big jim's workbench...onto figures and buildings

[big jim]

Another distraction from getting other things finished, got an 800 unit from Trains4u yesterday, absolute bargain, unboxed test train livery driving cars with the extra coaches, all for under £300, one of the driving cars is missing it’s wiper moulding and a bit of roof detailing but other than that spot on

 

Of course im wanting to make an 805  unit, one of the driving cars was simple enough to change, merely remove the Hitachi logos from the side 

 

The second one was a bit more colourful!

 

 

took me a while but I managed to t-cut the red printing off which left the white intact so I’ve not got to repaint it at all

 

masked up the nose cone and leading door 

 

Painted out the yellow ends with revell flat black and the door with revell ‘NATO Black’ which is really more grey, matches the other door fine to my eye, sightless darker but barely noticeable  

Other powercar black ends 

 

Waiting to see if railtec can do me some numbers, I’m going to do 805003 as that the first one I drove, also need to redo the orange cant line on the ex red driving car as that came off with the printing, the white driving car is fine

 

Final job is change a pair of blanked off windows in the first class end to look like normal windows (only 2 blanked off on an 805) and vice versa with a single window in one of the centre cars, that needs blanking off 

 

[big jim]

Back to the 805, masked off the window and painted it flat black to represent the window

 

 

nice little bonus with the 805, turns out it’s DCC chipped! 
 

Remembered about my 37418, needed the buffer beam changing from red to black

 

 

decalled and named 86101

 

Class 90 bogies, awful pantograph! 

 

Put the modelu figures on the various 009 locos, secured with a dab of glue and glaze as it dries clear, I need to dull down the Hunslet driver, it says flat black but the finish is a bit too shiny

 

 

 

 

 

Once I’d done that lot I had a play with the layout, see my other thread for a video

 

 

Edited October 8, 2023 by big jim

[big jim]

Next item in the workbench courtesy of @CovDriver  classified ad is a Dutch livery class 73

 

ordered some new numbers from @railtec-models to turn it into 73119 in GBRF retro, they both came in the same post which was handy!

 

hoping the depot plaques will come off without too much of a struggle, col says they may be held in with a dab of superglue so I may need to touch it up a touch but I’ll have to just wait and see 

[big jim]

Finally got round to renumbering the above 73, well kind of….

 

Had to get the etched depot plaques off which I then discovered had printed versions underneath 

 

rubbed them off and left the etched arrows on at the other end 

 

looked at some prototype pics of the real thing and noticed the current arrows are a lot smaller so I ended up taking the etched ones off and rubbing the printed ones off too ready for the new decals 

 

Is this a printing error, a single new style OHLE flash whereas the rest are old type?

 

I then noticed on the prototype pics that the roof is a completely different colour, so I masked it off and painted it dark grey, humbrol 19 was about right to my eye, I think it may be the same grey as the lower body side on the real thing but the pics on Flickr vary depending on the lighting 

 

Painted the air cocks and electric sockets as well as the lamp irons 

 

And the lock tabs and lifting lugs 

 

Unmasked 

ready for the decals 

 

I then decided to paint some 3D printed items, couple more foxhounds, quad bike and Bob Ross 

 

Foxhound 

 

Quad bike, thought I’d do this in army green colours 

 

 

 

 

Bob Ross 

 

Cruel close up 

 

Of course I also had to paint a landscape on the canvas!

 

 

 

A productive evening in all

 

Just got to tidy up the foxhounds wheels a bit where the black has gone on the hubs, then paint the windows and mud guards and add a bit of mud to the tyres 

 

might try and get the decals on the 73 tomorrow too

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by big jim

[big jim]

Back to the 73 and decals on, I’ve used decal fix on these as I’ve not had much success with the 3D printed plates staying on some of my other locos (saying that I hadn’t varnished over them) 

 

 

 

The only thing I did, and despite @railtec-models supplying 3 of each decals in case of mistakes was manage to make a mess of the number on one side, twice! 

 

after the decals I painted the steps silver and bogie grab handles and axle boxes yellow, the springs are red on the real thing but they look a pain to get to on the model so I might leave them 

 

 

pleased with it, just need to sort out the missing number somehow!

 

as well as that I had a pair of plux 22 chips arrive off eBay so I’ve chipped up my harry needle 20s and finished off the foxhounds and quad bike with muddy tyres and a light underframe weathering 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by big jim

[big jim]

Painted some figures this evening, got a stack to do but I’m not happy with how the first few have come out, I don’t know what I’ve done differently but the top coats haven’t gone on very well, maybe I should have left them to stand in primer a bit longer that I did 

 

Ready to prime 

 

And done 

 

Couple of modelu drivers and some scale3D cyclists and Michael knight

 

 

The bikes were very fine prints and a couple of bits broke off such as the bottom of a wheel and handlebar but they look ok finished 

 

The grey bike is based on my current racer and the orange one my former Whyte hybrid! 

