HOW TO DO IT:WEATHER ‘N’ GAUGE TANK WAGONS

Weathering washes offer a simple and effective solution to small or complex objects. Shake well and apply with a flat brush, working on a few inches at a time. Allow the pigment to settle into all recesses. Once the initial layers have dried, use a soft, flat brush to drag small amounts of wash down the barrel, concentrating the staining near to the filler hatches to mimic spillage during loading. Wipe away as much of the wash as desired with cotton swabs. Use vertical strokes to mimic the force of gravity and leave faint streaking patterns. Continue until the whole model has been treated. Oil and grease effect washes offer a suitably oily sheen, contrasting with the matt of the earlier layers. Brush on in vertical strokes, building up deeper deposits around the fillers and discharge points. Repeat the process, allowing each layer to dry in between. Vary the wash shades to add some tonal variety and introduce darker shading in deeper recesses, or where more dirt is likely to accumulate. Soften the hard edges of the brush-applied streaks with cotton swabs dampened slightly with thinners. Choose either white spirit or a matching formula to the washes being employed.

For greater realism, build up a number of layers of ‘oil’ staining, repeating the process with each application allowed to dry thoroughly. Alter the shade slightly by adding a little dark or brown wash to each layer. Dip a flat brush in appropriate thinners and run over the oils in downward strokes, working the paint into recesses, especially under the walkway and the underside of the barrel. Tamiya’s pointed swabs reach into confined areas more safely and effectively than standard cotton buds and can be used to drag the oil deposits downwards to create delicate streaks. The oils stay workable for up to 24 hours. Brush away any excess powders with a clean dry brush. A grey artist’s coloured pencil (with a soft ‘lead’) is great for picking out the relief of raised detail, and especially the etched walkway and steps. Squeeze out a small amount of oil paint onto a mixing palette or scrap of plastic. Choose earthy browns, plus greys and different shades of the wagon’s livery, in this case blue. Wipe away most of the paint with swabs, used dry at first, and maintaining vertical movements. Leave pigment where darker shading is required and keep the tonal variety created by the streaking. Build up streaks of darker oils emanating from the filler hatches, softening the edges with a swab dampened with thinners. Layering the streaks with slightly different shades helps avoid a one-dimensional appearance. Dab small blobs of the neat oils onto one side of the barrel, targeting the darker shades along the seams and where shadows are likely to fall. Lighter shades can be added to the upper, central areas of each panel. Work your way around the model, adding earthy shades to the underframe in similar fashion to the washes. Repeat the highlighting if necessary, adding more of the lighter livery colour in strategic areas. A welcome contrast in terms of sheen is provided by a light dusting of weathering powders to the underframe. A variety of brown and grey shades are combined and gently applied with a soft, dry brush.