Model Railway Forum

Had a go at altering/weathering a secondhand but pristine Pocketbond model I bought for a fiver for my layout. British Railways logos rubbed off, yellow cab painted black, bodywork paint rubbed to get rid of shine, wheelcolour matched to bodywork, tyres flattened where they touch road surface, rust and weathering, mud added to tyre sides and treads, load added including scratch built tarpaulin load made from spare spruce. Looks more work-a-day compared to original model and hopefully less toy like.

Looks great. Flattening the tyres makes a huge difference. I like to angle the front wheels so the aren’t pointing straight ahead.

Thanks WTD. Unfortunately I couldn’t turn the wheels - it was one of those riveted models rather than screwed together ones so I couldn’t get to the axels without major surgery. It was however 2 hours well spent (my wife thinks I spent it looking for a job but those are as hard to find as rocking horse doodah).

Bandit Mick, how did you do your cobbles please?

They are Wills plastic OO gauge cobbles/setts. To avoid too many join lines and to distract the eye, I distressed the joins by using a drill bit in a dremel. I also used the dremel to gouge out some potholes so that the cobbles/setts looked damaged and worn over time. I then rubbed the whole lot lightly with sand paper to tie it all together. A first spray with Halfords grey plastic primer allowed a range of cheap acrylic (water based) paints to stick to the surface. Thin washes of black acrylic was then added until I felt I’d done enough. It was my first time so it took me quite a while. I kept going back with fresh eyes and added further colour as I felt was needed.
PS Thin filler and das clay was also used to disguise joins. A bit long winded but hope this helps you.

I did it by cutting the axle off and replacing it with two bent stub axles.

The cobbles look really good. If that was your first time you don’t need any more practice.

Thanks WTD - I will have a go at the axels cos like you said a turned wheel set makes a lot of difference. It’s deffo the small details that create the effect.

Give you something else to do while SWMBO thinks you’re looking for a job

Sligo Rover - I forgot to say - I didn’t use a brush to add the acrylic shades but dabbed with scrunched up kitchen towel. This gives a more subtle transition between shades and avoids the lines created by brushing. Kitchen towel and those pan scrubber sponge thins are my favourite way of adding colour as well as chalks and my finger.