rob D2 Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 very nice wagons ! I can see a loadhaul 60 pulling those , passing us here in Swindon, heading for Oxfordshire........ 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted June 3, 2016 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 3, 2016 66 !!!! That's why there are no left at Hattons The ones you have done look really great. Haha I think I'd go bankrupt if I ever bought any from a shop, £18 or more each these days I think?! Crazy cats! Mine are all knocked off bargain bins, eBay hauls, swap meet fodder or traded with mates for weathering services and curry!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulcan product fan Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Happy Friday all, Here's the latest to leave the workbench - the first four 'production' HAAs following my prototype pair late last year - HAA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Based on period prototype pictures stolen from Flickr, joining the fleet today are HAAs 357806, 365624, 354075 and 352015. I like that they're based on actual, real wagons you can see for yourself online - I was too tempted to reel off the same numbers that Fox Transfers print on their sheets and slap them on a generic weathered wagon - I could bosh a rake out quickly but realised it'd be no fun!! So the starting point was the comedy Hornby graffiti wagon - not in their Railroad range, but with a quality to match it! They were discounted to clear for about £8 each on Amazon last year so I stocked up! HAA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr I stripped off the graffiti with a scalpel and repainted each hopper body back to silver, adding the correct transfer markings for each wagon, cobbled together from Fox's HAA sheet and their little white numbers for Virgin West Coast Mk3 coaches! HAA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Instanter couplings and S Kits buffers were added to the underframe, while the silver hopper bodies had a coat of matt varnish over the new transfer markings. This was great for the weathering stages also - the washes of Track Dirt and dark greys cling nicely to the finish! The dark tones of Wolf Alice are recommended for coal wagon weathering projects. The hopper cradles are then painted as per the prototypes, I chose a couple that were still in my personal favourite livery - Trainload Coal yellow! Though of course by my late 90s period, most were looking a shadow of their former selves - as below! HAA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 357806 is first up, it's yellow framing having faded to a lighter shade, and with a generally dirty appearance. Coal loads were added from real crushed coal, which was then sieved to get it even finer than the prototype pair of HAAs from last year. HAA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Hot on its heels is 352015 above in a reddy/browny framed livery and a 'D14' marking on the side, partially obscured by the electrification flash. HAA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr HAA 365624 is dressed as a former Railfreight red example, with quite a streaky appearance. After the main hopper body weathering stage, I went over the top with Humbrol 32 dark grey and cotton buds to highlight streaking detail from top down to bottom. Underframes are all mottled in a variety of browns and greys, with Colin Craig brake disc inserts on one wheel per axle. HAA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Finally 354075 above is another of my Trainload Coal favourites - although many of them have the blanked logos, there's a few that I'd handpicked that still wore the full colours! I will model the full variation, but just picking my favourites first! And then all four together, ready to add to the prototype pair from last December, which themselves will need a slight tweaking to match the latest batch of four below. HAA wagons by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr All ready for service on Worthing MRC's Loftus Road! I've got some classic MGR traction in mind (no prizes for guessing class or running number!) and also looking at the more modern Bachmann EWS '66's which were once part of the pre-DCC Wells Green loco fleet but haven't turned a wheel in over 10 years! (66008/66241) Should be some fun re-activations coming! I'm going to end up boring everyone, but with only 6 complete, still got another 66 HAA wagons which need re-working....! those are excellent MGRs wow well done mate . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus 37 Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Great work on those MGR,s, James. Weathering looks absolutely superb. Meanwhile I thought of you the other morning whilst stood at Milton Keynes waiting for a train to Wolverton........ Cheers Marcus 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 More super detailing here James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne 37901 Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Hi James, The finer coal looks much better in those. A bit OT but can I ask what camera you use? I'm looking to improve on my model photos a little more in the run up to writing some articles. Cheers, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted June 5, 2016 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 5, 2016 Hi James, The finer coal looks much better in those. A bit OT but can I ask what camera you use? I'm looking to improve on my model photos a little more in the run up to writing some articles. Cheers, Thanks Wayne, you'll laugh but the camera is just an old iPhone 5S!! That and good natural lighting conditions, bit of sharpening and bosh! