7mm Dikitriki's Dark side: A WD 2-8-0

[Len Cattley]

Fantastic work Richard, are you showing it at Telford?

Len

 

[Heather Kay]

Fantastic work Richard, are you showing it at Telford?

Len

He most definitely was. Very nice it was too.

 

[Len Cattley]

I'll see it tomorrow then

Len

 

[Dikitriki]

Hi

The LN is of course finished, and to wrap it up, here is a portrait for you.



It's been a very intensive month putting it back together and finishing it off, but I'm pleased with the end result. Warren's paint job has just the right lustre to enable me to weather it, and still bring the glow of the underlying paint finish through, to try to portray a loco used but clean.

Nevertheless, I have enjoyed getting the paints out again and seeing it come to life. I think I'd got so wrapped up in building things, I'd forgotten I actually liked painting. So I shall try to get some more things progressing through the paint shop over the next few months.

Next on the workbench is finishing off 5 fitted good vehicles - all bought as finished items which can benefit from better (some) weathering.

I did succumb to the Newton Chambers car carrier from Westdale. Now looking for photographic evidence of it on a LN hauled boat train from Oldham.

Cheers

Richard

 

[alcazar]

LOL, good luck with that.....

 

[Dikitriki]

Hi

A month on from Telford, and I've finally completed a couple of wagons - there's now 11 on my workbench.



This is a Parkside ex GW Parto (there, my first Western post ); an Ebay purchase. The brakes were the wrong way round on one side and the cylinder was incorrectly positioned, so the chassis underwent a bit of a rebuild. Other than that, not much wrong with it, so a chassis respray and some weathering, and it's ready for my embryonic fitted train for 10001.



This is a Lionheart fitted mineral from the batch of 100 built 1951. I just wanted one to break up the monotony of grey mineral wagons. I've added more weathering (it came weathered from Tim in the Heyside group) and coaled it but it's a fine model - better than a Parkside mineral IMO, though they don't do a fitted one anyway.

There will be more appearing over the next week or so!

Richard

 

[mickoo]

Richard,

Looking good Be carefully running brown and grey wagons together, my 'basic' understanding is that colour is something to do with the brakes or brakes fitted so trains tend to be all brown, all grey or split in uniform blocks.

I think brown is vacuum braked and grey is un-braked so everything after a grey wagon will not form part of the train braking, others more knowledgeable may be able to help, it's just something to perhaps consider when making your trains.

Apologies if you already knew this

 

[Dikitriki]

Hi Mick

The 1951 batch were unsuccessful as fitted and restricted to 40mph. To all intents and purposes, they became bauxite unfitted, and I shall be running it as such in the middle of an unfitted train.

Richard

 

[Dan Randall]

I do like the Lionheart mineral wagons - I have a couple of unfitted versions to weather at some point. I also like the fact that the Heyside permanent way gang have been oiling the fishplates.


Regards

Dan

 

[Dikitriki]

I also like the fact that the Heyside permanent way gang have been oiling the fishplates.


Regards

Dan

If we've gone to the trouble of putting the fishplates on, the least we can do is draw your attention to them

 

[Dikitriki]

Hi,

Today's offering is 2 more Lionheart wagons. These are the rivetted 16 tonners which again, Parkside do not do. So just a rather enjoyable weathering and coaling job. The one downside to the Lionheart wagons is the fact that the couplings drop out so easily when the wagon is inverted. I find myself forever checking that I have couplings at both ends....or scrambling around on the floor to find the links.







Tomorrow should see a couple of conflats finished.

Richard

 

[Osgood]

Richard - do you have time to give a very brief description of your method for creating the very convincing rust areas on these wagons? Zooming right in to the picture it looks like it might be simply an overpaint job, but manages to look just as convincing as the more complex basecoat rust / maskol / grey top coat / weathering wash method.

Thanks,
Tony

 

[Mike Sheardown]

................. the very convincing rust areas on these wagons.

It does look very convincing doesn't it?!!

