Mr Simon's N and 2mm Workbench - pg29> N V1 2-6-2, 2mm L&Y class 23, assorted wagons and stuff

[MrSimon]

Hi,

 

They're good kits - tricky behind the buffer beam, and I've not fitted the brakes shoes to any of mine but they make a good model

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

 

For some reason, I've not been taking photos of what I've been up to... not that I've been up to much.  Mostly some bits of touching up paintwork.

 

Yesterday however I found myself with a desk covered in noses:

 

 

The noses of 37047 (Mainline livery that I've decided to put on a powered chassis rather than a dummy) and 37610 (DRS which I never did get round to finishing after Cotgrave last year) getting pipes and painted details fitted.  Blown up that large I think I need to neaten up the tail lamps.

 

 

 

I also piped and detailed the blue class 20 and the old EWS 37 - both of which received replacement wheels from Peter's Spares.  I never finished the class 20 so this will be one of my projects to get up to scratch.

 

Unfortunately, just as I'd finished painting the pipes I'd fitted to all of the above I found the wire I'd been using for pipes before and realised I'd fitted 5 locos with the fatter wire that I'd been using for steam pipes.  Oh well!

 

There's a few more projects on the go which I really aught to take photos of.

 

Lots to do!

 

Simon

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

 

I didn't get much done since Tuesday... I painted in all the ends of the pipes on the 37s, the 20 and the 47 - which took forever.  They just need dirtying up:

 

 

I need to dig out the numbers for this 37, and then weather it a bit.

 

On Thursday the weathering powders I ordered finally turned up.  I read the weathering article in this month's RM and wanted to see if they were better than what I'd been using before.  I'd not been happy with the finish on the class 60 I repainted in the summer, so I thought it ideal to give the powders a whirl:

 

Before

 

After

 

 

I overdid it slightly, but it wipes off quite easily so I've since taken quite a bit of the brown off; I'm not completely sure about it though (I think weathering's harder to judge when its on a desk with a load of clean stock)

 

I think I like the powders, I need to practice being more subtle with them...

 

Lots to do!

 

Simon

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon

[shanks522]

Looking good Simon, 

 

 I think the DRS 37 would look great in ex-works condition, the 60 is quite heavily weathered but a least with powders you can always wipe off and start again.

 

Out of interest where did the decals for the 60 come from as i fancy having a go at 040 myself.

 

Cheers

 

Graham.

[MrSimon]

Thanks Graham!

 

The 040 decals are from Precision Decals, I was quite impressed with them   Its loads less brown now, but I left quite a bit of the black on the roof though!

 

I think the 37 will be stay quite clean, it just needs a bit round the exhaust (until I get round to making a railhead train and then all bets are off) DRS seem pretty good about keeping a shine on their engines.

 

It'll be good to see 040 on Smithdown Road

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[shanks522]

Sorry for another question but what paint did you use on 040? 

 

Cheers

 

Graham.

[MrSimon]

Hehe no worries ask away

 

Its Phoenix EWS maroon on top of Halford's grey primer, I think it had 3 really thin coats (brush painted - I don't have an airbrush) I did the grills and window frames in Phoenix dirty black and the underframe in a thinned mix of dirty black, brake dust and frame dirt over a black undercoat. 

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[MrSimon]

Morning Everybody!

 

Last night I took a bit more of the weathering off the class 60, and I think its pretty much there now.  What do you think?

 

 

 

 

I wanted to keep the exhaust sooty, but I got most of the brown off.  I'm not sure about the black smudge below the name plate (it just appeared under my think when I was blackening above the exhaust end windscreen and it won't come off)  I just need to add some fuel spills on the tank and run a bit of super glue under a loose grill and it'll be ready to go back into the stock box.

 

Lots to do!

 

Simon

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon

[Revolution Ben]

Hi Simon

 

For weathering my standard technique is to put on, then take off, then put on again etc etc.  I use a make-up sponge, and always remove with a downwards motion.  This attempts to replicate what happens in real life:  dust is blown up onto the locomotive from the wheels/track, then is washed off by rain.

