JRamsden

I'm something of an Oxford Diecast collector at this stage(!) and I've been meaning to try out some weathering on them. I'll definitely be following your process to see how it turns out for me. Thanks for all the useful tips  Weathering is something I'm a little terrified of, truth be told. Seeing the process here with a logic to each step has really helped make it seem much more approachable.

I must say, just giving the whole thing a spray of Dullcote really does make a huge difference. That hyper-shiny look these models have is one of their biggest drawbacks IMO. It's great that they're so easily customised though, so I'm not complaining too much!

10 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Thanks for sharing those experiments, the Treemendus powder does look good. I haven't has much luck dry-brushing ground texture either, it looks odd. I'm finding that pigments work very well though.

 

I think the texture issue depends on how close you go with the camera. I agree with Chris that texture isn' that important from a distance,  but if you go really close with a camera it's a slightly different story, I think.

Thanks Mikkel

I have been very impressed with the Treemedus powder; it produces a very convincing effect. I had mostly chosen to use it on the farm area where I figured the ground would be a little more on the uneven/loose side. I agree about your comment regarding the camera; when I saw that very bottom close-up photo I thought it looked quite convincing. However I'm more likely to spend time viewing it from a distance, so it's hard to say which way to go!

I haven't tried pigments and also mean to look into weathering powders too. Perhaps they could have worked well here.

On 01/01/2021 at 13:48, 5&9Models said:

I agree about crossing a Rubicon when you paint ModelU figures...

I am truly humbled by the examples posted here. What amazing detail! This is truly the level I aspire to and your comments have inspired me to give it another go. Did you add the pins to the figures yourself? Is that for ease of holding during painting or more for planting the figures on the layout?

I always used to use enamels in the past, but since the introduction of readily available acrylics I largely jumped ship. This is generally because they are water based (no smelly products needed to clean brushes!) and I always felt I had more control over them. That said, I do find their consistency varies greatly and, certainly the Humbrol acrylic range, can be very inconsistent. I still have some enamels in my collection so maybe I'll give them a go.  

On 18/01/2021 at 11:12, Ian Smith said:

When painting my Edwardian period figures (Andrew Stadden), I initially prime them white, then use enamels to paint them...

If this is 2mm scale, then my hat is well and truly off to you sir! The level of detail is phenomenal. Perhaps I won't moan in future that 4mm figures are too fiddly to paint!

The tip about painting shadows and highlights is gratefully received and I will surely give that a try on my next run. It definitely makes more sense than what I have tried and seems to have more finesse than using a wash at the end. The product of your hard work and technique speaks for itself.

On 18/01/2021 at 07:48, Mikkel said:

Lovely work. The climbing rose is particularly convincing, I think.

 

I am reminded of this photo of Lustleigh, which I keep returning to:  http://www.lustleigh-society.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/station-flowers.jpg

What a beautiful photo! Thanks for sharing. I thought I may have been going a bit too far when I added trailing foliage to the fence by the running in board, but this shows there truly is a prototype for everything 

12 hours ago, phil_sutters said:

Painting figures in small scales does take practice. You need to ensure that you use a very small brush 000 or 00. Use synthetic for acrylic and hair for enamels. Make sure that it is thoroughly cleaned after each colour. I personally would avoid black or dark washes. I would put on a layer of colour a bit darker than you want the end result to be and then dry brush the lighter colour you want over the top. Dry brushing means taking paint off your brush on a bit of card or kitchen roll and stroking the remaining paint across the raised areas leaving the darker colour in the recesses or folds. That again takes practice. Don't over emphasize the dark bits. Eyes are important although they are tiny specks. Don't use black. Dark brown or the occasional blue dots work in 4mm, with a thin eye brow above, matching the hair colour. You can't see the 'whites' at that scale. I am pleased to see that you keep your figures matt. The number of otherwise top class layouts spoilt by shiny figures is quite surprising.

