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

[James Makin]

On 01/11/2023 at 07:39, sb67 said:

They look superb James, understated but obviously used!

I'm struggling to get a certain effect on some VDA wagons, I think I'm colour blind in the sense that I look at a prototype photo and can't work out which colours to use. Do you have a list of your weathering colours at all?

What's also frustrating is I haven't got a decent paint stockist near me, only a limited Revell or Tamiya stock in Hobbycraft. That said I'm determined to get the hang of this! 

Also, is it dark colours first then light of the other way around? 

 

Thanks Steve!

 

It is definitely tricky trying to interpret the colours! It's taken gradual investment over many years but I've got the entire Humbrol enamel range and a lot of the Phoenix range, and this is one way of always having something to match up - the rest is down to a bit of mixing and just studying the colours, especially in the recesses where the dirt builds up. For example with the Railfreight Distribution 47s tackled a couple of posts above, I was looking at the colours of the dirt in the handrail recesses - asking myself, is that medium brown or a dark brown? Then this governs the shade I used for the washes for example. Also, what other colours can I see, and are there any stains over certain parts of a prototype that need to be added?

 

With the roofs on the VDA vans etc, I'll have these images on my phone and zoom in as much as possible to check the individual colours that make up the complex pattern of weathering, there's a lot of trial and error it has to be said, and only after having a go at adding the paints that I think match up, you can see if it's worked and if not, go for another. I've often found that the more shades you add to something, the deeper the weathered finish becomes, so if in doubt, add a bit more paint!

 

I often tend to go from light colours to dark colours but there's always exceptions where I'll go the other way too, I know it's not too useful but you sometimes get a feeling when it will work better the other way round! 

 

 

[TT100 Diesels]

Another masterclass........

 

Agree with you about the livery, it does very much suit the 47.

[James Makin]

On 01/11/2023 at 08:35, The Fatadder said:

Very nice work there James, a particularly good job on the flush end conversion which from experience on 47815 is a swine of a job to get just right.   You are making me think after going to town on GWT 47s this year, in 2024 I should address the balance with some more Virgin once to accompany 47817...

 

Thanks Rich! I think you definitely need a few more Virgin 47s, there were so many nice ones out there tantalisingly waiting to be modelled! I hope to tackle most of them but it does take time getting through the fleet.

 

The flush fronts are always interesting ones to do, I've done quite a few now so it's getting more straightforward, I've always struggled on getting the marker lights right as they were most often recessed into the flush new panel, so the Shawplan etches don't look quite right for many examples when just overlaid on top, so I came up with another plan!

 

My technique for most of the models tackled in the last few years has been to fill out the flush end with the filler, cocktail sticks put through the marker light holes, which are then removed once dry. The filler is all sanded smooth, leaving two random 'naked' marker light holes, and then I would use the end of a slightly larger brass tube to create circular indentations around the marker light holes, pushing into the dry filler with some good pressure and gradually leaving fine circular recesses to make it look like the marker light is set into the front like most of the sealed-beam marker lights are, and then touch in with a bit of weathering at the final stage.

 

Some come out better than others but it's been reasonable enough so far! None of my stuff is intended as display-cabinet showpieces but just to be hard-working 'layout locos' but I've been surprised at how sometimes a cheap bodge works out better than expected!

 

Cheers,

James

[The Fatadder]

I used an approach gluing a plasticard plate in place, then carving / filing / sanding flush to the body before drilling out the holes.  I have the faintest line on along the lower edge that bugs me.   Getting the new marker lights correctly recessed remains a pain though.  My debate is whether or not I do the same on a 2022 Bachmann model to do 47816 as GWT's last survivor in Intercity.  (The only thing that stops me is that the loco is probably more use to me as a second loco for my Virgin fleet, with an Intercity 47 on Virgin mk3s always looking good)

[rob D2]

The entire Humbrol enamel range , James ?..

Risky investment - I’d survey my empire and find half of them had dried up ;)

[sb67]

9 hours ago, James Makin said:

 

Thanks Steve!

 

It is definitely tricky trying to interpret the colours! It's taken gradual investment over many years but I've got the entire Humbrol enamel range and a lot of the Phoenix range, and this is one way of always having something to match up - the rest is down to a bit of mixing and just studying the colours, especially in the recesses where the dirt builds up. For example with the Railfreight Distribution 47s tackled a couple of posts above, I was looking at the colours of the dirt in the handrail recesses - asking myself, is that medium brown or a dark brown? Then this governs the shade I used for the washes for example. Also, what other colours can I see, and are there any stains over certain parts of a prototype that need to be added?

