westernviscount

Hi James, This is fantastic work mate. I found the suggestion to use a pale blue wash over white particularly interesting. The issue I have with weathering is my level of patience. The logical me knows I can't rush it but I just want to get it done. Apologies as I have not read all of the thread and you have probably explained this but are the rusty browns hand brushed? This really is great work. Dave.

I had the same problem. One jar i never was able to open, having virtually destroyed the lid in a vice, the very top remained stuck fast! Mick's advice shall be followed from now on for me.

Hi Camden, Thank you for your kind comment. I must say i really enjoyed putting together the article. It was a chance meeting with Barry Norman that led to it being written. It definitely made me think deeper on why i love this great hobby so much. As you can imagine, i was thrilled to see it get into print. Cheers. Dave

Thanks Geoff, I think the Dapol kits are excellent still and usually at less than £6 a go they are a bargain. I too am a fan of revamping these kits, my latest being a conversion to an LNER 20t example. Thanks for the tips on building a mermaid. I agree, Cambrian kits are not for beginners. I found the catfish really difficult, finding it hard to get the chassis true. The mermaid will certainly add to my engineers train. Cheers. Dave

I really like the look of this layout! I'm also happy to see a Dapol b tank enthusiast!!! It's strange timing as i am pondering whether to buy a cambrian mermaid and wondered how you found building the kits? And is that an upgraded Dapol 20t brake van i see?

Hi Steve, There was an article on track in Model rail october 2019 issue which shows techniques for creating wonky, industrial track work. Cheers Dave

Thanks Mick, Yes, i assumed as a base coat it wouldn't matter and as you state it was 4mins since the initial spray of course it would not have dried thoroughly. I have found humbrol acrylic to be pretty reliable. It dries extremely quickly (perhaps on the way to the model) which can create a powdery finish if used as a final fixing coat for powders. This is exactly what i am after. Humbrol acrylic is the nearest i have got to this so far Cheers Dave

Hi Mick, I think your work is excellent and has inspired my own development of my weathering skills. It wasn't an area i enjoyed previously but realise patience is indeed a virtue. Where do you get your dullcote from as i hear it is the very best for this job? I have used railmatch enamel matt spray, humbrol enamel matt spray, humbrol acrylic matt spray, games workshop purity seal and a thinned humbrol matt cote sprayed through a humbrol splat gun. I am yet to be 100% satisfied with any (humbrol enamel rattle can giving the worst result) but the humbrol acrylic comes nearest to what i want. Your photo suggests the dullcote has not dried evenly. For your base coat this is not an issue i know, but do you commonly get a uniform finish with dullcote? Many thanks Dave

Thanks ess. The final coat of enamel spray almost ruined it and needed to be brushed off as it creates a powdery layer. I have had a bit of trouble with the running qualities of this loco and ended up causing damage to the bogie and worm housing trying to rectify the issue. But, a bit of glue and frustration sorted the problem. Cheers

Looking forward to seeing this take shape. I have a soft spot for these vehicles as loved going to Liverpool on them as a kid. I found the atmosphere in the tunnel on the wirral line both thrilling and a little frightening, heightened by the gradual build up of the draft, the noise and the headlight coming into view!! Brilliant!! Good luck with the build.

I think some greasy spots on the buffers, paint the buffer shanks silver and some oily stains around the fuel tanks will be enough. Perhaps some more brakedust on the bogie frames also.

Thanks Steve, I'm reasonably happy with the outcome. I used humbrol enamel matt spray as opposed to my normal acrylic matt to seal the powders and i wouldn't recommend this as it gave a real splatter effect and frosted. I found brushing the frosting away worked and gives the body sides a faded look.

Further pictures of the finish.

For a layout set in 1970, Templefield has been sadly lacking my favourite locomotive; the ubiquitous class 47. The hole in my loco stable was recently filled by a Bachmann 47 in the perfect livery for the era, and one that suits these locos superbly, two tone green with full yellow ends. Lovely as it is, there is no way the livery would have been as immaculate as the factory finish and so, some gratuitous "filthying" needed to happen. The loco was dismantled, windows removed, metal handrails removed and headcode masked. The body and underframe was hit with humbrol acrylic matt spray. This is to create a "tooth" for the weathering powders to adhere to. Powders are lightly brushed onto the body with a fine brush areas according to photographs of the class at this time period. The roof was completely covered with humbrol smoke, obliterating the green. The whole lot is fixed with a mist of matt spray but great caution is required. Never spray in the cold!!!!

Yep, pretty sure it did. Agreed, the colour supplement is where it comes to life. I remember being captivated by the mk1 coach. It looked so real!!!

