Martin S-C

They look excellent Dave. I intend my colliery/industrial engines to have that level of dirt, but for my railway company engines that would still be too dirty. Its a difficult thing to achieve and as I'm finding an even more difficult thing to build up the courage to make a start. Wilf was weathered for me by a professional and I told him I wanted "worked hard but well cared for, not too dirty" and it came back absolutely filthy! I think he must have worked from pictures of NCB engines in the 1970s. I rejected it and said, no, try again, he took off most of the dirt and worked on it some more but its still too dirty for me.

"Bar Terrace" is my favourite name there. Just imagine a street with a whole terrace of bars. Wonderful. And ponds made of timber. What curious folk these Cornishmen be.

I think there is truth in that; do what took place in real life, apply dirt then remove it as skillfully as you can.

The other two are maybe closer. Freshwater is perhaps a bit too dirty. The trouble is its so subjective and I can only say "Yep! That's it exactly!" when I get there. Below the footplate is perhaps light-to-moderate grease, oil and brake dust but nothing more. On the footplate, cab roof and smokebox some patina of dust and ash that has settled from airborne particles and got smeared about by the crews boots, with perhaps a weeny bit less of a patina on the boiler top. Then very subtle things you can only achieve with a tiny brush and hours of painstaking work like dirt on the cab steps, paint chips on the handrails and very minimal gatherings of dirt in small corners. An airbrush won't do it and I have tried to do this effect on wagons and they just seem to stay clean! If I use a dirt wash heavy enough to show, it then becomes too heavy. Quite frustrating!

That's still very good. The issue I have is the period I'm modelling. I think its easier to weather a BR steamer because there's tons of photos out there, some in colour and they were often quite dirty. So there is actually quite a lot of actual "activity" you can put into the dirt layers, if you understand my meaning. Your model looks great for an un-cared for tired loco. I need locos that are actually clean, and that is extremely hard to do. I have never seen anyone (let alone me) who can weather a loco so its clean and within the price range of my wallet! Think of a loco that is worked hard but extremely well looked after. Lots of cheaply paid cleaners with pride in their work wiping it down every day. Photos of that condition are very rare and colour ones almost non-existent. Weathering these in 4mm scale for example would be a challenge. And the Terrier here is probably too dirty for my needs.

Exactly! Different dirt in different ways. Also if I mess up a wagon I'm only out of pocket by a tenner...

I see wagon, loco and coach weathering as three very different things! Weathering wagons is just about slapping dirt around

I have only weathered one loco for a friend. It went okay but I wasn't completely happy with it. I shall have a got at a less important loco or two first I think and see how I get on.

I agree regarding their models, extremely fine detail. Meanwhile this little lady arrived today. She's currently running in and will be off to Digitrains in Lincoln this afternoon to have her guts opened up and see how much room is inside for a sound decoder. The detail Hornby have put in is excellent with very fine handrails and lamp irons. Quite a little smaller than I expected at 85mm over buffer beams. She's a chubby lass and weighs in at a smidge over 180gm so should have a fair haulage power. Motor is almost silent and very smooth. Very pleased with her.

Its the holiday season here in the northern hemisphere so I'm wondering if their small box supplier is on vacation.

Lovely work. I think I said this before on a build you showcased elsewhere but the brickwork on the signal boxes you produce is just superb. I don't know anyone else who can colour brickwork like you can.

Oh, Simon, you're such a wit. A shining wit! I like your canal colour. Just right. I used to know a gent who owned a canal boat and enjoyed several holidays with him and his mates going around the canals of the NW. All canals that I recall are a universal 'turd brown' except at the source leat of the Llangollen where it was so clear you could see the bottom, and at the northern portal of Harecastle tunnel on the Trent & Mersey where, due to ironstone geology the water is the most striking bright orange colour.

They achieved their aim. I imagine (hope?) parcels are charged by weight, not dimensions. The model's main body is resin, probably 3D printed and it is held to the card base of the box mount by a brass screw! Very secure packaging. Its a Dutch company and they are pretty pricey but the model's fine parts are brass etches and they obviously build, paint and weather the whole thing so all considered it wasn't too bad a price. At least most of the packaging was recycled. I think the pop-wrap was as well which is a good thing. It is a curious state of affairs though. It is, unusual as well which is why I bought it. I honestly have no idea if such things were used in the UK. As a child I always remember the wonderful smell of tar boilers that were mounted on the flat bed lorries the road workmen drove.

