8bb70fa5d0_k.jpgKien Hung box by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

The starting point was this lovely shiny blue beast bought at Warley, all looking very pretty to begin with!

 

49270947891_fddbff8fb5_k.jpgKien Hung box by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

There's some good photos of Kien Hung boxes on Flickr, it's an old container in the time period I'm modelling, and from pics they all seem faded, patchy and subject to the usual battering around the exposed edges, so it would be rude not to replicate this! 

 

49270945376_a8b7cd245c_k.jpgKien Hung box by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

The first thing to do was to mount it on a foam board plinth for handling, varnish with Railmatch matt varnish and then begin attacking with a white wash to start toning down that bright blue to a more subdued affair. After drying, a layer of light blue was then applied over the top, and similarly wiped off.

 

49270942986_343a039ded_k.jpgKien Hung box by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

Kien Hung boxes are really best weathered to the soundtrack of early Panic at the Disco...after the fading takes place, it was then time to add some brighter blue patches to represent some adhoc repairs done, and then to work on the rusty scrapes around the corners of the box.

 

49271137942_07c298c9ea_k.jpgKien Hung box by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

As with previous projects, I started with Humbrol browns working from light to dark, and then finished off with another layer of Railmatch matt varnish to seal everything in...job done!

 

49270471463_64a9c29cf8_k.jpgKien Hung box by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr

 

There are many more 'boring' normal boxes I'm working on with only minor wear and tear, but now and then it's nice to share pics of some of the old rotters!!

 

Almost time to get on the Toblerones now guys!

 

Cheers,

James

Hi James, 

 

This is fantastic work mate. I found the suggestion to use a pale blue wash over white particularly interesting. 

 

The issue I have with weathering is my level of patience. The logical me knows I can't rush it but I just want to get it done. 

 

Apologies as I have not read all of the thread and you have probably explained this but are the rusty browns hand brushed? 

 

This really is great work. 

 

Dave. 

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Hi James,

Only just stumbled across your thread, will be following with interest though as I lived in Didcot in the late 80's and early 90's up till about 95 and was an avid spotter in those days. 

It was my intention to model Hinksey Yard (Oxford) in that period and had a large collection of stock. 

I've since sold the lot and gone back in time to the ECML 1956.

Seeing the pictures of your 37's has got me looking for all my old photos from my spotting days at Didcot, so thanks for that.

Excellent weathering I have to say.

 

Geoff.

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On 27/12/2019 at 10:49, westernviscount said:

Hi James, 

 

This is fantastic work mate. I found the suggestion to use a pale blue wash over white particularly interesting. 

 

The issue I have with weathering is my level of patience. The logical me knows I can't rush it but I just want to get it done. 

 

Apologies as I have not read all of the thread and you have probably explained this but are the rusty browns hand brushed? 

 

This really is great work. 

 

Dave. 

 

Thanks very much Dave!

 

With the weathering, definitely patience is the key! The photos make it look quick but it’s all about adding layers on top of each other, including the paint drying time of 24hrs+ so it’ll take a good week or more to do a container, a little bit at a time basically! With the paint-on/wipe-off technique in particular, if you go too quick you’ll accidentally strip off the previous layer if the paint hasn’t hardened if the new layer is done too soon! I tend to weather several similar things at the same time otherwise you do, say a wash for about 10 mins one night and then have nothing else to do for another day or so!!

 

The rusty browns on this one were applied with paintbrush - the ones on the sides were painted on & wiped off, while the ones down the corners etc were applied with a tiny ‘00000’ brush, starting with the lightest brown and feathering on what might look like the rain watermarks left from a rust patch, and then using darker brown colours to go over the top and build up the actual rust patch itself, with the darkest shades at the epicentre of the rust! It helps also to find pics of rust and see how it blooms, either on container and then just whip out the tiny brushes!

