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About this blog

A record of weathering work, intended to show both good and bad results, including explanations of what is used and how.

Entries in this blog

Peckett W4 No. 883. Introduction.

A casual enquiry at Scaleforum this weekend has brought forward the idea of working on one of Hornby's Peckett W4 models. What do you think should be tackled? Looked after or neglected?  
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

6

Set 732. Summary.

A coat or two of Railmatch Frame Dirt mixed with Weathered Black has been airbrushed over the ends of each coach, graduating the colour from darker at the top to lighter at the bottom. No tiger stripes, just a gradual change of tone.   All but finished now, just remains to add some lighter colouring to the footboards where feet fall. I'll use MIG Productions Rubbel (sic) Dust for that - just a touch applied with a filbert brush.  
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

Set 732. Step 6.

The roof has been airbrushed with a mixture of Railmatch Weathered Black and Roof Dirt to represent a well-used example. Care was taken to avoid paintless shadows behind the torpedo vents by painting those areas first. Only once the vents and surrounding roof were painted did the process move on to the remainder of the roof.   If airbrushing the roof of a ready-to-run coach, when the roof is not easily removed, a card mask can be used to protect the sides from overspray while this is b
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

Set 732. Step 5.

When the whole underframe had been airbrushed it looked too pale, so I added some Railmatch Weathered Black to the mixture and airbrushed a thin coat of the new colour combination over the top of the previous layer. In this photograph you ought to be able to see that the left hand end of the chassis looks a bit darker than the right hand end, which has yet to be completed.   The roof has been removed for painting, something which is not usually possible with ready to run coaches. With
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

Set 732. Step 4

A recycled piece of protective foam strip from a worktop is used while airbrushing the underframe. This helps access to the inside underframe details on the opposite side of the coach to the one I'm painting.   The whole of the underframe will now be treated to a thin coat of Railmatch Sleeper Grime, starting with the bogies. The air flow from the airbrush is used to turn the wheels and paint is then ejected for long enough to coat the whole wheel as it turns.  
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

Set 732. Step 3.

The application of dark wash to panel edges has been allowed to dry for at least 15 minutes. You can see from the photographs below that the colour has lightened and the white spirit has evaporated.   To remove blobs and other unwanted paint after application surpluses, I use the rigger brush dipped in clean white spirit and gently lay the bristles as flat as I can against the areas to be treated. By moving the tip of the brush around, I can absorb the only-just-dry paint from the appr
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

Set 732. Step 2.

The process continues. When hardly any fluid transfers from the brush to the panel corner, it is time to replenish the brush with thinner and wash. However hard you try there will inevitably be blobs appearing in some of the panel corners. Leave them! They can be dealt with later - at least 15 minutes later. Don't worry (at this stage) about uneven application, either, it will all be sorted in a subsequent step.  
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

Set 732. Step 1.

A rigger brush, a thin wash and capillary action are all used to get dirt into all the edges and corners of panels, doors and windows. By dipping the brush into clean thinners (white spirit) and then into the wash (MIG Productions Dark Wash), a good volume of fluid is ready to be transferred onto the model. The inevitable large blob on the end of the brush is removed by touching the tip against the rim of the bottle and the tip is then gently touched to a corner of a panel or junction of door sh
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

Set 732. Introduction.

Set 732 is to be depicted as a BR(S) liveried pull-push pair fairly late in the life of its green livery. An example of similar stock was found in a Michael Welch book containing many images of the southern region at the end of steam.   The plan, such as it is, is to produce a weathered pair of coaches that shows a build-up of dirt around panel and window edges, a very dirty underframe and roof, but cleanly maintained sides.   The dirt build-up will be achieved using MIG Prod
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

2

D3721. The Summary.

In response to a recent request, there follows a summary of materials used in this project with the blog entry numbers where they appeared.   Railmatch Frame Dirt - Step 3.   AMMO by Mig Panel Line Wash Black Night - Step 12.   Railmatch Weathered Black - Steps 13 and 15.   AK Interactive Fresh Engine Oil - Steps 14 and 21.   MIG Productions Dark Mud - Step 18.   MIG Productions Track Brown - Step 18.   MIG Productions Black S
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

10

D3721. Step 23.

Similar treatment has been given to the other side, and you might just be able to see where the same pigment has been applied to the cab end.   I thought that the shine from the oily finish under the running plate was a bit too bright, so it has been dulled down a little with some dark brown pigment. This was applied in small quantities (heard that before?) with a soft brush.     I think I'll finish this subject right here. Resist the temptation to fiddle!  
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

4

D3721. Step 22.

To increase the level of accumulated dirt around the bodyside doors, some more pigment (MIG Productions Black Smoke) has been added with the filbert brush. By using small quantities again, the effect has been kept to a minimum. A little has been dragged downwards from the cab window and from the sloping top of the fuel tank. The cab roof has been treated and so has the area around the bottom of the oil filters. In all cases it has been just enough to disturb the even surface produced by using th
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

D3721. Step 21.