This parcel came yesterday and it made me chuckle. Whoa it's huge. What's in it? Oh, just paper and bubble wrap. What's that right in the middle? Ah. A very small box inside a big box. Hm. A very tiny model inside the small box. Note 4mm wagon for scale. It's packaging gone mad. FWIW it's a tar boiler cart for pulling behind a traction engine or even a horse and wagon.

When I first began building Airfix kits the series one (in plastic bags with card stapled over the top) were 1/- 6d. My pocket money then was 6d each Saturday. Waiting 3 weeks to save up for a Sherman or the Golden Hind was sheer agony.

Thank you James, though I am not sure about that. I need to develope a technique for more lightly weathered results.

Well done to him, a modelling first that I'm aware of which is a very difficult thing to do in 2019.

Yeah, agreed. I don't think they are that bad. Perhaps its a wee bit on the generous side but I also think a bit of grime will hide any fetaures you're not happy with - I should think your average pump house window panes were a universal opaque mid-grey colour anyway! Removing one to represent a breakage or an act of impromptu ventilation might add to the model.

Its a scratch and sniff video. Lovely work on the boiler house Chris. I was also wondering - but presume the smoke/vapour/fumes from the smoke generator is safe? I have a few industries on my layout but with all their chimneys belching smoke my room would be filled with a very realistic pea-souper in no time.

Not a great deal happening with the build at the moment. Neil is taking a well-earned break and my modelling mojo hit rock bottom recently with the illness of a very dear friend. However she is due out of hospital tomorrow and with that good news, yesterday I picked up paintbrush and makeup sponges again and had a go at a few private owner vans. I realise those dedicated to higher modelling and realism standards than I would never have such vehicles on their layouts and I fully understand such decisions when modelling a real location in a real world (I would do the same) but I have always had a soft spot for these Dapol fictional liveried vans and I feel that in a fantasy world like mine they do have their place. Even I, however, avoid the sillier liveries and fonts, some of which are too modern in styling. Some are post grouping but... well, I like them. They lift the colour and mood a little against the fleet of company vans with which I am more limited as to colours and styles, although I did go to town a bit with my GWR inspired red for the WELR fleet. In due course I'll repaint a few vehicles for the owners of industries on my layout. The Snarling gasworks will need a coal wagon or two and the Ledwardine brewery a couple of ale vans. I should probably do some stone wagons for the Forest Stone Co. and Catspaw Quarry. From my MSTS (train simulator) days I will have a horse drawn van lettered up for "Willoughby Fox-Stoate Industrial Adhesives - Carrick Island" which was an industry on a NG empire virtual layout I never finished. In recognition of the one virtual route I did finish I'll possibly have vehicles lettered for the real firms of the Oriental Matting Co., Vorda Works and Bartrop & Sons Agricultural Engineers both of Highworth. Now that they are finished - or nearly so, some more grime on the running gear is needed I think - I realise they are too dirty. I need to hone my weathering skills to produce more lightly weathered vehicles.

Absolutely beautiful modelling. The craftsmanship/clever button is wholly inadequate for this thread.

What a superb photograph. That must have been a sight to behold. Annie - I am loving the images over the last few days. I haven't visited RMWeb due to feeling a bit rubbish and having my mood dented by some external events (a sick friend) but coming back here, your lovely images always lift my spirits. I was looking at the 1900 map of East Rudham station and thought how curious the layout was - all the sidings accessed via a kick-back but two roads apparently converging to share access to what looks like an end-loading dock. If that is what it is, it's most unusual, unless those two tracks are going inside a goods shed or other store?

I am sure some kind person of this parish might volunteer to visit and do a video session. I would really enjoy seeing the results.

Is that a drinking fountain on the wall? If it is, well done, that will be the first such example I have ever seen on a model railway.

After I posted the link and went and had a proper browse I realised I have seen a lot of them before, so one must presume others have been circulating Tony's images without crediting him. That's the nature of the internet, I suppose!