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Eric & Gripper

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  1. Eric & Gripper
    I am returning to this lovely hobby of ours after twenty years away. I haven't neglected my workbench in that time, it has been full of German Armour, and the calender has been set at 1944 forever.Everything else in this hobby has changed.From the outside looking in quality has improved exponentially.
     
    Some dear friends have encouraged me to return to my previously devoted hobby. Armed with my military modelling knowledge i have been trying to edge my way back in slowly.
    My friends have suggested I try some weathering,Though i had no stock of my own that too has been readily nay eagerly supplied.
     
    I have read plenty in the last century and this .On the worry some people have of actually starting out in the weathering process.I shall aim with this blog,to show how i achieve my results based purely on my long experience. So if you fancy having a go come along with me on this blog of weathering mayhem.
     
    The first concern for me ,(being of the Yorkshire version diagram 1/1) is cost. Paint is my primary source of weathering solutions I have never used weathering powders and my projects therefore have never been temporary. If it goes on it stays on. Be brave people be brave. Paint as i say is my weapon of choice. Railmatch is my preferred choice but i still have some Precision and Humbrol pre-millennium. You will need some brushes but don't buy the expensive stuff.Between 2/0 and 2 just te cheapest option they will get wrecked and you will be buying them again soon. 5/0 to 3/0 get some nice stuff quality pays in the smaller brushes, Railmatch do some natty brushes at £3 a go in the smaller sizes and a range of fine stippling/hammering brushes above 2/0. Always keep the sprues from your kits they make lovely stirring sticks for paint and save you using the handles of files and brushes. Maskol £3 a jar locally brilliant stuff ,we will come back to it later,yes you will need it.you will also need some brushes for the maskol cheap is best size 1 should do;
     
    First things first what are you going to try your skills on? Don't go for that two tone class 25 you had a go at with an aerosol. Thats for another day try something small,Something you can afford to lose.Something you can easily coat in Brake Fluid if your not happy. Brake fluid small bottle £2.99 locally ,plus brush for same size 4 and above.
     
    Well lucky me,I was deluged with vans and minerals.The minerals will be the focus of this blog entry.I should at this stage mention a lovely book i bought in 1993 before the Sturmtigers and Nebelwefers took me away.
     
    The Art of Weatheringby Martyn Welch ISBN-13: 978-1874103110 at £20 its quite pricey but contains all the vital information to get you started and spur you on. It is a railway weathering book so if you end up with a fire damaged Panther check the ISBN number above.
     
    Right so you,ve been on Ebay and bought a rake of Bachmann Diagram 1/108 16 ton minerals.You will as ever need some good reference material: British Railways Wagons the First Half Million by Don Rowland (1996) £9 for a used copy is a good start. David Larkin/Geoff Gamble are names youshould type in to Amazon they have plenty of books for you to go at.
    http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/ should be all you will need on the net.
     
    Right, so we have our stock materials and reference you won't need transfers on this project since we willkeep the original numbers and lettering this time.
    You will have already have your chosen period and region.These are of course as vital as ever.It may seem that 16 steel minerals have been around forever.Well they have but you still have to be careful. Rebodies running alongside your topflap stuff ! mid sixties you would want to show a difference. Light weathering on the rebodies but you can go to town on the topflap wagons. 1950s you could have a variable collection.By the 70s your back to the heavy weathering really on your unfitted minerals.Due to various miners strikes in this period the acidic coal in the very ferous wagons ate one-another mercilessly.
     
    I think at this stage you should consider a painting reference for the corrosion you are about to recreate. A lovely piece of scrap metal with plenty of a rust upon it.Something not too unwieldy,something you can leave on your bench as an actual colourchart .All the pictures in the world will not improve upon the real thing. I found this lovely piece on Barmston beach.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Perfect for our needs,what all good 16t minerals are made of.
    How many colours can you see? this is what your up against. Rust is not just one colour its about six in scale terms.Then there's the texture.Talcum powder 79p locally from bodycare is the answer here. MartinWelch recommends it his book. The principle is simple since rust rots from the inside out so underneath the paintwork.Each spot of rust generally spreads from its centre outwards in pattern.
     