I'd like to know more about those tiny chains attached to the door locking pins - are they moulded into the bodies Richard, or are they something you've added?

Lovely work - as ever!!

Cheers

Mike

 

[Dikitriki]

Richard - do you have time to give a very brief description of your method for creating the very convincing rust areas on these wagons? Zooming right in to the picture it looks like it might be simply an overpaint job, but manages to look just as convincing as the more complex basecoat rust / maskol / grey top coat / weathering wash method.

Thanks,
Tony

Hi Tony

Here is a 100% grab.



My approach is pretty impressionist, and doesn't survive close photographic inspection, but then I need a lot of wagons that will be viewed from a distance.

You are right in that it is mostly overpainted, and achieved as follows:

I start of with my minerals weathering mix. Proportions vary but it's in the region of 2:2:1 Humbrol matt black: Humbrol matt leather 62: Railmatch dark rust 405. All enamel paints. This is painted wherever I want the dark patches or rusty panels.

The first coat does not normally give the depth I require, so I overpaint a second coat - but not over all of the patches. This is done at the panel edges and in the middle of the patches (see large patch to the right of the door). Some will be lighter, the larger ones will be more eaten away from the middle.

For the door, I stippled Railmatch dark rust, weathering mix, and a further mix of dark rust with a bit of black at random all over without waiting for the individual colours to dry, so they blend in a bit.

I then lightly used MIG pigments standard rust P025 very sparingly over the metal work, particularly at the top of the door. You can just see it as a warm red.

I did find the powder a bit overpowering in places, so I went back and stippled more of the enamels over it to tone it down.

Larger individual patches had some Railmatch dark rust in the middle.

I just really had a play - they are the first 2 wagons I have ever done!

Cheers

Richard

 

[Dikitriki]

It does look very convincing doesn't it?!!

I'd like to know more about those tiny chains attached to the door locking pins - are they moulded into the bodies Richard, or are they something you've added?

Lovely work - as ever!!

Cheers

Mike

Thanks Mike

The tiny chains are moulded in to the body - it really is a superb product - and I just drybrushed a tiny bit of gunmetal over them.

Richard

 

[Osgood]

….My approach is pretty impressionist, and doesn't survive close photographic inspection, but then I need a lot of wagons that will be viewed from a distance…...

I disagree - unlike most of the impressionists' work, I think these wagons do survive close photographic inspection!

I have around 45 mineral wagons to distress, and was becoming daunted by the prospect of trying the clever but time-consuming weathering techniques used by some folk. Admittedly some of the results are quite spectacular but I don't think I'll have enough time or patience for the quantity involved.

If I can achieve the same results as you then I am sold on the idea of overpainting, although I'm sure some trial and error will take place before I develop the eye for it!

 

[Osgood]

Thanks Mike

The tiny chains are moulded in to the body - it really is a superb product - and I just drybrushed a tiny bit of gunmetal over them.

Richard

Here is a close-up of the area. Superb crisp detail.

 

[Mike Sheardown]

..... and I just drybrushed a tiny bit of gunmetal over them.

Well it certainly brings them out nicely - a lovely highlight to the model.

Thanks

Mike

 

[Mike Sheardown]

Here is a close-up of the area. Superb crisp detail.

Thanks for the close-up Tony - that really is superb detail isn't it?!! What I really love about it, is how the relief almost seems to have an under-cut, which makes it look as if it's been applied as separate parts.

Cheers

Mike

 

[7mmMick]

Hi Richard,

The wagons look spot on and nice to see that the unfitted minerals aren't too over done as sometimes they seem to be. I much prefer the subtle over painting than the base coat rust and then maskol type treatment ( although this does have it's place IMPO). The only thing I would say about the wagon with the full door rusted is it might be worth mixing in a little talc. Once dry, a little light dry brushing will give it so much more depth. As you say though, a long train of these whizzing by on Heyside will look spot on and I suppose if there's lots to do then you can't spend forever tweaking the weathering effects, you have to draw a line somewhere. Looking forward to seeing more,

ATB Mick