Weathered Wood

What follows uses a 4mm scale building for my 009 project but as with many things, the technique is transferable to larger scales so I have shared it here. Indeed, I actually first experimented with colour washes on some 7mm scale 'Ratty' fencing earlier in the year to get an idea of how the technique might work.

The base layer is Halfords grey primer, applied earlier in the year, progress being delayed by scenic work taking priority. The first stage was to apply an overall wash of Vallejo 'Black Grey' over all of the structure, woodwork, corrugated iron and the board and batten roofing. The paint was mixed about 50/50 with Vallejo matt medium before thinning with water. Once dry this was followed with a wash in a mid-brown colour (a hoarded pre-made product from the defunct Penhaven range) over the wooded walls and corrugated iron. A third wash was made using Citadel 'Baneblade Brown' (a bare wood sort of shade) and a spot of Vallejo 'Green Brown', again with matt medium before dilution, was applied over the walls. Lastly a diluted mix of rusty red acrylic was applied over the corrugated iron areas.

You may wonder why I chose to use washes to build up the colour rather than just paint a solid green/grey over the woodwork. My feeling is that this method actually gives more control over the colour and seems to give more colour depth without clogging the detail.

The next step (two days later) was another wash of Vallejo black grey concentrated into the joins in the timber and dabbed off in other areas. This was followed by the beginning of dry-brushing, using a mix of Vallejo 'Green Grey' and 'Light Grey' over the woodwork. I then added some suitable rusty dry-brushing to the corrugated iron areas.

The next day another wash was created, a blend of Citadel 'Baneblade Brown' and Vallejo 'Green Grey', plus matt medium, used to add some damper looking patches along the bottom of the wooden walls. Next a slightly thicker mix of 'Baneblade Brown' and Vellejo 'London Grey' was washed over the board and batten roof of the office building. The remnants of both washes were then combined and the inside of the workshop given a coat to hide the primer grey.

Work then concentrated on the corrugated iron. I added a darker rust colour to the corrugated areas but not as a consistent coat. Once this was dried I added various rust tones using weathering powders, plus some colouring towards the back of the roof to represent the fact that is sits under the trees.

As I suspect this is the last post before the big day - a very Merry Christmas to all O9 Modeller readers.

Colin

Stuck in a Siding - an 'Abandoned Miniature'

The outstanding tasks on the scenic test piece seen in the last two posts has now been completed, including adding my usual light wood surround from bass wood and some final adjustments to the scenery in the form of some additional growth from dried grass moss and a discarded wheelset (modified Parkside Dundas) and some assorted junk.

As I commented in the first post on this series, there were a number of influences behind creating this scene. ones was the Abandoned Miniatures page on Facebook, a collection of photos of dioramas and models with a general theme of abandonment. The idea of an abandoned 15" gauge scene appealed and I realised that I was halfway there with my converted Avalon Line coach completed a few months ago. So this scene is actually designed to accommodate that coach...

The placing of the fence at the (nominal) rear is designed so that if viewed from that side, the open panel on that side is visible.

Inside the coach I have added all sorts of additional 'junk' from various sources. This includes bench ends from Port Wynnstay castings; a tool box from Black Dog Mining; a scratchbuilt carriage door balanced on the seats; a sign that reads 'Miniature Railway' (just to give a clue to the gauge!) and an oil lamp. All of these parts were individually painted and set in place using Tacky Wax.

I am really pleased with how this scene has come together and I've found myself contemplating another scene of similar size....

Colin