Wounded Two Bay Hoppers

[supagav]

Hi,

I thought I would share some photos of the things I`ve been up to recently. Time has been a bit tight but I`m trying to squeeze in some modelling time in when I can. These are some Aristo two bay hopper cars that I`ve been upgrading and weathering. They are really nice little cars and quite accurate, although the fidelity to detail is a bit basic at times. I upgraded the brake detail with new pipes and hoses, a retaining valve, coupler lift bars and body mount Kadees.

I always see these cars in prototype photos with massive big wounds in their sides where some heavy handed machinery has taken its toll on their thinner metal panelled sides. I used a small butane blow torch on it`s lowest setting to just gently melt the plastic of the shell until it becomes pliable enough to work with. I can then use a small screwdriver or other blunt tools to gently inflict some dents and bashes into the car. It does discolour the paint slightly but this can quite easily be touched up, plus when it gets weathered down this will all disappear as weathering hides all my sins!

Thanks for looking, G











PS: I`ll post more pics of the finished article when the weathering is finished.

 

[supagav]

Here are a few prototype photos to show my trail of thought...

 

[supagav]

I finished up the weathering on the first car so here a few pics to show the end result:

 

[supagav]

And a couple more shots:





Thanks again for looking! G

 

[beavercreek]

Excellent work as usual Gav. It really catches the look.
Now where are my coal hoppers..................

 

[trammayo]

The damage looks real enough and prototypical. You would think that rail mounted stock with a fixed path wouldn't suffer that type of damage but, of course, in truth they cannot get out of the way to avoid it from a third party!

 

[supagav]

I know, the state that some of these types US cars end up in! For the era we model, around '68, these cars would be quite heavily worn since we were from the steam era in the 40's. I don't want to overdo it but then I still hope to catch the look of an old car in a more up-to-date setting. (Although as time marches on, 1968 is far from contemporary!)

 

[garrymartin]

Super work there Gavin, looks completely convincing to me. 8)

 

[The Devonian]

Interesting weathering and detailing Gavin. You have managed to avoid the 'fire damaged' appearance so often achieved in weathering.

 

[supagav]

Thank you! It really is a fine line but I think for me the best trick or technique I ever learned was knowing when to stop and say enough!

 

[Gizzy]

Nice work Gavin.

Don't think I'm brave enough to do the same to my LGB hoppers though....

 

[supagav]

Thanks guys. I suppose it's just a little confidence? Or a dose of blind faith?! I had been thinking about how to do this for a while and thankfully being a baker and pastry chef by trade we have a good blow torch just sitting about! I just tried it on one corner of the wagon first before I attacked the whole thing. I think if you just take these things slowly you can judge when it's working and when enough is really enough!

 

[supagav]

Hi,

I finished up a few more of these Aristo hopper car conversions, and thought I`d take a few more photos showing the new brake detail. These shots show the train line brake pipe that runs the whole length of the car and connect the two angle cocks. On the prototype it ran up one side of the car to avoid the opening bottom bay doors:









And a few more weathered shots showing some real wear and tear!

 

[beavercreek]

Fabulous, as usual Gav.
What did you use as the hooped fixings for the brake line along the bottom of the hopper side?

 

[supagav]

Thank you Mike, you are too kind!

It really is nothing fancy, the train line pipe is just 1.5mm brass wire, joined in the middle with a little piece of styrene tube. That was a little bit of creative licence there as I couldn't find a length long enough to do the whole run! The little hooped hangers are just little pieces of 0.5mm wire, firstly wrapped round a piece of 1.5mm to form the shape, then snipped to the right size. I then just drilled two small holes either side of the main pipe and glued them in with a wee spot of Superglue.

I'm currently experimenting with the 3D printing thing I mentioned in another post, to see if I can come up with some of the parts that I can't get hold of like the retaining valve, etc. Hopefully this way I can make more of this kind of detail without having to fabricate things as I go. I'm still trying to find some usable plans or diagrams for these parts but hopefully I can make something soon.

 

[dunnyrail]

That tubing tip works well, I have used it on my Rollwagens that have Pipe Runs going all over the place. Superb Weathering, I hope that I can begin to emulate it when I get round to my Weathering.
JonD

 

[supagav]

Thanks for the kind words,

Jon the tricks is less but more, add little but in stages that way you can gauge how far you want to take it. If you always follow a prototype photo and go slowly and carefully you can't go wrong.

I try to build things up with a few washes, firstly from the trucks, then the body itself, to get an overal dull or faded look. This can be further empahsised with more layers if the effect is not strong enough. I then focus the weathering on more detail, dust and dirt round the trucks and the lower sides of the car, and some very light rust on some of the dents and bashes. The secret is to go slowly, I always try to take a step back and look at the car as whole and see how close I am to real effect. I like to have a book or my laptop right right beside me so that I can always relate back to the real thing if I'm not sure.

Your wagons look great by the way, keep up the good work!

 

[dunnyrail]

Gav,
I now thank you for your kind words.

In your weathering, what are you doing for the feel of actual dirt, using finely sifted dust or talcum powder? It occurs to me that this may well be a way to simulate the detritus that gets attached to Wagons. I also want to mess around with the Rusting Kits, I have had one on hand for yonks.
JonD

 

[supagav]

Jon,

I've always wanted a good quality airbrush as this will give me the results I really want, but sadly I don't have the space or cash for it the moment, so instead I mainly use weathering powders to do most of what I want. I use powders from Bragdon Enterprises in the States as these seem to be the best I've found so far, although I'm sure any other good brand would probably do just fine!

Here is the link to their site, if you have a look under "Weathering System":
http://www.bragdonent.com/

I use a basic black powder diluted in 90% alcohol to make a few washes down the car. For the more specific road dirt, I use a dust colour (they call it "Dust Bowl Brown" on the Bragdon website) to simulate the gunk thrown up from the wheels on the trucks and the bottom sills of the car. I try to think how this would come off the wheels, and thus it is only used on the lower portions of the vehicle.

Other specific details like any dents or bashes are picked out in some dust colours, firstly a dab of dark rust followed by a smaller dab of light rust. These effects are a bit more difficult to achieve as only a very little rust, particularly the lighter shades, is needed to create the desired effect. Again here the best advice I have is slow and more, do a little bit, if you're happy then stop, if not, pop a little more on and see how it looks.

Please feel free to give me a shout if I can help with anything else?

 

[dunnyrail]

I have to say that Weathering Powders have not featured heavily in my Tool Kit. I have dabbled with them a bit on Scratch Built Wooden Stock with very satisfactory results. But never considered them for plastic as I thought that they would wear off with handling. I am always a bit reluctant to Varnish something after I have spent a long time weathering. But Perhaps I need to gain confidence with the right kind of Matt Varnish?
JinD