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 (edited) Saw this bargain for you James, I snapped it up just in case it went. I take cash or cheques.... Edited June 5, 2016 by rob D2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandrover Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Just caught up on this thread. Stunning weathering, have you thought of videoing your techniques so that we can all see how you create these masterpieces? Bit off topic but sod the Focus and go for the v8 mustang in the background far nicer soundtrack! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCML100 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Wouldnt mind some video turtorials james, i know it would add to your time greatly but i think so many people would benifit from it... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium richierich Posted June 11, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 11, 2016 Have you used real coal for the load? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted June 11, 2016 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 11, 2016 Have you used real coal for the load? Hi Rich! It's real coal, smashed up and sieved extra fine, stuck onto the top of the Parkside HAA coal moulding. It got dusted in Matt varnish with the rest of the wagon but I'm still in two minds whether to varnish or not in future batches, like how sparkly it should appear in scale vs real life!! Cheers James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted June 16, 2016 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 16, 2016 Deja Vu? Another four HAA hoppers join the fleet this week - HAAs by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr New arrivals are 358391 in former Trainload Coal, 353195 and 350373 in peachy former Railfreight Red, and finally 350581 in EWS livery. HAAs by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr These are all based on the crazy Hornby graffiti HAA's from Amazon, thankfully the last of the batch before I move on to customising the decent HAA's! As before, each wagon is based on a prototype floating around Flickr, to add a fun dimension and prevent boredom setting in with two trains of 36 identical wagons! HAAs by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 358391 in former Trainload Coal livery bears scars of the old 'Barry' depot plaque sticker, and painted-out Coal logos to the right hand side. In line with the others, each wagon has been treated to new buffers from S-Kits, instanter couplings and Colin Craig brake discs on applicable wheels. HAAs by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 353195 is in very faded Railfreight red livery, basically a girly peach colour! HAAs by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr 350373 is much the same as '195, with the exception of a 'Tough' graffiti tag on the side, as per the Flickr photo I'd dug out. Note the subtle variations in electrification flash positioning from wagon to wagon, who said these HAA's are all the same? HAAs by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Finally the fourth model in the batch takes the identity 350581 in 'EWS' livery. I'm not even sure it's EWS red, it appears a Railfreight brown to my eyes, with a lazy stencil on the top, so this is how mine appears! I've cracked open a pack of the old BR-style electrification flashes to accompany the post-98 version on the sides of this wagon. Following the query above, I thought I'd show the coal loading process, I'm using Parkside's plastic HAA hopper coal load as a basis, topped off with real crushed coal, that has been through a sieve, it's basically powder now! HAAs by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Having glued and sealed in the Parkside load (my OCD doesn't want loose coal rattling in the wagon!) then a layer of glue is applied and the coal simply shaken on top. After much thought - I now matt varnish this to then lose some of the shine, it is too sparkly in my eyes, and needs scaling down a bit - fine in real life, but this is 4mm scale. This took many hours of pouring over photos to come to this irreversible decision! Coal loads are best created while listening to synthpop from the superb young Swede, Tove Styrke - her latest album is incredible and essential listening for power station traffic-building. HAAs by James Makin by jamesmakin2002, on Flickr Finally - the wagons are good to add to the collection! I now have 10 complete HAAs, luckily just 62 to go now folks..! I've just started on another six wagons, though may intersperse them with Loftus Road scenic buildings to provide welcome variety! 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 40-something Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 Superb work James, but I think you only have 4 MGRs and keep reworking them every week or so Seriously though, your work is right up there and incredibly inspiring Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpleymodeller Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 (edited) Absolutely top class work on the HAAs James. I will be following the next 62 with much interest! I'm currently working on a rake of 21 of the old Hornby Railroad tooling, you were lucky to get hold of them for bargain prices, £20+ each is simply unsustainable or justifiable. A few of details Ive noticed when researching 2000s era MGR wagons which may be of use; - Initially from 1996 until around 2000 EWS repainted the whole frame in maroon and stenciled 'EW&S' or more commonly 'EWS' in gold. Also data panels were made up properly with standard white boarders all in the same font. - After 2000 wagons number panels appeared to be the stencil type applied in white on a black background. No attempt at uniformity or neatness of any kind! Even several different types of stencil fonts were used. By ~ 2005 stenciled numbers/data panels achieved dominance and remained so until final withdrawal in 2010. - EWS