    So out with the maskol, mask off all those lovely markings,numbers and tare weights.The end door stripe and the centre door markers will also need to be masked off.The following method is that recommended by Martin Welch.the areas you want to be rusty you stipple on now Your cheap brushes are very necessary now.Dark rust with a mix talcum powder.Remember at the stage rust needs to be scaled.Less is more since what you put on is unlikely to flatten,So by all means build it up in coats but just don't leave too pronounced.this is my first attempt.
     
     
     
    To my mind it is a little overscale in terms of corrosion but since its destined to be a hotbox static,stuck in a siding it can still be justified.
    This is my second attempt.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    A more subtle approach here.
    Left to dry for 24 hours then masked of in patches with maskol.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Left to dry for another 24 hours then its painting time.As the corrosion happily munches it way through the metal the beautifully applied grey paint is history,From now on its battle to survive till the next overhaul 5 plus years away. So now a good daubing of freight stock grey for your chosen period,applied quite thick over your chosen patches.Leave to dry for another 48 hours then its time to carefully pick off your maskol patches with tweezers.Your basic rust patches are now revealed.
     
     
    Now to pull out that rust reference and apply miniscule amounts of the various colours using a drybushing method (dip in jar wipe 90% off,apply).Following your reference rust carefully as a colour chart and corrosion tracker you should now have rust patches in a multitude of colours Always apply in light strokes barely touching the surface. build it up
    over time.If it looks right it is right in weathering.try and balance out the ratio of colours too much of one colour will create an unnatural effect.
    This was my first attempt at this stage, I highlighted the edges of the curling paint with some weathered black,this gives shadows and depth close up it can look odd but a normal viewing distance its quite an eyeful.
     
     
     
     
     
    Obviously this is all a little too bright for everyday use.so a wash of weathered black should level it all.If you have an airbrush now would be good time to blend the top half.Pick out some areas with oily steel, top half done.The interior can recieve all this treatment if you wish.
    For the underframe i like to pick out wheels spring and the morton brake gear in dark rust with light rust on the wheels.Blend all in with a wash or airbrush full of frame dirt. bingo your first masterpice can now take pride of place in the pickup goods.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    I urge you to have a go.You only have a mineral wagon to waste. If you followed all this and still ended up with battle damaged Panther tank,well there's always that brake fluid you bought earlier.
     
    Rule number 1 Build up texture in layers
    Rule number 2 Always leave to dry between stages,at 24 hours don't rush it.
    Rule number 3 Never use straight matt black it is too black use very dark greys instead
    Rule number 4 Matt varnish will level everything off nicely.
    Rule number 5 Only paint what you can see in the quantity you see it.
     
     
    If you are interested in having similar work done to your stock please contact me at :
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/356502814462332/
  2. Eric & Gripper
    Hello again,
     
    As you may recall my blog is aimed squarely at our newer modlellers seeking advice and inspiration.
    This particular article focuses on protoype observation.
















     
    What can we glean from these pictures?
     
    1,British Railways Mixed Traffic lined black in all its glory. with the earlier tender emblem 1950-56.
    2,Locomotive is preserved and general condition is clean(ed) in service.
     
    So how does this compare with your newly acquired prize possession ?Or did you buy the weathered one?.
     
    First immediate problem ,Black.
    So you bought some paint to weather it with ! Black is a good start.Now compare it to the pictures which black is it?and which black do you have?.............
     
    Manufacturers Black,Henry Ford Black,LNWR Black. Really its all imaterial.
     
    What finish would you say your current model is Glossy,Satin or Matt?.................................
     
    As rule you will find your model unweathered, will be a quite uniform satin finish.
     
    Right then,back to the pictures.


