Jump to content
 

Monkeyhead

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    17

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Monkeyhead

  1. Monkeyhead
    Hi again, just thought I'd update on the couple of projects I've got on the go, and some of the challenges I've learnt from since last time I posted.
     
    My main project is 47299, which last time I'd glossed varnished, and wasn't best pleased with how it looked closeup and personal. I had a bit of drama with the decals - I had a set that I'd ordered, but I suspect that I didn't leave them in the decal fix long enough, as they weren't great, ripping and the like, to the point where I had to order a new set from Railtec. These duly arrived, and went on nicely. I matt varnished the loco and was pleased with the dulling down. I still wasn't happy with the yellow around the windows, so while I had some yellow out, I did a bit of short term masking and added a bit of yellow - to be honest, to no great effect. Despite using Tamiya masking tape, when I peeled it off, to my horror, it took the bottom of the 99 - gutted! So out with the t-cut, number off, and unfortunately through the blue paint to the primer. So a slight repaint of blue, and the spare number, and a shot of matt varnish and we back to wear we were!
     
    I've also started adding a bit of weathering using frame dirt, which I'm quite pleased with. Also added some to the bogie frames and fuel tanks, but need to decide whether i'm going to have a practice with some powders too to build a bit of texture. Suspect I will as I have to learn!
     

     

     
    I've also got a problem that I hope someone can advise me on, even if it's to where to post on the forums. I have an ESU sound decoder for this 47, but I also have an Express Models lighting kit I want to add. I'll be adding connectors to either end of any wires so I can swap in the future if needed, but *think* I may have to cut the green, yellow, blue and white wires on the decoder and connect the decoder end to the lighting chip. Does that right? And better ideas?
     

     
    I've also started the blue on my large logo 47, unfortunately I've broken one of my airbrushes by losing a seal when cleaning - have ordered a kit of different types, so hopefully will get it back up and running soon. Looks ok, but needs a few more coats - I'm finding it really hard balancing thinning the paint so it will spray, against losing lots of the pigment......
     

     
    While I wasn't intending on starting anything else, I was reading George Dent's weathering book, and came across a section on pre-shading - he was using an old Hornby 24 and I thought, hang on, I'm sure I've got one of those in a box of parts I got off eBay, so had a look in the loft, and sure enough, there was are.
     
    So stripped and primered it, and had a go at pre-shading with what turned out to be an oddly metallic black.
     

     
    This looked a bit like the example, so while I had the blue out today, I gave it a few coats, and I was really pleased with how it came out. Still needs a few more coats to build the blue up, but I think it looks ok.
     

     
    Might have to find the rest of the bits that go with the loco and see if I can get it running!
     
    This week, I'll be doing some more blue painting, a bit more weathering on 299, fitting the new steel Heljan wheels I've got and maybe make a start re-assembling it! Hope you enjoyed reading, and please do leave a comment if you have any thoughts!
     
    Cheers, Matt
  2. Monkeyhead
    So as I mentioned on the previous blog, I've started more than one thing. And finished none of them!
     
    Here are the other things I'm working on at the min.
     
    Hornby class 91 - so I bought this aaaaaages ago, and thought I'd have a mess about with a "what if" livery. Thinking along the lines on 50149, I wondered what would happen if the 91's were repurposed for some high speed freight work?
     
    So I took it to bits, and then decided I'd try and replace the motor with a CD motor. Which I then burnt out. So I tried again, and thought I'd try and add a dcc socket, and then an Express models lighting kit. Which I've pretty much done, as you can see in the wiring mayhem shown below. Though I've soldered connectors on, so I can disconnect the lighting from the decoder if one ever goes pop.
     
    I'd messed the yellow front up on the 91, and lost the headlight infill, so re-did it and messed it up again. But also learnt that cheap masking tape and fox transfers that aren't sealed don't get on too well! So when I've practised my weathering on other models, this will will be looking more "careworn". There's the hole in the roof to fill, new pantograph to fit and the roof apparatus to sort. Also need to clean the wheels, as the pickup is quite poor. drill the holes for the lights at the front, try and make all the wires fit, and see what happens!
     
    Another Heljan 47 that I was practising on is one I did in "dutch" livery, mainly to test out my airbrush and my masking. As you can see from the photos, I didn't get the masking quite right, so there's some remedial work to do, but I'm not unhappy with how this has come out. Not sure where I'll go with this one, maybe this one will be "ex-works" or very slightly weathered.
     