Hi Phil,

Thank you for your really helpful advice. I bought the smallest brush I could find for this project, although when I started I realised it could still have been smaller! I have also found synthetic brushes better for acrylics too; I tend to avoid enamels almost entirely now. Pretty much everything I paint gets a coat of some kind of matt clear sealer too; I share your dislike of gloss finishes! I also try to employ dry brushing on a lot of my painting projects but I fear it's a technique I have yet to master. Just when you think you really have removed a lot of the paint from the brush, the model is covered in it! It was definitely overkill in this instance.

I think I'll change my approach as you suggest here: darker paint overall and dry brush a lighter shade over the top. I have done this for smaller, inanimate objects and enjoyed the effect it made. I was encouraged by the dark wash initially but on reflection it does appear to be too harsh for these figures

I'm intrigued by your comments about adding eyes. I have seen both amazing and terrible examples of this. Whenever I have tried, it's the latter category! I'm personally happy with the blank face look (!) but I might give this a try and see how it goes.

3 hours ago, col.stephens said:

My main problem with 3D printed figures is that the manufacturers seem to scan the same bloke every time, posing as different characters.  You can populate your layout with clones!  In your opening post you showed some of the abysmal offerings on sale but there are much better figures available, such as Monty's Models from Dart Castings or the wonderful carved figures from Andrew C. Stadden.  I'll post a link here in case you haven't seen them.

https://www.acstadden.co.uk/

 

If I might be allowed, here is one of the Monty's Models figures to give an idea of the quality...

 

Terry

Hi Terry, thanks for your comments

There's definitely a similarity between some of these figures and, I suspect, it would be more noticeable with a larger sample size. That said, I picked the ones I did for the sake of visual variety. There's definitely a nice mix of body types in here and sometimes just changing the skin colour can help change up the identity. I don't find the fidelity to be high enough to tell individual facial features at this scale.

The figures you linked also look impressive; thanks for the tip. I think I may have some of the Monty's Models figures as one or two look suspiciously like the ones I got from Langley Models. I can't say I was all that impressed with some of them, although the ones featured on this website do look a step above in most cases.

Alas, I feel a lot of this comes down to the skill of the painter and I just haven't succeeded this time. I'll return to my work and see if I can get a more subtle colouration on these poor people!

16 hours ago, goldngreen said:

I have my daughter on my layout thanks to Model. 

Yes, I'd heard you can go along and have a scan made of yourself or anyone else you'd like. What an amazing feature to have on your layout and something that makes it truly unique and personal to you. The possibilities of this technology are impressive to say the least

2 hours ago, ITG said:

Interesting, especially as I haven’t got as far as considering/placing figures yet. What are the small mounts that some figures are standing on, presumably just for painting purposes?

If only I hadn't lost my original images! These figures tend to come with various plastic appendages supporting them. The man with the scythe, for example, had very thin poles of plastic extending from the edges of the tool to the base. I guess this is all to do with the 3D printing process, but it also supports the more delicate elements for transportation and painting. They can be very easily trimmed away with a sharp blade.

The plastic bases you see here will also be trimmed off once I come to plant them permanently. I'm not a fan of seeing an obvious base on my figures and find a dot of glue to the feet is generally enough to hold them, particularly when I'm not likely to be repositioning them or the layout.

18 hours ago, scottystitch said:

Excellent work!

52 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

I agree, and thanks for the tip on the magnets, very useful!

Hey, thanks for reading! And for both of your kind comments too

9 hours ago, wenlock said:

Those magnets are an excellent idea! Looks to be a well thought out project that I’m sure will help gain motivation to “play trains”

Thanks, glad you like it!  I can't claim ownership for the idea of using magnets in general; it seems to be a rather prevalent suggestion in terms of fiddle yards. So this is my personal interpretation of how it might work.

9 hours ago, Fen End Pit said:

You are not alone, I found exactly the same thing with Ballast Magic, reverted to using Ballast Bond instead.

David

Thanks, David. I have not heard much about this one and may be wary of any "ballast specific" solutions for a while now! But I'll definitely look it up when the time comes around again. Some of Deluxe Materials' products have served me very well over the years.

7 hours ago, dseagull said:

I found the stuff didn't work properly, as did the late scenic master Allan Downes; 

Threw the remainder away when we moved earlier this year. I won't be buying it again.

