RMweb Premium James Makin Posted August 3, 2017 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted August 3, 2017 Hi all, They've been a long time coming, but here's the latest wagons to roll off the workbench... MKA Limpets by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr I've always liked the MKA 'Limpet' wagons and long-time viewers of my old Wells Green TMD website will know there's a bit of history there - I was bashing these Bachmann models when they came out in 2005, my first article in Rail Express magazine was a dirty 'Limpet' in November of that year, and then I inadvertently caused a big, bad smell demonstrating at DEMU Showcase '06 when I whipped out my usual soldering iron to start 'battering' the sides..! I got ambitious in 2007, chopping one in half in an attempt to produce the long-wheelbase variant, but I got distracted by other things, and it never proceeded. So in the depths of my workbench for years have been a number of either hideously bent or chopped 'MKA's gathering dust. Buying a set of newer ones from fellow WMRC gang member Chris Sweeney recently prompted me to think I really should get out the older ones and detail those up first! So here they are... MKA Limpets by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The lowest one is a bent, weathered demonstrator from that DEMU Showcase event, some of the sides needed re-profiling, while the middle wagon was the chopped 2007 version - both had homemade holes cut in to turn them from POAs to 'Limpets'. The upper snazzy Loadhaul example being a genuine Bachmann 'Limpet' wagon that I'd bought once they'd released these RTR and you no longer had to cut holes in the sides! So the underframes were tackled first, with numerous pipe-runs added from photographs, including the prominent 'I' beams that run underneath all of the old TTA-derived chassis that we see on the Limpets. Being the cheapskate I am, instead of getting the nice S-Kits suspension castings, I did my usual trick of cutting the old suspension to replicate the newer slimline version - this is a key attribute of all the newer TTA/MKA/MTA wagons which is sadly missing from Bachmann's model. MKA Limpets by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr On to the painting, and I really started to come unstuck here! I'd chosen some really rusty examples, with no paint behind - just complete rust, and was starting to doubt that I could do this, no matter what shades of paint I was applying to replicate the shades I saw, it just wouldn't work! This took about two months on-and-off to finally get where I wanted it, with help from a recent album from Lady Gaga (Whoooo!). MKA Limpets by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Eventually, they started to pull together and were finished off with matt varnish, with the underframes painted in a mix of Humbrol 1/32/33/62/186. MKA Limpets by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Of the trio, MKA 390209 was the biggest troublemaker, the almost-entirely rusted finish being something I've never tackled before. There's absolutely no paint left on the prototype wagon, save for a thin yellow band at the top, dating back from the days of its original BR Civil Engineers 'Dutch' livery. After a huge amount of trial and error, I used a sandy-rusty base of brown shades, built up with darker, redder patches. Then individual scratches were added over the top, the darker browns being used to emphasis the older rust, with lighter brown/orange rainwater stains driven down the sides by capillary action. MKA Limpets by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr I've actually found out that Bachmann has released an RTR weathered 'Limpet' wagon with similar weathering - I needn't have bothered really!! MKA Limpets by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr This next one, 390202, was a bit of a cop-out. After having challenges with the all-rust livery of the previous one, this one has a rusty background but mostly overpainted with a brand new coat of grey, with barely any weathering on it, bar from some washed out chalkings. The wagons were loaded with some 'spoil' - basically ballast with some greener, earthy elements, as if it's just been dug out of an old trackbed. MKA Limpets by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Then we move on to the final wagon, 390187. MKA Limpets by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr This was probably my favourite, as we're back on familiar ground here. The Dutch & Rust livery wagon had a patch-paint grey section added over the top, which had received subsequent bashing over the years - a great opportunity to feature some lovely rusty gashes! MKA Limpets by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr It's been a very long-drawn out project for what is just three rusty wagons, but I'm glad to finally get there! It is most satisfying taking almost-ruined wagons from my early modelling career and making them fit to run as decent, reasonably presentable models once again - result!! MKA Limpets by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr I've got 2 weeks leave coming up from tomorrow onwards, so I'm very much looking forward to relaxing and potentially attacking some more stock in due course - maybe I'll leave off any more 'Limpets' for a while though! Cheers, James 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Horse Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Awesome work James.............but then again all your work is Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Great stuff James. I remember that showcase and watching you doing that demo. I went home very inspired but never plucked up the courage to try it myself. Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted August 4, 2017 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted August 4, 2017 Thanks so much for the likes and comments chaps! Great stuff James. I remember that showcase and watching you doing that demo. I went home very inspired but never plucked up the courage to try it myself. Steve. Thanks Steve, crazy how time has flown since then too! Never too late to have a go with the soldering iron but I wouldn't go in as brazenly now as I did back then haha, got too many bent wagons laying around!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Great stuff James, A satisfying project no doubt - funny how we get nostalgic for 2006/7 , I find as I get older the years run past faster. I've never been able to achieve quite the brilliance you have with the paint on, wipe off kinda system but I'll keep trying sporadically. Did you ever do this one ! ? 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
