Gopher

Thanks Lez, my weathering is always a bit trial and error. Best Wishes Clive

Finished weathering the Accurascale Class 37. Lovely model, runs so well with a great sound project.

One from the archive. Platform 1 - Dewchurch

The 15xx complete with firebox glow - heads through Harewood Halt with its goods train

Thanks Lez - I'll have a look on the Tube

Sorry John - could not find a symbol/emoji for "They must be idiots". Nice to know that they still walk amongst us, and unfortunately occasionally are in positions of influence 😲

Thanks Brian - I have that book. I'll dig it out. Best Wishes Clive

Here are the results of Phase 1 weathering. I have used my go to weathering colour. Tamiya Nato Black - diluted. This is a grey/black colour, and I use it on every model I weather. I have applied it to the engine room grills by paint brush. The roof by bow pen and paint brush (wiping off any excess with tissue to get some rain water streaks on the roof). l have also used the bow pen to apply it to any panel lines. Panel lines are a bit of a challenge because the paint consistency has to be spot on, so it flows easily but does not flow away. If it is too thick it leaves blobs or thick un-realistic lines. I'm also not diligent enough in thoroughly cleaning the bow pen, so paint does not always flow as required. I have panel liner (used on my recent build of the Centurion tank). It is good stuff but a little bit too diluted for this job. Easy to apply to panel lines, but does not seem to leave much of a residue on any vertical panel lines ( unless I turn the model on its side) At the moment I have not touched the bogies or underframe, but have toned down the buffers and buffer beams with diluted Nato Black. Phase 2 is airbrush time. I'll start by adding matt black to the roof where the exhausts sit. I'll then mist (yes you've guessed it) diluted Nato black over the roof to blend it all in a bit. The bogies and underframe will also have an application of diluted Nato Black, and whilst still wet, I will spray diluted Life colour Frame dirt and Track dirt in various combinations until I get a variety in tone on the bogies and underframe. This really is make it up as I go along. I keep tinkering until I get the effect I am after. The risk being I go too far. I also mist frame dirt and /or track dirt over the body (except roof). If I'm wise - I'll then walk away for a day and look at the results when it has all dried. (I clean wheels straight away once I've finished airbrushing). If I am happy with it - I will pick out some details by brush. Possibly pick out brake blocks if my airbrushing has not done the job. Grease spots on buffers using Tamiya gun metal. Grease spots on bogie bearing covers, and maybe fuel spill from fuel tanks. I may also lightly dry brush a metallic or gun metal colour on any sharp metal edges - e.g. steps, grab handles - or anywhere which is metal and subject to wear. Sometime I spray matt varnish over the finished model (masking windows, wheel etc). I tend not to do this very often.

Hello Brian, and thanks for your comments. I often pop into your Llanforen thread. The station building is just typical Barry Railway. The larger Vale of Glam stations (Llantwit, Southerndown Road, Aberthaw) always fascinate me. All four track layouts with (to my eyes) attractive station buildings in red and cream brick. Southerndown Road is in the middle of no-where, couple of miles at least from Southerndown village, and beach. Of course the clue is always any ex GW station with road in the title. I must have read The Vale of Glamorgan Railway book by Colin Chapman dozens of times. Similar with the Rails to Prosperity book by Brian Miller. Both have some great photos. One of the attractions of the line to me, was the mainline locos which used it as a diversionary route (with the exception of Kings and 47xx). I have photos of Castle headed express trains on the line, not sure about Britannia's though. Not sure if they worked beyond Cardiff, on London - Swansea expresses. I bet your Grandparents house was a great place to holiday given its proximity to the line. Space is my problem (and the reluctance to scrap Dewchurch 3). Best Wishes Clive

Thanks Rob, I have been caught out before, where I weathered a loco, and then it developed a fault (not my weathering). Anyway - tried to return it under warranty. No go because I had invalidated the guarantee. So there is always a risk when my impatience takes hold, because a pristine loco on my layout - bugs me. One of my challenges with weathering is not to go over the top. I've just completed my first phase weathering on the new Class 37, and already it looks like it must have been outshopped in Victorian times. Having said that phase 1 tends to be mainly the roof, which got pretty dirty pretty quickly.

