Purchasing a new Loco or Carriage

Hi Petermac. Thank you for your reply. The only Dapol kit that I have purchased this time around, is a Loco shed. As you stated an old Airfix kit. But it doesn’t quite go together like the Airfix kit and I need to work on it. Best wishes Kevin 

Wow.  This topic has moved on a bit in the past couple of days!  Yes Barry has been witness to not only the end result but also to the process of applying dirt by powder.  As were quite a number of others at the recent Twickenham & District MRC Open Day.  I seldom had fewer than five people around my stand and there was an endless string of questions which can only be good for the hobby as a whole.

My favourite brush is a No.7 red sable which any decent art / craft shop should be able to sell.  I know such shops don't survive on every High Street but brushes are also available cheaply online.  A No.5 will also help with getting into some smaller spaces, while the trusty 1" house-painting brush is great for spreading the grime along roof and side panels.  PS - it's also a very handy ballast spreader!

I invested recently in a DCC Concepts kit which includes some useful powders and a selection of applicators.  Of interest they include some which are intended for use with make-up but which I have found invaluable in applying weathering.  Here's the link https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/weathering-set-layoutgeneral/
The other powders I use are a US brand which was AIM but is now Monroe Models.  These I get mailed from the US but beware - there is a customs fee charged upon arrival here.  The benefit is that you get a lot more powder for your money so overall it is still cheaper than stocking up on DCC Concepts for larger volumes of work.  If you ever find any Carrs powders at shows or in old shop stock they too are excellent but they have been out of business for some years now.  I don't use Humbrol because they are gritty and I don't like Tamiya because they are greasy.  Other brands may be available which I haven't tried.

I handle items using old T-shirts and never with bare fingers.  Your worst enemy is the greasy fingerprint - often not seen until the weathering has been applied.    

The way present-day models are constructed can differ to that of old.  We don't usually get the roof fixed with two screws through the floor for example though that was standard for many years with Tri-ang / Hornby.  Most carriages now will pop apart if prised very carefully though beware of such things as fine metal fittings which are often tightly fitted into both roof and frames and may become bent in the dismantling process.  Locos vary from having a number of fixing screws holding body to frames (and which can be quite obscure and even require removal of other bits first to find them) to the relatively simply clip-off - clip-on still favoured by Heljan though again many are an extremely tight fit and one risks damage by over-use of persuasion.  Fitting crew into loco cabs is another tricky area since many diesel cabs are fixed in place and sometimes very well glued indeed.  Others will pop out but again the entire assembly often needs to come apart first and great care must be used to avoid damage.  Steam crews can be fitted by insertion through cab sides or directly onto the footplate where possible.  If neither is possible then the cab roof will usually come off if prised carefully though in a few cases it too is screwed down.

If you're not sure then ask before dismantling.  Either here or over on the vast and very busy RMweb - it's a huge site but the number of users means there is always someone there who has done the job before and is able to help out.

Rick I've seen your weathering 'in the flesh' so to speak and can confirm, its excellent !
Kevin if you want something cheap and cheerful to practice on let me know and ill see whats in the bargain bin at my local swappmeet this weekend. sometimes they have mixed  'goody bags' for a few pennies which are ideal for your first practice trials

cheers

Matt