Railfreight 26 (N scale part 13)…

One of the key tests for British N scale for my own project was 'could I achieve a weathered finish that passes muster'. This therefore forms Part 13 of the N scale adventure...

The second time in as many days, I make no excuses for being excited about this Dapol Class 26. It had the cab side numbers replaced and a white-cantrail adding earlier in the week. As part of this, I'd also painted and wiped off the cantrail vertically so that it had a sort of faded streaking as if the white paint had worn over time. Once I was sure this had dried I moved onto weathering, starting with a fade to the roof using Humbrol 64. 

I left this to dry for 24 hours before then moving onto a mix of Humbrol 33 and 98, and washing the roof, wet on wet, carefully working the finish as it dried to avoid any watermarks. I also used a similar mix to add a pin wash around the lamp irons and handrails on the cab front and around the doors. The chassis also had a wash, and then the bogies were removed and painted, including the faces of the wheels, in the same colours, again leaving this for 24 hours. The finishing touch was using the airbrush with 27004 and 133 to soften the edges of the roof and build up some exhaust staining. 

So does the result work? These photos are cruel close ups presented at the same size as my OO or H0 models. I'm happy, it feels subtle yet oozes character and realism. It has in my opinion 'passed the test'. This N scale experiment is moving forwards with real promise and I'm looking forward to sharing a bit more again tomorrow. Until next time though, more soon...