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Mick Bonwick

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Blog Entries posted by Mick Bonwick

  3. Mick Bonwick
    Diecast models in 1/76th scale do not have very finely detailed surfaces, mainly because of the depth of paint on them. This means that capillary action does not work as well as it does on plastic models or larger scale diecast ones. The purpose of the wash in this case is to highlight what detail is visible and also to introduce some false shadows to give a little apparent depth to panels.
     
    Using a rigger brush to apply the wash, even though capillary action is not going to work all that well, will still allow a measure of precision to be employed. The rigger brush is dipped into the white spirit first, and then the tip is dipped into the wash jar. The resut is an even thinner version of the wash that can then be applied to the model. I have used capillary action around the windscreen areas but just sloshed it on around the panel edges. The wheels do have a little bit of detail around the hub centres and the wash highlights that rather well. The whole thing is set aside for an hour or two so that the wash can dry a little.
     

     
    Note that the tilt has not been touched at all. The dirt on that will be represented with the use of the pigment because, in my eyes, the wash would make it far too dark.
     
     
  4. Mick Bonwick
    In response to a recent request, there follows a summary of materials used in this project with the blog entry numbers where they appeared.
     
    Railmatch Frame Dirt - Step 3.
     
    AMMO by Mig Panel Line Wash Black Night - Step 12.
     
    Railmatch Weathered Black - Steps 13 and 15.
     
    AK Interactive Fresh Engine Oil - Steps 14 and 21.
     
    MIG Productions Dark Mud - Step 18.
     
    MIG Productions Track Brown - Step 18.
     
    MIG Productions Black Smoke - Steps 18 and 22.
     
    There is another photograph of the (almost) finished locomotive in my flickr photostream at:
     
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/laughinglobster/43570994831/in/dateposted/
     
    The techniques, tools and materials used in this project can be used for many different weathering tasks. If there are any queries about anything shown here, then don't hesitate to ask.
  5. Mick Bonwick
    Two members of a set of 5 Accurascale hoppers to be finished differently. A bit of a challenge, but I thought that if I tackled each one completely separately I ought to be in with a chance of success.
     
    I selected the paints and pigments before I started and will restrict what I use to just those choices.
     
    Railmatch Sleeper Grime
    Railmatch Roof Dirt
    AMMO Dark Earth pigment
    AMMO Russian Earth pigment
    Revell Matt Enamel No. 84
    MIG Dark Mud pigment
     

     
    There is still work to be done on both, but progress is being made.
     
     
  6. Mick Bonwick
    Even though the car is pretty grotty, I thought that the driver might make an effort to keep the windows clean. Clean white spirit has been used to remove the Dullcote layer. Soaking a cocktail stick (wooden variety) in the white spirit will allow a gentle rubbing action to gradually remove the dried Dullcote a little at a time, and if you don't go right into the corners it can leave an accumulation of 'dirt' there. The tiny flakes that will be left adhering to the plastic windows through static electricity can be removed by wiping with a cotton swab or a blast of air from the airbrush.
     
    This would have been the last stage for this model, but recent information received suggests that there are some areas where rust should be, and isn't. More to come. . . . . . . . .
     


     

  7. Mick Bonwick
    The paint finish on this model as supplied is very good, but satin. The idea with the weathering to be done is to present a well looked after locomotive, so the satin finish needs to be altered to a shiny one, but not uniformly so. The cab sides and bunker have been polished with a gentle application of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) on a Tamiya cotton swab. These swabs are very tightly bound and shaped, the ones that I normally use being pointed at the tip. This shape allows me to be quite precise with the area to be covered, and by using the tip rather than the side I can deliberately create an unevenly shiny surface.
     
    This photograph shows the effect when using the tip:
     

     
    This photograph shows the effect when using the side:
     

  8. Mick Bonwick

    It's Another Peckett

    By Mick Bonwick,


    Weathering
    Just can't resist them. Can you?
     
    This one started off with a layer or three of water mixable oil paint (black) that was left to dry for three weeks. Not because it needed that long, but because I was doing other things. Each of the three layers was disrupted slightly by rubbing gently to remove that area of paint between edges of panels.
     

     
    The next step was to use an airbrush to apply a layer of AMMO by MIG Rust Wash, thinned with white spirit, across the upper surfaces to give a matt finish. Chimney, cab roof, dome and top of saddle tank. This was given 24 hours to dry.
     

     
    The same wash was airbrushed over the wheels and chassis to tone down the bright colours and impart a dirty tinge to the surfaces.
     

     
    Once the wash had hardened, an application of black pigment was added to the cab roof and a few random areas of the running plate ro represent accumulated dirt.
     

