RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 1, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 1, 2022 16 minutes ago, NHY 581 said: Don't discount the use of powders for rooves. That looks rather good Rob. Would you mind sharing what you did please? I'm assuming it was a little more involved than just daubing on powder! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 1, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 1, 2022 13 minutes ago, KNP said: No one roof is the same! A good point Kevin, and one of the reasons I'm a bit loathe to airbrush (that and my inherent laziness, of course). 12 minutes ago, KNP said: I use washes and dry brushing or a combination of the two.... Then finish off with powders etc... Graphite dust has it's uses as well. Thanks, all very useful to know. I'll experiment on some unsuspecting goods wagons before I start wrecking weathering any of my coaches! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post NHY 581 Posted August 1, 2022 RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted August 1, 2022 3 minutes ago, Graham T said: That looks rather good Rob. Would you mind sharing what you did please? I'm assuming it was a little more involved than just daubing on powder! The weathering of the coach appeared in July's BRM. This photo didn't make it into the final article. To start, the roof was sprayed with Humbrol Matt Acrylic Varnish, no. 49, to provide a key for the powders. Next, the raised ribs and ventilators were 'pre-shaded' using black weathering powder. After this, Smoke and Dark Earth weathering powder was dusted on in various quantities using a large 'blusher' type of make up brush. Basically, this was done until it looked about right. The powders were then sealed using a light dusting of matt varnish. Job done. Rob. 8 8 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 1, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 1, 2022 Perfect - thanks. Looks a doddle 🥸 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 1 hour ago, KNP said: No one roof is the same! Quite so, and while I am happy to batch build wagons and paint them like an assembly line, I tend to weather them individually, I wouldn't line them up and spray a dirt mix onto the rooves. No matter how hard you try they are likely to look like factory weathered models. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 1, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 1, 2022 I've got a couple of factory weathered cattle wagons and they look, to be honest, cr@p. Mind you, I also have some factory weathered PO coal wagons, and they look rather nice... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 1, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 1, 2022 I have to say that the phrase "a weathered Toad" feels a bit odd for some reason. But anyway, here is one. I think I might have overdone this a bit though ☹️ The roof has been painted with Vallejo acrylics, I might give that a bit of a powdering too, just to make it look less even. 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 1 hour ago, KNP said: No one roof is the same! Quite so, and while I am happy to batch build wagons and paint them like an assembly line, I tend to weather them individually, I wouldn't line them up and spray a dirt mix onto the rooves. No matter how hard you try they are likely to look like factory weathered models. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 1, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 1, 2022 (edited) A bit of playing trains shunting practice to finish the day. Tired eyes and three link couplings don't mix awfully well! And we get to spot a spawn of Toads as 2732 trundles out of Chuffnell Regis towards... Hmm. Not sure where. I suppose I should think up a little backstory for this quiet corner of Herefordshire! Edited August 1, 2022 by Graham T 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 1, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 1, 2022 I should probably give that Toad a tail lamp as well! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroadLeaves Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 6 minutes ago, Graham T said: Two toads and two frogs. Always good to see some parity amongst amphibians. 7 minutes ago, Graham T said: That's some quality detailing and weathering on the wagons. The Baldwin one in particular is looking rather tired and "careworn". Also, no sharp transition from the foreground to the backscene, just a gentle shift with no clear boundary. Nicely done. 👍 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 1, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 1, 2022 Thanks, but I can't take any credit for the wagons - those are the pre-weathered ones I mentioned a bit earlier (Bcahmann, I think...) PS Liked the amphibiosity 😀 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 10 hours ago, Graham T said: And we get to spot a spawn of Toads as 2732 trundles out of Chuffnell Regis towards... Leominster, Hay on Wye, Pontrilas - or even Hereford. