James Makin's Workbench - 1990s dirty diesels & grotty wagons

[D6775]

Fantastic work on the 87's as always. Fancy having a go at something 7mm??

[aeroplane]

Hi James. Saw your 92 in the Accurascale topic and then bought the new Simon Bendall bookazine and have been reading through many of your old posts. You will have inspired so many people to try weathering and brought back many happy memories of locos in the past. Thanks and look forward to seeing more of your work :)

[sb67]

Well done on getting your work in the Modelling 90's loco's bookazine, I always knew your stuff was worth seeing in print. Just waiting for the book to come out now 😉

As said above you've inspired many people, myself included, to have a go at weathering and detailing. Your style and photo's make it easy to understand and follow. I'm looking forward to the next project 👍

 

[James Makin]

Thanks for all the nice comments guys!

 

On 09/07/2022 at 13:50, D6775 said:

Fantastic work on the 87's as always. Fancy having a go at something 7mm??

 

Haha, that is an interesting thought! I always get too ambitious so I think I'd need a giant barn for the layouts I'd want to create or the income of Pete Waterman to keep up..! 🤣

 

Mind you with Heljan's models sometimes being discounted I have lusted after the concept of having a model of my favourite Class 60 just sitting on the mantlepiece as a display! A giant 60038 Bidean Nam Bian all bulled up in Trainload Metals would be rather fun! 😎

 

 

On 11/07/2022 at 10:34, aeroplane said:

Hi James. Saw your 92 in the Accurascale topic and then bought the new Simon Bendall bookazine and have been reading through many of your old posts. You will have inspired so many people to try weathering and brought back many happy memories of locos in the past. Thanks and look forward to seeing more of your work :)

 

Thank you so much! I always hope I can inspire others to pick up the paintbrushes and have a go at a bit of bodging! When I was very new at the hobby it always seemed so intimidating so I hope my pics show that anyone can pick up the paints, cotton buds and bits and just get started somewhere, and then just keep practicing and practicing! 

 

It's also been a lot of fun bringing the old locos back from the past, when I first started modelling these were 'modern image' and the stuff you saw in the Lima catalogue...where did the time go?! I think the late '90s are a bit like the new steam/diesel transition era with the last remnants of old BR giving way to the new order, bringing so much variety and interesting juxtapositions of stock next to each other!

 

On 12/07/2022 at 05:59, sb67 said:

Well done on getting your work in the Modelling 90's loco's bookazine, I always knew your stuff was worth seeing in print. Just waiting for the book to come out now 😉

As said above you've inspired many people, myself included, to have a go at weathering and detailing. Your style and photo's make it easy to understand and follow. I'm looking forward to the next project 👍

 

 

Thanks Steve! It is always odd seeing stuff in print, especially things like the work-in-progress shots, and you look in the magazine and it's like "hey that's my workbench there!" 😂 My first ever article was for Model Rail in 2004 (the infamous Ginsters 158!) but you do still get a bit of a mini buzz each time a new issue drops, and the silly idea of buying two copies, one for reading and 'one to keep nice' !!

 

Cheers,

James

 

[saxokid]

Had good catch up here james,great work once again..😀

[James Makin]

Here's a slice of retro 'Skoda' action!

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

I did like the look of the Class 90s back in their original Intercity colours; I first encountered these at a very young age in the old Michelin 'I-Spy' books, of all places! In one edition there was quite a few images of one and I was intrigued - they looked a bit like the Class 91 that I was very familiar with, but with more stubby ends! 

 

It was to be a few more years until properly getting into the hobby and going on some more distant trainspotting trips further up North until seeing more of these, and by then the famous Intercity colours were on their way out, with not long to go before Richard Branson's red paintbrush had conquered all within its sights. 

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

I couldn't resist bagging one of the Bachmann Intercity examples upon release, with plans to run it on my Wells Green TMD layout one day, though it remained packed away until the time came to give it a bit of personalisation!

