SWT442

The Next Life - Suede

Thanks for the comment Shoey, appreciate it! A couple of hours were spent today in the modelling cupboard. I had planned to do some weathering, a Hornby Rudd has been sat on the shelf in need of some dirt! A search through Flickr provided a candidate to draw some inspiration from, but the overhead warning flashes needed changing to the newer style. In hindsight, I should've just carried on and ignored this minor detail but decided to go ahead an change them. While doing this, the moulded handrail on the body ends was removed. A new pair will be made of wire before weathering commences. While I had the overhead transfers out, I put them onto 20132 along with a headlight. As luck would have it, I had a new tin of metalic silver paint so a blob was put into the headlight reccess before the outer clear plastic cover was put on. While I had the paint out I did the same to 20118. Both them and the Rudd had their transfers varnished. And while I had the headlights, paint and transfers out, another model sat on the shelf waiting to be started was a Hornby Class 31 in the form of 31110 in Dutch. I had planned to renumber this one, but it managed to soldier on until mid-1999 before gaining a repaint into Green, so it fits my earlier modelling period nicely. The next task on this loco will be to remove the printed on BR Arrows and depot plaques, and then paint the cabsides light Grey. A new technique I've been looking to try will be to fade the livery before it recieves a fairly grimy weathering as per photos of it in 1998/1999. The method was recommended by a friend and will involve using Hornby's White weathering powder rubbed down the side of the loco with a cotton bud. https://www.flickr.com/photos/rpmarks/8021414641/in/faves-98929239@N03/ - This is the picture I will be using as a guide to weather 31110. Andy.

Cheers Will! I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with how they came out, especially the Mainline 58. The Seacow was done a year or so ago, so I'm trying to remember what I did! It more than likely would have used a thinned down wash of Precision P960 Frame Dirt as an overall base to the weathering. This would have been painted on before being wiped off with paper kitcehn towel. (It's basically my go to base for anything I weather, as I build on top of it.) I have a set of weathering powders by Freestone Model Accessories, so one of their powders (possibly Burnt Umber or Dark Rust) would have been mixed with (I think!) P950 Light Rust and some thinners to form a light paste which would have been painted down the side of the wagon before being wiped off with some paper kitchen towel to give an overall grotty look. It being more sticky than just paint and thinners would've helped with the streaking on the bodyside. A thicker 'paste' mix of the same paint and powder (no thinners) would then have been used to do the rust patches. This would have been daubed on with a fairly thin brush. I have to admit, I wasn't working from any pictures when I did it, I just went with what I thought looked 'right'. It was also the first time I'd mixed paint and powders together, so was a bit of an experiment to see what the outcome would be. Overall, I'm more than pleased with it and I did do a couple more Seacows using the same methods, although not as heavily weathered. I also use the same method when weathering up the exhaust silencers on Bachmann 66's and Hornby 60's, as it gives a nice, rusty, textured base for putting sooty deposits onto. The layout the locos were photographed on is Hollybank Depot, while the Seacow is pictured on Mossbank Yard. Both are owned by the New Forest MRS. They've both been around for a quite some time. (They're older than me!) Andy.

Friday Night Gurus - Studio Killers

Thanks for the comments guys! I've certainly enjoyed going through your thread Will, your attention to detail is superb! Nick, your 58 certainly looks the part! Those etched grilles make it stand out nicely. Just to add to the 58004 fest, here's a few pictures of mine! It was one of my earlier weathering efforts mainly using Tamiya powders. It's currently on the project shelf as I'm going to touch it up, the powders on the underframe have started to rub off after repeated handling. Considering the powder was never varnished, it's done well to last a few years! The underframe will be redone with Precision weathering paints, while I may just add to the bodysides. A new set of wire loops for couplings will be done as well. The grilles were painted as well, but the weathering wash used took the paint off! Attached below are a couple of examples of the weathering I've done, taken on a proper camera in decent light! Only the Seacow belongs to me. The 58 and pair of 60's were done for a friend and were weathered based on pictures I found on Flickr. All the weathering is hand brushed using thinned enamel paints and various powders. I did experiment with an airbrush about 6 or 7 years ago but could never really get the hang of it. Andy.

To be honest, I've no idea why it was all omitted. The re-release of the Class 58's by Olivias Trains had them all and the cab doors painted. Andy.