The oily locations need to be made oily.   I have used AK Interactive Fresh Engine Oil through the airbrush to add the oily shine to appropriate areas - axle boxes, bodyside filters and chassis areas. The photograph shows the application while still wet - it will lose some of the shine by the time it dries.      
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

D3721. Step 20.

I felt that more discolouration was needed around the bodyside filters and the axle box areas. More pigment has been applied to these areas to achieve this, and the same method used as before.   MIG Productions pigments (shown in this blog) are now out of production, but the same colours are available from Abteilung 502 in the same shaped pots but with different labels.      
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

D3721. Step 19.

Pigments have been used to simulate the rusty surface of the exhaust silencer assembly.   The technique is to pick up pigment particles from the lid of the pot rather than plunge the brush into the pot itself. This means that the finest particles are being used to apply to the subject. The brush used is a filbert, chosen for its soft but firm bristles and rounded shape. I like soft, firm and rounded. Only small quantities are used, because it is only a suggestion of rust, and not a fla
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

2

D3721. Step 18.

The main work has been done, and the airbrush can be set aside for a few steps.   Weathering powders, or pigments as I tend to call them, come in a great variety of textures and colours. The ones that work best for me are from military modelling ranges and are exceedingly finely ground. This enables the particles to fall into the lower reaches of the matt surface's layer(s) and stay there beyond the reach of fingers and other abrasive effects. In this case I'm using MIG Productions col
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

D3721. Step 17.

The roof has been fixed. Not quite the same shade of dirt as the rest of the roof, but that is not a problem, because another layer will be applied at a later stage to tie it all together.   This view of the other side shows up the effects of darkening areas affected by oily spillage (around axleboxes) and not controlling overspray to simulate dirt accumulation (areas just above the running plate).  
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

D3721. Step 16.

If you ever handle thinners inside the spray booth, make sure that your latest project is not in there as well!   Lack of control of Bonwick fingers have resulted in a large blob of thinners landing on the roof. To deal with this, the section of roof has been cleaned so that I can start again.   I said at the beginning of this blog that there would be bad things as well as good things reported!  
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

3

D3721. Step 15.

The areas around the axle boxes are to be portrayed as oily and affected by accumulated gunge. The beginnings of this process incorporate a layer of Railmatch Weathered Black. This is applied thinly and from fairly close up, to control the area covered. Overspray onto the running plate is deliberately not avoided. In this photograph you should be able to see the result of applying the small amount of engine oil to the base of the bodyside filters.  
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

3

D3721. Step 14.

Holiday over and back to work.   The airbrush has been loaded with a small quantity of AK Interactive Engine Oil in order to replicate the oily residue at the bottom of the filters. I have masked off the underframe while doing the filter area, just a piece of card laid against the running plate. Only a very small area has been thus affected on this particular locomotive.  
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

D3721. Step 13.

Once all of the panel line wash has been applied and allowed to dry completely (24 hours), it's time to start airbrush work on the body. Using the same Railmatch frame dirt as before, but mixing it with a little Railmatch weathered black, a very light misting is applied to the whole locomotive. Side, ends, top and underparts. This is deliberately not perfectly even, more being applied in some places than in others, because I don't want the end result to look as if it has had a perfectly even coa
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

2

D3721. Step 12.

There is a great level of detail on the body of this model, and it will look even better if it can be highlighted in some way. This applies to pretty much all of the ready to run rolling stock available these days.   My plan for this shunter is to use a panel line wash applied to all the crooks and nannies with a rigger brush. What's a rigger brush? It has long bristles and a small point - some folks call it a lining brush. The idea behind using this type of brush is that the bristles
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

2

D3721. Step 11.

The next step is to randomly remove some of the paint to portray a buildup of grime around things like coupling hook, bolt heads and pipe connectors. This is achieved by using a slightly damp brush, and by that I mean a couple of drops of thinner placed on the bristles rather than dipping the brush into the thinners. The brush is then used in a stabbing motion, rather than a stroking motion, to slowly and gently remove the paint. If it all comes off straight away, your brush is too wet!  
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

D3721. Step 10.

Buffer beams get very dirty, even on slow moving stock, so this needs to be portrayed on a model for it to look right. This build-up of grime is portrayed by several coats of (in this case) frame dirt, added a little at a time and manipulated before it gets too dry. These photographs show the first coat to be applied - just a thin application that barely shows up.    
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

0

D3721. Step 9.

The locomotive has been removed from the cradle and further light coats of frame dirt applied. The next task is to spray from above the chassis components to cover areas inevitably missed while it was upside down - particularly the steps, axleboxes and sandboxes. There is some overspray, but that will all help to make the bodysides and running plate look grimy once the next steps are completed . . . . . .    
Mick Bonwick

Mick Bonwick

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