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The aim of the project was to recreate a loco in late 90s/early 2000 condition; 90010 275 Railway Squadron (Volunteers) had been one I'd earmarked, hanging on to its Intercity livery later than other 90s which had already succumbed to Virgin colours early on. 

 

All that would be needed was a renumber and refinish, with an application of grime based on Flickr photos of the protoype at the time. Using Humbrol enamel thinners, the nameplate and number printing bubbles up within seconds, and lifts away easily.

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Soon enough, with a little polishing with the cotton bud, all of the printing disappears, leaving the backing colours intact, and shiny. 

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The bodyshell was taken apart from the chassis, using great care to store all of the differently-sized screws and keep them labelled as to where they go. The model comes apart easily enough but on the first time it's not that straightforward knowing which screws just remove the body, compared to the screws that hold the front fairing or the DCC panel on the roof. 

 

With the body removed, the window glazing and front light glazing was masked off on the inside and covered in Humbrol Maskol on the outside, and the roof & pantograph masked over, before a coat of Railmatch gloss varnish was sprayed over the bodyshell to give a base for applying the Railtec decals and Shawplan etched nameplates, again using varnish to secure the 'plates. 

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Next up for attention was the bufferbeam fairing - whilst being far better than the old Hornby model preceding it, there is still a noticeable cut-out seam line for the optional tension-lock coupling. This was removed by applying model filler and sanding down the fairings until smooth. 

 

Moving back up to the bodyshell, a layer of Railmatch matt varnish then sealed in the new decals and the model was left to cure for a month for the varnish to harden, before weathering could begin. Bachmann's model is known for having the moveable servo-operated pantograph, which once unconnected, spring downward and can make weathering access difficult. My highly technological method for getting around this is whacking a great lump of Blu-Tack under the hook piece inside the bodyshell to force the pantograph to raise!

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

With the pantograph now raised and fully accessible for weathering, layers of browns and earthy colours were applied to the roof. 

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Bachmann's factory class 90 has a very stark jet black roof and bright white cabs, both of which were very unlike the real things after just a short period of time, so just working on this area makes a huge different. Base layers of brown paint were added in the roof recess, and then lighter and darker shades mottled on to build up a satisfactory finish, using prototype roof pictures as guidance for each area. The bright white cab roof sections received the customary paint-on & wipe-off finish of paint, and then washed down with cotton buds laced in enamel thinners. 

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The weathering was also repeated across the bodysides and around the cab ends, this helps leave 'dirt' in the recesses and especially helps to make the front lights and grilles much more lifelike than their bright, almost toy appearance of the original model. 

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

More and more layers of colour were built up on the roof throughout the project - it's been a while since tackling any AC electrics so I was a little rusty on this area - but it pays to keep looking at the prototype pictures online, and seeing where the darker colours are found compared to the lighter shades. Cotton buds were used to dip into neat paint and then dab on the roof in select areas, whilst elsewhere paint was applied by brush and then removed with cotton buds, it's really a case of having a play and keeping going until being satisfied!

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Finally lighter touches were drybrushed on, and although it looks a little stark in the above photo, the final airbrush grime stages help to bed in the colours and flatten it all out somewhat. The airbrushing stage consisted of spraying browns - track dirt and frame dirt shades from Phoenix, and then across the roof, their 'roof dirt', followed by some more sandy, greeny light earth colours taken from the Humbrol range. 

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Other finishing touches include adding the driver figure and painting the cab interior, along with small details such as drybrushing on a smidgen of silver to represent wear on the cab footsteps, and a slight sheen of Humbrol Metalcote gunmetal on the bogies and underframe to allow the sharper edges to pop out slightly. 

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Although the bodysides of the Class 90 are relatively smooth, the weathering process is good for leaving deposits in the areas prone to the buildup of dirt - any of the recesses for equipment on the sides, ends and around the grilles, anywhere the washing plants can't seem to get to!