With a couple of hours to kill this afternoon, the time was spent in the modelling cupboard. After spending 5 minutes staring at the EWS 58, mustering up the patience to do another round of grille painting, it was put to one side for another time. While digging through the detailing parts box, I came across a set of Replica headlights that I picked up at the Brockenhurst Open Day last month. This prompted me to dig out a pair of Bachmann Railfreight 20's, namely 20118 & 20132. The plan is to do these models as their present day versions running with GBRf. First to recieve attention was 20118 "Saltburn-by-the-Sea", one of Bachmanns recent releases. Handily, the model pretty much only needs minor work to represent the loco as it is now, with the biggest job being the addition of a headlight to the cab front. This needs the removal of the middle indicator disc moulding. Other work done is to replace the overhead warning flashes, with these just being put over the existing ones. A representation of the tripcock was also fabricated out of plasticard. The headlight needs a spot of silver paint in it before the outer clear plastic cover is fitted, while the transfers are to be varnished. These jobs will be done once 20132 has had similar work done to it. Andy.

Evening all. Having browsed through the many work bench threads on here and enjoyed looking at the projects people do, I thought I'd jump in and start one too. Hopefully starting up a thread will give me a bit more pep in getting stuff done! One thing to mention is that the lighting in the modelling cupboard is pretty crummy plus all the pictures have been taken on a mobile phone, so they're not the best. Some new lighting will be installed soon! I mainly detail and weathering modern image stock, along with a little bit of renumbering. There's two periods that I model, first one is from about 1998 through until around 2002. That four year period saw quite a bit in variety in terms of stock, locos and liveries that where still around. The next era is more up to date, with stock modelled from around 2010 until now. Although, there is a little bit of leeway with it. It's my railway and I'll run what I like does sometimes come into play! Anyway, the last few evenings I've been working on a Heljan Class 58 in Mainline Grey which started as 58004. The first round of work was to paint the grilles and cab doors matt Black as Heljan overlooked doing this! In total, there's 94 grilles to do! So onto tonight. The first task in turning the loco into 58017 "Eastleigh Depot" is to add an additional 18 overhead warning flashes. This includes one onto each handrail guard. Once they'd all been put on, the numbers were then applied. All the transfers came from Fox. The first side I removed the numbers from, I used the backside of a scalpel, which inturn removed the paint underneath! The other lot of numbers were removed using T-Cut and toothpicks, with a better success rate! The iffy side is seen in the picture below. The handrail guards have also been fitted. A set of small numbers to do the cab fronts is to be ordered, as I didn't have any 1's or 7's left in the set I already had. Once the cab front numbers are done, the loco will receive some weathering and then the nameplates will be fitted. The next item to get some attention soon will be another Heljan 58, this time 58047 in EWS livery. Once again, the bodyside grilles will need painting! Until next time. Andy.

Hmm, I reckon it could be a ZCA "Sea Urchin". That'd be nice, wouldn't mind a couple of them! Andy.

Great thread, loving the old shots of the AC Electrics! Amazed there's so many of them! Here's a few from me, though not they're not that old! First are a pair of shots of 87002 "Royal Sovereign". First seen at Edinburgh Waverly having not long arrived and then at Carlisle during a crew change on the return journey. The tour was Rail Blue Charters "West Coast Premier" and utilised the Class 87 throughout, along with a superb rake of Cargo-D's Blue & Grey MK2 and MK3 coaches. The tour ran from Watford Junction to Edinburgh Waverly (1Z88) and return (1Z89). 10.09.2010. 86639 & 86638 haul 66596 and 4L92 Ditton FLT to Felixstowe FLT through Comberford Hall (near Tamworth) on a Sunny winter evening. 18.02.2016 86632 & 86605 fly through Coton Lane, Tamworth, with 4L90 Trafford Park to Felixstowe FLT container service. 19.02.2016 Freightliners' 90045 rushes past the Oxford Canal at Ansty with 4L90 Trafford Park to Felixstowe FLT. 18.02.2016 Still in Scot-Rail colours, 90024 & 90036 "Driver Jack Mills" fly through Brinklow with 4S47 Daventry IRFT to Mossend Euroterminal. 28.05.2015 DB Red 90040 & 90029 head through Easenhall with 4M25 Mossend Euroterminal to Daventry IRFT. 02.06.2016 Andy.