    The boiler is very much 'as' painted a glossy finish like this can be achieved with TCut from all good motoring shops.Alternatively a thin coating of gloss varnish will make all the difference on the boiler cladding.
    Now look at the contrast with the smokebox. Is that black as well? Matt varnish applied here will dull your smoke box down a great deal,but really you need to use a weathered Black/Dark grey then a matt varnish to flatten the finish.


    Now as you can see the boiler is a shiny clean but streaked with ash and soot.In order to best achieve this effect you mix up some lighter greys with some talcum powder paint on with a brush and wipe off the excess three or four applications like this and should build up a lovely effect. The contrast in colours and shade is of course quite noticeable.By now of you should be recognising the various finishes your aiming for.In such a small area you already have gloss,satin and matt combined with maybe four or five shades of grey/black.
     
    The running plate and front footplate also have an accumulation of ash and soot.Again,look at the colour you are trying to achive here.Far from being black it is a very flat matt grey with some real texture.Footprints can often been seen on these running plates as result of oiling round, hanging lamps etc.The odd dribble of gloss to represent spilt oil would easy to achieve but remember dribble not slick.
     


     
     


     
    A cleaned smokebox door, the best way to represent this would be to apply maskol to the original finish before attempting everything else. Alternatively a thin wash of gloss varnish will convincingly bring out the cleaned finish.This is very definatley a shiny black.
     




     
    Wheel and motion on an in traffic though clean machine will show element s of acummulated muck in the frames,firebox wheels and pipes.


    Again a mixture of greys and avariation of wahes in gloss satin and matt on the wheels will give you the texture you are looking for.
    A wheel oiled motion can be created with Humbrols Metacote range though trial and error will be neccesary to achieve a lifelike finish.You are aiming for that greeny/yellowy hue that a translucent oil would give.
     
     








     
    You can tell by now i have resisted the urge to call this article Fifty Shades of Grey but in real terms that is what you are dealing with.Mixed traffic black is a very common livery. Black is or should be an easy colour/shade/neutral to model. A blanket application of black will not give you the results you require. Weathering is all about tone, texture and finish. Whilst you are not recreating the actual damage and effect you are aiming for a recreation of the depth of accumulated muck,grime and in some cases the cleaned areas.Good analysis of a picture is the basis of this and converting that picture into your own work of art is the final result.
    My current project involves this picture from Flickr.http://www.flickr.com/photos/22110327@N08/2138813778/in/photolist-4fZYPC-4H1j6M-6sRNP6-6w6gYC-gNhjCN-8TJYF5-9NrNXe-9NuS6h-aERfhT-egRn9c-gQc5MS-7Zc3PU-eTMejb-fePb6d-9nKW85-9Sdvy1-dr2DhD-eSJsbz-8sMxVb-92ZxxM-8TFU1x-8TJYGN-8TJYK5-8TFTWR-8TFTYB-8TFTXF-8TJYJ9-8TFTZP-8TJYEq-95UfFz-dez7Af-9NuE3J-8Nw6Yk-9vnXU8-dgfZNf-f1FVDQ-f1cNi8-cFMXVL-dD6jBx-aZftBe-e7R96F-dptBNw-dkULuo-dgHwqm-aZftD4
     
    What do you see ?...........
     
    The Devil's in the detail.
     