 

 

[big jim]

Finished the figures, the ‘fun’ and modelu is already started I finished with my existing paints, and the modelu ones Id only primed I finished with some new warhammer paints, I think the issue I’ve had with the paint not sticking or pulling is I used railmatch enamel primer on them which isn’t compatible with the acrylic paint I used

 

cyclists and hot dog seller 

 

Michael knight and the A team 

 

Drivers, I fitted these to the 805 and NMT but forgot to take pics of the assembled locos 

 

 

Bessie 

 

fitted to my pink and GB rainbow 66s

 

 

The next 4 figures were done using the warhammer paints, they were already primed with the wrong enamel paint but the finish seems a lot better, be interesting to see how the next lot of figures I do using the correct primer will come out 

 

rapido lion crew

 

added a touch of mig weathering powder to them to bring out the creases in the trousers etc 

 

On the loco, in place with a bit of pva (yet to dry in the pics)

 

 

J70 crew

 

again with a touch of weathering powder 

 

 

 

 

[big jim]

Got a couple more Oxford warflats for my MOD train 

 

Out of the box

 

It’s lacking yellow ends and a bit of general detailing

 

masked it off and primed up the ends 

 

 

painted the buffers 

 

Yellowed up the ends 

 

had little bit of bleed on the primer so I had to paint a bit of green too!

 

Much better looking in my opinion 

 

loaded with a foxhound

 

2 more to paint up, going to give them a light weathering too, I think I need to remove the chains from the deck as the modern warwells don’t seem to have them fitted, I’ll glue the foxhounds to the deck and ‘strap’ them down, I think I’ve got some trains4U wheelchocks somewhere

 

makes up a nice little train with the @Trains4U warflat and EWS VGA, I did run it with a Dapol container flat with boxes on but it wouldn’t get round the curves as the 2 platforms were too close, I don’t know if they originally came with a longer coupling bar 

 

 

 

[big jim]

One thing that has really been annoying me about the Oxford warwells is quite simply they are the wrong colour, far too light, compare it to the warflat 

 

I’ve got some humbrol olive green which I checked looked right by putting a spot of it on the warflat, pretty damn close, you can’t see it!

 

So I gave the green deck the once over as well as removing the chains 

 

then very carefully gave the sides a coat, using a fine brush painted around the writing as close as I dared! 

 

Certainly looks a lot different to an out of the box model!

 

a good colour match with the warflat 

 

Weathered down the wooden deck 

 

Glued a foxhound to it 

 

Made some straps from Tamia masking tape, got to shorten them down once the pva has dried, may give them a coat of orange 

 

One down two to go! 

 

 

 

Edited January 27 by big jim

[big jim]

2nd one finished, weathered the deck on this one a bit more than the first one 

 

Foxhound glued in place 

 

For the straps I’ve used strips of plastistruct superglued to the bumper and fixing points of the wagon 

 

a coat of yellow 

 

using some weathering pencils I put a light sheen of gunmetal on the ramps and highlighted a few raised bits with a red primer pencil where paint has worn off 

 

I’m going to change the straps on the first wagon to match the second as it’s far more robust 

 

I’ve already painted the yellow ends and deck of the third wagon, just got the sides to paint on that one and glue the foxhound to it and it’s done 

 

starting to look like a decent train now

Edited January 28 by big jim

[big jim]

3rd warwell finished, foxhound glued down and straps made up, the final wagon to be done is the warflat with the 2 Trains4u vehicles, got to glue them down and make straps for them (need to order a load of T4U chocks for all the vehicles too)

 

 

then I went back to my class 50 with its removed gearing

 

I managed to get a set of gears for it from eBay so I set about refitting them only to discover that when the previous owner removed the gears they also took out the metal pins that held them in place!

 

I experimented with a off cuts of plastic sprues from some 3D printed figures, pushing them through the holes and placing the gears over them

 

 

The sprue plastic isn’t very strong so I’m not going to use it but will pop to my local model shop to see what Albion metal rod he has of a similar diameter to the Hornby part and make the spindles myself from that 

 

as I couldn’t do any more with that I went on to painting some figures

 

this lot I primed with warhammer figure primer which went on lovely 

 

 

for the topcoat I have used Vallejo and warhammer acrylics and they have gone on so much better than the previous lot on which I used the wrong primer

 

ive really got into painting figures now, quite therapeutic, before I knew it about 3 hours had passed!
 

all these figures are from scale 3D 

 

some very cruel close ups, noticed a few areas that need touching up in the photos but I’m really happy with them

 
man on phone, skinny jeans, obligatory brogues and no socks!