 

With the roofs on the VDA vans etc, I'll have these images on my phone and zoom in as much as possible to check the individual colours that make up the complex pattern of weathering, there's a lot of trial and error it has to be said, and only after having a go at adding the paints that I think match up, you can see if it's worked and if not, go for another. I've often found that the more shades you add to something, the deeper the weathered finish becomes, so if in doubt, add a bit more paint!

 

I often tend to go from light colours to dark colours but there's always exceptions where I'll go the other way too, I know it's not too useful but you sometimes get a feeling when it will work better the other way round! 

 

 

 

Thanks James, I've bought some Games Workshop paints the other day after hearing and seeing some good things about them, strange names but some colours are good matches for liveries. 

[Daddyman]

15 hours ago, The Fatadder said:

Getting the new marker lights correctly recessed remains a pain though. 

Two tubes, one slightly larger inserted into the hole in the cab front, the other slightly smaller (2mm?) inserted telescope-style into the first tube. The bigger one is set back slightly from the cab front to represent the recess or void around the marker light, and the second, which represents the surround to the marker light, is flush with the cab front.  

[The Fatadder]

Sounds a pretty straight forward approach, I had been thinking along similar lines 3d printing a replacement fitting that is designed to be fitting into an oversized hole in the front (along the lines of the part I have just designed for RES reinforced taillights so I can fix Bachmann's mistake on 47799.)

 

Whether or not I will go back and start modifying the Intercity loco is another question, it was only bought as an opportunity to inspect the new gen 47 model (at a very cheap second hand price with some easily fixed damage).  Nice as the extra finesse on the underframe is, the model doesnt remotely tempt me into a fleet wide upgrade (in the way that Bachmann's new 37 has).

 

 

[Daddyman]

4 hours ago, The Fatadder said:

Sounds a pretty straight forward approach, I had been thinking along similar lines 3d printing a replacement fitting that is designed to be fitting into an oversized hole in the front (along the lines of the part I have just designed for RES reinforced taillights so I can fix Bachmann's mistake on 47799.)

 

Whether or not I will go back and start modifying the Intercity loco is another question, it was only bought as an opportunity to inspect the new gen 47 model (at a very cheap second hand price with some easily fixed damage).  Nice as the extra finesse on the underframe is, the model doesnt remotely tempt me into a fleet wide upgrade (in the way that Bachmann's new 37 has).

 

 

That sounds like a very clever approach. The problem I always had was getting a good true round hole in the cab front once it has been filled. I couldn't find any filler that wouldn't turn to powder round the edges of the hole, even slightly, when drilling. I ended up doing what you did and putting a new plasticard plate across much of the front - that way, drilling was guaranteed to produce a round hole. 

 

My solution to the new 47 model is not to look at it. I think you get a fixed amount of a patience in a life for how many class 47 front ends you can modify to represent accident repairs and I've passed my tolerance. For what remains of my time here, I'll content myself with 37s.   

 

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by Daddyman

[James Makin]

Some lovely ideas on the Class 47 marker lights guys, I shall have to have a go at those on a future batch!

 

On 06/11/2023 at 16:40, rob D2 said:

The entire Humbrol enamel range , James ?..

Risky investment - I’d survey my empire and find half of them had dried up ;)

 

Haha yes Rob! Though a little bit by accident just amassing shades over the years! Ironically in my experience the newer Hornby-produced Humbrols aren't quite as good as the old ones, the older ones should be still great to use for years to come going by findings to date.

 

Some, more interesting people may choose to collect wine, my vice is paint! There's nothing like going down to the cellar and cracking open a fine '99-vintage tinlet of Slate Grey to sample on a beautiful summers evening and savouring the gorgeous enamelly bouquet..!  😄

 

 

[The Fatadder]

I wish I had looked after my old paint a lot better, alas the build up of paint around the top of the tins has resulted in a lot of my old paints drying up / building a solid layer across the top.   Though the newer ones are looked after a lot better Ive found them even worse for dying out thanks to the chemical changes.

[Daddyman]

1 hour ago, The Fatadder said:

I wish I had looked after my old paint a lot better, alas the build up of paint around the top of the tins has resulted in a lot of my old paints drying up / building a solid layer across the top.   Though the newer ones are looked after a lot better Ive found them even worse for dying out thanks to the chemical changes.

I bought something from ebay describing itself as "1pc Mini spoon spices sugar salt kitchen silver colour tiny size beautiful detail" which has considerably cut down on the mess around the rim of paint tins. The exact item isn't there any more, but there are lots of similar spoons on ebay. 

[James Makin]

I have to make a good point of going around the tops of my open tins with a cotton bud before closing up, the size of the bud luckily is a nice fit for the rims on the 14ml tins! 
 