    Best regards and very merry christmas to you all
     
    Eric &Gripper
  3. Eric & Gripper
    For Yorkshire folk everywhere and lesser mortals who fancy saving stuff to put to good use.
    Well I'll start this topic off purely from a painting perspective.
    Obviously Jam and pickle jars are really good storage containers on there own.It goes without saying really.
    Nutella, horrible stuff but the smallest jar is Glass .£1.28 is worth it just for the jar and lid.Bin the evil nutty/chocolate concoction. Excellent place to wash you brushes
    Yoghurt pots .Excellent for mixing paint prior to a wash or spray.Be wary of the thinner softer ones (Aero/mouse etc) the thinners will eat them first.
    Kiev trays Those deep plastic.trays useful for dipping projects in ,like say a wagon that you painted and looks more like a Panzer MKIV. Fill it full of brake DOT4 brake fluid and renew that bauxite look.
    Cooked Ham platters.the kind that processed ham come on/in. Nice,hard flat plastic.These make excellent mixing pallets for dry brushing and when paint and powder have to be mixed.
    Philadelphia tubs, horrible, Is it really cheese? shouldn't be allowed in Yorkshire...A shallow dish excellent for soaking transfers, airbrushes etc..
    Collecting all these extra modelmaking elements can only be a good thing.But remember to be wary of going too far(.http://en.wikipedia....i/Edmund_Trebus)
    Any more suggestions add them below and you can all be Honourary & Thrifty Yorkshire folk. (Results may vary,Yorkshire effects are temporary and will wear off in time)
    Best regards
    Eric & Gripper.
  4. Eric & Gripper
    Amongst the many facets required to successfully weather your stock,paint fading has to be a high priority.These are my observations and my method of depicting it,before the paint specialists and chemical experts eat me alive.
     
    All railway liveries seemed to fade over time.Sunshine in particular is extremely harsh on the colourful embellishments of our beloved railway stock.






     




     
    The Sun has particular dislike of the colour red and its variants.Maroon,Crimson and Bauxite.Though Yellow,Blue and Green also fade to varying degrees. The weathering and fading of paint is dependent on a number factors including but not exclusive to,
     
    What vehicle its actually painted onto loco ,coach or wagon,Departmental stock is particularly good in this regard. Those lovely Steam cranes went very pink, very quickly.
    The service interval of said vehicle; years for wagons months for locos.
    The actual usage and availability of the vehicle.Again with the Steam Cranes in mind long periods of inactivity focuses those harmful UV rays much better.
    The application and priming of the original paint.Thin paint fades quicker than many coats of the same colour.
    The numbers of varnish/lacquer layers applied over the painted surface.


     






     
    The best way I have found to replicate faded paint is in fact very simple.We were all taught to mix paint at school to produce different colours and shades.As long as you try and keep it within the same paint manufacturer you should have no problems.So Railmatch with Railmatch and so on.I have successfully mixed other manufacturers paint together in the past but can I can only recommend trial and error here.Keep some empty yogurt pots to use as mixing pallets the harder plastic ones are best since thinners doesn't play well with the softer stuff.
     
    Since you are fading the base colour of the livery, you may want mask off any areas you wish to keep in the original finish.The doors of coaches are and vans are an excellent example here, having often been replaced without the rest of the vehicle receiving a matching repaint.
     


     
    The method is very simple by adding white or grey to your base colour you will gradually lighten the shade. How you apply this new shade is a matter of choice Brush or Airbush being the two most likely options.If aerosols are your weapon of choice Halfords have a lovely aerosol mixing department in many of their stores.You may need to do some research and take some colour samples with you,but they are usually happy to help.
     
    Remember paint never fades in a uniform pattern. Planks and panels generally fade from the centre out to the edges.So your lightest shade should be toward the centre with increasing amounts of base colour toward the edges.Many an 03 and 08 shunter can be found in such a state.Here are my examples.










     
    The other thing to bear in mind is shading.If the vehicle has had a long period of inactivity the light hitting will have come at fewer angles causing shading which in turn retains some of the original base colour. Brake Vans are good example here and i would of course point you in the direction of :
     
    http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/paulbartlettsrailwaywagons
     
    My own example here illustrates what I'm waffling about.












     
    Some Paint Fading rules.
    1, Faded paint is dead paint and lacks varnish so a Matt finish is required.Areas with remaining base colour may still retain some sheen.
    2, Fading paint is rarely uniform and often gives a strange other worldly look to a vehicle.
    3, Build up the fade look from the edge to the centre of panels and planks.Exposed edges corners may also be effected by fade.
    4, As usual with any painting project paint what you see not what you think you see.Good reference is essential.
    5, Some good liveries that faded well BR Blue,Departmental Red and the later Yellow version,the Dutch departmental livery.BR Bauxite,BR Freight Brown,Railfreight.
     
