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A weathered Hawksworth...


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Purchased my first Hornby Hawksworth last week and got stuck in with a bit of light-ish weathering... I guess it's very easy to overdo these things but this being such a beautiful model to start with I decided to 'hold back' a bit more than usual. I gave the roof a coat of Humbrol 67 and the chassis a coat of dirty black. I'll certainly be having some more of these in all three liveries and will probably give them all similar treatment (dare say I'll 'nationalise' the GW choc & cream ones).

 

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Why has no-one commented on this? Has everyone else been on holiday as well as me?

 

IMHO it's spot on for the careworn, nobody-loves-me look of a coach that only comes out on summer Saturdays. It's just the sort of down-at-heel image that I want for something I have in hand. Sir, I salute you.

 

Chris

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Why has no-one commented on this? Has everyone else been on holiday as well as me?

 

IMHO it's spot on for the careworn, nobody-loves-me look of a coach that only comes out on summer Saturdays. It's just the sort of down-at-heel image that I want for something I have in hand. Sir, I salute you.

I saw and admired the weathering, however, I did not comment because I felt it was not appropriate treatment on a Hawksworth. They were new in 1949-50 and were hardly nobody-loves-me coaches and were hardly the type of coach to be left in a siding to be brought out on summer saturdays. From photos and my own perspective, these were in daily use on all kinds of duties, as one would expect from new vehicles, therefore they received the treatment given to coaches in the earlier 1950s. They were kept clean.

 

The coaches brought out for summer use were the pre-group and 1920s stock.

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Point taken, Coachmann. Perhaps in my early morning enthusiasm, which soon dissipates, I should have put my opinion into a clearer context. For the layout with which I am involved the datum point is 1961. By then, much to my sadness, the last Toplights and 70 footers were no more [ pity, because I fancied having a go at a Slaters kit!]. By then also lined maroon had been in use for five years and the proportion of front-line stock comprising Mk 1s was increasing steadily. I think it quite feasible that a Hawksworth would have been running around in blood and custard and in need of a wash at that time given the number of piebald rakes seen in photographs.

 

What matters most is that Coachmann and I both admire the weathering.

 

Chris

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Tanks for your comments gents, much appreciated. Since posting these I've tidied up the black on the cantrail and it looks a lot better now (I was a little sloppy with the grey on the roof :rolleyes: ).

 

 

Coach - I take your well considered point regarding their cleanliness, although I've based my treatment on photos of Colletts and Hawksworths of the period in this livery (Bradford Bartons, Peter Gray, Alan Bennett's Cornish trilogy etc). If anything, the photos are a little darker than they ought to be and the Hawksworth in particular looks better 'in the flesh', at least to me anyway! Having a play with this one has made me want to do some more WR / LMR / ER / SR stock, not to mention finishing the Parkside kits and Lima Syphon Gs I picked up at Warley last year.

 

;)

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  • 4 months later...

You did more than 'just' paint the roof and chassis... didn't you Nidge? I do like the effect you've achieved... so tell me more, as I'd like to do much the same!

 

Thanks Alan. Well, aside from doing the roof and chassis the sides were given a diluted wash of Humbrol dirty black and wiped off (vertically) then left to dry..... the vents in the larger windows had the same treatment and I wiped the glazing clear straight after, this leaves some of the paint in the slight gap around the window edges, from a few feet away it looks ok. That's it really! My Bachmann Mk1s get similar treatment too.

 

;)

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Thanks for explaining what you did to the sides Nidge. Methinks I'll be, carefully, doing the same to at least some of my Mk1's!

 

I trialled a brown/black wash on a roof, and although it's passable, I'm not entirely happy. Worst thing is, it makes the roof ribs stand out even more! Might over-paint with 'neat paint' now I've seen it can look so much better!

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It might be the photo but the underframe looks too black. It should be treated to goodly layer of dirt/grime I think.

 

John

 

Yes you're right John, but in the flesh it's not quite so dark. Up to now, when applying the brownish grime to the undercarriage on previous models I've usually ended up overdoing it and been disappointed (nay annoyed!), so I've left it off this one and the Bachmann Mk1s I'm currently doing.

 

Alan - at least you can overpaint the brown on the roof! (I've removed the ribs on my Mk1s by the way - makes no end of difference to the overall look).

 

I had another look at this particular Hawksworth the other day and despite not really needing any more in this livery, I'm finding it hard to resist buying at least three or four more to go with it. Hornby at their very best here methinks. Good job I don't 'need' any Gresley Subs....

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I suspect it's been covered before Nidge, but precisely how did you approach the removal of the ribs. Fine sand paper? Wet'n'dry? Scraping with a blade?... or all three?! As I'm going to paint over my wash I might as well go the whole hog and do away with ribs beforehand. I do agree, the improvement is immense.

 

And yeh, those Hawkworths are just superb. Will have to wait a while before getting me some though... have just 'splashed out' on another 3 'brand new' Mk1 blood and custards, although they were a bargain (at the local fair in Newton Abbot last Sunday) at just £9 each!!!!!!!!!!! (Got 'em knocked down from £10 to cover my entrance fee!!).

