Nick G Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Nice work on the VGA's James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 great VGAs again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 More impressive work James!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted October 26, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted October 26, 2015 Thanks guys! No more VGAs for a while now I promise, these big wagons take too long to weather! I saw some more at a swap meet for a bargain tenner each, had to breath deeply and walk away and leave someone else to them!! Tucking into some cheeky Monday night Coalfish now! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongRail Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 James these wagons are getting harder to find tenner each? lets hope you don't live to regret that Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
43078shildoncountydurham Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 (edited) James keep this up please, just brilliant :-) Edited November 16, 2015 by 43078shildoncountydurham Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted November 21, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted November 21, 2015 It's been a while since the last update, as I've been beavering away on a couple of key scenic projects for Worthing MRC's Loftus Road, but have found the time to squeeze in a few more cheeky 'Coalfish' between the bigger items! MHA Wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Joining the fleet today are MHAs 394029, 394068, 394120 and 394214, based on the standard Hornby model, but with new S-Kits buffers, Colin Craig brake discs and instanter couplings to complete. MHA 394120 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr MHA 394120 was interesting to work on, having quite a few bodyside scars and a definite beaten appearance! Several coats of Humbrols 113, 119 and 186 were applied and wiped-off again with cotton buds. The data panels were designed in CorelDraw and stuck on the side. As with most 'MHA's, the white handrails have to be moved to match the prototype positioning - many batches have them on opposing corners. MHA 394029 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 394029 was similar to the previous wagon but with a darker tone, so washes of Humbrol 32 were applied over the top, along with a dash of Humbrol light stone 250 to reflect some markings along the bodyside. MHA 394214 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Not all of the 'Coalfish' are that battered, and 394214 was in pretty good condition during my early-2000s modelling period. This wagon is also part of a batch which received full corporate Gill Sans-font 'EWS' logos and TOPS panels, so this was applied to the model accordingly. A slight wash of dark grey, but an otherwise clean wagon here! The underframe is detailed and interior is fully weathered, to follow the prototype and differentiate it from a box-fresh Hornby one however!! MHA 394068 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr And finally, as with the previous batch, there's always the odd wagon which tickles me! Just something about a guy and his pancakes I'm sure. Cheers, James 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobster Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Superb attention to detail James as usual Cheers, Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne 37901 Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Nice job on those. I snapped a few Coalfish last week on a local possession. amongst the rake were a couple of MFAs and even better a former MAA box still with a trainload coal logo. Cheers 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted November 22, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted November 22, 2015 Nice job on those. I snapped a few Coalfish last week on a local possession. amongst the rake were a couple of MFAs and even better a former MAA box still with a trainload coal logo. Sounds good Wayne! I'd love to have a stab at one of the MAAs sometime, definitely a different look, I've bought one of the early, incorrect-body Hornby MHAs to see if I can bodge something out of that! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted December 11, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 11, 2015 I've had a cheeky mini feature in this month's BRM! It's only a couple of pages as I think they were running out of space for modelling bits! Meanwhile I've been busy ruining some more MHA 'Coalfish', does anyone actually want to see anymore haha? Answers on a postcard (whooooo!) More interestingly, I've started tucking into my first pair of HAA hopper wagons, pictures to follow, only 70 more to go...you have been warned! 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Congrats James!! looks rather good in the magzine Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted December 13, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2015 Well I did warn you..! Here's the next batch of MHA 'Coalfish' to roll off the workbench to join the growing empty ballast train: MHA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr This batch features another motley selection of Flickr favourites, MHA's 394111, 394318, 394129 and 394014, again all based on the Hornby model. MHA 394111 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 394111 is a typical example of the breed, a small amount of sandy brown weathering built up over the EWS maroon base coat, and features some chalk daubings too, indicating the recent whereabouts of a load of sand! MHA 394318 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The later batches of early-build MHA featured the newer Gill Sans EWS font, with matching TOPS panels in the newer style too. 394318 is just one of these and can be seen here in relatively good external condition, although the interior is just as battered as one would expect! MHA 394129 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The weathering on these is a mixture of tones, typically starting with sandy brown shades and graduating darker, some even with a wash of Humbrol dark grey 32 - but all dependant on the prototype pictures and the need to copy these as close as possible. MHA 394014 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Probably my favourite of this batch, 394014 features heavy bodyside scarring from unloading with mechanical grab. Abuse on the inside of the wagon has lead to denting and paint cracking on the outside of the wagon, which eventually lets the rust take hold and the fun begins! Scalpel scars were made on the body, and these grooves picked up the weathering shades as they were applied, along with a little more highlighting at the end of the project. MHA 394014 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Eagle-eyed viewers will notice the above wagons now have loads - of course a wagon like this has no doors and may never be truly empty - I've filled the entire train with morsols of fresh ballast, just as per prototype photographs. The grabber unloading often leaves distinctive patterns in the remaining ballast which I've tried to do justice here! MHA interior loads by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr The train now stands at 23 wagons - 21x MHA and 2x MTA so far - there are another 7x late build MHA on the way, another 5x MTA, 1x MAA and probably another 15 MFA that I've got 'in stock' but I don't want to over-index on these compared to the original Didcot ballast train inspiration that I saw all those years ago! Finally, here's a quick pic of a before-and-after of the MHA - this is to me, what modelling is all about! MHA Before and after by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr We don't tend to see the MHA wagon detailed up on layouts very much as the Hornby example is reasonably good, but a few aftermarket details and some loving personalisation can make a right change! In the meantime, work continues on the HAA coal hopper prototypes with more to come soon! 