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Here the roof can be seen a little better - the general wafts of earthy colours contrasting with some of the more general oily/roof dirt shades. Pictures of the loco rooftops on Flickr can be hard to come by, but with enough searches you can often find shots taken from higher angles, and if lucky, direct roof-down images from bridges or very occasionally, during works visits.

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

New in 1988, by the late '90s, the Intercity livery on 90010 had started to become tatty in places, notably the red stripe which had a few battle scars on, and these were replicated by drybrushing small amounts of off-white colour to the stripe using a 5/0 paintbrush, along with any other marks spotted from prototype pictures of the time. 

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The nameplate was one of the more unpopular Intercity silver reflective plates that spread across a lot of the fleet in that late 80s era, and came from the Shawplan range. Anyone modelling 90010 is strongly urged to avoid the Fox Transfers etched version of this nameplate as it incredibly features a spelling mistake in the word Squadron..! 

 

87029 87031 90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

90010 275 Railway Squadron (Volunteers) is posed alongside 87029 Earl Marischal and 87031 Hal o' the Wynd for photos taken for the Simon Bendall's Locomotives of the 1990s book and it was fun to line them all up for a West Coast workhorse theme!

 

87029 90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

One interesting feature to model for 90010 was at the pantograph end, the horn grille was bent and damaged, presumably from a bird strike or similar, whilst one of the adjacent headlight surrounds was black, suggesting a recent replacement, possibly resulting from the same incident.

 

87029 87031 90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

87029 87031 90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Overall it was a great fun little project to bring this to life, refresh the identity and give it some traffic weathering of the time. The real locomotive has had an interesting career since the period modelled, with a coat of Virgin red being applied in 2001, before later moving over to see service with ONE Anglia after introduction of the Pendolinos on the West Coast. Going through variations of National Express, the locomotive is now with Freightliner and can be found sporting their gorgeous bright orange livery!

 

90010 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Cheers,

James

Edited July 20, 2022 by James Makin
.

[Southwich]

Stunning as usual James! That 90 looks stunning.

 

Look forward to catching up at the weekend at showcase?

 

Will

[James Makin]

On 20/07/2022 at 16:18, Southwich said:

Stunning as usual James! That 90 looks stunning.

 

Look forward to catching up at the weekend at showcase?

 

Will

Thank you Will!

 

I am most definitely looking forward to catching up, I’ll keep an eye out for you, in any event you’ll likely find me drooling over your Class 56 samples 😂

 

Cheers,

James

[D6775]

On 19/07/2022 at 09:31, James Makin said:

Haha, that is an interesting thought! I always get too ambitious so I think I'd need a giant barn for the layouts I'd want to create or the income of Pete Waterman to keep up..! 🤣

 

Mind you with Heljan's models sometimes being discounted I have lusted after the concept of having a model of my favourite Class 60 just sitting on the mantlepiece as a display! A giant 60038 Bidean Nam Bian all bulled up in Trainload Metals would be rather fun! 😎

 

You don't have to convert to 7mm to give something a go!!!!

[87023Velocity]

Stunning work James, the 87s and 90 look spot on. 😎 You just need a full pushpull rake to go with them, have one of your 47s on a drag with the 87 or 90 pan down on the rear. 

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[saxokid]

More top work here James🙂

[James Makin]

I've been sprucing up some of my older models first tackled many years ago, the latest being this duo of Hornby Class 60s...

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Modelled here is 'Plain Jane' 60028 John Flamsteed and Loadhaul 60038, modelled in circa 1998 condition. This pair are amongst my earliest modelled '60s', first being done for my old Wells Green TMD layout all those years ago. 

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

As alluded to on a previous post, 60038 is in fact my favourite Class 60 of them all! New to BR's Trainload Metals sector in 1991, this was formerly named after the Glen Coe mountain Bidean Nam Bian, prior to being stripped of the plates when gaining its attractive Loadhaul colours in 1995.

