On The Pugsley Workbench
- Thread starter Pugsley
- Start date
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
S**ts got real on the workbench!
The solder, flux and soldering iron (off stage!) have been dug out and the first bogie assembled. They're an absolute sod to put together square and the quality of the castings is quite poor. At this point the cross-member is tacked in place with terrible blobby soldering, which was sorted out later once the top had been soldered together (much more neatly, I'd add!)
One down, three to go...
The solder, flux and soldering iron (off stage!) have been dug out and the first bogie assembled. They're an absolute sod to put together square and the quality of the castings is quite poor. At this point the cross-member is tacked in place with terrible blobby soldering, which was sorted out later once the top had been soldered together (much more neatly, I'd add!)
One down, three to go...
simond
Western Thunderer
I think I’d go with Powerflo, rather than Pomegranate Plus…
joking aside, is it worth making a little wooden jig to locate the axles parallel, making it easier to do the soldering?
my experience with soldering wm suggests a large iron is beneficial - not too hot, of course, but loads of heat capacity.
joking aside, is it worth making a little wooden jig to locate the axles parallel, making it easier to do the soldering?
my experience with soldering wm suggests a large iron is beneficial - not too hot, of course, but loads of heat capacity.
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
That's related to an entirely different method of fastening!
A wooden jig sounds like a very good idea and something that I'd give a try if I was to build any further examples of these bogies (unlikely!). I didn't think of that though (or see your post) until after I'd put the others together with a couple of set-squares, a ruler and plenty of cursing.
I've got a 50W iron, set to around 300 degrees C, which was enough to get the castings beyond comfortable finger holding temperature pretty quick
simond
Western Thunderer
Plumbing shop, Screwfix, etc. GIYF,
about £8 for 100g, which is huge. I’ve had a 50g tub for years. Not sure if they still do them.
Warning: it’s horrid stuff, very acid, will turn brass green, and etch your eyes, fingers, workbench, etc. Make sure you wash your models with lots of hot water, a bit of Jif or Flash and an old toothbrush after using it. And if you don’t get it all off, it‘ll wreck any subsequent paint job. I know Warren loathes the stuff. But it’s the mutt’s nuts for WM and it’s pretty damn good on dirty brass too.
about £8 for 100g, which is huge. I’ve had a 50g tub for years. Not sure if they still do them.
Warning: it’s horrid stuff, very acid, will turn brass green, and etch your eyes, fingers, workbench, etc. Make sure you wash your models with lots of hot water, a bit of Jif or Flash and an old toothbrush after using it. And if you don’t get it all off, it‘ll wreck any subsequent paint job. I know Warren loathes the stuff. But it’s the mutt’s nuts for WM and it’s pretty damn good on dirty brass too.
Eastsidepilot
Western Thunderer
I know everyone has their own favourite, mine for many years has been an Antex adjustable 50w set on the lowest temp and Carrs red label which seems to have lasted for ever.
Col.
Col.
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
Work continues on the steel wagons, albeit slowed as there's plenty of other things to keep me occupied at this time of year. If they're not done by Autumn, then the pace should pick up a bit.
It doesn't help that I keep looking at photos of the real wagons and finding further things to improve...
So, I thought it was about time to look at the ends and see what needs doing there. The first thing I noticed was that the door gear at the ends is supported on some pretty distinctive brackets, so the moulded detail needed to be removed.
While looking at the pics, I also noticed that the panel around the coupling was recessed from the rest of the end. A few measurements from photos ended up with a cutting template created in CorelDraw.
I prefer to do it this way so I know that the marking out is accurate. That gives me a fighting chance of cutting it out accurately too (but no guarantees!) as you can see if you look closely....
Next job was to measure up and cut out the recess in the end, with the new panel being stuck behind the cut-out to give the right effect.
I also noticed that the bufferbeam ends on the tall end were shaped, instead of being straight on the kit ends, so they have been marked up and cut and filed to shape. Curiously I managed to screw up the same side on both ends and had to get the filler out!
Interestingly the plastic sheet has stuck nicely to the back of the kit castings with Plastic Magic, but the kit components aren't affected by it. After success with sticking on the new parts, I thought I might be able to assemble the bodies with Plastic Magic too, but it doesn't seem to have worked.
This is the current state of play:
The next update should be body assembly and the adding of detail, rather than taking it away.
It doesn't help that I keep looking at photos of the real wagons and finding further things to improve...
So, I thought it was about time to look at the ends and see what needs doing there. The first thing I noticed was that the door gear at the ends is supported on some pretty distinctive brackets, so the moulded detail needed to be removed.