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 2, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 2, 2022 Blimey. So, I went waaaaaay outside my comfort zone this morning, and plunged into the murky world of all things electrickery. The plan was to execute a (long-avoided) project and convert my Bachmann small Prairie to DCC. Having successfully managed to at least take the loco apart, a period of head scratching followed as I tried to figure out which wire connects to what... I then assembled all the tools I thought I might need, and reached the point where I couldn't really put things off any longer and had to fire up the soldering iron. Off came a PCB - snip, snip. Soldered decoder to motor and rail power feeds, applied heat shrink insulation (I used a gas torch type lighter for that, which worked a treat). Took a deep breath, and managed to solder the stay-alive directly to the pads on the decoder. The moment of truth had arrived. I remembered to move all the other locos off the track before programming (yes, I've made that mistake before - but only once!) And amazingly enough, the little Prairie made steam enginey sort of noises, and moved!!! In the wrong direction. But I've come across that particular gremlin before, so a quick tweak of CV29 was all that was required to see that particular problem off 🙂 Now I need to shoehorn everything back inside the body... 12 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 2, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 2, 2022 (edited) Only a moderate amount of cursing had to be expended before the rats nest of wires was securely installed in 4550. Stay-alive and decoder (a Zimo MS480F) fitted nicely in the smokebox. Thanks are due to John at Youchoos for patiently, and very quickly, dealing with the myriad numpty questions I pestered him with about the conversion. And so the obligatory pic. It probably doesn't get much more "Great Western cliche" than a small Prairie and B-set, I suppose. As ever, the photo exposes a few niggles that need sorting. The signal box appears to be hovering a few inches off the ground... And Tom's wriggly tin shed (where I have a sneaking suspicion he stashes his secret cache of rough cider) needs squaring up a little. I know it's supposed to be ramshackle, but really! 4550 needs some work too. Screw link couplings and a crew, lamps, perhaps steam heating pipes. I'm not sure about the latter, as they make coupling even more fiddly. Edited August 2, 2022 by Graham T 12 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gedward Posted August 2, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 2, 2022 Open heart surgery on a loco is way beyond my limits. You're a braver man than I, Gunga Din. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 2, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 2, 2022 You'd be surprised George. When I started building the layout I couldn't solder for toffee. Practice, and getting a decent soldering iron and flux, have made a big difference. Also, as mentioned, John at Youchoos has been incredibly helpful with my questions, and that's helped enormously. I've had the Prairie sitting on the shelf for over a year, an ebay purchase, so I was pleased to get her running. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 It's all looking very real now Graham and I remember the trepidation taking the BR black body off my small prairie to swap it for a GWR green one. It's funny how I've never had the same kind of self doubt when pulling apart things that cost hundreds of thousands, millions even. If you do want the shed to look ramshackle, level it up from left to right, but lean it back into the hedge a little, which is what seems to happen in real life. I suspect that it's because the hedge tends to draw the water out of the ground behind the building, someone else may well correct me. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 2, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 2, 2022 Interesting Mr W, hadn't thought about that ref hedges. Time for some "levelling up" soon (another phrase polluted by politicians...) 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gedward Posted August 2, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 2, 2022 I'm looking to purchase an 8750 Pannier from Minerva with sound project. But was wondering if I'd need to add a stay alive to it after sales. Which was filling me with dread. But the guys at Minerva assured me that because of the large flywheel, it wouldn't require one. Phew! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 2, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 2, 2022 Will you be tacking that onto the mortgage for the new house George? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gedward Posted August 2, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 2, 2022 7 minutes ago, Graham T said: Will you be tacking that onto the mortgage for the new house George? I might just need to as the list also contains a Peckett, a Victory and a Dapol B4 at some point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted August 2, 2022 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 2, 2022 Nothing whatsoever to do with Chuffnell R, but this fine example of Viennese parking skills at their most considerate caught my eye today. As the late, great Eric M might have said - get out of that! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroadLeaves Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 Looks like their Kangoo is now a CantGo. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted August 2, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 2, 2022 "Well done, Reginald Molehusband!" 😃 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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