 

Looking at your Army 60 it's looking pretty good, but I would be tempted to take off a bit more of the powders on the sides to reveal the number and lettering a little more.

 

This photo shows that even when quite dirty, the flag and the white lettering was quite visible:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/emdjt42/4538064202/in/photostream/

 

Having said that, I know photographs of models can be deceptive and the lettering may look brighter in real life.  Really, only you can be the judge of when the actual model looks "right" for you.

 

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Ben A

[MrSimon]

Hi Ben,

 

Thanks for sending me the link - I gave it another pass over with the moist cotton buds this afternoon and got it looking pretty close:

 

 

The white seems to be stained a bit by the powders, so its not showing as white as the picture - but the varnish I originally used went a bit funny, so it was never going to have an amazing finish!  Looking at that picture I need a lot more soot on the exhaust end...

 

I think I definitely put too much on the first time, but will try the next engine your way

 

Now to choose the next loco!

 

Cheers

 

Simon

 

 

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon

[Revolution Ben]

Hi Simon

 

I think the second pass has helped, though it's always hard to tell from photographs.

 

Either way, it looks really good!

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[MrSimon]

Cheers Ben,

 

Its pretty hard to photograph subtle weathering - I think I need to get a well lit area to set up to take some decent pictures.  Today I weathered a class 37, which looks good in the flesh but looks different in three different sets of pictures:

 

 

 

 

The left side

 

 

 

 

The right side

 

I'd say it looks most like the outside picture; although I'm not sure why the pictures by the window come out so bright-white (my rooms on the 2nd floor, I'm not going all the way outside everytime I need to take a picture!)

 

 

I definitely took as much off as I put on this time...

 

Its not as detailed as my other 37s, I bought it years ago (when I was still at school) ready repainted and its got a bit too much sentimental value to start cutting up...

 

Not like this bad boy:

 

 

The first class 37 repaint I ever did that came out right(ish) - it had the Taylor kit applied years ago, but ever since I did the DRS one last summer I've been looking at its big grills and moulded fan thing, so today I got my knife out. 

 

Hopefully I can match the colour on the paintwork when I get the grill frame back on!  It'll look better for it though...

 

Lots to do!

 

Simon

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon

[Gloucester Road]

Funny thing with weathering, lighting really does change the look.

[MrSimon]

It really does - any models infact - if I ever get round to lighting for Gresby I'll have to make it as close to day light as possible (or at least a less yellow light on my desk)

 

Last night I had a try weathering a loco that wasn't red:

 

 

 

 

 

Its the 66 that I normally on the coal train, but I've taken a bit of the black off the cab roof at the non-exhaust end.  I think it needs a bit more black around the exhaust.

 

I've got one more loco to weather and then I'm going to get cracking building and adapting some stock.

 

Lots to do!

 

Simon

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

 

i sat down to plug the hole I made in the class 37 at the weekend and realised I'd mislaid the Evergreen passenger car sheet that I've been using for plugging holes in class 37s.  After saying "oh dear" a few times and looking in every box, draw and cupboard I have, I ordered some more which turned up yesterday:

 

Evergreen 3025 Passenger Car HO scale for grills.

 

The original bit of detailing kit, carefully removed, flattened back out and stuck on, the right way up.

 

So one thing I have been doing more and more over the last few years is googling pictures of the engines I've been repainting/bought and trying to copy the details more closely.  In the old days, like when I originally repainted this body shell I just looked around for a Mainline coloured one with a centre headcode box.  Last night I had a cheeky look on google and realised I had to take the horns off the cab roof, and take something off the noses:

 

I'll have a look round to see if I've got some nose-horn-covers on an old etch.  I also ordered a pair of the extreme etchings roof grills, so I had to hack a hole through the roof too:

 

I only got it out the box to stick some bits on the bufferbeam...

 

Lots to do!

