Jump to content
 

Mick Bonwick

RMweb Gold
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    3,364

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Mick Bonwick

  1. Mick Bonwick
    Another kit-built Southern liveried locomotive, this time a Maunsell L1 4-4-0 in lined olive green. The PDK kit was built by Chris Phillips:
     
    http://www.crphillips-models.co.uk/srmodelspage8.html
     
    This locomotive will be filthy!
     
    First step to be illustrated this time is the preparation of the workspace. Before commencing any work I have cleared the decks from the last project, laid down clean paper towels to give a little bit of protection to the old bedsheet covering the as-yet unlaid trackbed of my layout, and set out the main tools and materials that will be used. Those that you can see are:
     
    Railmatch Frame Dirt and Weathered Black enamel paints Glass dish containing clean white spirit Disposable pipette for transferring white spirit into airbrush cup Old paintbrush for transferring paint to airbrush cup Airbrush (Iwata Eclipse SBS) cup Plastic bottle with Eclipse adapter, containing clean white spirit Various fiddly-pokey tools, just in case MIG Productions pigments - Black Smoke, Track Brown, Dark Mud and Rubbel Dust  
    If I remember, I'll explain the use of each of these as they are utilised.
     
     
     

  2. 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.

  4. Mick Bonwick
    The final tasks for this project are to sort out the cab windows and finish off the dirt and mud effects.
     
    The muck on the windows is removed by dipping a cotton bud into white spirit and gently rubbing the glazing until the underlying Dullcote softens and comes off. I have deliberately not got right into all the corners to leave a film of dirt there.. The glazing can be polished with a dry clean cotton bud to finish off with.
     
    Final touches to the dirt and mud involve abrasion to some areas to remove the surface pigment to reveal the differing tones underneath. Difficult to describe exactly how to do this, except to say, "Poke and see what happens!"
     
    The filbert brush still has some pigment residue on it, so it is dragged across a few edges and corners to add that little bit of definition to the detail.
     
     

  5. Mick Bonwick
    The application of the darkest of the three pigments is performed in a slightly different way. The work area was cleared of anything that might attract pigment and thus become discoloured.
     
    Contrary to general advice and practice, Filbert the brush was dipped into the Burnt Umber pot to collect the pigment. This was because the larger pigment particles were deliberately being targetted for use in this step. The brush was then held in one hand, close to the area to be discoloured, and flicked hard with a finger of the other hand. The result is that the pigment is propelled from the brush in the general direction of the model (if your aim is any good) and lands randomly on targetted areas. In this case those areas are the wheels, lower cab sides and engine cowling.
     
    In this case the previous layer of pigment (Dark Earth) was not sealed with Dullcote, so that an element of mixing of the two colours could be performed in the next step . . . . . . . . 

  6. Mick Bonwick
    The next stage of dirtification was to add another layer of pigment, using the slightly darker shade of Dark Earth. This was added to the existing layer by simply using the pot lid technique and plonking the pigment on top of the Europe Earth layer. I needed to put a layer of Dullcote onto the Europe Earth first, though, or the new layer would have just fallen off. If you try this, don't get the aerosol nozzle too close to the model or the blast will remove your carefully crafted earlier attempt! 
     
    I distributed the Dark Earth over a wider area than the Europe Earth, just to introduce some variety to the discolouration. You can see the effect on the cab sides and roof, and randomly selected other parts.

  7. 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.
     
     

  8. Mick Bonwick
    Before making a start on any discolouration, the model is given a good seeing-to with Testor's Dullcote. This immediately removes the high gloss finish that is found on diecast models. The windows will be rectified much later on - at the end.
     
    The rigger brush is dipped in clean white spirit and then into the wash (it's an enamel wash) , and the tip used to apply the thinned wash to various areas of the model - wheel centres, engine bay,  rear bucket and a couple of areas where detail shows through the heavy layer of paint. The photograph was taken while the wash was still wet, but it dries to a satin or matt finish, depending on the level of thinning achieved to start with.
     
    You could leave it like this, to portray a vehicle not used very much, or kept reasonably clean.
     
