After a bit of a hiatus we are delighted to bring back our "Let's Get Involved" modelling series of how to blogs from a series of modellers around our wonderful hobby. We're kicking off with a weathering guide of our latest HGR wagons by James Makin.

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Take it away, James!

The humble Merry-Go-Round coal hopper has been with us since the 1960s and there are many different techniques that one can use to replicate the hard lifetime of constant use that these wagons have received.

The method shown here is one that aims to show that through the use of a few simple brush painting techniques that you can build up fleet-like quantities of realistically weathered wagons in a reasonably quick time.

No airbrushes are required here, nor is there the use of any black paint!

Step 1

The starting point to the weathering process is a coating of matt varnish. In this case, Railmatch Matt Varnish (No. 1407) is used, the aerosol format allows easy spraying. The reason for the varnish coating is to give a good key for layers of paint to adhere to the shiny silver hopper body, later in the weathering process.

Step 2

It is advised to allow a couple of weeks for the matt varnish to fully cure and harden on the plastic body before beginning further weathering work with enamel paints, just to protect the surface and prevent some of the paints and enamel thinners from damaging the matt varnish layer.

Step 3

With sufficient time passing, it’s now time to apply the first layers of paint to tint the bright silver hopper body to a more weathered appearance, painting on three layers of browns and greys over the course of the process, and wiping them away with cotton buds and kitchen towels.

Step 4

Neat Humbrol No.113 Matt Brown is painted liberally onto the silver hopper body, painting half of one side at a time, and taking care to avoid the paint drying onto the model. After this, start to wipe away excess paint in a vertical motion from top to bottom using kitchen towel or cotton buds.

Step 5

The results of wiping away the excess paint from the silver hopper body should reveal a very muted and brown-tinted finish, with no real evidence of streaking and an all-over brown appearance. Paint may be allowed to gather in areas such as the riveted panel joints.

Step 6

The lower sections of the hopper body are also weathered in a similar manner, painting on and wiping away the neat paint, using a cotton bud. It’s wise to take extra effort to remove any excess paint from the heard-to-reach areas behind the framing around the hopper body, to leave an even brown finish to the entire hopper. 

Step 7

It’s also worth giving the inside of the hopper body the same treatment, whether modelling the wagons loaded or unloaded, just again apply a layer of paint and remove, being careful to work in a downward motion and following prototype photographs at all times to check that the work matches up to the real thing.

Step 8

Following the coating of brown paint, a darker layer is then added and then wiped down in the same manner, using Humbrol No. 251 Dark Brown. It’s a good idea to allow a few days between coats just to ensure that the earlier layer is not peeled away with the application of the new paint.

Step 9

Same as before, the dark brown paint is wiped vertically downwards on the hopper body using kitchen towel or cotton buds. Work quickly with the wet paint to avoid too many noticeable streaks, instead aiming for an overall brown stained appearance. 

Step 10

The same Humbrol No. 251 dark brown is similarly applied to all sections of the silver hopper body, further tinting the hopper body a dark brown shade, but with some elements of the lighter brown shade poking through for greater depth to the finish.

Step 11

A comparison can be seen between the additional coats here, the lower wagon having received the extra layer of Humbrol 251, and already the hopper body is starting to resemble a typical workaday HAA wagon with several years ingrained dirt over the aluminium hopper. 

Step 12

If one is aiming to add a coal load into the hopper and it’s the hooded version being worked on, it may be easier to remove the hood moulding at this stage, to allow greater access to the wagon, especially if using a moulded coal load as a basis for a realistic load. 

Step 13

There are several ways of creating a realistic coal load, and the option chosen here was to make use of the Peco (formerly Parkside Dundas) moulded coal loads to give a humped appearance, which will later be topped with crushed real coal dust. It’s important to observe your chosen prototype here, as the Merry-Go-Round coal hoppers has distinctively different shapes of load, depending upon how it was loaded.

Some hoppers were loaded by dumper truck or mechanical grab, with very ‘peaky’ and inconsistent loads, others had noticeable ‘humps’, whilst other loading mechanisms gave smooth finishes, and even loads with flat tops where they had been smoothed off with a horizontal bar to meet loading gauge dimensions. Observation is key here, before starting work.

Step 14

A piece of foamboard was cut to approximately 88mm x 33mm to act as a base to the coal load. Working on the models with the early style of hopper body, it was decided to cut away the cross-members in the hopper body itself to aid fitting, especially as they would no longer be visible with the coal load in place. Alternatively, if seeking to retain these, one could carefully glue in pieces of mounting card underneath the cross-members and add the coal load in around them.