frame repaints in the early 2000s onwards only covered the main side frame with the base, supports and ends in what ever colour they were last painted in (mainly covered in grime). - No standard position of the post 1998 OHL flashes , some wagons I have seen had 2-3 flashes on each side and 1-2 on the ends. Others only had flashes on the ends and none on the sides. - EWS maroon ended up being the dominant livery by ~ 2005 with the rest in faded Railfreight Coal yellow, faded Railfreight Red and Mainline blue in that order. - Andy Jupes (gingespotting) and Martyn Reads Smugmug sites are very useful for reference photos of HAA and their derivatives in the 2000s era. Hope this helps, unless you have noticed these points already! Lewis Edited June 18, 2016 by Arpleymodeller Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted June 18, 2016 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 18, 2016 Absolutely top class work on the HAAs James. I will be following the next 62 with much interest! I'm currently working on a rake of 21 of the old Hornby Railroad tooling, you were lucky to get hold of them for bargain prices, £20+ each is simply unsustainable or justifiable. A few of details Ive noticed when researching 2000s era MGR wagons which may be of use; - Initially from 1996 until around 2000 EWS repainted the whole frame in maroon and stenciled 'EW&S' or more commonly 'EWS' in gold. Also data panels were made up properly with standard white boarders all in the same font. - After 2000 wagons number panels appeared to be the stencil type applied in white on a black background. No attempt at uniformity or neatness of any kind! Even several different types of stencil fonts were used. By ~ 2005 stenciled numbers/data panels achieved dominance and remained so until final withdrawal in 2010. - EWS frame repaints in the early 2000s onwards only covered the main side frame with the base, supports and ends in what ever colour they were last painted in (mainly covered in grime). - No standard position of the post 1998 OHL flashes , some wagons I have seen had 2-3 flashes on each side and 1-2 on the ends. Others only had flashes on the ends and none on the sides. - EWS maroon ended up being the dominant livery by ~ 2005 with the rest in faded Railfreight Coal yellow, faded Railfreight Red and Mainline blue in that order. - Andy Jupes (gingespotting) and Martyn Reads Smugmug sites are very useful for reference photos of HAA and their derivatives in the 2000s era. Hope this helps, unless you have noticed these points already! Lewis Thanks very much Lewis! I'd seen your thread on these and liking them a lot, looking forward to your next updates as well! By the looks of it we've both done equal amounts of research here - and naturally we'd be stuffed without the likes of Martyn and Ginge & a select few others kindly thinking to capture these wagons's portraits in close detail the time, very grateful!! So many useless three-quarter MGR train + loco shots out there.... grr! I think that's a great summary of the status of these hoppers above - my own modelling timeline is circa 1998-2000 ish. I love your stencil transfers but I'm secretly happy I can stick to majority of the original style, save me creating custom transfers only for my work's printers to chew up all the expensive transfer paper again! I reckon the biggest challenge is that there's only an infinite amount of wagon photos out there suitable for modelling of the right time period. With our continual searching of the same pool of galleries it's surely only a matter of time before we both tackle the same wagon haha!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpleymodeller Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 (edited) Very true indeed I was thinking the same when I found Andy and Martyns sites 'surely more than two people took detail shots of these wagons?' Also 'beast66606' has a thread on the forum of late 90s early 2000s era HAAs - 'The ubiquitous MGR' - which will be of help for you if you haven't seen it already. Also Flickr member Ernie Puddick (an EWS employee) took literally thousands of photos of EWS wagons in the early 2000s, including HAAs, HMAs, HDAs and canopy fitted HBAs. (Also plenty of battered OBAs if your modelling any more of these!) Will any of the 62 other wagons be modelled as these derivatives? HMAs can be modelled without any alterations but the HDAs would require a brake distributor fitting above the chassis. If you want any stencil type number/ data panels for a particular wagon let me know as I make them in large (~10-20 wagon) batches and print them all off in one go and varnish using Humbrol Matt aerosol. Ill let you know If I find some more HAA galleries on the web, keep up the good work! Lewis Edited June 18, 2016 by Arpleymodeller 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 I'm probably preaching to the converted, but if you're looking at doing a number of MGR hoppers, then it's worth seeking out a copy of 'Merry-Go-Round On The Rails' by David Monk-Steel, published by the HMRS. Lots of detailed drawings and photographs. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted June 18, 2016 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 18, 2016 Thanks Lewis! Ernie and Beast's galleries are great shouts, I have to admit to purging them of photos in the past for projects haha! I'm always on the lookout for more galleries if you find them though, I'm so sad that given spare time on my phone I'll often start raking through Google Images, Flickr, Smugmug apps etc searching on the TOPS code and then screenshotting pics as I go! That's a really kind offer on the transfers thanks, will have to let you know as doubtless there's some early stencil jobs that are crying out to be modelled! I was going to ask, with the other re-coded varieties, did they get mixed in with the HAA or run as blocks of all HMA etc? It would open more doors to other interesting wagons in the same rake if so! Brian - agree on the book, it was actually me buying that great title that has lead into this big coally mess haha!! