RMweb Premium James Makin Posted May 22, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 22, 2015 (edited) Well, I keep meaning to move on to other projects but I just can't stay away from ballast wagons! Joining the fleet today is ex-Loadhaul ZCA 460165 and ex-Mainline OCA 112001. OCA SPA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The 'ZCA' is based upon the FTG Models SPA wagon (discussed elsewhere on this forum) and the trusty Bachmann OCA. I was looking to model some of the bolder liveries on these wagons and both of these met the criteria of having been photographed in Didcot Yard at the turn of the century, so it was out with the paints to ruin a pair of wagons! OCA SPA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Looking beautiful in their liveries - both are repainted in faded versions of the original colours, which were then further toned down by coats of whites and light greys - OCA SPA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr As per the previous wagons, the data panels were created in CorelDraw with the Gunplay font. With the prototype ZCA covered in a good few scars from grabber unloading, these were scratched into the side and allowed to fill with rusty brown paint during the usual paint-on/wipe-off stages. Additional browns of varying shades were then built up around the damages to capture the look of a wagon livery slowly losing the battle to the tin worm! SPA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr After much work and a varnishing, the wagon was ready for service. I've added small white handrails to the ZCA on the ends, along with a smidgen of ballast load, as per the original photograph. SPA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The rusty spots were fun to create, more visible on the orange paint though - I always find the lighter wagons come up much better than these dark beasts but I'm fairly happy with the result. I'd probably fade the paint a stage further on the next black model. I've also got to think about coupling options - these FTG 'SPA's have short tension-lock couplings that don't actually function, so I'm torn between a bodge of a new tension-lock position or jumping straight to fitting something like instanters, and converting the rest of the ballast train as well. They'll look a lot more finescale but will probably take an age to couple up the train at the start of an exhibition!! SPA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The dollops of ballast were added on top of a small coating of PVA in the corners, and then the centre ballast bits just laid loose and secured with coats of filthy cheap hairspray and then the final matt varnish coats - fixed as solid as granite now! SPA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr SPA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr I always like to model pairs of stock as it saves a lot of time - and this OCA was perfect for the job, adding colour to an otherwise dull ballast train formation! It's ex-Mainline and what's more - it's only Number 001! Modelled just as in the early 2000s, this wagon has gone through changes and current pictures show it faded almost to white, with a layer of lovely graffiti, although this would be a little too late for my period layout unfortunately! OCA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr A custom blue was mixed, then the fading added on top with Humbrol 34 and 1, before addition of Humbrol 62 to get the start of the rust streaks. This was topped up with Humbrol 186 and Phoenix Brake Dust and Dirty Black to get a few different shades around the developed rust patches. OCA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr There's evidence of some white graffiti on panel 2 above, though this has mainly washed off leaving only a ghosting. OCA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr As with my other OCAs, the thick Bachmann plastic sides are thinned down to look slightly more realistic, though it is amazing just how much plastic you'd need to file away to get them looking scale, probably easier to start with etched brass sheet sides! OCA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Fox Transfers data panels and Colin Craig brake discs added a final touch and the wagon was ready to go into service! OCA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr OCA SPA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr I started the project during the last Bank Holiday earlier in May and it's only just got finished what with the Loftus Road Salisbury show in the middle, so it's been a fun, if protracted project! I'm at a crossroads in terms of modelling next - I have planned an MOD 'OCA', dozens of old 1980s wagons needing to be rebuilt into passable modern prototypes, a Ford Blue Train on the go and a quad of Bachmann '47's to be painted into an attractive colour scheme...I need to prioritise, or more likely tackle something completely different! And finally a cheeky plug...the current Rail Express magazine has my article on the mesh-sided 'OBA' wagon I did a while back, complete with a picture featuring my Xmas tinsel! Edited August 12, 2016 by James Makin 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
South-East Rail Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Well, I keep meaning to move on to other projects but I just can't stay away from ballast wagons! Joining the fleet today is ex-Loadhaul ZCA 460165 and ex-Mainline OCA 112001. Lovely stuff! Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony566 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Amazing weathering ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sub39h Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Love the Blue Train and VGAs. Well done! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobster Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Superb modelling James - Always a pleasure to see a few new wagons arrive from your workbench . Cheers, Bob. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 More great work David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCML100 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Great work as usual! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRDBLUE17 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Hi James, Funny coincidence having just asked about you're mesh sided OBA when the article appears in REX. Picked up a copy on my way back from Newcastle on Thursday at the station. Very useful and with the prototype info as well no excuse not to do one now. Like the latest wagons, Loadhaul livery is a favourite and I have a cambrian kit in that livery. The rusting on the OCA is excellent so realistic you can forget you are looking at a model. Thanks Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 More Impressive modelling James!!! You realy set high standard for us to follow cheers neil.