While looking at the pics, I also noticed that the panel around the coupling was recessed from the rest of the end. A few measurements from photos ended up with a cutting template created in CorelDraw.
I prefer to do it this way so I know that the marking out is accurate. That gives me a fighting chance of cutting it out accurately too (but no guarantees!) as you can see if you look closely....
Next job was to measure up and cut out the recess in the end, with the new panel being stuck behind the cut-out to give the right effect.
I also noticed that the bufferbeam ends on the tall end were shaped, instead of being straight on the kit ends, so they have been marked up and cut and filed to shape. Curiously I managed to screw up the same side on both ends and had to get the filler out!
Interestingly the plastic sheet has stuck nicely to the back of the kit castings with Plastic Magic, but the kit components aren't affected by it. After success with sticking on the new parts, I thought I might be able to assemble the bodies with Plastic Magic too, but it doesn't seem to have worked.
This is the current state of play:
The next update should be body assembly and the adding of detail, rather than taking it away.
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
Now that we're heading into winter, with the longer nights, there's not much to do in the garden and the garage is quite cold, so I get to spend more time in a nice warm house modelling.
A fair bit has been accomplished since the last update, mostly in the last month!
The ends have now been fitted with the beginnings of the door operating gear. Once the ends are attached to the main body, I'll fit the remaining rods and the operating handles, which are on the etch supplied with the kit. One thing I didn't notice until too late was that the dimples for the rod holes were in different places on each side of each end, so have had to open the holes out on one side and fill them once the rod is in place.
I've also put most of the detail on the chassis. Quite a distinctive part of these wagons are the steps, which are essentially square hoops of flat bar. I couldn't find any brass of the right size, but did have some plastic strip in stock that was. That wasn't going to be strong enough for anything other than a display model, so came up with the idea of an inner support of round wire.
The plastic strip steps sit over these brass wire loops and, once the model is painted and weathered, should be pretty much invisible. This is how they look with the plastic steps stuck over:
These are superglued both to the wire hoops and the wagon chassis. It's proving pretty durable as I'm still handling the chassis for various tasks and I've not knocked one off yet!
I've also fitted all of the piping detail on the side, which is a little less durable
One of the downfalls of modifying a kit is that, as the build progresses, you find other areas that you then need to modify as you progress through the build. Because I altered the ends by inserting the plate that the coupling passes through and reinforced it from behind to ensure that it's strong enough, I've had to modify the chassis ends to ensure that the ends will fit in place. A bit of quick work with a drill and piecing saw sorted that out.
I do sometimes think that throwing the kit away and starting from scratch may have been quicker! Still, by the next update the bodies should be attached to the chassis and I'll have started adding the body details.
Merry Christmas all!
A fair bit has been accomplished since the last update, mostly in the last month!
The ends have now been fitted with the beginnings of the door operating gear. Once the ends are attached to the main body, I'll fit the remaining rods and the operating handles, which are on the etch supplied with the kit. One thing I didn't notice until too late was that the dimples for the rod holes were in different places on each side of each end, so have had to open the holes out on one side and fill them once the rod is in place.
I've also put most of the detail on the chassis. Quite a distinctive part of these wagons are the steps, which are essentially square hoops of flat bar. I couldn't find any brass of the right size, but did have some plastic strip in stock that was. That wasn't going to be strong enough for anything other than a display model, so came up with the idea of an inner support of round wire.
The plastic strip steps sit over these brass wire loops and, once the model is painted and weathered, should be pretty much invisible. This is how they look with the plastic steps stuck over:
These are superglued both to the wire hoops and the wagon chassis. It's proving pretty durable as I'm still handling the chassis for various tasks and I've not knocked one off yet!
I've also fitted all of the piping detail on the side, which is a little less durable
One of the downfalls of modifying a kit is that, as the build progresses, you find other areas that you then need to modify as you progress through the build. Because I altered the ends by inserting the plate that the coupling passes through and reinforced it from behind to ensure that it's strong enough, I've had to modify the chassis ends to ensure that the ends will fit in place. A bit of quick work with a drill and piecing saw sorted that out.
I do sometimes think that throwing the kit away and starting from scratch may have been quicker! Still, by the next update the bodies should be attached to the chassis and I'll have started adding the body details.
Merry Christmas all!
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
Well, the bodies are now attached to the chassis and I've had to do some serious filing to get everything to the same profile and to get the ends to fit. I've also had to do some serious filling on the chassis too, to get it to meet the ends, in some cases.