 

Man with a camcorder, the viewfinder bit snapped off though 

 

Tracksuit and backpack man 

 

Photographer 

 

Girl taking selfie, unfortunately her other hand broke off 

 

milf (based on one of the mums on the school run!) 

 

Nicholas cage 

 

as I say some need touching up, I really need to look at methods of highlighting the facial features, I’ve got some warhammer flesh tone wash but when I put that on I think it makes the figures worse as they just end up looking dirty 

 

Going to get some more figures ordered to practice on soon though 

[Ray M]

That made me laugh, the Milf one.

Dont you have a gym kit mum on your run.

[big jim]

Back to the figures, had some more delivered form scale3D rhis time via eBay 

 

they are a different plastic than before, a bit more forgiving should you be a bit heavy handed with them, I didnt lose any hands or feet etc when removing them from the sprues, quite flexible compared to modelu figures though 

 

I treated myself to some more Vallejo paint and washes from the Amazon warehouse to see how I do as I liked using the last lot 

 

also got myself a wet pallate to keep the paint fresher longer, very impressed with it, wet the sponge base, add a sheet of wax paper and the paint will stay moist meaning I can use less

 

most of the paint was on there for a good 6 hours and was all useable until I threw the paper away at the end 

 

Primed up using warhammer primer 

 

After doing that another Amazon bargain arrived, an led magnifying lamp, £20 from the returns department 

 

Onto the figures. Cruel close ups again and I’ve not highlighted any facial features as I need to watch a few YouTube vids and read some articles on how to do it effectively as I seem to make a mess of it and make the faces look unwashed when I’ve tried in the past!

 

Mr Bean

 

Hermes delivery man 

 

Footy fan, got to tone down the tattoos 

 

Batman, this one has a separate cape but I need to try and highlight the outfit ‘ruts’  and belt before I stick it on 

 

Old man having a cuppa 

 

Police horse, again I need to highlight the horses sheen and muscle structure but I’m not sure how

 

The Beatles crossing the road 

 

 

pretty pleased with them in general, the Vallejo paint is lovely to use, not tried the washes yet as, as I say that’s what messes up my figures as I’m not doing it right 

 

 

[big jim]

There was a scale model show on today in my lads school in Nantwich so we went along for a look, I wanted to get some fine brushes and possibly get some advice on figure painting, which I managed to get so I bought myself a small bust of my wife’s fave Henry Cavell to have a go at painting and detailing up, quite pleased with how it came out for a first go

 

 

I then decided to build a laser cut building that’s been sat in my cupboard since a pre lockdown warley show!
 

it’s from petite properties and is a nice simple low relief workers cottage, I was going to do it red brick but realised that the brick paper I have is 0 gauge so I finished it in rustic stone, I made a bit of a mess cutting round the door and window apertures and very nearly gave it up as a bad job but I managed to tidy it up a bit so it’s not too noticeable, I painted the edges black around the windows but changed it to white to look like pvc frames which made a big difference and gave me a bit more confidence to carry on 

 

 

 

the roof is time consuming as each strip of tiles is individual to be glued down one at a time, they are very thin laser cut card

 

 

got one small end to do before giving it a coat of primer and top coat then a wash etc 

going to have to do some studying to see how to weather it effectively, really not got a clue! 
 

I’ve got to finish the chimney stacks and pots and I’m going to get hold of some guttering and downpipes, also looking at how to make the likes of electric meter boxes and EV chargers to bring the building up to date, also need to add curtains and door furniture etc

 

quite pleased with it so far  

 

 

 

[big jim]

Finished the roof and painted it up, light grey with a black wash over the top, added the chimneys and lead flashing 

painted the curtains and nets 

 

I was going to get some plastic ridge tiles but decided to make some out of card instead

 

Which I painted grey ready to weather done but they looked a bit flat and lack lustre 

 

So I added strips of plastistruct 2 tiles apart to make the bridges between individual tiles 

 

Which look so much better, only done one side so far, also painted the flashing, did it grey then added a touch of green before dry brushing grey I’ve the top again to soften down the colours 

 

Need to get some guttering when the model shop opens on Wednesday 

 

and find the missing window sill that pinged off somewhere! 