Good idea in making it curved Chris, not something I'd ever thought to do! I've got some more locos to fit with wire couplings so might well try one which is more rounded and see if makes a difference. Andy.

No problem, hopefully the pictures show what I'm trying to describe. The pictures are taken on my phone so not the best. First up is the 56. As I said, the wire is attached through the sandboxes which makes it stand out a bit. I would've liked to have put them through the bufferbeam but they're made of metal and on the couple of occasions I tried I wound up snapping the drill bit. Once painted black and given a bit of weathering it's not too bad. The coal sector 56 has yet to be painted, while the Colas 56 has been painted and weathered. The 60 is a bit harder to get a clearer picture of. Basically, the plastic valance has two square pegs that locate into the metal bufferbeam of the loco. Normally, there's a small indent in the back of the square pegs which I use as a guide to drill the holes. I'll then attach the valance to the loco and then produce the wire coupling to suit. It's all secured using superglue. Makes for a neater appearance compared to the 56. Again, wire used is 0.45mm with the holes being the same size, although you can use a slighty larger or smaller diameter wire to suit. Hope it helps! Andy.

The layout is really something great and the stock looks so good! It's threads like this that give me the oomph to work on my layout. Regarding your issues with the couplings on the Hornby 56's and 60's, have you thought about ditching the tension locks and using a wire bar? I use this method on both locos with pretty good success. The method I use on the 56 makes it a little more obtrusive than I'd like compared to the 60 but once painted isn't too bad. For the 56, I drill into the sandboxes while on the 60 I drill through the middle of the square "peg" on the valance that slots into the bufferbeam. Wire used is 0.45mm as is the drill bit, with it all secured with superglue. It holds suprisngly well and can have quite a weight hung on them. If interested I could post up a couple of pictures. Andy.

Thank you Beast, much appreciated! Andy.

A few Class 68 shots form the begining of the month. 68004 "Rapid" heads through Cheddington with 0Z?? Willesden Brent to Wolverton Works. 02.06.2016 68001 "Evolution" thunders down the Trent Valley with 6U76 Crewe Basford Hall to Mountsorrel. It's seen at Coton Lane, near Tamworth. 03.06.2016 With loaded return working, 68001 is seen at Catholme with 6U77 Mountsorrel to Crewe Basford Hall. 03.06.2016 Andy.

A couple of shots of 92014 being used as a ferry loco on the WCML. Seen at Easenhall, 92014 has 66720 & 90048 in tow as it works 0Z86 Willesden TMD to Crewe HS. 02.06.2016 The next day, 92014 drags 66720 back up the WCML. Seen at Comberford Hall working 0Z92 Crewe HS to Willesden TMD. 03.06.2016 Andy.

Here's a few fairly recent contributions from me. Still wearing EWS branding, 66102 heads through Worting Junction with 4O40 Morris Cowley to Southampton Eastern Docks car train. 05.04.2016 Still an intermittent flow at the moment, 66130 climbs through St. Cross with the empty 6Z14 Southampton Up Yard to Wembley. 23.02.2016 Running next to the Oxford Canal, 66420 passes Ansty with 4M23 Felixstowe South FLT to Hams Hall Parsec. 18.02.2016 Disturbing the peace at Ansty, 66590 works 4L93 Lawley Street FLT to Felixstowe North FLT. 18.02.2016 Heading through Bellamour Lane, near Rugeley, 66591 heads 4O49 Crewe Basford Hall to Southampton Maritime. 19.02.2016 In the dying daylight, 66593 "3MG: Mersey Multimodal Gateway" rushes through Comberford Hall with 4M61 Southampton Maritime to Trafford Park FLT. 18.02.2016 Heading towards Beaulieu Road, 66848 works 6C03 Easteigh East Yard to Dorchester South engineers. 23.04.2016 Andy.

Coming along great Rich, will be nearly finished by the time the Brock show rolls around! Very tempted to pick up an NSE Thumper myself, would pair nicely with the Connex one I have! Andy.

I'm still waiting for 005 to arrive from Hattons. All 6 were pre-ordered at the begining of this year, but the first lot (9 wagons from 001 to 004) came first with one of 006 coming over a week later. I initially pre-order them Summer 2015 when it was just 001 to 004 on offer but had to change it completely when they added the second two and messed around with which one was going to be what colour, as I'd have ended up with 6 white ones in a rake of 10! Will have to drop them an e-mail and see what's what. Andy.