     

  9. Mick Bonwick
    The finished vehicle can be seen to have a very light weathering, road dirt accumulated from a short time in service (possibly since its last heavy overhaul) and nothing allowed to become totally obscured by grime. Windows are still relatively clean and only edges and corners have accumulated dirt so far. There is a slightly heavier accumulation in crooks and nannies and on the underframe but,  for the most part, it is a good advertisement for the company.
     
    Materials and tools used were minimal, but the time taken wasn't. Placing weathering materials carefully rather than just sloshing them on can take up a lot of time, especially if once it's on you can't remove it entirely!
     
    The finished product looks like this:
     
     

  10. Mick Bonwick
    Definitely not an exercise in minimalism, this one.
     
    A JCB that is earning its living in a rather muddy environment, getting itself covered in all sorts of muddy substances.
     
    The plan here is to work on one layer at a time, and leave the model at each stage in a state where it could be regarded as finished. This will serve to show (I hope) how to build up layers of dirt gradually until satisfied with the result, whatever stage that might be at.
     
    No airbrush. This will all be done with pigments, Dullcote, one enamel wash and a drop of PVA. Two brushes, a rigger and a filbert. Cotton buds - make-up style rather than baby style. Maybe a tinlet of Revell enamel 84 applied with a microbrush, but let's wait and see if that's practical.
     
     


  11. Mick Bonwick
    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.
     
     

  12. Mick Bonwick
    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.

  13. Mick Bonwick
    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:
     
     
     



  14. Mick Bonwick
    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 . . . . . 
     
     

  15. 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.
     
     
  16. Mick Bonwick
    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.
     
     
     

  17. 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.
     
     


  18. Mick Bonwick
    The holes in the underframe strengthening plates presented a small problem. How do you get an even coverage of paint on the solebars that will be seen behind the plates? I put the nozzle of the airbrush right up against the holes and sprayed through them onto the solebar. The consistency of the paint allowed it to spread far enough inside the gap to cover the whole area.
     
    The Railmatch frame dirt was applied first, to give an overall tint to the whole area. Wheels were done by using the airflow from the airbrush to turn the wheels and then applying the paint and watching the excess fly all over the inside of the spraybooth. Railmatch weathered black was mixed in with the frame dirt and then randomly airbrushed over the top to introduce a change in tone to the accumulated grime. The photographs show this much better than (my) words can explain:
     
     


  21. Mick Bonwick
    Cement dust builds up gradually on the tank sides, forming a crust as time and precipitation both do their work. In places the weight of this buildup is too much for the grip of the gunk on the metal of the tank, and lumps fall off. On the model this effect can be shown by using a cocktail stick, or similar precision tool, to chip away at the previously created mess. The pointed end will remove small areas at a time, or it can be used at a much shallower angle to reduce the height of the lumps more quickly than an old brush.
     
     

  22. Mick Bonwick
    Once the Dullcote has dried, the pigment is well and truly stuck. Working with an old filbert brush, the mess is being reduced to smaller lumps by the simple expedient of rubbing the lumps down to size. The harder you rub the smaller they become. Notice the piece of paper in a nice shade of pink. This is being used to capture the powder falling off the tank, so that it can be re-used.

  23. Mick Bonwick
    The idea of using the Dullcote is to create a quick-drying sticky surface upon which the pigment can be plonked. Sorry for being technical.
     
    No attempt has been made to be careful where the pigment goes because the Dullcote dries very fast, and the pigment needs to land on it while it's still wet. You would have been amused had you been able to see me struggling to spray Dullcote, plonk (sorry again) pigment and take a photograph all in the space of 10 seconds. 
     
    It looks an absolute mess so far, but things will improve. Honest!
     
     

  25. Mick Bonwick
    The bright shiny aluminium bodies of Cemflos soon turned dull through the oxidisation of the metal surface. My original plan was to represent this by using Testor's Dullcote, but a friend mentioned that he planned to apply a coat of Lifecolor Tensocrom White Oxide to his models, so I thought I'd unashamedly copy his idea. Very little of what weathering I do is my own idea, nearly everything is copied from somewhere or somebody else.
     
    Tensocrom acrylic paints are semi-opaque colours that are designed to allow you to put on transparent layers to slowly discolour the model surface. Each coat applied will deepen the effect. It's difficult (for me) to capture the effect on camera, but here is the finished result:
     
     

×
×
  • Create New...