Mick Bonwick

Now that's a good idea! Who do we know who could do something like that?

Loose nudgers are the worst kind. There's no controlling them. They'll have a go at anything, given half a chance.

Thanks, Steve. All you need now is a rake of Great Western 70' coaches and you can have a go.

Ha! Caught in the act. You naughty nudger, you.

The filbert brush has been used to pick up the 'dust' remaining in the pigment pot lid, and the brush is then gently wiped on a paper towel to remove the larger particles. The brush is then gently wiped against the panel edges, at right angles, so that the very edge of the detail collects the 'dirt'. Easier to do than describe. No need for precision, this group of panels was done all at the same time by wiping from the left hand end of the coach along to the right hand end, without stopping, and back again, repeated several times.

Tony, I agree entirely. I couldn't work out how to do it, so i didn't! I couldn't get anything behind it to protect the cream paintwork, so left it as it was. A tan colour would have done the job, but it would need to be able to soak in, which would have meant removing it. Not possible.

I agree, but cannot take any credit. All I'm doing is making at a bit dirty.

The panels and the rest of the sides are now completed, and it's time to attend to the underframe. The shade of black used to paint the underparts represents a fairly worn state, so the only work required is to add something to break up the evenness of colour. Once again, AK Interactive Dark Earth pigment is used for this in the main, but some small amounts of MIG Productions Russian Earth were used as well. When looking at the carriage through a camera lens the difference is barely noticeable, and the photographs don't give any hint of it at all, so I don't know why I bothered. You may be able to see that the pigment has been tucked into corners of doorways and the recess for the nets.

Splendid!

Tony, In this case, no. I am having to work on the original paint finish. Fortunately this has a good texture to it, so the pigments are adhering quite well.

Continuing the panel work, the same method as in step 3 is used to place pigment in all edges and corners, making an absolute mess of everything. Please note that I didn't do this without first testing on something that didn't matter! Once all the pigment has been applied, work begins on modifying the appearance. Clean cotton buds were used for this, but not the type that fall apart as soon as you look at them. The ones I use are intended for use with make-up rather than with small child things. They are more tightly wound and last much better. The method used is rather wasteful in terms of numbers, but the dirty ones can be used again for other weathering tasks. The photographs show the sequence followed, applying more pigment, distributing it to the corners and finishing off:

So far, Steve, yes.

More nudging? Is there no end to this?

Take care with this stuff when using it for items with fine detail. Although it is squishable, the edges of open cells can remove bits when inserting and removing the stock. Experience talking!

Very small amounts of pigment are placed, using the tip of the brush, into the panel edges to create a strong shadow effect. At first the effect will be too strong, but later work will reduce the contrast. Because the pigment will go everywhere if given the chance, the work area is being kept as clean as I can possibly make it. When working on the panels the vehicle is laid on its side, and if there is any excess pigment lying on the paper towel, it will transfer itself to the coach side when applying to the uppermost side. Guess how I know that. The application is continued to fill in all edges and corners of all panels. It takes a while . . . . .

No sandbox operating mechanisms either, but we won't mention that. Oh! Darn it!

It is thought that the coach is kit built from an A.F. Hammond kit, produced in the late 70s or early 80s.

The main pigment to be used for this model is AK Interactive Dark Earth. This choice comes from studying photographs of lightly weathered brown and cream coaching stock from many eras, including preservation examples. The paint finish on the model is such that it will hold pigment very well, so care will need to be taken in where it goes in the first place. Most of the application will be done using a normal round (or candle flame) brush, size 2. This gives a fairly narrow point for positioning the pigment, although this will 'widen' as the process continues - pigment build-up will gradually force the bristles apart. A filbert brush and cotton buds will also be used for manipulating the pigment once it is in place. Pigment is placed on the tip of the brush by picking it up from the inside of the jar lid. This will nearly always have a very thin layer of pigment adhering to the plastic liner of the lid. The particles will be the finest of the jar's contents, therefore ideal for our purposes.

Nudging on a grand scale. 12" to the foot, no less. And with broken bits, too! That's bits with a 'b' Andy!

There could well be a relationship, Ian. Especially if tilt and sway are considered proportional to the effects of a mobile nudge. Anything could happen!

I don't know the answer to the question, but I'll make enquiries.

Hi Tony, The panel lines aren't sufficiently well defined to ensure that the wash runs only in the corners and edges. It could have spread over the surface too far for my liking, resulting in excessive clean-up.

It was only a matter of time, wasn't it?

Nudging in the closet? Not sure that's suitable talk for this forum. But, then again . . . . . . . . . .

They're not unknown any more. You've let the nudge out of the bag. Garden shed nudging. That's a new one on me, but it could indicate a sheltered upbringing. Nudging was relatively unknown during my childhood. Although, I suppose, it could just have been that it wasn't publicised very much.