LDM34046

This afternoon’s project. First time doing a wagon kit so thought I’d start with something simple! Wrong location I know but they’ll be painted to suit the location of the layout.

A busy weekend and week with work means that any further progress on the layout has been slow. Word on the street is the second Peckett has been posted and should be arriving soon. A long long awaited arrival! I’ve also made a start on the SMS Oil Drums (pictured). The 3D printed filament still needs sanding down along with painting and weathering. Undecided yet on the colour, either red or green. They’re a nice little detail. More 1:76 figures are being painted behind the scenes. I forgot how many I initially purchased! Although it’ll be good to have a nice variety which can be swapped around to create different cameos.

Looks excellent as always Al. Weathering powders are new to me so it’s a case of getting used to them and slowly building up and layers and textures overtime!

It’s a plastic rtr model so you’re a bit limited on what you can do unless you start hacking it apart. I’m not too bothered, more focused on building up my weathering skills and taking the shine off a box fresh model.

Thank you Graham! Yes, a coat of Humbrol Matte Varnish was applied to seal the powders in.

Absolutely speechless! Incredible work, the trees, the long grass and the leaves on the floor. Your modelling is an inspiration!

A slight delay in proceedings as I had to pop to the model shop for more varnish! An afternoon weathering and the finished result of the 16T. Happy with the improvement of weathering compared to the first set I did. Much better application of the powders rather than just using paints. Acetone was used to remove the 'GW' logos, a wash was applied to the areas where dirt builds up. A lighter dry brush of grey was added to highlight the edges before weathering powders were applied with a heavy build up in the corners. Cotton buds were then used to remove excess and clean up areas around the numbers and lettering.

A few shots on the layout prior to a visit on the work bench this afternoon...

Well I thought removing the GW logos off the 16T would be an easy job however they don’t seem to budge! Are they painted?

The night shift.

The night shift at Lancaster Lane.

A visit to the local model shop this morning providing Lancaster Lane with some new additions and some more projects for the weathering workbench. A Dapol 16T coal wagon. Seen here shunted by the Peckett. There seems to be some confusion with local crews as to why a Great Western wagon is so far south. A change of decals and a trip to the workbench for a suitable distressing will do the job. I also need to work out how to remove the awful plastic coal load. Either that or add real coal over the top of it. A lovely rake of BR Grey 7-plank wagons, each individually numbered. I'm always a happy customer when it comes to Oxford Rail and their products. Excellent detail and crisp transfers. I'm looking forward to getting these weathered. The white wheel are a nice detail however I'm not sure on the origins or the region of them.

Always exciting find a new local model shop…

Good to finally be back at a show. Great to meet a few new faces and browse over the bargain tables! A favourite of mine from the show. This lovely layout depicting the National Coal Board. Excellent modelling!

Messing around with the camera on my new phone. More settings than I can shake a shunters stick at! Really feeling a few of these black and white shots.

Off to the Bexhill Exhibition tomorrow. Feels good to finally be getting back into the routine of shows again. Need to turn my attention to getting Lancaster Lane set up for exhibition use. Would be good to hopefully get the layout at a few shows toward the end of the year!

I’ll post my results, it’s a bit of trial and error to be honest. Just waiting for the coal at the moment.

Peckett on the local coal train this morning. Working on a few removable real coal loads to fit in the wagons.

A favourite of mine.

I’d say the top picture looks better. Although would the weeds be that uniform? Maybe break up the line into smaller chunks? Focusing more to the corner by the tunnel mouth? Looking though!

I think the word you’re looking for is future proofing! No such thing as too many locos!

Lovely gradient that! Would be good to replicate!

It was only yesterday that I got caught up with Seven Mill Sidings but I'm glad to see you're wasting no time in cracking on with the new layout! Looking forward to seeing this develop to your usual high standards!

I feel some day's the definition of modelling is endlessly waiting for the postman to deliver new bits! Anyhow, I've been working on a few more 'focus stacked' images to pass the time.