87023Velocity Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Top stuff James, I have a raft of Intermodals for Dallam to weather and your pictures and technique will be very useful when I come to make a start. The Limpets are very smart aswell! Cheers Simon 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Another "top" job on those wagons James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted August 11, 2017 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted August 11, 2017 Thanks very much guys! Rob, I love that wagon - I do have a copy of that graffiti VGA pic saved in my 'to do' album (along with 9 billion other locos, coaches and wagons!) so yeah definitely I'd like to tackle that at some point! I'm currently working on building up the next set of detailed locos ready for the next airbrushing weathering batch later in the summer (including some retro classics!), so there's some fun stuff coming I promise, and wagon-wise I'm drawn between either tackling the last 8 loaded HAA wagons for the MGR coal set or branching off and starting on a completely new rake with either VAA/VBAs or my own Freightliner set! Cheers, James 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37403 Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 James, Excellent stuff as always. Look forward to see what's on the bench next. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongRail Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 (edited) James are those your First Great Western HST sets in this months rail express modeller Edited August 23, 2017 by LongRail Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 I'm not James but yes they are. What a refreshing change to see some modelling there! Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted August 23, 2017 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted August 23, 2017 (edited) James are those your First Great Western HST sets in this months rail express modeller Thanks Gary, they are indeed :-) Rail Express Modeller by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Cheers, James Edited August 23, 2017 by James Makin 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted September 11, 2017 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 11, 2017 It's time to add another grot bag to the fleet! 47348 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 47348 'St Christopher's Railway Home' was a much-loved Railfreight Distribution loco, and another Didcot spotting favourite! I've had plans to model this one for many years - it's another example of modelling a loco that Lima did 'back in the day' - when pocket money ruled, I 'ringed' it in the Lima catalogue of the time but alas it was never one of the locos under the tree come Christmas Day! So maybe twenty years late, but I've finally got one! Fast forward 20 years and of course it's based on the current Bachmann model, the 47365 release - the catch being it needed a swap of underframe tanks, roof boiler detail and perversely, reinstating a Crewe-cut buffer beam! Now I've never done the reverse until now! Here's how it went - 47348 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr There's not a lot to show to be fair, the bufferbeam swap was achieved via a complete chassis-swap with another Bachmann '47', whilst slivers of plasticard were added to fill in the gaps on the loco, before a patch-paint in Rail Grey - any colour difference will be long gone under the weathering. The boiler port was changed with another piece of rectangular plasticard, whilst the underframe tanks were made using a bodged resin cast I'd made of the Heljan ones, some years back. Now for reassembly and some fun weathering... 47348 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Certainly when I saw 47348, it wasn't clean, and judging by Flickr archive shots, it didn't stay shiny for very long for anyone else either! The underframe was painted dark grey, then covered with coatings of brake dust and couple of shades of track dirt. The sides themselves were fun too - being modelled around the turn of the century, the paintwork had suffered, with a few rust patches, peeling paint here and there, plus a few interesting blemishes crying out to be modelled. Bodyside weathering streaks were added, and the roof treated to 3 shades of weathering, plus my final coating of dirty dark grey with a distinct blue tinge to represent the oily exhaust fumes. 47348 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Being a bit past-it, the Tinsley depot plaques were long gone, rusty patches were all that remained, and then on the other side, a notable deep gouge right through the iconic Railfreight diamonds! 47348 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The classic St Christopher's nameplates remain intact, but the supporting plaques were also gone, and interestingly behind these, a flash of Rail blue uncovered! 47348 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 47348 was a great loco - sadly chopped up in January 2007, but good to have preserved here, and will be an absolute pick of the fleet for the MOD workings on my new Didcot layout. 47348 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr But the nostalgia trip isn't complete, up pops another cheeky Duff! 47348 & 47736 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 47736 'Cambridge Traction & Rolling Stock Depot' was one I'd seen during a great day out to Birmingham New Street in June 2002 - it was one of the locos that had a long layover in the platforms next to the station, so you could build up a kind of affinity to it after a while! I've got a few appalling photos of it from that day, but there's actually an image of the very same loco on Flickr that day, June 29, 2002 - but I'm not in the background sadly! 