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne 37901 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Nice job on these James, Although too modern for me, I'm quite taken with these wagons after my recent photting session at a local possession. I even managed to catch some in the process of unloading by a road rail excavator. The variety in these wagons is excellent, just like the good old days with rakes Grampus etc. I the favourites out of my pics would be the MFA and ex MAA still in coal sector livery (although heavily weathered of course) as these weren't painted in EWS colours. Cheers 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne 37901 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I've been looking through my photos at chalked examples and came across this one marked up as having carried bogies?... Interesting. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted December 13, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2015 Love it Wayne! It's amazing how these wagons have gone from being shiny red uniform appearance to a complete dirty mish-mash variety, and chalkings like that only add to the fun! I'm with you on the MFAs, some great ex-Coal sector examples out there, particularly liking the differences in the livery patch painting depending on how the different Works cut down the wagon as well! All my MFAs are the recent ex-Loadhaul black version so they will be a great canvas for complete repaints, might start with a few Coals and some cheeky Mainline blues! Cheers, James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne 37901 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Yes indeed, some works reduced the top of the wagon and others carried out the work from below leaving the original MEA top. I have photos of two mainline wagons converted from below and the former coal sector MEA (now MFA) has been converted from above, hence the reason it retains it's coal sector logo. They're certainly interesting beasties. Look forward to more. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swifty11 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Lovely work as always James!! Fancy a go at an MOA next? IMG_3116 by The Hopeless Photographer, on Flickr 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted December 14, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 14, 2015 Lovely work as always James!! Fancy a go at an MOA next? IMG_3116 by The Hopeless Photographer, on Flickr I love those graffiti ones you find Tom! I reckon MOAs are maybe a dash too new for me but I'm always open to transposing that graffiti onto something else one day, I'm sure that Ellis and Wayne are lovely chaps really..! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Ah ! The sophisticated wit of the track gang maybe ? I saw a wagon with giant painted sperms. Not exactly banksy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Great work as always David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted December 28, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 28, 2015 Hope you all had a good Christmas! It's been a busy month so I've got a varied update, and the biggest news being that I've tackled a wagon that isn't an 'MHA'! HAA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr These two Hornby HAA merry-go-round coal hoppers are the first two that I've tackled from a batch of 72. There will be one empty and one full set eventually running on my new layout. I've tackled ordinary wagons as found in the early 2000s period, just before the new EWS bogie hoppers really began cutting into the coal fleet. But I'm easily distracted and the modelling tools were soon downed as I learnt the new 2016 Focus RS demonstrator was available to touch and play with at a local Ford dealer! 2016 Ford Focus RS - Nitrous Blue demonstrator by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr I'm smitten by the colour to be honest, though at 350PS it's down on power vs my Mountune Mk2 Focus RS but it does have a clever all wheel drive system - test drives aren't yet available but it has the potential to be a right beast. As my ageing daily-driver orange ST ticks towards the 100k mark this looks awfully tempting! 2016 Ford Focus RS - Nitrous Blue demonstrator by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr There was a few people checking out the car in the dealers but I was the only one folding down the seats and seeing if you can still get a decent layout in the back!! Aside from this, as it was Christmas I went to see the family at Didcot and while I was there, couldn't resist checking out the electrification progress! The masts and gantries are now being installed, and check out this vast new beasty just outside the station frontage! Didcot Parkway - OHLE installation 27th Dec 2015 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr There's a number of gantries that have gone in over the station area, it was dark at the time but you can just about make out the structure - not exactly as pretty as the WCML electrification projects! Didcot Parkway - OHLE installation 27th Dec 2015 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr But enough of that, back to the meat! The HAA coal wagons were utilising the cheap ones bought from Amazon earlier this year for about £8 each, the only trouble being they were covered in graffiti! HAA wagon WIP 1 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Now I'm all for realism, but this just looked ridiculous, like a Hornby designer's fantasy, and was soon removed with a sharp scalpel - HAA wagon WIP 2 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Once the graffiti printing was removed, the hopper bodies were then completely repainted in Humbrol silver. The darkness of Ladytron's 2008 Velocifero album makes for an ideal accompaniment to all coal wagon projects. HAA wagon WIP 3 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Lastly the silver bodies were coated in layers of varied brown to build up the tone. Looking at pictures, it is interesting to note that despite what one might think, these wagons are more commonly traffic brown in appearance rather than the black that you might imagine! Once reassembled, the wagon underframes were treated, including new S Kits buffers, instanter couplings and Colin Craig brake disc inserts on one wheel per axle. Real coal was sprinkled and glued on top of a plastic Parkside wagon load piece. HAA 353669 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Finally, a coat of Humbrol matt varnish later and the two wagons are ready for service! Another 34 HAAs are to follow for the first loaded train, to be eventually followed by it's empty partner travelling the other way! HAA 353735 by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr That's it for 2015, it's been a busy year for the wagon fleet in particular! The coming months promise some interesting rollover projects, including chaps, yes, exciting diesel locomotives! Watch this space and have a very happy new year! 18 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobster Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Superb James - Happy new year - Look forward to meeting up in 2016. Cheers, Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangoman69 Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Superb James! You provide a lot of inspiration to us mere mortals!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted December 28, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 28, 2015 Superb James! You provide a lot of inspiration to us mere mortals!! Haha thanks, you're too kind though!! I promise I do make my fair proportion of mistakes, they just don't always make it in front of the camera Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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