Improving A Bachmann Log Skidder

[Richie]

Spent this wet afternoon improving my Bachmann log skidder as it 's very plastic looking got some wood strips from Back2bay6 in the morning to build some new skids . Removed boiler and gears from plastic skid and cut wood to match the plastic one added Hartford bolt details then replaced the boiler onto the new wood skids then had my first go at weathering with powders did't look to bad nice and rusty . The skids then had a coat of creosote job done Next job is to weather and improve a Bachmann flat car to put it on .

Straight out of the box

Wooden strips cut to lengths

Boiler back on new skids

Weathered

Close up of details

 

[JRinTawa]

Nice work Richie, and the weathering really brings it to life.

 

[beavercreek]

Hey Richie
that donkey engine has certainly seen some work at the camp! Excellent job...so who is the artist now?! .
Now you have got the feel of the powders...next job....the K27!

 

[Richie]

Hey Richie
that donkey engine has certainly seen some work at the camp! Excellent job...so who is the artist now?! .
Now you have got the feel of the powders...next job....the K27!

Hi Mike
Thanks for your comments Mike , the weathering powders i found hard to use at first it was only when i added rubbing alcohol to make the powder a wash that it started to stick to the plastic , kepted pilling on the powder it was only when the alcohol had dried i found it looked very rusty ,not sure about the K-27 Next job is to add wood decking to my flat cars and weather these if i try a loco it will be one of my old Bachmann 4-6-0

Richie

 

[Richie]

Nice work Richie, and the weathering really brings it to life.

Hi John
Thanks for your kind comments ,it was just reading Shawn log thread thet got me onto improving my Bachmann Skidder.

 

[Richie]

Started work on the Bachmann flat car today added a wooden deck made from coffee stirrers and some glad hands on the end beams also added wooden slats to the braces under the deck next job is to spray paint the deck with red oxide paint and weather . Have added some barrel's and boxes to the deck which i also weathered with the powders.

With these weathering powders do i have to spray a coat of varnish to hold it in place as when i handle them the powders are rubbing off ???

 

[Mik]

Very nice, and very close! but it needs some old grease - loggers tended to just give it a couple shots when it started to squeak - or when the boss was looking, and weren't particularly fussy about wiping up any mess. So give it a nice splattered coating of oily black at the crankpin, crosshead, lower guide, running down from all the major journals.... give it some nice oily/sooty black slobbers running down the sides of the stack, a bit of white 'lime' around all the leaky from vibration steam fittings..... And then it would almost look like a real one!

 

[Mik]

Maybe this will help explain? Some pix of US engines in their 'work clothes'... probably rather an anathema to you Brits with your crews of brass polishers...

 

[Richie]

Very nice, and very close! but it needs some old grease - loggers tended to just give it a couple shots when it started to squeak - or when the boss was looking, and weren't particularly fussy about wiping up any mess. So give it a nice splattered coating of oily black at the crankpin, crosshead, lower guide, running down from all the major journals.... give it some nice oily/sooty black slobbers running down the sides of the stack, a bit of white 'lime' around all the leaky from vibration steam fittings..... And then it would almost look like a real one!

Cheers Mik
Thanks for the info and pics was thinking on the same lines of adding oily & greasy details to moving parts have added some white on the steam fittings not come out too well on the pic . With the skids being wood would they have vegetation growing on them ?? Was thinking of adding some green foliage to the skids and deck of the flat car as if they have been lefted out in the woods along time .

 

[beavercreek]

With these weathering powders do i have to spray a coat of varnish to hold it in place as when i handle them the powders are rubbing off ???

Yes Richie you definitely do! I use two thin coats Testors dullcoat spray as it gives the mattest matt (if that makes sense!). Then you could add some gloss black for the grease/oil marks (or use real 'black' oil from a loco's journals - but this, although looking good, might smear during handling) and paint the limescale stains with thinned matt acrylic.

 

[Mik]

If the skids are cracked or rotted some moss would be appropriate. If it was recently yanked out of somewhere that it was left to rot for a long time and is now on it's way to be refurbished or scrapped, then vines (briars, grapevine, multiflora rose, etc or even small trees) wove all through it and just ripped out when they loaded it would be very prototypical

As for covering powders and chalks, a friend of mine recommends multiple VERY light coats of sealant like Testor's Dullcote

 

[beavercreek]

Good advice Ross. The Model Railroader books are really informative and although they are mainly based on 'HO' scale with a bit of 'O' the weathering methods are easily transferable to our scale. Some very nice examples as well. They are available from the publishers themselves in the states and even with postage they work out cheaper than buying over here. I have my subscription to 'Garden Railways' directly with the publishers as it works out a lot cheaper delivered to the door and weeks before it hits the shelves over here!

 

[Mik]

The railway modellers in the US have this weathering trick well weighed off.

Better to study pix of real derelict equipment. Too many modellers go 'over the top' and it ends up looking more like it's been in a fire than just neglected.

Hints: OLD rust is dark, like raw umber. Old grease is charcoal grey with a bit of greenish tint. Old paint lightens and fades towards white. THINK why a place would be weathered. The places where paint would likely be rubbed off by use, how sunlight hits the tops more than the sides, how and where dirt and mud kicks UP, how scratches rust in the real world and flake the surrounding paint. Where detritus is likely to collect.

 

[Richie]

Hi Mik
What cracking photos they are , have justed had ago at weathering my Bachmann skeleton log car using the pic you posted . Do like the pic of the tender from a UP loco would that loco be a 9000 2-12-2 ?? Didn't realize weathering could be so difficult what with fading paint, sunlight ,rubbed off paint work etc.

 

[Richie]

Few more pics of log skidder with real oil placed on the pistons and cranks and skeleton log car that i've justed weathered need to spray the trucks with red oxide then weather and still have some work to do on the flat car .

 

[beavercreek]

Terrific Richie

 

[Richie]

Terrific Richie

Cheers Mike having fun with the weathering powders i might even weather my Bachmann Logging porter to go with these not to sure about the shay yet thats just come out of the paint shop

 

[Richie]

Not sure to weather my Porter loco like this what do you think ???

 

[Mik]

My apologies, to anyone attempting to view the pictures.

Photobucket has decided to hold my photos for ran$om until the 22nd or until I $end them money. They claim I have exceeded my allotted monthly bandwidth, and expect me to pay to upgrade because of thi$. A$ u$ual, they have offered no proof to $upport their claim$. $ince I'm $ubjected to their paid adverti$ement$ every time I upload a picture, I feel I owe them nothing, but they $till de$ire more....

I'll simply post new pics to Kim's account. The others will be back in 5 days

 

[beavercreek]

Not sure to weather my Porter loco like this what do you think ???

Well.....if you are modelling a junkyard like Steve has done..it would look very appropriate!