Step 15

The plastic moulded coal former was cut into three pieces, to fit around the cross-members that have been left in the top hood frame. Both the foamboard, moulded coal former and top hood frame are then all glued into place using PVA glue and left to dry. 

Step 16

A further layer of weathering then took place to really help tint the wagons to a darker shade. This is again based on observation of prototype photographs, and one may wish to vary the final shade of paint used to give some subtle variety in the wagons.

Using Phoenix Paint’s ‘Dirty Black’ (in reality a sticky dark grey paint), this was brushed on neat and once again removed using cotton buds and kitchen towels in a vertical downward motion. This time, the paint is also applied to the frames and chassis deck as well, helping to blend together the body and chassis.

Step 17

The wagon underframes were then painted, using a mix of Phoenix Paint’s ‘Track Dirt’ shade, with highlights picked out in dark grey and brown, and some Humbrol Metalcote Gunmetal drybrushed over the chassis to highlight the raised edges.

Again, it’s wise to observe prototype photographs to match up the weathering to one’s chosen modelling period, and pay particular attention to where oil and grease accumulates on the chassis compared to the general track grime.

Step 18

The wheelsets can be weathered to further enhance the grimy wagon appearance, with the axles and both faces of the wheels painted Humbrol No. 32 Dark Grey or a similar suitable dark brown/grey paint. If the wagon is an example with the brake discs fitted, these can be gently wiped away using cotton buds, leaving deposits of dark grey paint in the recesses, to highlight the detail.

Step 19

The outer edges of the wheel around the brake disc faces are then picked out in more dark grey paint and left to dry. Already, it’s easy to see how a simple paint-on & wipe-away treatment has brought out the fine detail and given a more prototypical appearance compared to the factory finish shown on the right hand side.

Step 20

The wagons are almost complete, with the exception of adding the top layer of the coal load. Here the moulded plastic coal loads have been sealed in with PVA glue to the hopper body, and painted dark grey, ready for the crushed coal load to be glued on top.

Step 21

A layer of Microscale Kristal Klear is added across the plastic moulded coal, and then real crushed coal is gently added across the top. Most of the coal conveyed to power stations was of very fine consistency, so in model form, it’s almost dust-like. Use a rolling pin to crush the coal in a bag and then sieve to ensure only the smallest pieces make it to your model.

Step 22

During the coal loading process, the model will become covered in coal dust, which can also add an extra dimension to the weathered appearance. Use a flat sable brush to dust down the sides of the wagon, but leave any coal dust residue on the hoods or flat chassis areas for an enhanced appearance.

The wagons are then given a final coating of Railmatch Matt Varnish across the entire wagon, including underframe, hopper body and the load. This will seal in the coal, and helps take away the often-shiny effect that crushed coal has, giving a much more realistic appearance in miniature.

Step 23

During the loading process, many of the coal hoppers fitted with hoods often received damage from diggers and grabber machinery, with a bent appearance being commonplace. For those feeling brave, one may wish to replicate this in miniature by gently melting the hoods using a gas-powered soldering iron.

A Dremel Versatip 2000 cordless soldering iron was purchased from Amazon, together with a Butane gas refill, and at under £50, represented a good value addition to the modeller’s arsenal of equipment. Having practiced on similar plastics and old wagons, the coal hopper hoods were gently heated and bent downwards, using an old wooden paintbrush handle to push the bendable plastic to the desired shape.

Extreme care must be taken to avoid overheating the plastic as it will shrink if overheated, however by working slowly and with caution, it is possible to replicate the damages that the prototype saw after just a short period in service.

 Summary

These great workhorses served Britain’s railways for almost half a century, and the process from turning the factory-fresh models into replicas of wagons that have seen a hard lifetime of use is most satisfying.

With practice, the process can be quite quick and therefore suitable for tackling the trainload-quantities that these wagons were seen in so often. It’s recommended to tackle small batches of wagons at a time, between 3-6 wagons at once is ideal to keep the process fresh and avoid boredom setting in from undertaking too many repetitive tasks and risking a too-uniform finish on the wagons.

As always, following prototype photographs is key, so it’s worth consulting photos online, whether via Google searches or through the galleries on Smugmug and Flickr to find images that match the period being modelled, and simply to copy what one can see in those photographs.

Many thanks to James for this excellent tutorial. Fancy a go? Pick up some of our lovely HAA based wagons via your local stockist, or direct via our website by clicking right here!