Friday Update: One Ten Twenty-one…

As work begins on new commissions it’s always nice to reflect on progress on a Friday, and whilst one hasn’t moved as quickly as I’d like with the need to source parts, others have progressed smoothly and I’ve really enjoyed them…

Alongside the blue 08 rebuild from my home fleet I’ve also got a Heljan 05 in for weathering. All that has been done so far on both models is to paint the wheel rims and chassis with a dirty home mixed black brown (my usual Humbrol 33 and 98) and then a wash of flat surfaces and buffer beams, with some of the paint removed using a combination of large flatly brushes moistened with white spirit or cloth. A panel line wash has begun to add some texture to the body sides, a simple black brown on the 08 but I’ve got enough for a lighter green on the 05. I often think that BR green models can end up looking very gloomy once weathered, my thinking with the light wash is to add some highlights to the finish. So far it’s worked, it’s really added some pop, whilst still retaining a degree of realism. Of course panel line washes done always need to be darker, I use the same trick on black models, using a dark grey, it’s just not often recognised that shading doesn’t always mean darker…

In between commissions the new micro layout now has track laid pinned and wired. The next step will be to construct some sort of sector turntable because until that’s working I can’t add the shed tracks. Perhaps one for the weekend?

My alternative method to staining, by applying enamel washes. Top raw wood, middle wash applied, bottom wiped clean. You can quickly build up layers as required.

One of my new commissions is working on a G scale model from a US craftsman kit. This is a complete kit with all parts provided and seems to be lovingly created. The mixture of ply and basswood is clever and means you don’t get any jarring tell tale ply edges showing. The white metal castings are generally very good with just a little cleaning up, and the instructions well illustrated and easy to follow. I suspect a few of us over in the UK could learn from this example. I don’t get on with stains, preferring to build up oil washes, as shown above. These I find are a touch more controllable and leave the wood with its natural finish. The photos show raw wood, wash applied, wiped clean, top to bottom.

The work so far has produced a pair of trucks and the spine of the car. After all I said of the quality of the kit unfortunately a few parts for the water tank are missing so work is now on hold. It’s a nice thing to have sitting around though, very pretty to look at…

That has meant I’ve has a chance to start weathering my own model, the CF7, more on this another time but I was excited to see how much the panel line / pin wash has lifted the finish already.

Another thing I’ve been excited about is the working prototype chassis for my Ruston LB in 7/8ths, if you haven’t seen it already I’ve done a short video about it…

So that brings another week to a close. The weather has turned distinctly autumnal here which is a shame, but the colder air tends to improve my sleep. The sunshine means the dog can still bask in the lounge and I can enjoy the latest Model a railway Journal with a good Italian coffee. Find time for yourself this weekend. More soon…

NOTE: there is an error with the blog which is stopping thumbnails from showing on the Home Screen for new posts, sorry, it’s a background Google thing.