I have to agree. I like Crows and my wife befriended a Carrion Crow a few years ago which used to leave her little presents on the door step. It would also sit on next doors garage roof and look into our bathroom. It also used to tap on our bedroom roof (dormer bedroom) - if it thought we should get up to feed it. Very clever birds I actually salute the first (single) Magpie I see in the morning. Given my comments in the post above - I am clearly confused about my feelings. I still hate rats though

I hate rats and Magpies. The Magpies in our vicinity take Blackbird and Hedge Sparrow chicks. Never saw many Magpies when I was a kid. Probably because farmers etc controlled them. Now they are everywhere. Our old tom cat has a bit of a stand off with them from time to time, over food. The Magpies win, and seem to work in pairs. One in front of him and one behind him. I hate Magpies (Have I l already said that). I would not fancy trying to catch a live rat Lez. Respect to you. I used to shoot them as a lad.

Here is the loco before weathering but with driver, new head codes and buffer beam detail added

Accurascale Class 37 now has a driver (seen driving down Canal Street) Here is the body with head code panels removed ready for some new numbers Here is the new head code. I've changed the right hand panel from 11 to 57 since this photo was taken. Reason was I'd fitted the head codes to the body and then started my basic weathering process, part of which is using a diluted paint wash. This dribbled into the right hand panel, and obliterated the number 11.

Here is the new Accurascale EE Type 3 (Class 37). Still brand spanking new. Posed next to the new Bachmann Class 37 which I have weathered. I changed the headcode, added a driver and buffer detail to the Accurascale model. They publish some very useful guides on their website with instructions on how to do this. I'll also post some photos. Next job is to weather it. I also received a new tablet speaker which hopefully I will fit to the Bachmann 37 this afternoon (if I get time). Should be straightforward, remove sugar cube speaker and solder new speaker wires to speaker tabs on circuit board

Final trip down memory lane. These are very dodgy photos,(scanned from the original non digital photos). They are views of my loft layout - Llantwit Major. DC layout started in 1988, track was Peco Code 100, virtually all buildings were made from Linka. Track plan was a compressed version of the real track plan. I had photos of most of the buildings apart from the goods shed which I built from memory - having spent many childhood hours playing at the station, and goods yard in particular. When I eventually saw a photo of the goods shed, I realised my memory was pretty good, apart from the way I modelled the roof canopy over the road access doors. When I knew the station, the old cattle pens were used by Mr Williams the coal merchant to store household coal. The pens were bigger than those shown on my model in the photo below. Some of the items (yard crane, curved wall near the station, some vehicles, trees, some figures) visible in the photos below are currently in use on Dewchurch 3. Scenery included lichen, dyed medical lint for the grass , I lived close to the station for a while, before it closed. I can remember the very last DMU passenger service heading off towards Cardiff at night with detonators exploding. The station building and waiting shelter are reasonable copies of the real thing. The landscape the station is set in on my model, is not totally accurate, and my model has straight platforms where as the real thing had slightly curved platforms. Four tracks ran through the station, so that the passenger trains could get out of the way of the coal trains heading to Barry docks before WW1. In South Wales coal was king before WW1 Loads of childhood memories of the station. On Sundays the Vale of Glamorgan line was used as a diversionary route whilst engineering works were carried out on the S Wales main line between Cardiff and Swansea. So as well as the usual local passenger service (Class 116 DMUs), and block coal trains heading for Aberthaw power station (Class 37 hauled - or EE Type 3 as they were known then), there were also a procession of maroon Class 52 Western hauled express passenger trains, Class 123 intercity DMUs, and the odd steam hauled goods train. I can also remember the local steam hauled pick up goods shunting the yard, and the headshunt siding stabling two or three, steam hauled special passenger trains which dropped their passengers off at St Athan for the annual Battle of Britain day air display. These were empty stock stabled at Llantwit for most of a Saturday afternoon, until the trains headed back to St Athan late afternoon to take the passengers home. One of the items on my bucket list is to build a more prototypical model of this station set in the early 1960s - need a fair bit of space to do it justice though.

That is a great great shot Kevin, fantastic modelling.