    One final thing to ponder Dr Beeching - ICI - Paint - BR Liveries - Fade - Run down railways - Dr Beeching.
     
    Best regards and good luck with your Vic Berry collection
     
    Eric & Gripper
  5. Eric & Gripper
    It has been an interesting return to this hobby so far. One observation I have to make. There are some very beautiful layouts out there,finely detailed,brilliant landscapes,photo realistic backdrops etc. They are a million miles away from anything in my Railway Modeller's magazines of the 1980s. The one thing, thats stick out in these truly beautiful landscapes is the ex-works locos and stock.
     
    From a military modelling perspective I wouldn't dream of building a diorama of the battle of Falaise with a bunch of ex works King tiger tanks even though they would be quite new at that time.Weathering of your stock is the finishing touch.Come on be Brave you've built and moved moutains lets blend your stock into the landscape.
     
    Bachmanns BR Vans are the focus of this blog. These half-timbered tudor boxes on wheels are a thing of beauty and an inexpensive weathering exercise too.(As a footnote here don't forget to add the the tie bars between the wheels it does make a hell of a a difference)
     
    My reference recommendations for this project are:
    The Art of Weathering by Martyn Welch a fine tome and a good introduction to weathering and a source of inspiration for me.
    British Railways Wagons the First Half Million by Don Rowland all the diagrams and plenty of inspirational photos. Wagons of the Early British Railways Era: A Pictorial Study of the 1948-1954 Period by David Larkin
    Railways in Profile No. 3: British Railway Vans. by Geoff Gamble.
    http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/paulbartlettsrailwaywagons should be all you will need..
    http://www.scalemodelguide.com/painting-weathering/painting-guide/all-about-paint-brushes/ Full of excellent advice, I will try and crossover some military reference when its appropriate.
     
    The base models for this project.
     
     
     
    BR Planked sided/Planked door vent van.
     
     
    BR Plywood sided/Planked door vent van.
     
     
    BR Insulated Van
     
    Wood is an excellent material for weathering.Its ability to rot,warp,shrink and shed any preservative has be captured in model form.
    Since this is once again mainly a painting exercise you should try and get some painting reference. Rotten pieces of unpainted timber will help capture the tonal quality of natural wood.Grain,patina and the effects of erosion from the elements can be found in driftwood.If you can lay your hands on some decayed timber for your workbench reference it will make the task much easier.
     
    These are some of my examples
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Again i have chosen to mask of the original numbers,tare weights and lettering,maskol is excellent for this and shows up as the pink patches in the photos.
    Firstly we need to roughen up the surface texture of the planks/plywood. Some fine emery or wet and dry paper on the plywood should give it a much more careworn realistic appearance.Down ward strokes with the emery nice and light gives some patina to the otherwise plain surface.
     
     
     
     
     
     
    For the planked van a a horizontal motion to try and create some grain I resorted to a scalpel blade to get real wounds in there. then a rub over with the emery to soften things up a bit.
     
    Now for some drybrushing. Raised area with always take the paint first so your nicely roughened areas will be highlighted in bauxite and the a run over with Freight stock Brown.The lighter roughed represent the worn original paint and the two drybushed colors the various stages of patch painting and fading/chipping.The overall variance is what we are looking for here.
     
     
     
     
     
     
    A thin wash (size 1 brush) of weathered black into all the nooks,crannies framing Chains and hinges,wipe the the first attempt with some tissue or a cotton bud 59p locally.
    Then reapply the thin wash and remove again. another repeat should build up enough debris where it would normally catch and stay. A thin wash like this, way more thinners than paint with always form in the nooks etc,It will form rings round bolt heads and rivets.So as you can see Drybrushing for raised detail,dip brush wipe 90% off. Drybrushing will pick out the detail and bring it forwards. A wash will find all the corners where dirt and debris would collect,It will also add blend and tone to the surface paint if you have grain in that wood a wash will find it.
     
