Now, I wonder if that heading will gather a few extra viewings………..?

As I have mentioned before on this blog, every few months I catch up with a group of mates to have a joint modelling session.  The general gist of these is a combination of banter, a bit of modelling, more banter, a visit to the pub, even banter, a bit more modelling and all nicely rounded off with some more banter.

Last week  saw us on the south coast to do some weathering – or rather some of us.  One of our number was preparing for their imminent marriage whereas Oly (one half of OTCM) felt his budding TV stardoom was a sufficient excuse to hang up his airbrush.   We do fear that Oly may not return to the fold; preferring instead to do his modelling with Brad, Leonardo and Denzil once he makes his silver screen debut in the autumn – don’t forget your roots Oly……….

We were all concentrating on different things; Peter constructed the better part of a bridge for his Aultbea layout and Chris was weathering some rather neat little shunters. For my part, I concentrated on weathering some of the stock that I have been building lately (and sometimes not so lately!):

First up is a pair of horseboxes.  On the right is my HR version based on a Microrail kit – still in need of some glazing.  On the left is the Caledonian’s equivalent based on a kit from by Spratt & Winkle.  Both are in their pre-group livery as can be seen.  As such stock was used in passenger trains, I have sought to give them an aged but largely cleaned feel – with the dirt largely present around ironwork and difficult to clean spots.

Having mucked up the weathering of some brake vans at the previous weathering session, I was also keen to get these corrected.  This is where I have got with them.

As can be seen, I do not follow the school of thought that the pre-group or 1920’s era stock was constantly pristine.  If you bother to look at contemporary photographs, little is clean and some of it is downright grubby.  Railways in the steam era were very dirty places; it is inevitable where so much coal, ash and smoke prevail.  Furthermore, I can not see even the most houseproud of railway companies regularly (or probably ever) cleaning their goods stock and most of these show stock that is care worn and soiled.  This is the feel I am seeking to capture; not the utterly neglected and on its last legs look of the final days of steam but of railway materials that earn a living the hard way.

The pair of brake vans above are to HR diagram 39 from 1922 and are from a Lochgorm Models kit.  There is some doubt whether they were delivered in 1922, as there are no known pictures of any of them in HR livery.  However, I applying the “its my trainset rule” a number of modellers have painted them in Highland colours; including Paul Bannerman whose example is below.

The other highland brake van I weathered was the diagram 38 brake van.  This originates from a Microrail kit and may well still be available from David Geen occasionally at shows as he does own the rights to the artwork.  I have modified this with the early pattern roof look outs.  These allowed the guard to look over the train around the twisting curves that characterised parts of the Highland’s system.  However, there were complaints about whacked heads as the guards came up and down the steps to look onto the lookouts and as a result they were modified with approach cutouts on the roof – take a look at the Lochgorm’s page above to see an example.

Next up on the weathering front were some wagons and NPCS.  The first pictures being the weathering to a couple of the items I have described in the pages here – the Oxford Rail NB jubilee wagon and the Mousa Models LNWR van.

And then some rather more ancient models of mine, a Highland Railway meat van from a Sutherland Castings kit and a GC van from another Mousa Models kit.

Finally, a group of wagons for Benfieldside.  The hoppers have been seen before and the brake van we will hear more of another day.