 

Cheers,

James 

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Great work as always James! I’ve been following with interest on your previous 37 projects and they’re really impressive! 
If only there was a layout set in the early 2000s based on Crewe IEMD which they could be displayed on...? ;) 

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On 30/12/2019 at 06:12, The Fatadder said:

You certainly seem to have a lot of class 37 ends floating about in your scrap box James

 

Haha yes! It’s mainly as about 18 months back I formed a grand plan, listing out every Bachmann 37 in the collection and details on nose types, grilles and so on, to work out the master plan of which locos I can model depending on what I can swap between the different locos, effectively a big pool of 37s spares swapping between each one to make the 37 Frankenstein’s! Most of the plan has worked out fortunately, though there’s a few more complex 37s coming in the next batch that didn’t make it in time for the last one!

 

On 30/12/2019 at 10:17, KDG said:

Another couple of belters James.   Do you make any adjustments to the internal gubbins on your class 37 fleet?

 

Thats a good point, I’ve never really listed what goes on inside! Each loco gets a cab weathering, the back cab plate and interior are treated to a paint-on/wipe-off of dark grey, drivers are repositioned to my ‘favourite’ end of going forwards (with coupling hoop at opposite end) and the driver repainted into more modern appearance with hi vis jacket etcs! 

 

Each loco is chipped up with the cheap Hattons decoder 8 or 21 pin direct (sound doesn’t seem value to money for me for the few days a year these actually run at a show!) and the DCC cab lighting circuit boards are ripped out to prevent anyone accidentally turning them on during running on Loftus Road at a show (my pet hate!) :lol:

 

Finally, some black electrical tape is run down the inside of the windows to completely blank off any interior view and the locos screwed back together again!

 

Cheers,

James

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4 minutes ago, James Makin said:

 

Haha yes! It’s mainly as about 18 months back I formed a grand plan, listing out every Bachmann 37 in the collection and details on nose types, grilles and so on, to work out the master plan of which locos I can model depending on what I can swap between the different locos, effectively a big pool of 37s spares swapping between each one to make the 37 Frankenstein’s! Most of the plan has worked out fortunately, though there’s a few more complex 37s coming in the next batch that didn’t make it in time for the last one!

For my fleet I have for the most part managed to avoid too much swapping of noses, mostly resorting to either carving bits off or adding them back on to centre box locos.  Though I have managed to get hold of one set of flush ends to allow the rebuilding of 521,  and keep looking out for more on ebay to do 607.  Though that was mostly due to my refusal to pay the OTT prices flush end models were going for when they were first released (yet alone what they go for now).   Hopefully I will be recieving a package from Shawplan soon to allow me to get on with finishing off 403 and the new grills for 521....

 

 

Quote

Finally, some black electrical tape is run down the inside of the windows to completely blank off any interior view and the locos screwed back together again!

I dont know why but I hadnt thought of that, a simple change that makes a big improvement, will certainly be copying it!

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Guest curassier

James, hugely impressed with your work. 
I wanted to get into some diesels in O scale but the Heljan 37's seem far less accurate than some of the smaller scale offerings and are rather expensive for what they are. The Accurascale '37 has tipped me back into the idea of doing my DEMU modelling in OO.

However I am a little confused as to pant schema and eras. You seem to have a huge diversity in your collection.

Can I ask does it all fit within a given time-frame and if so what is that ? many thanks

JM

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9 hours ago, curassier said:

James, hugely impressed with your work. 
I wanted to get into some diesels in O scale but the Heljan 37's seem far less accurate than some of the smaller scale offerings and are rather expensive for what they are. The Accurascale '37 has tipped me back into the idea of doing my DEMU modelling in OO.

However I am a little confused as to pant schema and eras. You seem to have a huge diversity in your collection.

Can I ask does it all fit within a given time-frame and if so what is that ? many thanks

JM

 

Thanks very much!

 

I know what you mean about the Accurascale 37, that looks like it’s going to be a game changer when it arrives! I wouldn’t mind some big O gauge locos for the mantlepiece however, a nice original sector ‘60’ would be delicious!

 

My current modelling time frame is 1998-2002, my formative trainspotting years in Oxfordshire, which was an incredible time of change, on the freight side you saw wrecks from the BR days mingling with brand new EWS Class 66s fresh off the boat. There really was such a variety of liveries about - the Platform 5 spotting books of the era will give the full run-down but it’s breathtaking!

