Andy's Modelmaking Misadventures

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I've decided to start a new thread for my model making, partly to avoid clogging other people's and partly because I can't remember what I've posted here before*. I tend to make models of entirely fictional German railways in a very obscure scale of 1:55 that almost no-one uses, and "Pulp Alley" tabletop games with utterly bonkers machines and stories. It keeps me out of trouble when I can't go out cycling.

I'm currently working on a model railcar, which sat on a shelf making me feel guilty over Summer, so I finally got myself into gear the final details, or if I’m honest, distractions to stop people noticing too many of my mistakes.

First of these was the transfers I printed a while back after a considerable amount of dithering. This was a mixed success. Unlike the transfers on the touring bike project I couldn’t get the colours to match exactly so I had to paint as closely as I could to the numbers themselves, and unfortunately this shows.

railcar_01_44.jpg



The weathering is aiming for a “well used” appearance. This is appropriate as the railcar is supposed to have been built in the late nineteen seventies or early eighties, but also because to be honest, I’ve found that weathering is rather useful for hiding my mistakes, and I have plenty to hide. Most of what you see is made using artists pastels, I keep trying different ways to apply a dark wash, and attempted one on the roof. As usual it didn’t work.

railcar_01_40.jpg


After covering this minor disaster with black pastels I dry brushed the rest with light grey, a tiny bit of white and an even tinier bit of silver, then toned down the lot with more chalk pastel (black and brown, for those taking notes) then decided “what the heck?”, added black pastel to the side vents and dusted the lower body with light brown.

So much progress at once. After I’ve recovered I’ll have a go at the under gubbins…

*That's my excuse if you've read all this already.
 
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classic33

Leg End Member
That'd be 5.5mm scale. http://www.55ng.co.uk
 

rikki

Legendary Member
View attachment 497957

After covering this minor disaster with black pastels I dry brushed the rest with light grey, a tiny bit of white and an even tinier bit of silver, then toned down the lot with more chalk pastel (black and brown, for those taking notes) then decided “what the heck?”, added black pastel to the side vents and dusted the lower body with light brown.
Looks great :bravo:
You can come and paint stage scenery & props for me ^_^
 

robjh

Legendary Member
I've decided to start a new thread for my model making, partly to avoid clogging other people's and partly because I can't remember what I've posted here before*. I tend to make models of entirely fictional German railways in a very obscure scale of 1:55 that almost no-one uses, and "Pulp Alley" tabletop games with utterly bonkers machines and stories. It keeps me out of trouble when I can't go out cycling.

I'm currently working on a model railcar, which sat on a shelf making me feel guilty over Summer, so I finally got myself into gear the final details, or if I’m honest, distractions to stop people noticing too many of my mistakes.

First of these was the transfers I printed a while back after a considerable amount of dithering. This was a mixed success. Unlike the transfers on the touring bike project I couldn’t get the colours to match exactly so I had to paint as closely as I could to the numbers themselves, and unfortunately this shows.

View attachment 497956


The weathering is aiming for a “well used” appearance. This is appropriate as the railcar is supposed to have been built in the late nineteen seventies or early eighties, but also because to be honest, I’ve found that weathering is rather useful for hiding my mistakes, and I have plenty to hide. Most of what you see is made using artists pastels, I keep trying different ways to apply a dark wash, and attempted one on the roof. As usual it didn’t work.

View attachment 497957

After covering this minor disaster with black pastels I dry brushed the rest with light grey, a tiny bit of white and an even tinier bit of silver, then toned down the lot with more chalk pastel (black and brown, for those taking notes) then decided “what the heck?”, added black pastel to the side vents and dusted the lower body with light brown.

So much progress at once. After I’ve recovered I’ll have a go at the under gubbins…

*That's my excuse if you've read all this already.
Are these vehicles modelled on a real prototype or are they from your imagination too? And what is KÖB?

Impressive work btw
 
Are these vehicles modelled on a real prototype or are they from your imagination too? And what is KÖB?

Impressive work btw

Thanks.

The Railcar is a bit of everything: it started out as a loose copy of the then Furka-Oberalp, now Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn Deh4_4-II, until I found the very slightly tapered ends too difficult to reproduce accurately and changed the to the RHB Deh4_4-II because I thought it would be easier.

In between I added various bits that seemed a good idea at the time, which nearly came back to bite me when I realised that the grilles next to the sliding door meant there was some kind of machinery behind them so the door would have to open on the outside, not the inside which caused a certain amount of 'retrofitting' to make something that looked convincing.

Add to this the need to make mine a "diesel" version and to fit it onto a chassis built for a different locomotive ín a different scale and things got quite out of hand so it's pretty much unrecognisable now. Still, that's the joy of having my own railway: I make the rules.

"KÖB stands for "Körschtalbahn", pronounced Koerschtalbahn, and meaning "Koersch valley railway". This isn't remotely original because there's a Koersch valley near our house, but I pretend there is another one running west from Wildberg in the Black Forest.
 
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Is that going to be a working model Andy, or just for display?

Top job whichever.

Thanks.

It''s going to be a working model, assuming I haven't been too generous with superglue. The whole sits on a rater elderly chassis and motor for an American locomotive, in fact one of the challenges will be making that chassis look like it is designed to be part of the railcar
 
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Looks great :bravo:
You can come and paint stage scenery & props for me ^_^

Gladly, I've painted a few sets and props in my time. Flying a scene painter from Germany may be expensive though.

I take it this is all scratch built rather than from kits?

Yes. most of my models are from bits of plastic, brass, card, guitar strings, and occasionally things like a milk carton lid. The Chassis on the raileay models are from commercial models though: I know where my limits are.
 
pulp_mess_hall_03.jpg

More 'bits and pieces' model making this week. I'm working on some buildings for tabletop games and in a minor step forward the "mess hall" for the game now has a roof, door and windows, which will no doubt come as a relief to the unfortunate soldiers who find themselves in this forsaken outpost of the British Empire. With that together it was time to focus on the reason excuse for the tower, so a water tank was called for. (If you’re wondering, the reason is that a swashbuckling adventurer/dastardly bad guy can use it as a high vantage point)


I’ve noticed that tabletop games, especially in this genre, are a lot less ‘scale’ than model railways: they tend to be chunky, even cartoony. I’m guessing it’s because the models are handled a lot more. Whatever the reason I’m all in favour because no-one gets to say I’m doing it wrong.


pulp_mess_hall_04.jpg

In keeping with this, the ‘tank’ is an ear wash bottle, the same one as donated the turret for the steam punk tank, come to think if it. I could try and make a terrible pun out of this but I can’t think of one at the moment.


The ear wash was utterly useless so it’s good to have got some value out of the purchase.


The steps are staples and the handle from the ‘inspection hatch’ is from a bit of wire that looks suspiciously like it was from a Chinese takeaway box.


Now I’ve got to make this look like a convincingly rusty lump of metal.
 
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