Model Railway Forum

Hi Sandy - they are Hornby. In this particular livery LB&SCR they did not produce a six wheeler. According to Hornby the battery (C2032?) should last for two hundred hours - we shall see. I have not tried it, but I am told the coach body is easily removed. BB

Yes BB just pulled it up at the end and it pops off easily.

Does this look suitably weathered? I think after many years of having steam loco's close by, pointing would be hard to see? I have about eight feet of this to do I am not sure whether the brick(?) line below the two panels at the top of the wall would/should have been concrete coloured.

IMG_1458 by Barry Clayton, on Flickr

Do you have a spare section to experiment with?

That section you have done looks good but, as you said, the pointing should perhaps be dirtier.
I'm no expert on weathering dark walls (mine have all started from a light base colour) but you could try a coat of acrylic tan wiped off while still wet to create clean mortar then when that is thoroughly dry (24 hours minimum) apply a wash of Humbrol blue/grey enamel wash wiped off with a cloth and maybe a little white spirit.
That should give the grey base and clean mortar a smoky/grimy appearance.

Hi Steve - thanks for the suggestions. Yes, I do have a couple of spare wall sections. I did give the piece shown a coat of very diluted concrete acrylic and then wiped it off - this was straight onto what I assume is Halfords Grey Primer. I then used a very dark green wash (all I had), again used very sparingly. I need some white staining, again very little, where lime(??) has leached out of the brickwork. I'll try Hobbycraft for the "wash", but I have a feeling they have stopped selling Humbrol paints. Barry

I have found that the Humbrol washes (or at least the blue/grey one) need to be applied liberally then wiped off with a soft cloth. I found that a piece of an old fluffy bath towel to be perfect for the job.
For lime stains try mixing some white weathering powder with a drop of decalfix. Apply sparingly to the wall with a fine brush. If you first moisten the wall with a little clean decalfix, the white version will leach into the cracks. Takes a bit of practice to get right.

Thanks again - looks like I'm going to be busy.

Nobody seems to sell Humbrol - Hobbycraft have stopped selling it and also Hampshire Models. There was one other possible source, but that meant going into the town centre. Ordered via Amazon will be here on Friday

Hi Barry,

I am by no means an expert on Steam or weathering, and whilst your work looks pretty good to me, I have a sense that many years of passing steam trains would probably result in more staining and sooting…….. I would also expect this to extend up to the top of the arch section as the steam and soot would surely gather on the underside of the arch.

Just a thought as not my era, but most pictures I see involving Steam look pretty filthy everywhere.

Cheers Richard

Hi Richard #
I agree. Most of the pictures I have looked at show a filthy wall - as you say years of soot, steam etc., would probably leave the wall a very dark grey almost black in some instances. Am awaiting a blue/grey and a black wash to arrive, then some experimenting.
Barry

Agreed Barry, walls will be filthy, but not uniformly so. Getting the tonality is the trick.
You could also break out that airbrush of yours and waft some sleeper grime along the bottom half inch of the wall.
Call that payback for the engine shed challenge.