RBE

The ends do look good. Its a good job you should be proud. As for the missus Im sure that she pays far more attention than you think. Shes right though the skills have come on leaps and bounds in all areas since Pilot road. Goes to show that practice makes perfect especially if you learn from your previous efforts as you do. Something not everyone does. Cav

I agree 4th one for me too. Looks rather good from that angle. The technique has been been very well executed especially for a first go with the airbrush and wipe. If Im honest though Im not a big fan of the technique in general which I have voiced elsewhere before and find it doesnt sit quite right with me. It always seems a bit contrasty from really caked to virtually nothing. It works better I think in small areas as part of an overall more blended (not sure if thats the word Im after but its getting late and Im not well) picture. Taking nothing away from Neil though, great job. Cav

If I'm honest I always preferred the revised NSE scheme, much more toned down and the lack of upturned stripes worked better I thought. That said I used to have a detailed and weathered 86401 in old NSE which was awsome!! Cav

Nice shots Neil the outdoors ones make all the difference. I still feel that cannon yard ought to be used as an extension to the front of deeping (to the left). As for the NSE 47. Top loco, far too clean haha. Cav Nice shots Neil the outdoors ones make all the difference. I still feel that cannon yard ought to be used as an extension to the front of deeping (to the left). As for the NSE 47. Top loco, far too clean haha. Cav

The reason behind it is so that if you buy a brown brick bridge and then decide further along the line you need a red brick one for instance you are then required to purchase the red version also. Otherwise you would only ever buy one version and photophop any other versions you require from that meaning less earnings for John. Cav

That really does look a cracking job mate. Well done. I think the photo board is really coming on. Cav

My word those 47s do look good. haha Will be good with the sound on. The 08 is starting to really look the business. I think every depot layout should have one defo. As for the XR3i I think we should start a 4mm ford owners club haha. I have a black one mint condition and low mileage, needs some wing mirrors though!. No need to make a pin under it mate I never fix mine down. I just place them each exhibition. Cav

Haha mine isnt stringless. I just use broken ones for my stock which more often than not is the A. A jam in the roundhouse would bw good. The missus might not like it though as she has to do most of the driving due to my chatting as it is. Cav

I tend to use guitar strings on wagons where you can get away with a bit less detail around the pipework. TBH most people dont put any pipework on so its certainly better than none. I usually just add a bit of psint top and bottom to represent the connectors. It is enough at normal viewing distances. As for the coarsness of the string thats not true. Wound guitar strings can be very thin. Depends which size you choose. Cav

It will make a great difference. Im doing that to all of mine. I do a little step by step if you want. Cav

Yeah they are. Ive filed the heads to get rid of the nasty mould lines and given the underframes a coat of matt black ready for the weathering. Once Ive given the sides a coat of executive dark grey and added the couplings and pipework Ill be ready to weather them. Ill take some photos when theyre done. Cav

Yeah Ive got a few of those MEAs on the workbench to be ready for MRL. gotta get them painted into original livery and pop the 3 links on! Cav

Yeah the airbrush is only part of the weathering arsenal. it should only be used to do dirt that is airbourne really. The exception being the chassis where it really does benefit from an overall spray before any further development with powders and brushing is added. Im personally not convinced about airbrushing onto bodysides and then wiping off it just seems like an unnecessary use of the airbrush, and I hate cleaning airbrushes haha. I just brush it on then wipe off myself as part of the brushing process before the airbrush is even used. The airbrushing for me is the last stage applying dirt that has settled on as the train has been moving along. The many levels of dirt and runs are applied before in order to not disturb the final dust coats. The airbrush then ties the grime together to give the item a nice balanced look.

Not too shabby at all mate. Or is that a contradiction in terms haha. How did you find your foray into airbrushing? As for the RES van I always feel that you have to be a little more intentional with coaching stock of any kind. They tend to go through the washer so the grime is mainly restricted to recesses and features and a light dusting of airbourne particles. In addition you can then add paint chips and associated dirt and corrosion. You should now try a bit of varied colour you'll never look back. Cav

Im over in blackburn at the weekend Ian giving Pete Harvey a hand with Peter Street. Hopefully be able to pick up a few things for Outon Road phase 2. Pop over and say hi. If you are wanting to exhibit you need to get some photos and specs of your layout to a few exhibition managers. Once you get a few shows other should show you some interest. I too didnt belong to any societies although I have since joined DEMU after exhibiting at the showcase this year. I was lucky enough to get a slot at mansfield earlier this yesr which I am planning on repeating next year with the extended version of Outon Road. Anyway we are a bit off topic here. The overall shots look great Neil and help us to get an idea of how the layout looks as a whole. Cav

You have to be carefull how many leds you wire this way though as the leds and their resistor will take a little of the dcc controllers available ampage. Be carefull that your lights plus the locos and their onboard lighting and accessories dont exceed this. Also the track is not a dc circuit on dcc so you need to bridge rectify to run leds. Bulbs will be ok as is but bulbs use more current.. Cav

20s looking really good Neil. I agree that fading is the way to go on blue in the 90s if you want any pointers on fading Ill be happy to help.

Mobile phone chargers are great for low current led lighting. I bet we all have 2 or 3 spare in the man draw too!

Looks really good in the dark. I wasmt going to do much lighting on Outon but now I think I need to! Good stuff. Cav

You just need a steady hand. Ill be having some added fun doing it under the wires too! Cav

Well that would be ok if you were there at the kick off. Plus im hoping to be running 3 links there. Thatll be fun!

Looks stunning mate. Not too overdone just very workstained which is likely in the 90s. I really must get some stock done Im getting withdrawl symptoms haha. Cav

I do take pics of all the stock I do for you Neil so that I can add it to my website when I get round to getting it up and running! Cav

Cool reminds me of the old trick of numbering locos differently on either side to instantly double your stock. Cav.

That looks much better with some dirt on the chassis. May I suggest some black powder for around the exhaust and to give the chassis a bit of variation around the brakes. Black paint is a no no as it is too strong, I always pop in a bit of brown but the powder does a cracking job as it mixes with the powder already on there and darkens/blackens the tone. Exhaust soot is exactly that and it is black carbon from burning the fuel so need to be darker I feel. Cav PS Ive done a bit of photoshoppery on your pic to correct the colours a bit as your nice housey light bulb doesnt do it justice.