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The model was one of the original batch of Hornby '60's from 2005, and was given a paint-on/wipe-off weathering finish with a range of browns and dark greys some years back. Later, shades of track dirt and roof dirt were airbrushed on top to build up the traffic grime on top too.

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Extra details included some cab detailing, there isn't a great deal of modelling required on a Class 60 so you can spend time doing the fiddlier bits if desired! A driver was added, together with representations of a kit bag, newspaper and drinks can, all scratchbuilt from offcuts of wire, Blu Tack and card - nowadays you can incredibly buy all this detail from suppliers online. 

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

I always liked 60038 from seeing it in glorious Trainload Metals, but even in Loadhaul is it a good looker! It is one of the more forgotten black '60s' - both this and 60025 appear to be rarely modelled compared to Hornby's 60007, and namers 60008 Gypsum Queen II and 60059 Swinden Dalesmen that seem to hog all the limelight!

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

When giving it a spruce up, the main differences were adding on brass wire coupling loops to haul trains, touching in some of the flaws in the old weathering jobs, and then just stripping down and cleaning some 15+ years of accumulated grime from the mechanism.

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

New DCC decoders were fitted too, Hattons 8-pin chips replacing the sometimes skittish Hornby decoders originally fitted the first time around on Wells Green. I don't tend to go in as much for the DCC sound as I used to, as you've probably guessed, I love fleet quantities of locos and in most cases it's simply not economical to spend the extra amount on sound for a loco that may only spend a few days each year actually running on an exhibition layout!

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Next up for attention was another favourite, 60028 John Flamsteed. I had a great day at Didcot in 2001 with this stabled in the sidings adjacent to the station, the 'Tug' clonking and creaking as it cooled down, adding a bit of extra background noise to the HSTs and Thames Turbos zooming on by!

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Similar to the more recent models of 60067 James Clerk-Maxwell and 60069 Humphry Davy added to the fleet this year, 60028 John Flamsteed is another unbranded example, having lost its original Trainload Petroleum decals in 1997, and indeed represented my normal trainspotting experience of just seeing dull and sightly boring locos!

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The model was based on the Hornby 'Canisp' release of 2006, the old Mainline freight logos removed carefully with cotton buds dipped in Humbrol enamel thinners, gently lifting off the printing with no damage to the underlying Hornby colours, which were pretty accurate of the time. More recent Hornby releases use different , more incorrect shades of grey, which is somewhat frustrating!

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The etched nameplates were sourced from Fox Transfers at the time, but if tackling the loco now I'd head straight over to Shawplan/Extreme Etchings where Brian has redrawn all the 'plates in recent times, so they are second to none for etchings.  

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

On each model the interior chassis block was painted, to provide extra depth through the etched grilles, here below the air intake grille has been painted a mix of browns and gunmetal greys to match prototype pictures. 

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

It was been nice to dig these two examples out and get them ready for truly earning their keep hauling long trains at last!

 

Since their modelling timescale of 1998, the real life locos have had some interesting times, 60038 would swap its funky Loadhaul colours for EWS maroon & gold, and the name AvestaPolarit, whilst both would then see storage at Toton after finishing service with EWS in the 2000s.

 

60028 would later be revived and see service in Cappagh blue colours from 2019, meanwhile 60038 has just been extracted from Toton by DC Rail and taken to Brush Works, together with seven other '60's purchased from DB. Time will tell whether it just becomes a spares donor or one of the lucky ones to see a second life on the rails!

 

60028 and 60038 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

A great fun mini-project, and whetting the appetite for the next batch of heavy freight locos to grace the workbench in the coming months ahead!

 

Cheers,

James

[njee20]

Stunning work as always James, brilliant! Perhaps I should let you loose on my Heljan 60, see if you really do fancy O! 😀

[rob D2]

Nice one James !

