DISMANTLING AND WEATHERING

1

The ‘J70’ comes with a comprehensive instruction booklet, showing how to dismantle the model to access the DCC socket, but I also needed to get inside the bodyshell. Begin by removing the four screws at each corner of the chassis.

2

Put the chassis to one side and gently prise the body away with a very thin flat screwdriver or scrap of sheet brass. There’s a hidden clip in the centre of each body – gently opening up the sides will release them. Take care not to damage the paintwork.

3

Work gently, pushing the body upwards in small increments until it comes free. This will also release the separate cab ends. Now you can appreciate the fully rendered boiler, smokebox and various controls fitted to the interior.

4

The glazing panels can be pushed out gently using a cotton bud. This avoids the need to mask the glazing, if re-fitting the original parts. I wanted to pose the windows open and these moulded parts are too thick to sit on the outside.

5

We’ll come back to the glazing later. Now, we need to install a choice of open or closed front doors. I opted for one of each, with the open doors intended for the firebox end. The plastic parts can be bonded with liquid poly cement.

6

Most of the weathering was done with a trio of water-based acrylic paints from Lifecolor, Weathered Black, Matt Black and Rotbraun (red-brown), plus a few soft-bristled brushes, cotton swabs and acrylic thinners.

7

Having mixed up a generic shade of grime, using the three paints, it was brushed over one panel of the body at a time. Immediately, most of the paint was wiped away with cotton swabs in vertical strokes.

8

Virtually all paint was removed, leaving pigment within plank seams and window frames. The swab’s vertical strokes result in faint streaking effects. Deposits were left around the lower and upper edges. Repeat the process across the whole body.