     
     
     
     
     
    by far the quickest van to do so far was the Insul van for all the stages listed above this was the result after an hours work on it drying times aside.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Since my Patron the penguin of doom is using his insul vans for fish traffic the addition of corroded framework wheels and chains is what really sets it apart. All unpainted ferous metal will corrode in a very short time. I work in the motor trade in Scarborough and even brand new vehicles can have rusty looking brake discs in no time at all.Fish vans on the quay side at hull,subject to the salt air,water ice and anything else would rust away quite happily its tell tale streaks then leaves (dry brushed) stain streaks on and in the paintwork.A very light wash along the bottom edge of the body highlights the dripping nature of this rusty water.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Underframes would suffer in these hostile conditions.Some dark rust with talcum powder stippled on the wheels,springs and morton gear is a start,/dry brush in some lighter rust shades in streaks and pickout the bolt detail with this light rust shade since in the damp it would be fresh rust.in the midst of all this rust some oily steel can be added to the framing to highlight the constant wearing down of the paint,rubbed,knocked areas etc.Less is more with oily steel though so go carefully. A light dusting of frame dirt with an airbrush or a careful wash should tone down the lower half of all these vans the Insul van the had some gloss varnish streak down its underframe to further highlight its damp world environment.a top down wash of roof dirt or careful spray withe airbrush should then blend in the top half of the vans. A further thing to note.the doors on vans appear cleaner than the rest of the vehicle.due to there being open and pinned back whilst unloading they didnt quite suffer the filth of the rest of the vehicle.New doors were sometimes fitted,freshly painted in complete contrast to the rest of the vehicle so at this stage you could lighten up the doors with some fresh paint or just a wash fresh paint,alternatively clean thinners will lighten these areas up nicely.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    The final van was quick half hour light/traffic weathering using the above techniques.
     
     
     
     
     
     
    If you have plenty of Van stock you may wish to try another little one off project,a peeling/split felt roof.
    The method for this quite simple scribe some parallel lines into the roof with a sharp scalpel or Stanley knife.Roughen up this area with emery to put some grain into the wooden roof.Paint the created planks a with nice coat of grey/beige mix paint.leave to dry then a wash roof dirt in the newly created furrows.Leave to dry for 24 hours then mask over your to be peeled area.Leave again for at least 24 while the Maskol dries.Then a good daubing of Roof dirt around the edges of you Maskol and paint the remainder of the roof as you would normally. 24 hours later carefully pick off the maskol to reveal your rather (a)peeling roof. with you 5/0 brush puts some dots in for nail heads and further wash over/airbrush spray over with roof dirt and your done.All this covered in Martin Welch's book,this then is my interpretation and hopefully inspiration for you all.
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Now you have some lovely vans for your pickup goods too.
    I'm very happy with the results this far.I hope,I have inspired you to try some of this.
     
     
     
    If you are interested in having similar work done to your stock please contact me at :
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/356502814462332/
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    .
  6. Eric & Gripper
    03/08/14
     
    After a long 8 months away from our beautiful hobby. I have changed employer,desk and secretary.
    On the home front i have regained the shed






    ,acquired a new compressor and a lot of new projects in the works.
     
    Some things remain the same..My badger 150 (Sybil) airbrush circa 1983 is still going strong,Whilst my 200 (Sophie) and Kager 350 (Daphne) are there for resprays and cleaning down.








    The new compy came from www.everything airbrush.com .The AS18 is a lovely runner and ultra-quiet too,well compared to my 30 year micon (R.I.P)


     
    I have accumulated a nice pile of Parkside kits to bring to fruition.The Penguin of Dooms throughbred stable is also sat awaiting the final touch.


     
    Modelmaking and painting might not have to be quite so seasonal either once i get the calor gas bottle installed in my ancient fire.
     
    It certainly feels like a welcome home kind-of-a day.
     
    Lets see what the new season brings.I'm certainly looking forward to it.
     
    Best regards
     
    Eric & Gripper.
     
    https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/badger-150
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