I remember your article on detailing 60028 which appeared in “ modern railway modelling “ ( I think it was called ), what a shame that didn’t continue as the pure DE content was great .

[James Makin]

16 hours ago, rob D2 said:

Nice one James !

I remember your article on detailing 60028 which appeared in “ modern railway modelling “ ( I think it was called ), what a shame that didn’t continue as the pure DE content was great .

Cheers Rob!

 

Haha, that feels a lifetime ago now! I miss the MRM mag, it was a decent concept!
 

I remember contributing articles for a few issues in a row and mates down the club started teasing that MRM meant Makin Railway Modelling 🤦‍♂️😂 

It’d be fun if something similar came back, with 15yrs or so passed since it seems more people than ever are tackling D&E stuff!

 

Cheers,

James

[saxokid]

Love look of those class 60s james,ive got two on workbench this week for weathering up.

just searching through the mass of train spotting pics for ideas 🙂

[aeroplane]

Have you ever thought about making a video showing your weathering techniques?

[James Makin]

On 11/08/2022 at 15:23, aeroplane said:

Have you ever thought about making a video showing your weathering techniques?

That would be a fun idea sometime! Right now I feel a bit of a beginner in that area, it all looks a bit daunting presenting the stuff for filming and then working out how people do the post production editing to make it watchable, seems like witchcraft! 
 

I guess practice makes perfect, my fear is just running off a load of cheesy Alan Partridge-esque videos 😂
 

Cheers,

James

[Graham T]

1 minute ago, James Makin said:

I guess practice makes perfect, my fear is just running off a load of cheesy Alan Partridge-esque videos 😂

 

Which would also be entertaining, of course 🙂

[rob D2]

Get Alan partridge to present it ! i'd buy it 

[aeroplane]

I think a video would be so good. Seeing photos of your work is so inspirational but doing a weathering for the first time ever is daunting! So it'd be great to learn a bit more by seeing how you do it.

[JN]

12 hours ago, James Makin said:

That would be a fun idea sometime! Right now I feel a bit of a beginner in that area, it all looks a bit daunting presenting the stuff for filming and then working out how people do the post production editing to make it watchable, seems like witchcraft! 
 

I guess practice makes perfect, my fear is just running off a load of cheesy Alan Partridge-esque videos 😂
 

Cheers,

James

 

Long time follower of this topic. Adobe Rush would probably be the best, but expensive for a one time thing. Fairly easy to learn and use. I managed to produce my first video without reading any instructions - took me longer to sort things out than produce the video! I cannot really comment on other software packages, but one can probably get some decent (easy to use) for free (I mean agreed to be free not using some hack) online. However, another option is to upload the file straight from a phone. just upload the job lot as single separate file and type 'excuse the 5 seconds of faff before I actually start spraying'.

 

If you do decide to go ahead, film more than you have to. That way you have buffer footage for the cutting room floor and you can ready yourself for audio description or the actual work and can forget you are being filmed. Richard of Everard Junction does a good job, probably better than he needs to. Cut well. Good sound. Good visual quality. I am not saying it's too good or unnecessary, but I am suggesting the best does not have to be the enemy of the good enough for the intended purpose. Most people would be watching for information about a hobby they enjoy rather than to view an artistic panoramic of a mountain range with a lot of visual detail.

 

I have used broadcast quality cameras for video, but with the intention of broadcasting the media on a TV not (just) a YouTube square. Use the best you already have and if you do need to buy, buy the best you can afford. Broadcast quality cameras are very heavy, built like tanks and need a free shoulder (if you have no tripod which takes up space around where you working) and often need two hands to work the controls which would be awkward for airbrushing! Your phone can be propped up on a workbench. These days you might be able to get away with mobile phone recording. Mid-range to high-end DSLRs from Jessops etc are used for people who regularly share lengthy podcast videos online. The BBC probably have their cameras custom-made. I can only tell on a TV too. Whether you describe your actions as you do them is your call. Some people make it visual only, but others add audio description to allow people to listen in the background or watch.

