The second of the Rails of Sheffield exclusive Polybulks, fits perfectly into 1990 straight from the box so a minimum amount of work was required. Looking at the prototype, the plain grey Polybulks appear to have visible seam welds to the body side. Or at least, these seam welds weather heavier than the rest of the steel work.
The first job then, was to mask up the seam weld lines and paint them with a brush using Brown Leather from the Army Painter range.
Masking up the internal welded seamsSeam weld lines brush painted
The next stage was to airbrush weather the wagon, using Charcoal Grey and White. The charcoal grey was used to darken the body slightly, while the white highlights areas of clay dust.
Weathered with the airbrush
The Tiger and Nacco logos were then cleaned of airbrushed paint with Isopropyl Alcohol and a cotton bud. These appear cleaner on the prototype. Finally, the wagon was given a wash of Florey Models White, and left to dry. Once dry, this was wiped off with a damp sponge leaving streaks to the body sides.
Starting to wipe the wash off, leaving streaksThe finished wagonThe first two finished Polybulks together
I’ve recently purchased two of these Hornby brake vans at a bargain price of £14.95 each. So, thoughts soon turned to what I would do with them.
For this one, I’ve found a prototype photo on Paul Bartlett’s website which I’m going to use as a guide.
I started by removing the handrails and dismantling the van. I also drilled out the handrail holes making them slightly wider, which aids refitting and prevents them from looking bent. I then removed the numbers and markings with Isopropyl Alcohol, and masked the door and ducket windows with Vallejo masking fluid.
Dismantled and ready for primer
Next, I primed the van with Vallejo grey primer through the airbrush. The following day, once this had dried properly, I sprayed the faded Dutch yellow using a mixture of Games Workshop Phalanx Yellow and Scar White. Once dry the yellow was masked up and Army Painter Ash Grey was sprayed on the remainder of the body.
The faded yellow
I applied gloss varnish with a brush to areas that required transfers. I find this speeds up the process, rather than airbrushing it. And the end result isn’t compromised. Then the transfers were applied and another coat of gloss varnish added to secure them permanently.
Transfers added
Note the electrification flashes. The one on the right is offset while the other is central.
The roof was next to be painted so Charcoal Grey was sprayed with the airbrush, after some careful masking. More Vallejo masking fluid was used over masking tape seams as a precaution. There is nothing worse than unnecessary overspray from poor masking!
Roof painted dark grey
A coat of matt varnish was sprayed from a rattle can. I’ve used many different brands of rattle can varnish over the years, but one I always recommend is Colour Forge. The finish is second to none.
Final tasks before weathering was to paint the lamp irons white and glue the handrails back in place.
Resprayed and ready for weathering
Weathering consisted of 3 colours applied lightly through the airbrush. Ash Grey, Brown Leather and Light Rust. The roof was also given a light blow over with Ash Grey, just to take the newness off the dark grey.
Recently, I’ve been doing some research on 6N84, Duxford to Tyne Yard speedlink service, nicknamed ‘The Glue Train’.
The service carried chemicals between the Ciba-Geigy plant at Duxford, as well as Urea for Haverton Hill for use in chipboard manufacturing. The train was made up of ICI TTA tanks, Ciba-Geigy TTA/TTB tanks and ICI PAA hoppers. This was the mainstay but occasionally Grainflow and Scottish Malt Distillers Polybulks would be included too.
I had a couple of the Bachmann Ciba-Geigy TTA wagons that I’d put aside since they were released, so this seemed like a logical starting point.
The Bachmann Ciba-Geigy TTA
I renumbered the wagon and changed the tops code to TTB by painting out the printed numbers, brush painting gloss varnish, and adding individual numbers. Gloss varnish was applied to seal the transfers.
The new tops code and number transfers applied
The walkway is incorrect for the Ciba-Geigy TTA and TTB, but Bachmann were never going to retool it as it wouldn’t be economical. So this was removed and a Stenson Models walkway replaced the plastic item. I placed masking tape on the tank and marked the required drill holes, and drilled them using an Archimedes drill and a 0.5mm bit.
Stenson Models walkway
The new walkway was located with a gell superglue, primed with vellejo grey primer, and once dry painted with Griffon Blue. Next, I added handrails, bufferbeam walkway, a central end ladder and painted them in the same way.
New handrails and end ladder
It was now ready for weathering. I masked up the Ciba-Geigy and PROCOR logos as these appear less dirty on the real item. Looking at prototype photos on Paul Bartlett’s website, I mixed some Sons of Honus Green and Electric Blue. A nice weathered base colour, which I applied to the tank with the airbrush. The chassis and tank centre were then blown over with Brown Leather and Charcoal Grey.
Before and after for comparison
Finally, I used Charcoal Grey and dry brushed around the masked logos. I then removed the masking tape and applied Flory Models Grey and Grime washes to provide some streaks to the sides. I’m quite pleased with the finished wagon.
The Heljan BOC tanker is an expensive wagon, but when they were offered at half price I was keen to get them added into the Farkham roster.
Shortly after receiving the seven tankers I purchased, and after looking at Paul Bartlett’s photographs of the prototype, I got started on the weathering. Using Railmatch acrylic Frame Dirt in the airbrush, I blew over the bogies, chassis and lower bodyside.
On the prototype, the top half of the tanks seem to rust far more than the half below the identification band. In fact, the lower part of the tank remains almost rust free. After the frame dirt was dry I gave the wagons a coat of matt varnish, which is an essential part to the next step, the washes. Using a flat brush and the Flory Models Rust and Sand washes, I applied a generous amount to the upper bodysides and left it to dry. Then, with a damp sponge, and using a downward motion, the wash was manipulated to give the desired effect.
Airbrushed chassis and wash applied
I’ll clean the handwheels before I consider them finished, but otherwise I’m quite pleased with them. A short blog post today, for what has been a time consuming but simple job.
