Detachment workbench

I have been on a business trip to France this week and have been able to bring a box of stuff to keep me occupied. Not much to be honest, just some Class 47's to fit DCC chips to, buffer beam details and masking in preparation for weathering.
A few problems cropped up with two of the models. The bogie frame detached from one and the screws securing the body to another rounded off and will need drilling out. This is the second time that this has happened with this type of model.
I also fitted buffer beam detail to my Hornby Class 31 to complete it except for an 8 pin decoder which I haven't got yet.

I am staying in a town called Morlaix in Britanny. It's an inland port with an amazing viaduct spanning the valley floor that the old town is situated in. There has been the odd TGV rumbling over the viaduct but like a lot of rural French towns the railway station is fairly sleepy. The pictures above were taken last autumn when I had a bit of spare time to visit the station and see what was about. It might not seem like much but this was a busy day in the station with a track machine and DMU parked up.

Recommended products

I use products from a wide range of suppliers for my weathering techniques.

Tamiya masking tape and Weathering Master sets are used extensively. There are several different sets with three colours in each including an applicator brush and sponge. Aimed primarily at the military modeller there is still plenty to offer the railway modeller for weathering.

The Railmatch range of enamel and acrylic paints is also really good. They offer a range of colours for liveries as well as weathering. The most common paints I use are:

• Track Dirt
• Roof Dirt
• Frame Dirt
• Sleeper Grime
• Brake Dust
• Black
• Weathered Black
• Satin Varnish
• Gloss Varnish

Enamel paints are best for airbrush weathering and I have used acrylics for hand weathering my road vehicles. I will have to do some more experimentation with acrylics.

Tensocrom Lifecolor weathering acrylics are a new addition to my paint box. These are a very thinned down acrylic pigment, with the consistency of a wash, in a wide range of colours. Like the Tamiya range it is aimed at the military modeller but they have started to introduce products specifically for railway modellers. I have only used the Oil, Rust and Kerosene colours so far with satisfactory results.

It probably goes without saying that the Humbrol range of paints is another mainstay of my paint box. The variety and quality is well known. These are used on my buildings, figures, vehicles and other trackside items as general finishing colours as well as for weathering. Colours I have just started experimenting with are Matt 62 Leather and Metalcote Gunmetal. Matt 29 Dark Earth is another useful colour.

Andover Model Railway Club

I am a member of a local Model Railway Club; Andover Model Railway Club meets on Wednesdays nights at Tangley Parish Hall in Wildhern near Andover. We are always looking for new members of all ages and abilities so if you are interested in Model Railways or just railways in general then please come along and see what we have to offer.
You will find us very friendly and welcoming to all with diverse interests from British Steam & Diesel to North American and European in N to O gauge.
Please visit the Club website for more information.

http://www.amrc.hampshire.org.uk/

Bachmann BR MK1 Regional railways coach

I was going to use this coach (bought cheaply in a sale at Modelzone) as a donor for a conversion project for a bullion van kit until I re-discovered an old issue of Model Rail with a feature on tweaking RTR coaches; so I had a go.
Most of the techniques for this weathering project were the same as those used for my Class 107 featured elsewhere in this blog.
I discovered that the printed detail on Bachmann coaches really don't like being washed down with enamel thinners but I think I can get away with the damage caused by passing it off as typical fading and wear from a coach fast approaching the scrapyard! This coach however will be added to my fleet so I will have to find another suitable donor coach.

Hornby Class 56 Railfreight grey

My Class 56 got the treatment from my airbrush too.

SPT Class 107 weathering

I bought one of the excellent Harburn Hobbies/Model Rail Bachmann Class 107's in the iconic Stathclyde orange and black livery last year and finally mustered the time and courage to weather it. After reading a recent article in Rail Express Modeller on weathering a Class 108 (the basis of the Cl 107 model) to give it the look of a machine cleaned but still that little bit grubby I knew I had to have a go and bring my model to life. I will be well suited to my layout set in the Greater Glasgow area of the seventies & eighties. 
The most tedious part of this project was the masking of the body sides and cabs, I left the gangwayed ends uncovered as these collect plenty of grime and retain it even after a visit to the wash plant.
I started with the roof using a mix of Railmatch roof dirt and a dab of Railmatch satin and Humbrol metalcote gun metal in my airbrush and worked length ways at first to get a base of dirt on the roof and tone down the factory finish. Then getting in closer I worked across the carriage roof lingering a little on the roof vents, at the gangway ends and at the cabs. A light misting was also sprayed over the gangway bellows and over the top of the carriage ends.
The underframe was next using a mix of Railmatch sleeper grime, metalcote gunmetal and Humbrol matt 62 leather. Just a broad application here before adding some more sleeper grime to the mix to darken it and then spraying around the engine block and bogie frames. The buffer beams and gangway ends were also sprayed.
When this had dried I removed the masking and using the excellent Tamiya weathering pigments the bogie's were given a light brush from below with the light sand shade to simulate brake dust before using the oil stain pigment from the top of the bogie to show up a greasier shade. I also used this shade and the dark rust colour on the engine block and lightly over the battery boxes etc. The final touch was a dab of tensocrom lifecolor acrylic oil pigment here and there to represent recent oil and grease stains that had taken on a light coat of track dirt. I like to use these on enamels just as they are drying and think that the effect is quite good. Adding more coats to build up the effect is an option.
The last major weathering task to do is on the body sides. I use the paint from the airbrush mix and worked it into the door recesses before wiping off with a cotton bud moistened in thinners; care should be taken not to rub too hard especially over the printed numbers and logo's. The cotton buds were also used to rub off some of the still not quite dry paint from the door foot boards.

Masking up. Note the gangway ends are left unmasked.




The cabs were masked and the joins sealed with maskol. This has been sprayed with a base layer of dirt.

 


The underframes have been weathered using the Tamiya range of weathering pigments.




The finished article, nearly. The bodysides have been given a light wash of grime but the door recesses have been picked out for a bit more dirt and the foot boards given a wipe to expose their original colour.

Class 107 107447 is tested on the club layout after weathering. 

 I've been pretty impressed with the finish achieved on this model with my airbrush. The next job is to fit a DCC chip, a driver and passengers.

Layout progress - refuelling point

I made a bit of progress on the refuelling point on Glasgow Saint Mungo's over the long weekend. The filler point is a Knightwing kit detailed and weathered with additional oil drums, sand buckets and a working light under the canopy. I built this part a while ago but I spent the weekend making up the concrete hard standing from thick mounting card and painting it a suitable colour. I will be weathering it when dry.

My new airbrush gets a run out

My new airbrush and compressor arrived last week just in time for the long weekend. I had a few practice runs on an old wagon before letting rip on some of my more prized models. the main reason that I bought it for was for weathering stock and I have to say that I am very impressed and wish that I had bought one years ago.
One of my 100 ton TEA's, a couple of 45t TTA's and a rake of OCA/OBA open wagons got the treatment yesterday. I will post photo's later when they have dried.