I ordered a batch of recent Hornby Humbrols and the contents inside were alarmingly mostly dry stodge! They don’t cover as well as they used to, so I find myself using more Phoenix paints even for general painting/weathering as they always do the job, even though they do smell a bit more and can dry out quicker if not careful! 

[The Fatadder]

1 hour ago, James Makin said:

I have to make a good point of going around the tops of my open tins with a cotton bud before closing up, the size of the bud luckily is a nice fit for the rims on the 14ml tins! 

Ive started doing the same (along with wiping the underside of the lid clean).  Certainly has helped!

[Daddyman]

5 minutes ago, The Fatadder said:

Ive started doing the same (along with wiping the underside of the lid clean).  Certainly has helped!

But then you risk fluff in the paint! 

[James Makin]

Anyone bored of the Duffs yet? Well, there's a few more where they came from!

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Joining the fleet today are a pair of the top-link Rail express systems (Res) 47/7s that once headed up the network of mail trains connecting up the country, in the form of 47742 The Enterprising Scot and 47777 Restored.

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Like all my other Res 47s, the natural start point was the Bachmann 47745 release of 2013 (how interesting that there have been no new releases since!), with another couple of examples broken apart and gradually put back together again.

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The bodies are separated from the chassis, with the cabs removed and glazing masked internally with tape, and externally with Humbrol Maskol fluid to keep the glazing intact during the reworking process.

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

47742 was one of the locos that featured the round boiler port arrangement, so the original details were filed down from the model, and replaced with a rather low-tech bit of card, cut to shape and glued with a dab of PVA!

 

It's also a great time to sand down the moulding lines that plague the roof of the Bachmann 47 bodyshell, both at the mid-cantrail and in front of the horn grille at each cab end. These still exist even to an extent on Bachmann's new-gen '47' version, so work is required no matter which example one goes for sadly!

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

One of the fun bits was another flush-front conversion needed on 47742, following the same processes described on the previous 47s in this thread, only with the addition of the 47/7 Railnet RCH jumpers on the cabs to add a busier appearance to the finished article. 

 

The numbers and nameplate printing can then be removed using your preferred technique, here the plate just lifts away with a dash of Humbrol enamel thinners.

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Once stripped, each bodyshell is gloss varnished, with new decals and nameplates added, before being coated in matt varnish and left for a month to harden before the inevitable weathering stage would begin!

 

The Res 47/7 fleet was generally kept in very good external condition, being recently repainted as they went through transfer from their former sectors into Res usage during the 90s, and so the weathering was more about adding layers of grime in the hard-to-reach recesses that the washing plants couldn't get to.

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Mirroring the techniques seen on the other locos within this thread, layers of browns were painted on and wiped away, being careful to keep the sides clean and dirt gathering only in the recesses. 

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The complex ends were similarly treated, with cotton buds being used to remove the excess brown paint and enamel thinners to get rid of all but the remnants of dirt in the fiddly bits!

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Once the weathering shading was completed, each loco had their cabs painted up and reassembled ready for a final traffic weathering, covering a range of browns and dark greys to show the typical clean-but-dirty appearance of the average Res '47' in the late 90s.

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

47742 The Enterprising Scot inherited its mighty name from Scottish classmate 47492, shortly after rebuilding as a 47/7 during 1995, however the plate was re-cast in the Res house style. Prior to the rebuild, 47742 used to be 47598 and part of the tranche of Network SouthEast 47s working West of England services out of Paddington before being displaced by DMUs and being reallocated to parcels work in the early 90s. 

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Other finishing touches to the model included drybrushing Humbrol Metalcote Gun Metal onto the bogies and cantrail grilles - once dry, this is polished with a cotton bud and reveals a satisfying sheen on the raised surfaces!

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

A small 5/0 brush was used to touch in any areas of dirt or damage as required, in this case small dinks on the yellow panel and door, following prototype photos of circa 1998 to get the positioning right.

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The nameplate was attached using varnish, being applied at the same time as the decals earlier in the project, this gives plenty of time for fine adjustments to make sure it's level and any overspill is hidden once the final layer of varnish goes on. 

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Bringing up the rear here is 47777 Restored. In a past life, this used to be a bit of Scottish royalty - as 47636 Sir John de Graeme - most will prefer the loco in its large-logo blue guise compared to how it ended up!

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

One of my main reasons for liking this loco goes back to the days of first getting the Platform 1 trainspotting books and seeing how few locos have consecutive blocks of numbers - really not many can boast to having four of the same digits in their running number as 47777! Using my numbering system on DCC, this will be coded as '7777'!