 

If you are worried about file size do not shoot in 4k!! Huge files. Huge. A ten-minute video (from a 20mp full frame camera) could use the entire hard disk space of a laptop. Mpeg would be fine for the purpose. A bit like jpeg and raw photos I cannot tell the difference.

 

Anyway, I like trains, model railways and like seeing the different work you do with the different locos. I hope you do not mind me giving the advice even if not needed for whatever reason (maybe, too, someone else might come across this post and find it useful). Let me know if you need/want anymore info. Thanks for sharing too.

[rob D2]

Sounds a lot of bother. If I was James I’d be asking what’s in it for him …

 

He’s already got this fantastic thread with tons of inspiration 

[James Makin]

Thanks ever so much for the guidance and insight above on the videos guys, much appreciated!

 

I will have to have a look sometime to see if I've got a way of making a video and seeing how it goes, though I am a little more old fashioned being a words and pictures person, they seem to flow out naturally and are easy to write! I'm always inspired by the old Model Rail & Rail Express magazine step-by-step 'how to do it' articles I grew up with reading in the late 90s and then writing in that style, though nowadays videos have come along changing the game somewhat!

 

I must admit that I don't really get time to watch any modelling videos online currently, so that puts me at a slight disadvantage there on best practice but I am sure I can learn along the way in due course for when the time comes!

 

Cheers,

James

 

 

[James Makin]

I've been having fun lately working on a range of wagons, and today sees a couple more 'Limpet' spoil wagons join the fleet.

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Based on the POA coal/aggregate wagons and re-purposed in the 1990s for carrying spent ballast, as many will know, the famous slits in the side were put in place to avoid overloading with the much heavier ballast when given a new life as ZKA (later MKA) ballast spoil wagons. 

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

With many of my 'Limpets' I've ended up converting these from Bachmann POAs and cutting holes in the sides, but at the Ally Pally show this year I unearthed a couple of bargain ready-made Bachmann 'Limpets' from the Ellis Clark stand, and decided it was time to give them their make over!

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

I really liked the factory liveries applied on this occasion so kept these as they were, and trawled Flickr for  a couple of period examples active in spoil traffic in the late 1990s, and renumbered each one accordingly.

 

Before deciding on a prototype, there are key differences to look for between the batches - some of the POAs had equally spaced vertical ribs as shown here, whilst others had odd-spaced ribs, whilst the ends could either feature two plain ribs, or an arrangement of squares reinforced bars at the top. It pays to do the research now to avoid realising the model needs fixing later once you've gone too far down the road of re-finishing it!

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The underframe is where the most work is needed on the Bachmann model, the bottom can be enhanced with representations of the I-beams that run centrally down the spine and you may wish to add some of the fiddly brake pipework that appears too. Above can be seen one of my previous 'Limpets' vs the fresh new one to compare the work required. 

 

A whole load of 0.33mm brass wire was picked up from Eileen's Emporium, and some fine plasticard from the scrapbox, and I set to work on the models!

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Doing the U-shaped wires around the brake pipes was a little fiddly, and it's not perfect but it gives a bit of representation of the dangly bits that exist once the model is painted up and put the right way up on the track! You could take it much further, but at the same time I have many many more of these to tackle in the great stock box - Didcot Yard seemed to be a mecca for 'Limpets' at one stage so a large number will be needed for my layout!

 

The renumbering took place also, the old Bachmann numbers removed and updated with a mix of Railtec and Fox decals for the numbers and letters, before each model was sealed in with Railmatch matt varnish and left to harden for a month before weathering could take place. 

