Commission: Backwoods 0n30 Mallet...

This is quite a beast of a model and my first 0n30 commission. The Backwoods Miniatures conversion kit for the Mantua/Model Power 2-6-6-2t H0 scale model...

I've shown progress photos on Friday updates in the past, which show the mix of new and old parts, and their materials. The Backwoods kit contains etched brass and white metal parts, to which some of the original plastic boiler and frames are modified to also be included.

The instructions are quite wordy, but well written and neatly illustrated so there is no room for confusion. I only deviated from the suggested order and way of doing things because the donor model supplied by my customer was a H0 scale saddle tank rather than side tank version.

I've re-used the original lighting, the model is a smooth and powerful runner and has a rudimentary DCC socket. Now it's all pulled together with the paintwork and weathering it's actually a very neat and believable model - although the toy like garish chassis and rods before hand did have me a little worried.

The finishing followed my usual process - I didn't want a perfectly matt or gloss finish to the black, but a sort of mottled worn mix, a tired paint effect. I applied a coat of gloss black first, and then oversprayed with a layer of gloss mixed down with 27004, a metalcote effect which polishes to the touch but matts the finish. This produced a mottled yet still glossy finish, just as I had hoped. The doors were hand painted in matt 100, before being fitted. Weathering then was a dirty 33 and 98 mix on the chassis by brush, a wash of the same on the tank tops and any flat surface. The smokebox was painted a mix of 53 gunmetal and 33 matt black. When this was dry I added some rust streaks and patches to the body using 33 mixed with 82, and using a flat wide brush moistened with thinners dragged this down the sides, then retouched where necessary. 

This all looked too sharp and false, so the mix of Humbrol 245, 133 and 27004 that I use as an airbrushed dirt/soot pulled all of it together really nicely. Once dry enough to handle I dry brushed the steps and edges where paint may have worn with gunmetal 53, as well as some off the equipment to highlight the edges, such as the air pumps and pipework under the tanks.

The result is a hard working narrow gauge logging locomotive, not totally knackered and decrepit, hopefully not a caricature of a finish, but one that shows some level of realism and blends the model into a more believable creation. It's been a fun commission, and if you've got a kit in the drawer, or even a factory fresh model that you want me to breathe some life with a weathering finish, get in touch for your own personal proposal. More soon...