 

Simon

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

 

I gave the 37 a day off today, just while the roof grill comes and I find the paint - but I got another bufferbeam pretty much done:

 

Unfortunately when I went over the underframe with the usual mix of brakedust, frame dirt and dirty black it came out glossy, not sure what happened there so I'll have to go over with the matt varnish - which is a nuisance

 

Another project I've been on with this last month or so is partially repainting a spare pair of MML 170 bodies:

 

I'm in two minds about repainting a center car to make a 2 car ex MML Central Trains 170, but it might stay as a 2 (I've got a donor center car, to go with my pair of cold feet...)

 

It actually stopped raining today so I took the cement train outside to spray a thin coat of matt varnish on so I could try the weathering powders on a wagon.  I made some cement grey with a tiny bit of black in white powder:

 

 

Track dirt going up, cement spilling down, washed down with the rain, with a bit more cement spilled for good measure.  One side has photographed more cement-y than the other, but its pretty much the same on both sides...  I'm feeling much more confident in tackling the oil tankers now - but first there are another 23 cement wagons to weather.

 

Lots to do!

 

Simon

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon

[shanks522]

Hi Simon,

 

 Looks like the workbench is keeping you busy, i really like the cement tanks, they look spot on.

 

Graham.

[MrSimon]

Thanks Graham!

 

Its definitely keeping me busy - I get things out for a quick job and they seem to stay forever!  I've been meaning to weather the cement train for five years so I thought I'd try out the new powders (while ignoring everything else on my desk)

 

Glad you think they look spot on, I was working from memory and was a bit worried I'd over done it.  Years ago when I lived right next to Manchester Victoria the cement train used to go past my flat twice a day and it was always filthy   I got 5 done last night, which I photo'd and varnished this morning - and this afternoon I did another 7.  Unfortunately, I only dirty-painted the underframes of half the train last summer, so I need to do that before I can weather the other 12 wagons

 

V-shaped PCA

 

 

I think they'll do nicely...

 

Cheers

 

Simon

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon

[HealeyMills]

Hi Simon,

 

Great looking PCA's... very very nice indeed. They will look superb in a full rake

 

Cheers

Lee

[shanks522]

Thats going to be a really nice rake when complete, Think i'l send mine to you for weathering.

 

Meant to also say how good that Freightliner 66 is, especially the roof.

 

Graham.

[MrSimon]

Thanks Guys! 

 

I hope the rake looks ok and not too stripey... It'll be a while before I get chance to run the rake (So I won't be sick of the sight of them by then) but I'll post pictures/video when I do

 

Haha OK Graham   I never say never but I need to get a new flat and a bit of practice in first! 

 

Glad you like the 66, I just put the powders straight onto the Dapol finish instead of any matt varnish and then wiped most of it off, just to see what would happen really.  I've not fixed any of the weathering onto any locos yet, just in case I change my mind.

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

 

On Friday night I had a moment of madness I painted the buffer-shanks of all 24 cement wagons - I had only got the silver out to paint the buffers of the end wagon and didn't stop!  Today I had to go through them all and touch up slightly where I got too much on the back of the buffer head, which is a pain. 

 

While the un-weathered 12 were out I got myself a cup of tea and gave their underframes a thinned coat of Phoenix Frame Dirt, to match the first 12.  All the painting is now complete on these and I just need to put the powders on them as before:
 

PCA with painted buffer shanks, axle box covers, brake-wheels, buffers and frame dirt.

 

Last night, with the memory of 96 buffers still fresh in my mind I decided to do a bit more on the mainline 37 and the 47 I didn't mange to repaint before last years AGM:

 

I fitted my last pair of Fencehouses class 37 windscreen etches.  I'm not sure which other 37s I fitted these to, but I'm sure I'll find them as my fleet goes over the workbench for improvements.  I think all thats left to fit to this one now is the roof grill when it comes, and do a bit of filling round the side grill.