    A 3rd 47 is one I saw a piccy of and liked - a Scottish 47, large logo with ploughs. This one I've made a couple of hashes of too. When I wrapped around the yellow on the cab sides, it didn't match the yellow from Heljan, and it irked me. Plus you could see the vertical line where the "old" yellow finished. So I rubbed it down, and re-primered it. The roof it already rail grey, and the bodysides are primed, so when this has gone off, it'll be back to the yellow, then masking up for the blue. I'm also messing about with adding better buffers, have some nice sprung ones, but only 1 chassis I have will take them.
     
    And lastly (for this blog anyway) is a Bachmann 20, that I resprayed green with Halfords rattle cans. I thought I'd done an ok job, but the photos don't lie - the masking of the grey/green under the rail is terrible! I also need to lay my hands on some cab glazing as the stuff that came with it was so brittle if snapped in half. Managed to pick up a chassis in Cornwall on hols for £9 (iffy motor), so I'm hoping to either fix the motor, or just run it as a "dummy" paired with the factory 20 at the side of it. I'm hoping a coat of matt varnish takes the gloss off.
     
    So that's mostly it, as ever, thoughts, ideas, comments welcome! Even if it is "finish *something* Matthew!!!" :-)
  3. Monkeyhead
    Hi, I'm Matt, and I'm writing, well, to get my thoughts down on (virtual) paper, to share what I'm doing, to motivate myself to finish something, and to hopefully gain some critique of what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and how I can improve.
     
    To be honest, I've not got a model railway - had an n gauge layout as a kid which I didn't appreciate enough, and have never got round to another one. Keep toying with the idea of building one in the loft, but it's too hot or cold, and if truth be told, I can't be bothered. The idea of building it and getting it working appeals much more than actually using it, so it seems a lot of cash to put into something. I have however been intrigued about the box file models that I'd read about on here, and may well give that a go.
     
    Anyway, I digress!
     
    Over the past few years, I've bought odds and sods off eBay or Hattons, which have needed work, and then they've laid about in the loft not getting anything done with them, so I recently decided to get on with doing *something*, and trying to improve my modelling skills (I also have an cupboard filled with varying airfix kits to build "one day", so I want to get better!
     
    So what have I got. A few Heljan 47s, a Hornby 91, a Bachmann 20 and a load of other things in the loft that I keep away from the wife :-)
     
    I've been starting and not finishing anything for a while, for one reason or another, so I've got a few things on the go. Here they are. Looking at the close up, via unforgiving photos, they don't look great - I'm slightly put off actually having seen them, but that's the point, I want to improve, and there's some talented modellers on here, so please (constructively I hope) feel free to point out what could be done better.
     
    First one is a Heljan 47 - I bough the body off eBay in a real state, it'd been roughly done in DRS livery, and was a bit battered - I intended using it for practice, but when I'd cleaned it up, I thought I'd try a loco I've had an interest in for years - 47299, Ariadne. I know you could buy them, but I fancied a dart at a BR blue loco, so went for this.
     
    I've bought George Dent's weathering book, and am part way though it, but have looked at pictures online to get a sense of what the loco looked like.
     
    So what have I done? The headcode box on the model was mashed up, so I filled it and sanded it, and re-drilled the headcode lights using another one as a guide. I've lost the "ring" around them, but I can't think of a way to scribe a circle that small in filler.
     
    A coat or two of halfords white primer, followed by yellow on the cab windows, and a few coats of rail blue. I've got a cheap-y airbrush setup off eBay, which is ok, and a little spray booth in the garage. Am spraying with a combo of railmatch, tamiya and humbrol acrylics.
     
    The cantrail stripe is orange lining tape that I found in a model shop. Looks ok on the long runs, but I'm not happy with the short verticals.
     
    I started to "distress" the paint based on photos using some thinners and a cotton bud. I'm *ok* with the result, but it's not quite the effect I was looking for. Maybe chipping solution is an answer?
     
    A coat of Humbrol gloss varnish (though I then read on here to use anything but!!) followed by a set of decals from Railtec, applied with decalfix.
     
    I'd bought a set of enamel washes and powders (humbrol) and started to use the washes on one side to represent streaking - again, I'm *ok* with the results, but I know they can be improved - for reading required.
     
    So that's where I am with this one - will "streak" the other side, tidy up the blue overspray around the cab windows, then think about a matt varnish. Then maybe some airbrush weathering, frame dirt, that kind of thing.
     
    I've bought a new set of wheels to replace the ghastly bronze Heljan standard ones, so will re-wheel it when they arrive. I've also got a express models lighting kit, but I'm seeing whether I'm brave enough to splice it into the ESU sound decoder that I have. I'll be keeping this one, so would like it to have all the bells and whistles.
     
    So any thoughts welcome, will add more pictures as I make progress. Will also add a bit around some of the other things I've been doing.
     
    Hope it's of vague interest to someone, and thanks for reading!
×
×
  • Create New...