     
    Final touches were the addition of some metallic gunmetal pigment to some of the handrails and some rust coloured pigment to the firebox showing through the frames behind the rear wheels.
     
    There's another view of it here:
     

     
     
     
     
  11. Mick Bonwick
    Having been shown the error of my ways by not fading the van before starting, I shall be embarking on another project where I do fade first. This project was completed as an exercise in using the MIG Dark Wash in all sorts of ways to represent a grimy COV AB.
     

     
    The roof has been airbrushed with slightly thinned wash, applied as four thin coats and left to dry between each coat. This resulted in a very soft texture that was easily but not completely removed, leaving a slight brownish discolouration to the original factory grey paint.
     
    The first coat of wash on the sides and ends was removed with white spirit and then a fading coat of ComArt Transparent Light Dust was airbrushed all over. This was left to dry and then another couple of thin coats of Dark Wash were applied, as before.
     
    Immediately after application of the wash, a 1/2" flat shader was used to drag the wash downwards from the top to the bottom of all sides and ends. This created a build-up of grime on the top edge of all horizontal surfaces.
     
    A rigger brush was then used to apply the aforementioned wash to all of the rivetted areas and left to capillary action to spread randomly about. Drying was accelerated with the airflow from an airbrush and the whole thing left to dry for several days.
     
    All of the processes mentioned herein will be repeated one step at a time for another vehicle, coming to your screens soon.
  12. Mick Bonwick
    The roof.
     
    In its pure, unadulterated, white and irregular/asymmetric form the roof will be loved by some and not by others. The markings are really strange and on my sample really can be seen from three feet away. Once covered with my favourite very light airbrushed wash for white roofs it takes on a life of its own:
     

     
    There is nothing for it but to completely repaint it, so I've chosen Railmatch Roof Dirt. If I eventually want to vary the shade sightly, I'll use some dark grey pigment.
     
    My second example has arrived and is no different overall than my first. There are some minor differences in the print finish but nothing that will make me want to pursue this method of production any further. It has been (for me) an interesting exercise in trying to work out what will or won't work from a weathering perspective. I'm sure that those who have their own will have reached their own conclusions about this technology and the products it produces.
     
    To finalise this topic, I have put my weathered sample next to my pristine sample for comparison purposes:
     

     

     
    A final word (or several) about this model - be very careful when weathering the sides. The door handles are very easily removed by wide flat shaders and lost in the carpet!
     
  13. Mick Bonwick
    Final touches include the wiping of the pigment brush, which still has a residue of light grey pigment on it, over horizontal and protruding surfaces. Note that this does not mean that the brush is dipped in pigment at all, we just make use of the miniscule traces that are still embedded in the bristles. A bit like dry brushing with paint.
     
    The Blue Circle board on the tank has also been rubbed with the pigment brush, in vertical streaks, to replicate the dusty buildup of cement dust.
     
    Only after the photographs were taken did I discover that I had broken one of the hatch latch handles. Be warned!
     
    I have now realised that I have not photographed the darkening process for the area around the hatches that arises from lubrication of the hinges and latches, and the vehicle is now with its owner. The second photograph below will show you how this appears, but on a much later PCA.
     
     


  14. Mick Bonwick

    Accurascale HUO Hopper

    By Mick Bonwick,


    Weathering
    This isn't the only place you can see examples of weathering. One of Accurascale's HUO hoppers has been worked on and the account of it can be seen here:
     
    https://accurascale.co.uk/blogs/lets-get-involved/wagon-weathering-with-mick-bonwick-lets-get-involved
  15. Mick Bonwick
    D3721 and Peckett No. 883 will be at the Hornby Magazine Great Electric Train Show this weekend, so if you plan on going, come and see how/if they differ from the photographs.
     

     

     
    Look for a bloke doing weathering demonstrations. Point and snigger all you like, he won't mind He'll have his back to you.
  16. Mick Bonwick

    A Few More Pecketts

    By Mick Bonwick,

    One heavy and one light weathering exercise for each of Hornby's Peckett 0-6-0ST models.
     
    Nothing more complicated than Railmatch Frame Dirt, Railmatch Weathered Black from the airbrush. Testor's Dullcote to prepare the upper parts for pigments, then Ammo Dark Earth and AK Interactive Black. Some Lifecolor Ash pigment and some Mig Productions Rubbel (sic) Dust for variety and some additional shading with MIG Productions Dark Wash. Oh, and some Gordon Edgar photographs for inspiration a-plenty.
     

     


     
     
  17. Mick Bonwick
    To finish off the dusty look I have continued to use the MIG Productions Industrial City Dirt. Small amounts have been taken from the inside of the lid of the pot and placed in areas where dust.would have built up in normal use. Where is that? Reference to photographs will provide the answer and I have been using Gordon Edgar's photographic books about industrial railways to help me in this task.
     