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Thanks Lewis! Ernie and Beast's galleries are great shouts, I have to admit to purging them of photos in the past for projects haha! I'm always on the lookout for more galleries if you find them though, I'm so sad that given spare time on my phone I'll often start raking through Google Images, Flickr, Smugmug apps etc searching on the TOPS code and then screenshotting pics as I go! That's a really kind offer on the transfers thanks, will have to let you know as doubtless there's some early stencil jobs that are crying out to be modelled! I was going to ask, with the other re-coded varieties, did they get mixed in with the HAA or run as blocks of all HMA etc? It would open more doors to other interesting wagons in the same rake if so! Brian - agree on the book, it was actually me buying that great title that has lead into this big coally mess haha!! The ones I saw at Cardiff and Newport, about a decade ago, seemed to have a mixture of variants, including vehicles both with, and without, canopies. Are you going to do some of the earlier body style, without the reinforcement at the top of sides and associated rivets? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium James Makin Posted June 18, 2016 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 18, 2016 The ones I saw at Cardiff and Newport, about a decade ago, seemed to have a mixture of variants, including vehicles both with, and without, canopies. Are you going to do some of the earlier body style, without the reinforcement at the top of sides and associated rivets? Thanks Brian, that would help provide chances to model a few interesting hoppers I've found shots of! I'm in two minds on the canopies - I'm modelling the Avonmouth-Didcot PS flows which seemed to have canopied rakes more often than not when I saw them, but I just love the iconic non-canopy look! One idea was to perhaps do the empty rake as all-canopy HBA's perhaps! I really love the idea of doing at least one original-body HAA, especially as that book features them so much! I came to a stumbling block of not finding any pics of original body wagons circa 2000, there's lots of 80s/90s pics out there I could use and but if you or anyone else has any examples of original body survivors then I'll happily tackle them please! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bensanchez43310 Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Cracking work, will look good behind an EWS grid or duff! Loving the thread so far. For your didcot layout, are you gonna have a seperate layout thread and will you upload more stock projects here?? Ben Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpleymodeller Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 (edited) Hello again, To add to what Brian said earlier I thought I would add a couple of observations from researching on MGRs; - HMA (modified brake hoppers) were seen mixed in rakes of HAAs in the EWS era. - HBA (HDAs with canopies) and HFAs were seen mixed in rakes of HAAs,HMAs and HDAs in the 2000s - Im sure I read that the canopied hoppers were originally inteneded to run in block formation on Scottish opencast coal flows heading south on the WCML to prevent coal dust falling off. HBAs and HFAs were also seen in block workings. - HDAs (final batch MGRs with upgraded brakes enabling higher speeds both loaded and empty) were seen in both block workings and mixed in with HAAs and HMAs in the EWS era. - Some of the original 150 HOP32 ABs fitted with canopies and original bodywork (no horizontal rivets) survived into the EWS era coded HCAs. (Martyn Reads site has some photos of these - including EWS maroon frame liveried 350077) - HNA was another code used on some of the original batch of canopied MGR hoppers which retained their original bodywork (again with no extra rivets) until withdrawal. Again thanks to Martyn modellers have a chance at recreating some of these wagons. One was 356432 touched up with EWS maroon and stencil numbers. - One final note regarding the HCAs, at least one wagon - 356771 - lost its canopy but retained its HCA code! Again thanks to Martyn taking a photo I can model it! Although EWS used the HCAs on lime stone workings in the North East around 2005-2007 they could be used on MGR coal workings in 1998-2000 era. As far as I know these initial 150 wagons had worked their entire careers in Scotland until privatisation when EWS redeployed them. Although the prototype MGR B350001 is preserved without a canopy when rolled out in 1964 it did have a canopy in the same design as the later ones fitted to the HBAs and HFAs. If you do decide to model some of the canopied hoppers it would be more cost effective to use the standard new tooling HAA you have and add the Parkside canopy kits as Hornby HBAs and HFAs are no longer available from any stockist and on Ebay are all selling for around £15-20 each. Hope this helps, Lewis Edited June 18, 2016 by Arpleymodeller Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpleymodeller Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Just found a webpage with some HAAs from 1998 onwards that will be of use if you haven't found it already - type 352619 HAA into Google - on railfaneurope.net. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 More nice wagons James. I shall look up tove, I like a bit of euro pop.... I was at didcot a week back, looks a right shambles with all that 25kv crazyness going on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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