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Accompanied by some peak Ladytron, the usual paint-on/wipe-off technique seen on these pages many times was used to taint the livery to match the photographs on Flickr. The Loadhaul version was heavily faded, so a wash of Humbrol grey paint about 80:20 paint to thinners ratio was painted on and wiped away vertically downwards with cotton buds and kitchen towel. This was then later overpainted with a shade of mid-brown a few days later, building up layers of paint and wiping them away until satisfied with the overall look. 

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

After the paint-on/wipe-off layers, a small 5/0 brush with a pointed tip was used to touch in all sorts of dings and damages seen on each prototype, and shading in around some of the panel lines and weld lines, following pictures all the time to ensure it matched up. 

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The BR Civil Engineers grey example was fun to model, ZKA 390163. Despite the plain livery, the prototype sported many tiny blemishes on the livery which by the late '90s, was starting to show a bit of a battered appearance.

 

Shown in better detail in the close-up is the suspension which has been changed, by the 1990s period, across the TTA, POA, MTA and ZKA/MKA wagon fleet, the Bruninghaus suspension style had replaced the old leaf spring version as modelled by Bachmann. There's options to replace these by using whitemetal parts from Will's Workbench or S-Kits, but on this occasion I have gouged away the offending plastic with a scalpel and added a couple of bits of styrene to bodge a fix here!

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The tension lock couplings have given way to Smith's instanter couplings, which although fiddly to couple, do look quite tasty in photographs at least! Once they are used on my Didcot layout I am toying with the idea of possibly replacing some with Spratt & Winkle magnet couplings on certain wagons to allow hands-free yard shunting to take place with the resident Class 08 shuffling about blocks of them to make up new engineers trains. 

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Here above the ends of the wagons can be seen to good effect - Bachmann's 'Limpet' wagon body moulding includes the more complex end design with the square reinforcements, although many real life 'Limpets' also had the plain vertical rib version, so it is important to pick a prototype that matches your model, or bash around accordingly!

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

I love the Loadhaul version! There was a point at which EWS was recoding the TOPS codes of former engineers wagons from Z-codes to M-codes, and so here the ZKA code has become MKA. Example 390254 is very similar to the Bachmann factory model, but just a lot more faded, and with some nice battle scars to model. 

 

Similar to the grey version above, the fine 5/0 brushes came out to do the rust patches, starting with light browns such as Humbrol 62, then working up to No. 186, 113, 133 and very sparingly, 251 for the darkest  brown epicentres of a rust patch. The 5 colour shades help the rust to 'pop' and appear more three-dimensional without resorting to using powders or texture as such.

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Next it was on to detailing the interiors! The insides were painted a mix of rusty browns with streaks of oranges and more browns, randomly dabbing and drybrushing on with the minimalist amount of paint on the brush, and just playing around until happy. 

 

I made a false floor in each wagon using offcuts of foam board (available from Hobbycraft) which was glued in with PVA, left to dry and sealed, before adding some fine Woodland Scenics ballast on top. This was glued in place, with a 50/50 mix of PVA glue and water, plus some washing up liquid to help the glue settle on the ballast. Before adding glue with a pipette, I used a small misting bottle to spray water & washing up liquid over the dry ballast so as to help it keep it's shape once the glue was finally added. 

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

After the ballast load was added and left to dry, I noticed it had contracted slightly inside the wagon, so more ballast was added around the edges to fill the gaps. Then, I set about weathering the ballast a little to make it look more like spoil than fresh ballast - thinned down washes of enamel paint were added, some dark brown and dark grey were thinned down almost 90% thinners to 10% paint ratio and dotted on with a brush, darkening the edges of the ballast chips without changing the colour too much. Tiny flecks of grass scatter were also added in too for some extra texture!

 

MKA ZKA Limpets by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Finally the wagons are ready for entering service! Initially they will be added to some of the ballast trains that operate on Worthing MRC's Loftus Road (we are going to our club show in early October and then Spalding show this year in November!) before they will eventually take up residence in my yard section on the new Didcot layout. 

 

Cheers,

James