The 9F referred to in the post above. Still going strong, I added a bit more weathering a few years ago, and upgraded the sound decoder, and managed to get a speaker in the smokebox (original was in the tender). Am I the only person who think these beasts are a thing of beauty ? Obviously the grimier they are the more beautiful they become. 😃

On a bit of a roll down memory lane - few more dodgy photos of Dewchurch 1. Virtually all the half relief buildings in photo 2, are present on Dewchurch 3, as are most of the vehicles, figures and some Ratio kit sheds etc.. The trees (or most of them) are also on Dewchurch 3. I bought them as etched brass kits for Llantwit Major. The grass areas are dyed medical lint - which was passable, and better than dyed sawdust. Static grass now rules on Dewchurch 3. I've still got most of the rolling stock, but not all the locos. The 9F is alive and well on Dewchurch 3, but not the Black 5, or Class 42 Warship diesel just visible in one photo. I tend to refresh the loco rota now and then. Original motivation was to ditch any split chassis locos when I moved to DCC, then any which were a bitch to hard wire and fit decoders, and latterly sound decoders and speakers. When I look at some of the photos I can see undulations in the track - life on the ocean wave sort of thing. Warped baseboard tops being the reason. I should have sealed the Sundeala before subjecting it to diluted PVA glue when ballasting. This afternoon's task is to add buffer detail, change headcodes, add a driver to my latest acquisition (Accurascale Class 37 Green split head code loco). I had a fair bit of credit with one of the box shifters, and this loco suddenly appeared as in stock last week (Sold out everywhere else) . It is an Eastern Region loco which I think will travel to/through the Welsh Marches on an inter regional parcels train (hence required change in headcode). I had the Accurascale single head code 37 on pre-order, so have cancelled that. It will join my Bachmann Single head code class 37 (which was based in the Western Region on freight duties). Which 37 is best ? Tough call - the Accurascale model weighs a ton, has a good sound project and speakers (but had to reduce the volume to stop the sound cutting out on start up). It runs beautifully, and has great detail. It made me realise that I need to upgrade one of the speakers in the Bachmann model - to get more bass. I have a Legoman Biffo sound decoder fitted in the Bachmann model. The sound (due to the speakers) is a bit insipid to my ears compared to the Accurascale 37. I'll also weather it in due course - once I have run it in a bit more. Both models run well, and look great (but I'm not an expert on how well they match the real thing).

I took a meander down memory lane. Here are some photos of Dewchurch 1. This was a DC layout, Peco code 75 track. my home made baseboards, and my own track plan. I started building it in 2003. The baseboard tops (Sundeala), warped, the track plan was not good (especially access to the goods yard, and lack of siding space, and engine shed only accessible via the turntable). I learnt that the goods yard needed to be at the front of the layout as I manually uncouple wagons, and any engine shed at the back. It was a great learning experience, but I scrapped it after a few years. The Signal Box was from my Llantwit Major layout and made from Linka, as were a couple of other buildings. I used Townstreet kits for the goods shed, engine shed, and station building. I could have made a better job of constructing these, but we live and learn. My later efforts with Townstreet kits were much better. The engine shed in this photo is currently sitting in a cabinet at the back of the Hereford Model Centre Shop, together with a different Townstreet Station building from Dewchurch 2. Hopefully they will find a home on someone else's layout. The Goods shed ended up in the Cheltenham Model Centre, and was subsequently sold. I may dig out some old photos of Llantwit Major - my second layout. I'll have to scan them as they are not digital

End of Goods Shed siding

Rob - thanks for your kind comments. I'll keep posting. Best Wishes Clive

Thanks Rob, I always find your modelling on Aston very inspirational. I've never ridden a motor bike, but have been pillion on a few in my yoof (often without a "lid"), as I was ferried from pub to pub by friends who had motor bikes (all Japanese of course - bikes not friends). Not sure I'd have got on the back if I had been sober. One had a Suzuki 200 where the headlight kept cutting out when we raced through the lanes. Another managed a wheelie with me on the back. Luckily they were short trips along country lanes, and I was young and stupid (and pissed). Best Wishes Clive

Thanks Kevin, I love your approach on LM. It brings the whole layout to life with real characters, makes me want to move there. I doubt I can fix the engine shed door, but I might have a sneaky peak in the crate. Best Wishes Clive

Thanks John - I will keep posting, and probably more "work in progress" photos. I'm looking at the Centurion tank as I type this. My wife must take the credit for suggesting face mask material for the mantlet cover. I'd been experimenting with thick tissue soaked in PVA, which still proved too fragile. I'd never have dreamed of cutting up a face mask. Best Wishes Clive