[big jim]

Little bit more on the building, got some barge boards and guttering to fit but I couldn’t find my primer to give them a coating before fitting so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to do that so I started to add some ivy instead

 

Had a parcel arrive today from of eBay, cavalex barrier wagons which were actually from @pitbull1845 

 

which means my 4 Bachmann TEAs that I decalled up last year are now surplus to requirements so I decided to paint 2 of them up to put back on eBay 

 

I painted the first one with smoky ink colour as it looked right on the pallet but when I brushed it on it appeared it was very thin, almost a wash 

 

so I switched to light brown which went on great 

 

 

a nice close match to the cavalex wagon

 

Painted the barrel sides

 

Looking alright to my eye 

 

I then added some darker brown patches 

 

 

 

going to weather the under frames a bit and shove em on eBay and see what I can get for them as a ‘neverwazza’ pair of barriers 

[big jim]

Next little project, 2 more foxhounds for my hattons warwells and 30 legless 3d printed passengers 

 

Primed and ready to paint 

 

going to modify my warwells with the extra width platforms too

 

Another little painting experiment, a 3D printed slate waiting room 

 

 

I put some pva glue on the ends and front of the building then wiped it all off the slate face with a cloth leaving the glue in the recesses, I then sprinkled some green flock over the ends which of course settled in between the blocks, quite pleased with it, you can see the difference between the end and non treated rear wall

 

Off tomorrow so I might be able to do a little bit more in the evening 

 

[big jim]

Back to the figures, separated from the printing base and placed ready to paint (not all of them)

 

faces and skin first 

 

then the clothes 

 

 

Did the foxhounds green this time 

 

Used the Vallejo paints instead, a much better Matt finish than the tamia paints I’d used on the tank thingy 

 

 

I then added deck extensions to my warwells 

 

0.5mm thick brass strips 1.5mm wide glued to the edges of the platform

 

 

 

still got to add plasticard strengthening braces below deck and the buffer covers 

 

 

A quick coat of olive green to see how it looks, quite happy with it, needs a touch of weathering to blend in with what I’ve already done to the wagon 

 

Also did a hattons/accurascale version too

 

In a train next to the hattons wagon

 

And a Birds Eye comparison between the modified and unmodified Oxford wagons, is it worth the effort, not really sure yet!!

 

 

Edited March 24 by big jim

[big jim]

First hattons/accurascale Warwell finished, painted the extensions and added the buffer plates, I’m going to be lazy and not bother with the underside bracing as it’s barely noticeable from normal viewing levels
 

The end plates I made from an old slaters sprue

 

Mixed up some yellow paint with a spot of red wash to get a match for the existing yellow buffer beam 

 

gave the deck a light weathering of earth where the tyre tracks have been and a black wash all over 
 

Added a foxhound 

 

 

One down 5 to go 

 

Quite a difference in width between a standard width wagon and a modified one 

 

 

 

[big jim]

Another warwell done bar the straps on the vehicle

 

coming together nicely now, one more hattons and 2 more Oxford to go!

 

I’ve also painted one of the side door containers green to break up the colours a bit, going to do one more

 

if anyone can find a picture of a blue painted side door container in military use then that would be appreciated, I’ve looked all over Flickr and google but can only see them in normal use

[WCML100]

Looking good Jim! where did you buy the MOD side opening containers from? The look great!

[big jim]

19 minutes ago, WCML100 said:

Looking good Jim! where did you buy the MOD side opening containers from? The look great!

they are from scale model scenery 

 

https://www.scalemodelscenery.co.uk/lx177-oo-mod-20ft-side-opening-shipping-container-kit-pack-of-2-oo4mm176-1858-p.asp
 

they seem to have gone up in price a lot, I certainly didn’t pay £20 a pair when I bought them! 

[big jim]

Found another project I’d started but forgot about, Mentor from @LMSfan72 that I’d primed up but put away about 12 months ago!

painted up the interior print ready to fit when I glue the 2 parts of the coach together, as I used to work mentor I had some interior pics to get the colours somewhere near, they are a bit brighter so they will be a bit more visible through the windows 

 

 

Next up is glue the 2 parts of the coach together then fill the gap with fine modeller’s putty before a rub down and paint, not sure when I’ll do that as I need to find my airbrush, something else missing since before lockdown!

 

what’s the best glue to use on 3d printed parts?

 

 

 

Edited April 16 by big jim

[letterspider]

Hi Jim

making sure the two surfaces are lined up and held in place and in line, I sprinkle with very fine talcum powder into the the joint, use a fine brush to get it into the gaps.

Super glue on a cocktail stick - touch onto the talcum powder along the bottom edge of the coach, not the front it gets pulled in by capillary action, it does require a fine hand.

Produces a very tough composite when hardened, which can be sanded down and primed.

On the internal side prepare some superglue mixed with talcum powder - it makes a paste which sets fast but you can build a thick, tough layer across the internal seam. Again this is really tough - you may need a Dremel to sand it down

Obviously try elsewhere first before trying on Mentor

[LMSfan72]

Interior looking great Jim.

 

@letterspider that sounds like something to try. I have a bigger printer so the coach bodies print one piece now (@big jim if it doesn’t work let me know!) but I may well try that technique on my 73/9 conversions!