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted June 6, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 6, 2015 A bit judgemental, I thought Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack374 Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 A bit judgemental, I thought [/url] A hint at your current project(s)? How does Phoenix compare to the true shade? I'm having trouble with Railmatch's shade ATM. Jack. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted June 6, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 6, 2015 A hint at your current project(s)? How does Phoenix compare to the true shade? I'm having trouble with Railmatch's shade ATM. Jack. That could be a maroon herring... (wheey!) - I'd bought some fresh paints last week at DEMU Showcase and just filing them away into my collection today. Ironically the latest wagons I've been doing have just been painted out of EWS into an older colour scheme..! I've only ever used Phoenix paints for railway shades since the early 2000s as the Railmatches of the time kept peeling off when I removed masking tape! As a result all my EWS locos are all the same Phoenix shade! It is slightly richer than Bachmann's shade on the 66s for example so ideally kept for total repaints rather than patches! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted June 13, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) Business as usual! I'd love to be unveiling some brightly-coloured amazing project but no in reality, this is a lot more mundane! I've been working on couple more wagons for the MOD train - again as based on ones photographed in Didcot Yard. VGA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Joining the fleet today are VGAs 210558 and 210595, Bachmann models subjected to some rough treatment here! A lot of the VGA/VKA fleet is very heavily weathered, with years of grime covering the silver liveries, resulting in a giant brown diamon-splattered mess crying out to be modelled! VGA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The starting point was a couple of the EWS versions, released back in 2009 and snapped up when Hattons were doing a bargain '4 for £45' offer - try buying them new for that nowadays haha! Having sat in the cupboard for so long, half of the maroon set was dragged out for some fun.. VGA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr All traces of lettering was removed before coating in several layers of varying browns and earthy colours. Carly Rae Jepsen makes an ideal accompaniment to this type of weathering. Both wagons are a slightly different shade, caused by using a couple of different base colours, but following the same upper weathering layers. The ends are different too, with 210595's yellow ends having faded considerably more than 210558, so different base shades were used. Transfers are from Fox, who I'm pleased to discover have laid out all the TOPS lettering on their VGA packet so no cutting up fiddly numbers! VGA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Once the main base weathering stages had been completed, it was on to marking the classic diamond scars from the old explosive Hazchem symbols - starting with some light greys and gradually building up to darker colours. Florence + the Machine's latest album deserves a thorough recommendation at this point. After some final detail painting, it all came together and got varnished with some of the Humbrol Matt squirty cans - VGA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr VGA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Both of the VGAs feature blanks where the old Railfreight Distribution symbols used to be - an interesting feature to model. I'm still looking for details of wagons circa 1998-2002 which still bore the attractive RfD symbols, if viewers have any to share. VGA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The ends were weathered with the traditional paint-on/wipe-off in rusty shades, also making note of where you get intense patches of darker rust on the prototypes at the moving parts just close to the grab handles. VGA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Moving on to 210595, we have a similar livery but with variations in the diamond scarring and an interesting part on the left hand end where the former Railfreight logo had faded onto the metal below, but subsequently been patched over leaving a line of white! VGA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr VGA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The roof was treated to a spot of talcum powder to add a little more texture, this particular VGA also had some staining which had to be modelled too! VGA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Overall this was another fun pair of wagons to tackle, but for some reason a lot more time consuming that the OBAs I've done recently, I think due to the sheer size of the things! There's three more VGAs to come, before this clears me out of the type - my goal is to empty my cupboard of untouched RTR wagons by the end of the year. Wagon types hanging around in the overflowing cupboard include many of the D&E modeller staples - the VAA- etc van series, more SPAs, two-axle ballast favourites MKA/MTA/MFA/MHA, finishing the Ford 'Blue Train' and the deliciously exciting prospect of finally tucking into my HAA sets! Edited August 14, 2016 by James Makin 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Great work. You should write a book on wagon modelling ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Superb as usual. Must finish my VGAs 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 I have some VGAs , but untouched as I stopped modelling the ews period. Should really flog em, but I like that wagon 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted June 13, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 13, 2015 Great work. You should write a book on wagon modelling ! Haha cheers Rob, that is very flattering, though I can't help but think of Alan Partridge's 'Bouncing Back'!! "Needless to say, I had the last laugh" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Ha ha classic ! Shame they can't pulp my wife's kindle and its badly written pseudo porn romance books for middle aged women. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 More nice work James... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted June 29, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 29, 2015 (edited) Make way for something small and red! MTA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr I should probably introduce these - this is the start of my new ballast train project. As touched on before, I'm modelling a train I'd seen passing slowly through Didcot on one of my Sunday afternoon jaunts in the early 2000s. MTA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The two MTAs 395040 and 395065 are based on the Bachmann model and part of a batch recently picked up on eBay. I'd planned to pug them away for a while but inspiration struck and I just decided to get them straight out for a play instead! There is a 'history' with me and the MTA wagon..! Having seen that rake of them at Didcot all the years back, I decided to scratchbuild some, based on old Hornby TTA tank chassis with plasticard bodies. In hindsight, they weren't very good but they did help refine the modelling skills and were the subject of my very first modelling article - in DEMU Update magazine back in 2004. When the Bachmann model subsequently arrived, I bought some and absolutely went to town - a side effect of the first scratchbuild project was pouring over dozens of detail pics and seeing all the details that Bachmann didn't add to the model. I'd done a few, including a 'Doorand' back in 2006, some of which were repeated in the earlier pages of this thread. MTA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The arrival of these minty-fresh red beauties meant going back and doing some more fiddling around to complement my existing fleet. The problem is, they do look very reasonable as they stand, but having done 'the works' on the old batch, the new ones really ought to match! One of the fun parts is taking the soldering iron to the bodysides to replicate the familiar bulges on these wagons. I had a wave of nostalgia back to my time in 2006 while demonstrating on the stage at DEMU Showcase and stinking out the local crowd with plastic fumes bending then-brand new Limpets and MTAs! MTA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The key is to do this long and slow, and have a steel rule to hand - it is all too easy to deform the wagon and watch you don't end up with a banana shape! It used to be less pressure when wagons were £5 a go 'back-in-the-day' but things are different now! Any slipups here and all you're left with is a donor chassis for a custom Doorand wagon haha! Assuming the soldering goes well, there's a few extras which can be added underneath - there are two central beams running under the chassis, and some brake gear detailing that can be added in as well. There's a few holes to be opened out in the sideframes and the springs need changing, as detailed below. There is probably even more if you feel that way inclined! MTA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Now is also the perfect time to modify the suspension springs. As is well-publicised, Bachmann's model features the old leaf springs as on the older TTA and you really want the new style one. S Kits make some whitemetal parts, but I find it easier to chop around the existing Bachmann springs and get them looking a bit closer to the real thing - have a look at my version compared to the original RTR, it's still a compromise but it'll do for me! MTA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The next thing was the livery - new TOPS panels were created in CorelDraw with my custom numbers, and then the wagon was treated to coats of Humbrol 119, 62 and 186 - a sandy and rusty type effect, with application of the same on the inside of the wagon as well. Both wagons also feature daubings - 395040 has faded graffiti while 395065 has a 'Flat' chalked on the side, presumably by an engineer referring to the wheelset rather than a graffiti artist named 'Flat'! MTA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr A scalpel was used to cut grooves into the bodyside, which were then highlighted with darker browns and greys. The end result should be a weather-beaten maroon with a rich variety of tones - it's seen plenty of action but there's plenty of life left ahead of it. MTA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Here's a quick pic of the underframe - the detailing has been covered over in my usual handpainted weathering - MTA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr MTA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr MTA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr MTA wagon by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr These were quite fun to work on! They will go to work behind an EWS '66' and be partnered with similarly-detailed MHA, MFA and MKA wagons, the majority of which are still tucked away in boxes for a rainy day. I've still got more VGA wagons to come for the MOD train, but what a great little interlude! Edited August 14, 2016 by James Makin 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 More "top" work I see james!!! cheers neil.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixchris Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Looking good James, those MTA's look familiar! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted July 1, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted July 1, 2015 Looking good James, those MTA's look familiar! Thanks Chris! I just had the urge to tackle them as soon as they arrived - still got the third one tucked away for another day though! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 46444 Posted July 1, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 1, 2015 Top drawer stuff James. Great weathering. Have you got a photo plank you could shoot the finished article on? Look forwards to the next installment. Cheers, Mark 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted July 1, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted July 1, 2015 Top drawer stuff James. Great weathering. Have you got a photo plank you could shoot the finished article on? Look forwards to the next installment. Cheers, Mark Haha thanks Mark, do you know I was just thinking along those lines! Currently an ageing wonky blue patio table does the honours but I'd love to have a crack at a plank with some old flat bottom track and a bit of greenery - could be a fun Summer project!! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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