Yes you are correct, envy is the correct word for this.

Hi Steve, Only just found your blog. Looks like an exciting time ahead!! I love the start of layout building!!! You mentioned the technique of getting the arc of the sector plate. The string and pencil is the way i did it and seems to work fine. Are you going for pin and tube this time? As the for the "request" for plants...weeds in the tracks should be the order of the day. :-)

I agree Steve. My Dad bought it when it first came out in about '94 and i was amazed by the pictures. My dad used to use eye shadow as weathering powders at one point. They were quite effective at the time! Its one of those books that made me realise as a kid that its ok to take railway modelling as seriously as you want to.

Hi Maurice, I relate to your discussion about jealousy and must say i mentioned that with my tongue in cheek! I agree it is a term thrown at those with oppositional views to the norm of consumerism and individual gain. Perhaps this has played on my mind more recently due to the election season but we won't go there!!! Many thanks again for your writing.

Hi Steve, I used a couple of methods. I "painted" the powders on with decalfix around the W irons and heavier areas then powdered over the top. In some areas i just powder over the matt finish paint. I introduce some dry humbrol smoke powder to tone the colour down a bit as the decalfix can look painted on as opposed to a dust covering. The base is matt finish humbrol 34 Dark grey. Untreated, the finish looks better that 33 black and requires less weathering. I think a dry brush of gunmetal in certain areas of the planks might add to the worn wood effect. That's what Martin Welch uses i think and if it's good enough for him!! Cheers

Thanks Steve. After a ridiculous day in work I came straight home and cracked on (thanks to my lovely partner and daughter) and have posted the results in part 2 of the blog. Dave

Evening folks, Here are the concluding stages of some painting and weathering I have been working on. Again, as with my quick and dirty weathering blogs, I do not own an airbrush and have endeavoured to produce something comparable to the results one can get with an airbrush (but acknowledging the superiority of the airbrush). Here is the wagon painted using different tones and modelmaster decals added. I use decalfix by humbrol to silvering as I didn't want to gloss varnish the vehicle as I felt the subtlety of some of the planks would be lost glossing then matting. Next, the wagon is treated with decalfix and weathering powders, flowed around the raised detail. This is the shock open I have also been treating. certain planks were dry brushed with humbrol stone to suggest worn paint and the grain of the wood. The metal work on the end of the wagon are treated with heavier amounts of powders to suggest the flaking, rusty metal work. These are dabbed onto wet decalfix and built up using humbrol smoke powder and Carr's rust colours. The underframe is lightly treated with brake dust colour powders. The top plank on the wagon was done by dry brushing onto wet tacky paint to maintain the brushstrokes to give the appearance of the grain of bare wood. This has been an enjoyable little project.

Hi Maurice, I very much enjoyed your article in MRJ and welcome your additional material here. I was relieved to see that I am not alone in the thoughts i have been wrestling with recently about the state of our great hobby. The adrenaline rush of acquirement does seem to have usurped the gentler reward of building a world of your own, through your own skill and imagination over time. Our hobbyist selves align more closely with our everyday, consumerist selves. The high fidelity of the models produced by the big manufacturers have perhaps dulled our skills of observation in that we assume all the detail is there, thus we don't even need to look at the real thing. What inspired me most as a kid was seeing Lima diesels, tweaked by their owners using etches and whitemetal castings, the presence of which even then I knew pointed to the modellers love of the prototype and were like monuments to their skills (or simply enjoyment) of observation. Also, the level of detail on the locos today on a layout tend to sit in sharp contrast to the quality of the layout itself (often not for lack of skill, but as you say a person's skills cannot often match up to the perfection of injection mouldings) thus wrenching us from the suspension of disbelief. I see your point about exhibitions encouraging dissatisfaction. I find some layouts are simply showcases for the amount of consumption that has occurred, particularly demonstrated by the amount of DCC sound Diesel depots on the circuit. Perhaps I am just jealous though!! Many thanks for sharing. Dave

Evening folks, Completed a couple of Parkside opens recently and took a few pictures of the painting process. It has involved a few techniques i have read about and a bit of experimentation. The wagon is primed using halfords grey Matt spray, the body brush painted with phoenix precision pre 1964 bauxite, thinned right down. I paint the underframes humrol dark grey 34. I used humbrol stone colour, humbrol light grey and humbrol black to pick out the bare wood planks and a mix of different humbrol browns and reds to vary the plank colours suggesting fading. The bare plank mix is dry brushed (more like scrubbed) over some of the planks to suggest flaking paint and ware.

Lovely piece of model making Dave.