I actually did come across that thread after my first disastrous attempt! I had to find out if I had done something wrong. Just a shame I hadn't thought to look up the product here first - usually actual user reviews are more valuable than anything in a magazine. Plus, if Allan Downes himself couldn't work with it, it must be rubbish!

10 hours ago, Regularity said:

Fast Welsh David gets about a bit - even has a chimney named after himself!

 

 Gotta say I didn't catch that! Express Dairy haven't quite thought through their brand presentation from every angle... I should have used smaller lettering and finished higher up.

Oh well, looks fine from where the operator stands!

11 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Very nice work. I like the effect of the windows, creating extra depth and something to peek into. 

Thanks!  I really didn't want to make an interior for this one, but the extravagance of such a big window feature really did call for one in this section at the very least. I must say I'm quite happy with the result.

I use a dirty brown acrylic wash as the final weathering stage of my buildings. A lot of the success with this seems to come down to how dilute the wash is. I also use a much lighter shade for the mortar, generally a cream which is almost white. When the brown wash goes on it darkens it back to a more acceptable level and might be why I feel it's a suitable approach.

Then again, it's all down to personal taste. Besides, I dare say I never achieve the same result more than once anyway!

12 hours ago, WillCav said:

Lovely choice of building. Looks really good.

Will

Thanks for stopping by and leaving some kind words, Will. Hopefully I'll be able to make some more progress soon

11 hours ago, Karhedron said:

What a super job you have done there. I actually thought "Torrington" as soon as I saw your plans. I will keep an eye on this as I am looking forward to seeing the finished model.

That means a lot, thanks! I've had great fun designing and building this one. It might be my favourite build... although I tend to say that with each one. I think it's the process more than anything.

6 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Good to see progress on this. Nice work with the DAS. That was a lucky development with the station platform texture 

Thanks Mikkel! I very much doubt I could replicate the platform texture "technique" ever again. A perfect storm of bad ideas, that one  

On 23/01/2020 at 13:18, hucknall byron said:

Very nice indeed. I am not entirely happy with my current backscene for Bulwell Market and none of the off the shelf offerings are what I am looking for. I don't have any photographic or computer skills to be honest so a bit stuck at the moment.

Honestly, please don't be put off. This kind of effect doesn't take any real suite of skills. My camera is nothing special (although it does have a photo stitching feature which does make it easier when taking the photos) and you could make images like this very easily with any camera. A tripod also helps to keep the image as level as possible, but you could use any stable structure. I've used a fence post before! The photos will stilll require some basic cropping top and bottom when put together.

I used this free and simple program to stitch the images together: http://matthewalunbrown.com/autostitch/autostitch.html

You could practice with some simple shots of maybe 2 or 3 photos to see how it turns out. A lot of these digital printing companies will also help you out with the design stage too, for an added fee I'm sure!

1 hour ago, MarshLane said:

They certainly did you proud Jonathan, as did your photography skills.  Worth thinking about that option for everyone else .. me included

 

Rich

You're very kind, however my photography "skills" are novice at best. I was simply determined not to use a stock image backscene for this layout, particularly when my camera software makes it so easy to create panoramic shots.

I was initially sceptical about using Foamex for a backscene. But now I have gone through the process and received the finished product, I'd highly recommend it for anyone. It seems especially good value for smaller layouts and keeps things nice and light too.

On 16/01/2020 at 11:26, JohnR said:

They look really great! Who did you order them from and what was the cost?

I didn't want to put the actual manufacturer in the main post otherwise it would just be "look at this cool product from so-an-so!" But since you asked... they came from this website: PremierPrint I have no affiliation with the company, just a very happy customer

There are loads of places online that offer the same service so I spent a while looking at prices. Prices vary from somewhere in the £30 region for my biggest panel(!) right down to closer to £10 for one panel. PremierPrint appeared to be the cheapest site from my brief research. Can't say it affected the quality or service one bit.

I ordered 5 panels in total, one being just plain sky which I didn't bother to photograph. The biggest panel was 119cm by 36cm. The total order including delivery was just under £40. A bargain, I'd say! The best part is you can enter your sizes and options on most of these sites and get a price quote before ordering, so you'll know straight away how much it would cost.