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De-ribbing the Mk1s...? Very easy Alan, you just need to be careful and a little bit brave at the same time, as once you've started you need to do the whole lot! I use a scalpel with a nearly new curved blade in, you 'scrape' the ribs off as if you're peeling spuds, you just need to be very gentle with it and take off a bit at a time, and take care not to damage the roof vents, rainstrips and any pipework etc. Once they're done and the swarf has been wiped away, I give the roofs a coat of Humbrol #67 dark grey and add a light weathering wash over the top. You'll probably end up leaving a trace of the ribs here and there which from a distance look like the weld lines on the real vehicles from a couple of feet away. Quickest I've done one is about ten to fifteen minutes so far.

 

;)

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I used a curved blade on mine too, tbh it doesnt matter too much if you leave a couple of scratches and dents as the real things are a bit of a mess after a while. I did a batch of 16 while watching the tele a while back. I painted mine with a mix of Games Workshop foundation paints. This stuff is a really thick paint and gives a sort of bitumen texture to the roof which is ideal. Chadon granite and a light grey were the two I mix, slightly different for every coach.

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Thanks for that Craigwelsh. Those Games Workshop Foundation paints certainly look and sound perfect for applications like this. Van roofs as well I suppose, and doubtless much more!. For anyone new to them (like me!) here's the link.

 

 

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?aId=1800012&_requestid=827431

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Thanks for that Craigwelsh. Those Games Workshop Foundation paints certainly look and sound perfect for applications like this. Van roofs as well I suppose, and doubtless much more!. For anyone new to them (like me!) here's the link.

 

http://www.games-wor...equestid=827431

Glad its of use, I would link to pictures on the old forum but its still down at the moment.

 

Astronomicon grey and Charadon granite were the two i'd used.

 

Calthan brown and the charadon granite are my perfect rust mix with a little texture for applying over black.

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This stuff is a really thick paint and gives a sort of bitumen texture to the roof which is ideal. Chadon granite and a light grey were the two I mix, slightly different for every coach.

Hi Craig

Are you really painting this on with a brush or is it going through an airbrush? Just checking...photo might be good to see the texture. I've always airbrushed the roofs with roof dirt and sleeper grime in varying proportions. No criticism intended, just interested to hear that.

I can remember re-covering Mk1's, down on the ex Vale of Glamorgan line, with bitumen and thinking how rough and ready these coverings really were. It's not something that I've tried to emulate in 4mm...yet.

Interesting point and practice.

As a by thought...the coaches that you're running aren't fixed sets? If they were, I'd have thought that the colours would have been similar...hmm, need more colour photos of stock to check all this.

 

Mike

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On the Western I would expect not to find every coach in the same livery, never mind similar colours. When you consider that GW chocolate and cream was still about in isolated pockets in 1955 and the supersession of blood and custard took from 1956 to 1964, not to mention the rise and fall of BR chocolate and cream (born 1956, abandoned 1962) there must have been very few sets that matched fully. It was inevitable that vehicles got taken out of sets for a defect to be fixed, to say nothing of strengthening at peak times.

 

Chris

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Craig

 

Before I make a start (I've gone out and bought some of the foundation paints), how long would you say I'll have, after mixing the paints on a plastic pallette , before they dry out ?!! Not used acrylics before (on models) and am wondering how much of a rush I should be in to finish a complete roof! I understand you can keep the paint moist with a water mist, but won't this thin it down and change it's desirable, thick, bituminey, texture?

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Craig

 

Before I make a start (I've gone out and bought some of the foundation paints), how long would you say I'll have, after mixing the paints on a plastic pallette , before they dry out ?!! Not used acrylics before (on models) and am wondering how much of a rush I should be in to finish a complete roof! I understand you can keep the paint moist with a water mist, but won't this thin it down and change it's desirable, thick, bituminey, texture?

I tend to mix on the roof tbh and do add a bit of water. I use one of the Games Workshop large drybrushes to stick the mix on. Im probably stippling it a bit as its applied. These acrylics do go off a bit quicker than a normal one.

 

Here's one I did a while ago with the t-cut sides too. I seem to have left a couple of remains of ribs on this one, will have to clean it up. Needs a bit of airbrushing on top but its a good base.

 

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Mike I think early on in the choc cream named train era the roofs would all be the same per set but the sets needed to be split up later on.

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That BG looks great Craig, I take it the GUV will be getting the same treatment..?

;)

I think its already had it, would have to check in the cupboard. I hate the new Bachmann mk1s as they dont have the ribs and its a pain having to scribe in the panel lines! It looks much better having a ribbed roof scribed back.

 

Clicking on the following shot should show i've got a bit of texture:

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Something I want to try on some damaged sides a fellow rmwebber sent me is to tcut and then airbrush matt varnish with some white in the mix to fade the coach.

 

I tend to drybrush across the roof too once there is paint covering all of it to get the weather runs in the right direction.

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