47736 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Again, this is based on the Bachmann offering, but with only a little weathering to set it apart! 47736 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr This one started out on the workbench early in 2016, alongside the faded blue 47467 from last year - it just never got finished until recently! At the time, music from Swedish export Fever Ray was the perfect accompaniment to a former RES loco detailing project. 47736 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Streaks were added down the sides, along with roof & chassis weathering in a similar fashion to RfD 47348 above. 47736 stuck out with it's retro black painted headcode panel, and unusually for a RES loco, front end numbering - both replicated here. 47736 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Nameplates were sourced from the Fox range, interestingly the prototype had lost one of its secondary crests by the time I'd seen it, so the other side just has a scabby mark! 47736 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Grilles were highlighted with a touch of gunmetal grey to bring out the louvre detail, and some light greys dry brushed for added tattiness! Again, similar to the other '47', 47736 was scrapped during 2007, so it's good to 'bring it back' here at least! 47348 & 47736 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr And there we go, another two for the fleet! I knew I always liked the '47s' but quite by accident, they've become the largest class in my fleet, a great easy detailing project, and saving the Class 60s, probably the best set of names and liveries to grace a modern class of locos! I hope to have these two pulling their first trains on Worthing MRC's Loftus Road next month at the Fareham show - please do come along and say hello! Cheers, James 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Fantastic stuff James. How did you acheive the marks where the plates were, that looks really convicing? Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted September 12, 2017 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 12, 2017 Fantastic stuff James. How did you acheive the marks where the plates were, that looks really convicing? Steve. Thanks very much Steve!! I did the marks with tiny 5-0 brushes, brush painting on about 4 shades of brown for the rusty marks and a light grey for a bit of variety! Starting with the lighter browns and then working up to the darkest brown for the most intense rusty detail - similar to the Limpet wagons further up, it takes a while but the mix of different shades come together to eventually make it hopefully 'pop'! Cheers, James 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuoitsPlayer Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 They both look incredible James - cheeky question but how did you create the rust damage where the RfD depot plaques were? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37403 Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Superb stuff James. As I've said before, this era is one of my modelling favourites. I'll need to get a layout set-up on here to post some images. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Wow, those are great....really nice. Can't wait to see your take on didcot as it was. I can't remember if you use an airbrush ? I don't think you did. The RES one looks good too, I'm trying to find a use for one as I simply like the colours. I was looking at 736 as well, but I'd like it when it had " U-96 " on the front. Can't quite work that out, I think it started as a railtour number 1L96 or something that eventually was changed to " U96". I guess this was the era of " Das Boot " Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted September 12, 2017 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 12, 2017 They both look incredible James - cheeky question but how did you create the rust damage where the RfD depot plaques were? Thanks very much! The rust damage technique for the plaques was the same as the response to Steve's question above, basically lots of shades of browns painted on with a super tiny brush! I used Humbrols, 62 is a good starting point for the overall light rust and the streaky parts, then getting more intense where the rust emanates from, so going dark, Humbrols 186, then 113 and 258 get you a reasonable variation of tones, and the rest is just following the prototype pictures! I also love going out in gardens or looking at the tailgates of lorries, anywhere where you can see a good rust patch and rainwater streaking, then apply that in model form! Wow, those are great....really nice. Can't wait to see your take on didcot as it was. I can't remember if you use an airbrush ? I don't think you did. The RES one looks good too, I'm trying to find a use for one as I simply like the colours. I was looking at 736 as well, but I'd like it when it had " U-96 " on the front. Can't quite work that out, I think it started as a railtour number 1L96 or something that eventually was changed to " U96". I guess this was the era of " Das Boot " Cheers Rob! I don't use an airbrush for my wagons but I do whip it out for locos, but even then, I save up a batch of locos for a big spraying session, then blitz them all in one go! I find the airbrushing is only the very last stage of the process though, just a quick dusting of the track colours and roof dirt, the real work is the hours and hours of hand-work with brushes, paint-on/wipe-off etc, if I didn't do that then it would probably turn out a bit like a Bachmann factory spray job, only more splatty!! I love what airbrushes can do but hate using them with a passion, too much mess! There's some more good RES 47's out there, a few 'tricker' ones which would be great fun, double-flush 47787 Victim Support and ex-celeb single-flush 47788 Captain Peter Manisty RN would be my next picks, if I didn't have a load of other bits to get on with...be good to see which one you go for! If you're doing 'Das Boot'-era, with the late 90s, mine must be 'Austin Powers' era haha (whooo!)! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1722 Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 As always, absolutely top notch. Excellent workmanship. As already mentioned, looking forward to your take on Didcot - any start dates in mind? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.C.M Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 Hi James, Superb job on the 47s they look spot on. I always liked the Res Livery. Cheers Peter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted September 14, 2017 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted September 14, 2017 As always, absolutely top notch. Excellent workmanship. As already mentioned, looking forward to your take on Didcot - any start dates in mind? Hi Chris, Thanks very much! For the Didcot layout, I'd paused briefly as I'm humming over the final size/concept! I originally planned an end-to-end that could one day plug into a larger recreation, but now weighing up if I can go straight to a full (portable) round-roundy fitted into my garage, with extendable width for going to shows, once I've got the design part sorted then it's all go! Cheers, James 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Popular Post James Makin Posted September 14, 2017 Author RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted September 14, 2017 Hi guys, As mention in the last posts...I always airbrush locos in batches - here's the next creation! Hot on the heels of the '47's comes something I've wanted to model for a long, long time - the humble class 58! 58017 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 58017 Eastleigh Depot was the identity of the first candidate to join the fleet - mainly chosen as of all the '58's I've logged at up at Didcot, it's the one with a vaguely local name! There's some great industrial names amongst the list, and absolutely no prizes for guessing what the next one will be... 58017 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 58017 is based on the Heljan model - picked up as part of a pair going on sale from Hattons for the princely sum of £50 each, back some 10 years ago I think - actually crazy when you see the price of them these days!! The usual decade-long gestation period between purchase and modelling there of course..! I used to love the 58's - not only being classic MGR coal train fodder, but that they also appeared on many other varied trains in the later years of their lives, before most were packed off abroad. I put money down on an early crowd-funding-type attempt for Heljan to produce a high-spec model with the Class 58 Locomotive Group, and after some wrangling back and forth, the eventual result was the Heljan '58' coming out as a general release...decent result! The starting point of the project was to tackle the most amusing error - the Mainiine branding, how good is that for a typo!! 58017 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Also at the same time, I noticed the door handles weren't present, so these were added from tiny slivers of plasticard and brass handrail wire painstakingly glued onto the side, before being painted up. Not all are in the same position or orientation either, quite interesting to do! Next was the weathering stage - initially, a coat of matt varnish was applied following the renumbering process, and this left a really good 'key' on the bodyside for coats of dark greys to be applied to the side and wiped off with cotton buds, leaving a very workstained appearance. 58017 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The whole body was treated to this, including the cab ends with a more watered-down mixture. Other details such as the roof exhaust started to be picked out and weathered differently to the roof, while the solebar was dry brushed with a patchy mixture of red and grey shades - I think the old black Trainload Coal paint job was peeling to reveal the primer and classic Railfreight Red underneath - how cool! 58017 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Further weathering details were added to represent 58017 at a late stage in its career - rust marks on the handrails and patches just starting to break through on the cabsides where once the old BR arrows were attached. 58017 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 58017 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The etched Eastleigh Depot plaques are part of the new range produced by Brian at Shawplan - they really are top notch! Brian's re-vamped the whole range of 58's and 60's the other year, I bought a whole load on impulse just because they're such good etchings! 58017 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Extra rust detail was added in a similar manner to the previous '47s' in the key areas on the 58s, with '017' suffering a bit around the edges of the doors and the handle areas in some places - all good fun to replicate. 58017 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Nearly ready to enter service, final touches included gentle silver wear marks on the bogie footsteps, and of course the airbrushing of the various track dirt, roof dirt & exhaust staining, similar to the previous class 47 duo. It's definitely possible to go further, and I did um & err about adding the varying etches for this model but later thought, actually, it comes up not half bad with a little spot of weathering! 58017 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 58017 was sadly cut up a few years back, fittingly at Eastleigh however - while such a waste for a relatively new locomotive, it's great to have it doing what it should be doing, hauling a long filthy MGR coal train! 58017 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Cheers, James 23 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Fatadder Posted September 14, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 14, 2017 Very nice! Been a while since ive looked at a 58, but that really does do it justice! One day I will finish my mainline one (from the early batch which had the door grills the wrong colour)... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Very nice. Only ever saw one on the binliner once and that was 58040. Also saw 58020 at forders in 2002 just before they finished,,,, And that was it, pretty vulnerable as EWS as a small non standard fleet. What colour/s do you spray your chassis ? Looks much more authentic than my usual frame dirt 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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