On 16/01/2020 at 11:20, 5&9Models said:

They look fabulous, you must be delighted with the results. Appreciate the tip on the use of Foamex and having the print around the edge as well, very helpful.

Thanks, I'm really plaesed. Hoping to get them attached to the board today

I will be clear though, the print does not go around the edge of the Foamex. What they contacted me about was the photo not fitting exactly to the top surface because I had made a miscalculation. Edge printing would have been amazing, however I don't think it would be possible with this material.

21 hours ago, nick_bastable said:

the n gauge version is similar with a serious lack of detail  on the 1st floor (windows etc) however its better than my own square effort

Nick

Not at all; I think your oast looks fab. Don't be put off using it on your layout because it is unique and that's really important. If you see enough model railways you start to see the same buildings time and time again. You can make a game out of it!

So nice to see someone else who is modelling a hop farm on their layout too. How did you make your hops? That'll be a future head-scratcher for me. Are you modelling a particular area or just putting in whatever inspires you? I'd love to have included hopper's huts like you, but sadly my scenic section is limited, having filled the rest up with the railway infrastructure.

10 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Jonathan, that's a beautiful bit of scratchbuilding. And difficult shapes too, I can see how it would have been challenging to do in half-relief.

 

Not a sentence you hear every day. One of the reasons I like this hobby 

You're very kind, Mikkel. Thanks

I was so scared of making this thing that I put it off for ages. Glad it's out of the way so I can forge ahead and ruin it with paints instead! there's no limit to the clumsiness of fingers.

22 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

The hardware on the stable doors looks terrific - what printer do  you use?

I'm flattered you think this is 3D printed. It is, in fact, simply built from Slater's Plasticard and an assortment of styrene strip. Some of the door frames and the "hatch" up top are made from coffee stirrers cut to size. The tiles are strips of card cut to simulate broken tiles with a biro pen used to create the dip between individual tiles. The hinges and bolts are all etched brass from a fret containing an assortment of building details. I forget where that originally came from. 

On 15/09/2019 at 06:38, Mikkel said:

This looks good. The diagonal positioning of the platform is  effective, and I like the clever use of staggered view blocks on the right.

 

I see what you mean about the fiddle yard entry. Is there any reason it can't run closer to and thus straight along the edge of the baseboard? Looks like there would be just enough clearance? 

On 15/09/2019 at 12:42, Simond said:

Might I suggest that the point in front of the signal box is slewed so there is some curve into the platform road.  This will bring its facing end away from the edge of the board and allow a more gentle curve into the FY.

 

alternatively, a curved point?

 

atb

simon

Thanks for the suggestions, appreciated. A curved point may have been a good idea at the time, but having done all the 'lectrics underneath and painfully sorted out point motor alignment, I'm not keen to revisit that aspect of the project! So relaying points will not be an option.

I've actually cut the curved piece of settrack beyond the signal box before it finishes it's curve. From here I can attach a straight piece direct to the end of the board. Seems to have worked well so far. 

I have a plan for a cassette style fiddle yard which will tack onto the end of the board. I'm doing some experimenting at the moment and hope to post my progress as soon as I get time to work on it. This is also why the track can't run right to the edge of the board at the back, despite this being the most obvious solution.

56 minutes ago, Charlie586 said:

Found your blog a few days ago and am reading through. I like the weathering and ballasting, it looks very effective.

Hi Charlie,

Welcome to the blog! Your comments are very welcome. I hope you find something useful or at least entertaining on here

Best wishes,

Jonathan

18 hours ago, Jason Pape said:

Your stationmasters house is looking amazing! I can’t wait to see your station building

Thanks for your kind comment. I've started the station building and will have an entry up as soon as I've made some significant progress. I'm excitied to start something new; feels like I've been working on this house for ever!

On 22/08/2019 at 05:29, Mikkel said:

Excellent work, and an attractive building. The stationmaster is lucky, his house is a whole lot bigger than the station building itself 

Thanks Mikkel.

That's what struck me about the original building; pretty plain for the time but still quite impressive. It practically dominates the platform.