    Study the photograph below and see where the differences are between the original model (out of the box) above and the finished version. Although this account has taken several days to produce, the model was completed in two working days. Well done to those readers who have stuck with it and not abandoned the story half way through.
     

  18. Mick Bonwick
    A beautifully built and finished ex-PD&SWJR 0-6-2T rather foolishly given to me to completely ruin. I don't care! It was fun to do. . . . . . . . . 
     
    The only materials used were a smoke coloured pigment and a very dark brown wash. The wash came first, from an airbrush very thinly applied and then brushed carefully downwards on boiler and tanks with a 1/2" flat shader. The pigment was applied to the cab roof and smokebox area with a filbert brush. The underframe was left with the untouched mist of dark wash, and the excess oil on the wheels and mechanism will give it a shine in due course. Capillary action will see to that.

  20. Mick Bonwick
    There will be some weathering powders (pigments) applied to 'Westminster'  at a later stage, so some preparation is being done to ensure that the particles stay put once applied. My preferred medium is Testor's Dullcote, so off we go. . . . . . 
     
    I'm protecting the underframe in this particular instance, mainly because the detail there will be highlighted using an airbrush and enamel paint, to which pigments 'stick' well enough without help. I've shown the components inside the spray booth because it's warmer indoors for taking photographs. The actual spraying was done outside.
     

     
     
    It doesn't need much of a blast from the aerosol to cover the model, and it dries very quickly - these two photographs were taken 4 minutes apart:
     

  21. Mick Bonwick
    Before starting work on this locomotive I decided to remove the rather large supplied couplings. My original intention was to simply have no couplings at all, but then I noticed that there is a coupling hook on both buffer beams, albeit grossly over scale. A delve into a box labelled 'Couplings', that hasn't been opened for years (because it contains, mainly, supplied couplings from RTR rolling stock) revealed the presence of a couple of packets of Roger Smith unassembled 3-link couplings. A quick check of dimensions showed that the links could be assembled and clicked into place in the Hornby coupling hooks.
     

  22. Mick Bonwick
    The application of Europe Earth pigment is intended to represent a dusty coating of dirt picked up while operating in a relatively clean, but damp, area. The pigment was applied using a filbert brush that had taken powder from the lid of the pot. The vehicle was laid on its side and the brush held above each wheel in turn, and the brush tapped gently to dislodge the pigment so that it fell into the still wet wash from step 2.This conglomeration was then left to dry. The inevitable additional deposit on the tyres was deliberately left to discolour the rubber.
     
    The remaining pigment on the brush was then gently distributed onto areas such as the cab roof and engine cover, by simply dabbing the brush onto the relevant areas.
     
     

  23. Mick Bonwick
    Something a little bit different, for me, at least.
     
    This coach is to be lightly weathered, to represent a vehicle running in the 1930s. I don't envisage using large quantities of anything, but the difficulty will be to portray a very light coat of dirt without making it look blotchy.
     
    I plan to use pigment for most of the work - AK Interactive Dark Earth. Application will be done using small brushes, probably a round no. 2 and a filbert no. 2 or 4. Being a panelled coach, the real challenge will be to represent the dirt buildup around panel edges, and then to photograph this so that it can be seen.
     
     
  24. Mick Bonwick
    For some time now I have been meaning to have a go with a microbrush. I'm sure they've been on sale for years, and been used by thousands of modellers for all sorts of useful things, but I've never had a go. Until now. By applying a very small amount of wash from the tip of the rigger brush, I was able to just about colour the tiny bristles of the microbrush. The tip was then poked carefully at areas of the car where I thought rust would form. I have no photograph of a rusty SunbeamTalbot 90 to work from, so have guessed where the rust might form by recalling all the work I had to do when 'fixing' my own cars all those years ago. You can see where my guesswork placed the rust in this photograph, and if anybody knows that it's in the wrong place(s) then please let me know.
     

  25. Mick Bonwick
    The subject has been chosen and a colour photograph found to work from. Bachmann produced several livery versions of the 29 ton sliding door box van (COV AB, later VDA )and this one (38-141) is in Railfreight livery, numbered 200077. Paul Bartlett has many photographs of these on his website, and has given his permission for this photograph to be used in this blog.
     

     
    The challenges are:
    Fade the reddish shade of brown to show age and wear Highlight areas of accumulated dirt Represent dark stains where lubrication has been a little too enthusiastic Add discolouration where chalk marks have been rubbed out Reproduce the various brown shades on the underframe
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