Mick Bonwick

How long did you leave it in place the first time? It seems to come off quite easily if you use a fairly thick layer but remove it after about 24 hours. I used to use it a lot when weathering, especially to mask glazing, and found that after 24 hours it gets progressively more difficult to remove cleanly. Once it reaches that stage it needs cocktail sticks and a pair of tweezers to get right into the corners and fine detail.

Craftily posed!

After seeking advice from Scalescenes about altering colours on texture sheets, I found that if I opened one of their PDFs with Adobe Photoshop Elements (it came bundled with my PC) I had the option to work on either the complete pages, or just the images on a page. This is of no use if you don't have Elements, though!

I was talking to my friend Matthew earlier on, and the subject of cutting mats and gloss overspray came up. I wasn't sure if it really made a difference to the mat's properties if it had a shiny finish, so I asked him, "Do matt mats matter, Matt?"

Does it really matter?

Thanks, John. That's exactly what Scalescenes themselves have suggested. Photoshop Elements 15 came with my PC, so I've tried using that and it works a treat. Here are some results - the originals are the ones at the bottom of the shot: Once the Golden Arrow has been completed I'll start on some buildings. Maybe.

That 5-plank wagon is so very nicely weathered, and that cutting mat is so very nice and clean, that I think you deserve some applause. It's a great shame that you cannot hear it.

Well, I think that this is a prime example of Spam being good for you.

I'm not bothered about thread hijacks as long as they're relevant to the topic. It is always possible that an author can learn something from other folks' contributions. That has certainly been the case here!

Thanks, Kevin. The paper used for the illustrated hut construction was 120gsm, and the printer was a colour laser belonging to the Museum. My home printer is an inkjet and I use 120gsm paper for my own constructions. I have found that undiluted PVA applied with a brush has always served well, and gives a little time to adjust position if necessary. My experience of Roket card glue, good as it is, is that it doesn't give as much adjusment time as my modelling requires. I shall be experimenting with card and paper when I start building. I need to get the colouring right, first.

I use an old piece of floorboard as a base upon which I have stuck a length of Peco track. One end has a substantial block of wood screwed to it to act as a bufferstop. This length of wood sits on the standard turntable so that the model can still be turned to give access to various aspects. The spray booth I use for O Gauge stock is a Bench Vent BV200S, but I find that I can work on smaller locomotives and most wagons in a BV300S, in this manner: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/24325-Dapol-o-gauge-14xx-no-1444/

Thanks, Nick. Your observation applies to all of the ashlar, stone and rubble textures. My printer is a very cheap one, so the options that you suggest aren't apparent to me. Maybe there are some ways of doing it on the printer, but I think I'll ask Scalescenes if there is an easy way.

About 4 years ago the workshops at Pendon Museum were augmented by one that was about 'Scratchbuilding structures from card'. Part of the preparation for this workshop involved the construction of some examples that could be used during the day to illustrate various stages of the process and what to do and not to do. The idea was to take participants through the planning and preparation of a small weighbridge hut, based on one published in a Peco Productions book, and covering it with Scalescenes textures. Nick Wood (the tutor) and I spent a day at the Museum doing a dry run just to check what could be achieved in a day and decided that it was feasible. We then prepared some samples, as mentioned above, that could be used: My original plans for Easton were to scratchbuild the structures, following the plans I had obtained for the station building and photographs for other buildings. While that is still a target, it may not be achievable in real life. I have recently been through the whole selection of Scalescenes offerings and made the decision to build some of their standard kits as an interim measure, to augment the resin buildings that were once accumulated for the same purpose (see page 1). The main structures that will be required are: Station Signal Box Engine Shed Goods Shed Terrace of Cottages Footbridge (not railway connected) Road Bridge (Reforne) I plan to use the Random Ashlar texture wherever possible, because that most closely resembles what can be discerned in the photographs that I have. It is a bit dark in colour, though, as far as I can see.

I'll be offering a second prize. Two days out in the spray booth.

Who hangs on to old tins of paint, wherein gloopy remains stick to the bottom? I have an old tin of Humbrol 27004 Metalcote Gunmetal, most of which was used for airbrushing onto wheels and smokeboxes in a black/gunmetal mixture. During a search for suitable buffer head grease I found that the otherwise unusable pigment that remained in the bottom of an improperly closed tinlet had an interesting property. A lump of this goo was attached to a buffer head, smeared about a bit and left to dry. Once dry, it was gently buffed to bring out the metallic sheen. On 1444 I have used this simple process for the buffers, after treating them to a layer of Dullcote and some MIG Dark Mud. These two final photographs show the end result. Now I'm off to work on the Golden Arrow.

That clever Mr Morton got it in one. I had 8 cars to weather in a similar fashion. When a coach needs to be done I don't usually mask the sides to do the roof, but take a bit of care over where the paint goes, simultaneously allowing a tiny bit of overspray to drift down the sides to represent a little bit of grime coming down from the roof. In this case, however, the sides of the cars needed to be very clean - it is the Golden Arrow. I had some spare foam offcuts left over from my stock storage boxes, and noticed that they were almost the height of the roof edge from the ground. A couple or three pieces of 1mm greyboard were cut to shape and arranged so that the assembly could be dropped over the roof and allow me to airbrush downwards onto the roof without any overspray reaching the sides. What has this got to do with Easton? I can use it for my green coaches and my crimson coaches and my olive coaches and my malachite coaches and. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

***** MODELLING ALERT ***** What do you think that this is for? ***** END OF MODELLING ALERT *****

You're so predictable.

Oh, yes it is . . . . . . ..

I don't think that weathering techniques will resolve that, Brian.

Almost there now. Some MIG Dark Mud pigment has been used to indicate the beginnings of surface corrosion on the chimney, and some Gunmetal metallic pigment has been used to indicate the beginnings of shiny handrail portions in the most used areas. Small amounts are crucial to the success of this type of effect. All pigment applications were done with a filbert brush. Only one more day to go.

A very elegant solution, Mike.

If this Peckett ever runs on Easton it will have arrived behind something slightly larger, probably a G6. It would have been put to work at Sheepcroft to cope with the tremendous output required for the major construction works taking place for the development of the Weymouth harbour area. The oil paint eventually hardened and the method of rubbing hard to work it into corners had produced rather a nice shine. Wanting to retain that shine or, at least some of it, the remaining work was done with a thinned MIG Dark Wash and MIG Black Smoke pigment. Small amounts of the wash were airbrushed on and then moved into corners with soft cotton buds, and small amounts of pigment were placed in areas where dirt would have buit up. The excess pigment was immediately blown away using the airflow from the airbrush. A wide flat (1/2") shader brush was used to drag this concoction downwards everywhere it was possible to so do. The wash was used on the pipework and underframe, wheels and motion to produce an oily but not too grimy surface effect. Of course, if this engine worked in a Portland stone quarry there would have been a lot of pale coloured dust present . . . . . . .

You're right. Now that you've mentioned it, it's blindingly obvious!

A dark mix of Railmatch Weathered Black and Frame Dirt has been airbrushed over the top of the boiler, the cab roof and the driving wheel centres. This is to represent the soot present on the former two and the oil on the latter. The photograph that I have been using as a reference shows a much more marked contrast between the wheel rims and the wheel centres, but it does not look quite right to my eye so I have reduced the contrast by using a slightly darker shade of brown. Black Smoke pigment has been used on the smokebox and its door, with a very light application of the same to the front corner and edge of the tanks to show where water continually runs if the filling process means the tanks overflow. Not far to go now. Thanks for sticking with it!