 

Over on the passenger side, liveries ranged from the outgoing Intercity Swallow merging into a rainbow of fresh privatised colours, Virgin’s red takeover while Great Western couldn’t seem to make its mind up on colours, some things never change! :lol:

 

I’ve also modelled later periods for other layouts, many years ago I modelled “modern image” bang-up-to-date 2005 with Wells Green TMD, a party piece included the very first models of the Network Rail Class 86/9 Loadbanks, just as the yellow dried on the prototypes!! But it was too much hassle keeping up to date and gradually I looked back to my early youth! EWS’s infamous 2004 switch-off cull took out a huge swath of the remaining favourites, and I started to lose interest in the prototype in favour of other interests for a few years. I like keeping track of the current scene now but it doesn’t quite make me want to model it! Being super cruel, we’re seeing a huge amount of random grey space-age multiple units replacing trains I’d grown up with and on the freight side, the magazines are full of a very small pool of celebrity heritage locos being papped to death, you see the same ones each month, and even the remaining maroon Class 66s are now faded with DB stickers all over them! :lol:

 

The Electrostar EMU models on these pages are later period additions for Worthing MRC’s Loftus Road specifically, but other than that, everything you see on these Workbench pages fit in the glorious 1998-02 era! 

 

There’s still copies of the magazines of the time on eBay, RAIL and Rail Express for example, to give a feel of the period! I think it’s perhaps just as diverse as the classic BR 1960s steam/diesel transition era and should go down in history as a golden period to model ! :good_mini:

 

Cheers,

James

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On 12/02/2020 at 09:58, muddy water said:

Your work is amazing!

There must be a lot of modellers out there who use your work as a go to reference point.

Any chance of putting an index at the start so us mere mortals can find the relevant page for a model. 

You have been somewhat busy!

cheers!

 

 

Haha thanks, when I started the thread I had no idea it’d turn into a 46 page giant over the last near-decade or so, it just kind of grew!!

 

Liking the idea of a contents page, I think I’d find that useful too just to go back through and see what’s been! I keep meaning to take a full copy of all the content should the worst happen to forum software (touch wood though!)

 

17 hours ago, 37403 said:

Any updates? There are plenty of us I'm sure getting withdrawal symptoms due to lack of updates :lol:

 

Love it! I’m just in the early/middle phase of the next batch of locos, I keep adding ones on so it’s becoming a bit of a big project! 

 

I like to save up the pics and details until they’re all done but I’m at the busy stage where I’m stripping down new locos alongside other detailed and renumbered loco bodies sitting around on the workbench waiting for their respective varnish coats to fully harden before the messy weathering stages begin! There’s a whole ice cream tub stacked full of numbered cab end interiors, snowploughs, bogie sideframes and so on awaiting detailing and refitting to the bare chassis, looks a bit of a warzone currently..!

 

I started out on doing just the odd few trickier ‘37s’ that didn’t make the last batch, but soon realised I had far more ‘47’s tucked away that I really fancied tarting up too, plus a few grey heavy freight Type 5s to throw into the mix, it’ll be a fun set of updates when they arrive, promise!

 

Cheers,

James

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On 18/02/2020 at 21:19, 37403 said:

Good stuff. Curious what other 47s you'll roll out... should we start 47 bingo?? ;)

 

Haha you’re welcome to give it a go! It’s quite an even spread of 47s from some mundane freight examples, through to top-link passenger favourites from the late ‘90s ;)

 

I’ve still got a few more fun 37s to appear too..! 

 

On 23/02/2020 at 16:39, 37403 said:

Do you airbrush the Matt varnish onto the models? What type do you use and do you thin it with anything?

 

I can never be bothered to airbrush varnish, I’ve always gone for the aerosols and have settled back on Railmatch varnish in recent years after having some challenges with Humbrol aerosols that would keep blocking!

 

To minimise any storage problems I also like to order fresh small batches of Railmatch aerosols from Howes themselves (closest to the ‘source’) every few months in order to try and get the newest examples rather than ones that have been sitting on some random modelshop’s shelves for months, and then just hope for the best!

 

Cheers,

James

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