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

Period photos of 47777 showed a tasty dirt streak on one side over the Res logo, so this was replicated by a thin wash of brown paint & enamel thinners over the desired area, and then with most removed using cotton buds dipped in more thinners, eventually removing enough to give a very faint brown streak.

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

The Restored name continued the theme of names starting with, or containing the word 'Res' within, often resulting in a mix of both powerful or downright weird names!

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

In line with other loco projects, the roof was weathered with a custom mix of black & blue paint to replicate the oily exhaust deposits left on the roof, and are dusted on over an existing layer of brown-grey 'roof dirt' paint. 

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

As most readers will know, I'm a bit of a bodger, so the special Res LED taillights on my 47s are just the existing Bachmann mouldings, circled in white paint with the hinge mouldings filed off! Fine wire coupling bars are added for working with tension-lock-fitted stock too, and the standard Bachmann bufferbeam is stuck on, keeping an eye out for any variations on the prototype as needed.

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

For these locos, their time working top-link postal trains for Res was a real starring moment late in their long careers. 47777 would succumb to withdrawal under EWS in 2000, whilst 47742 would see a brief swansong, being transferred to the Virgin CrossCountry ILRA pool before sidelining came in 2001. 47777 would go on to be cut up in 2004, with 47742 following it in 2007.

 

47742 and 47777 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr

 

It's been great fun to bring back a couple of favourites, and bolster the fleet of 47s for the much-missed mail trains, and they certainly won't be the last!

 

Cheers,

James

 

 

[Nick G]

Lovely James.

[Silas]

Absolutely stunning, again, James - thanks for taking the time to post all the individual stages.  Very inspirational, if i ever get the courage!

Jon T

[The Fatadder]

Nice job on those, I didnt realise that Bachmann hadnt tooled the RES tail lights on any locos, I just assumed they hadnt done it on 47799 because of the flush end.  10 mins in cad and a 3d print later and its an easy fix, though im not happy with the paint on the loco ive done so far so will probably print some more and redo.

[37403]

Really nice stuff.

How many duffs is this you've now done? I'm convinced that You're receiving royalties from Ed burkhart to recreate the entire EWS fleet 🤭

[tjf4375]

Inspiring and impressive as always James, nice one!

[James Makin]

18 hours ago, The Fatadder said:

Nice job on those, I didnt realise that Bachmann hadnt tooled the RES tail lights on any locos, I just assumed they hadnt done it on 47799 because of the flush end.  10 mins in cad and a 3d print later and its an easy fix, though im not happy with the paint on the loco ive done so far so will probably print some more and redo.

Cheers Rich! I really like your 3D print lights so it’s something I’d like to do on future batches of suitable locos for sure, I will have to tap you up there when the time comes! I’ve always loved a good bodge but now in the modern world of 3D printing it makes sense to use what’s out there!

[James Makin]

17 hours ago, 37403 said:

Really nice stuff.

How many duffs is this you've now done? I'm convinced that You're receiving royalties from Ed burkhart to recreate the entire EWS fleet 🤭

Thanks very much! Some royalties would be rather nice from modelling ‘Ed’s Wonderful System’! 
 

Good question on the volume of 47s tackled so far, I’ve had to consult my spreadsheet, eek, the answer is currently 61 Duffs! 
 

These are all the Bachmann first-gen models like the above, detailed, weathered and ready to roll, that’s discounting my random Heljan leftovers from the old Wells Green layout project, and within that number there might be a few newbies yet to be unveiled here 🤫

 

It’s all silly numbers really but it feels like you can never have too many! I’ve made a conscious effort in recent years to portray a balanced proportional cross-section of the entire fleet in my chosen time period, that you’d typically see on a day out at Didcot, whether that’s EWS’ various inherited sub-classes along with Virgin XC and interlopers from Freightliner and Great Western, each machine serves a purpose, even if it’s a dull dishwasher version 😂

[James Makin]

For those going to the Warley show tomorrow (the Saturday), some of my weathered items should be in the Accurascale cabinets to have a cheeky browse at up-close, including some fun bits of which have yet to debut on this thread!

Hopefully see some RMWebbers about for a good natter! 
 

Cheers,

James

 

 

[The Fatadder]

51 minutes ago, James Makin said:

For those going to the Warley show tomorrow (the Saturday), some of my weathered items should be in the Accurascale cabinets to have a cheeky browse at up-close, including some fun bits of which have yet to debut on this thread!

Hopefully see some RMWebbers about for a good natter! 
 

Cheers,

James

 

 

Will be on the demu stand tomorrow weathering Cavalex CDAs amongst other things.  Will be good to catch up!