 

I hadn't been happy with the finish on the noses of this 47, which is why I didn't get it finished to run on Gresby.  Last night I sanded back the paint on the nose and did some filling with superfine white milliput.  I also did a bit of extra research of the engine in the guise I want to model it in and found that I really shouldn't have taken the Bachmann high-intensity lamp off, so a ratio one will go on after I've done the handrails.

 

I'm not going to give any of my other 47s the same treatment this one had.

 

Here they are tonight, both in primer.  I think the 47 will need a lot of work to get the paint finish right

 

Lots to do!

 

Simon

 

 

 

 

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

 

Today's update is dedicated to the perils of only doing a quick glance of research.

 

Yesterday i got a small envelope through the post from Shawplan; containing amongst other things the plates and arrows for the parcels class 47 I had resurrected from the broken box.  Like a fool I had assumed the livery was right, and the quick search I had done to confirm that the name plate should be red would suffice.

 

Today I sat down to fit the plates and arrows, went onto class47.co.uk to double check where the plates should be stuck and noticed 2 things that made me put my head in my hands.

 

1 - 47703 didn't have arrows when it was painted in parcels red.  I had assumed that the factory finished arrows I had ummed and arrred about painting over were correct... They weren't... At least I have a spare pair of arrows now...

 

2 - Pretty shortly after painting 47703 parcels red, from its old Scotrail livery, some fool at BR sent it to NSE and NSE stuck little NSE flashed all over it, completely disregarding livery my model of it has ended up in.  I'm not sure how far towards Nottinghamshire it got after being transferred, but it'll be a bit lost on Gresby!  it stayed in this livery until being painted in Waterman black. 

 

I've never really been one for sticking to one exact era, but just recently I've started to try and get the engines matching at least one photograph.

 

I got the handrails painted, if I'd noticed the arrows before that I would have given the right hand cabsides a bit of a rub down to get rid of the 'ghost arrow'

 

Looks like its time to find some little NSE flashes...

 

Lots to do!

 

Simon

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

 

Lots of little bits done today, including a new arrival for Gresby:

 

I must say I'm very impressed with the new mark 2...

 

... I still took it to bits though!  I reckon the hardest bit will be painting the window bars.  Its back in one piece awaiting a slot on the work bench now.

 

I made a start on the class 47, I sanded away the old arrow (so there's no ghost arrow) and made a start painting the panel match the rest of the paintwork.

 

I fitted the grill to the mainline 37, the top plate veered off centre at the last minute, but it won't be very visible once the mesh is fitted.  The fan and the hole have now been painted, so hopefully I can get the 37 put away soon.

 

Wire handrails... probably never again!  These were a bit of a nuisance, but they should look ok when its painted.  I took the glazing out to avoid it frosting (and to touch up the window surrounds) - but while its out I'll double check if the windows had chrome surrounds before I put them back in.

 

Does anyone know if anyone makes transfers for the small Network South East flashes?

 

Cheers!

 

Simon

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon

[MrSimon]

Hello Everybody!

 

Lots more little bits done this week, and a couple of larger jobs - but not many.  I had another session with the weathering powders today, and finished off the cement train and had a crack at the DRS class 20s:

 

 

 

I'm not sure about the roof on the lighter roofed class 20; I can't work out if it needs to go dirtier or cleaner. 

 

I've done everything I can to the Mainline 37 while putting off matching the repainted bits to the original colour:

 

 

I've even managed to paint the roof fan and keep it see-through, which I wish I'd managed to do on the DRS 37 - luckily Brian at Shawplan gave me tips on the best way to paint it at Peterborough show, and it worked!  (Really really thinned down paint)

 

As a slight paint mixing challenge I mixed a new blue to for the class 47 - it had been RDF blue and had gone really dark, and I was double checking the details and realised it was closer to BR blue, so I mixed the two shades to make this:

 

 

It looks odd now, but when I've touched up the black, the yellow, and added the transfers it should look about right.

 

I also had another go at the paintwork on the class 170, I'm beginning to think a 3car set in this livery might not be the best idea...

 

Lots to do!

 

Simon

Edited August 2, 2018 by MrSimon