In both of the following pics, the fettled wagon is on the left and the 'just glued' one on the right.
I also thought that I'd quickly plonk one of the wagons on its bogies to see what it's looking like:
It's OK, but the bogies are too wide with reference to the chassis. I've also notice in the pic above the apparent bow in the roof of the central section that I hadn't noticed before. Still, not much I can do about that at this stage!
I'll have to have a look at the bogies and see how (if) I can narrow them a bit. It's fair to say that I'm at the 'I wish I'd never started' phase of this project! I'll finish them and will make the best job of them that I can, but I can see them being replaced by better examples in the fullness of time.
I can see why people eschew kits and prefer to buy RTR. Other than the JLTRT/MM1 products, so many of the kits are just not of great quality for more modern prototypes. A fair bit of the more modern 7mm RTR is flawed as well, but that's a different story! It's frustrating to spend a lot of time building something that, in the end, just isn't quite right.
Rant over, back to the bench.
In both of the following pics, the fettled wagon is on the left and the 'just glued' one on the right.
I also thought that I'd quickly plonk one of the wagons on its bogies to see what it's looking like:
It's OK, but the bogies are too wide with reference to the chassis. I've also notice in the pic above the apparent bow in the roof of the central section that I hadn't noticed before. Still, not much I can do about that at this stage!
I'll have to have a look at the bogies and see how (if) I can narrow them a bit. It's fair to say that I'm at the 'I wish I'd never started' phase of this project! I'll finish them and will make the best job of them that I can, but I can see them being replaced by better examples in the fullness of time.
I can see why people eschew kits and prefer to buy RTR. Other than the JLTRT/MM1 products, so many of the kits are just not of great quality for more modern prototypes. A fair bit of the more modern 7mm RTR is flawed as well, but that's a different story! It's frustrating to spend a lot of time building something that, in the end, just isn't quite right.
Rant over, back to the bench.
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
The bogies are now bothering me, so I have delved into my stash of useful downloaded documents (I love the internet!) and found a basic dimensioned drawing of the bogie in question.
Based on this, the centre line of the springs are 2,000 apart, so 45.9mm in 7mm scale. The bogies I bought to go with the kit are 51.1mm across the spring centres, so need a good 5mm removing. There's currently 1.7mm clearance between the wheel face and side, so I'm going to need to file the backs of the castings a bit to remove the right amount of material.
Having measured the chassis, I think that taking that excess material out will make the bogies sit in the right place relative to the chassis. If the first one is still a bit too wide, I'll take a bit more off as I think it's more important for the bogies to look right in proportion than it is to get them 100% accurate. Otherwise I might have to measure the wagon chassis and I really don't want to open that can of worms!
Based on this, the centre line of the springs are 2,000 apart, so 45.9mm in 7mm scale. The bogies I bought to go with the kit are 51.1mm across the spring centres, so need a good 5mm removing. There's currently 1.7mm clearance between the wheel face and side, so I'm going to need to file the backs of the castings a bit to remove the right amount of material.
Having measured the chassis, I think that taking that excess material out will make the bogies sit in the right place relative to the chassis. If the first one is still a bit too wide, I'll take a bit more off as I think it's more important for the bogies to look right in proportion than it is to get them 100% accurate. Otherwise I might have to measure the wagon chassis and I really don't want to open that can of worms!
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
Leaving the bogies to one side for a minute, not sure why - I just can't summon up the motivation to tackle them right now, I've gone back to the main wagons and started adding various details both on the chassis and the bodies.
First up is the top steps on the side of each wagon. On the real things, they're rectangular strip, formed into a square and welded, with a mesh tacked on top. I didn't fancy that approach in 7mm scale much, so I've cheated and cut them out of plastic sheet and then stuck fine mesh on top with Plastic Magic.
The theory is, once painted and weathered, they should look the part, even if you can't see the ground through them!
In roughly the same area, I've also added the brake changeover valves on both side, these again are cut from plastic sheet. For the detail parts, I tend to draw the parts in Corel Draw, print them onto A4 paper and then use Pritt Stick to stick that on the plastic, to give the cutting outline. I find I can generate a thinner line that way and it stops me cocking up the marking out.
The levers are little bits of microstrip cut to length. The rails that the hoods run along have also been added in the pic above, just Evergreen 1.5mm channel.
I much prefer working with plastic to brass for these small details, it's so much easier to shape and form, and stick together. Plastic Magic does a great job of sticking the styrene to the resin as well, which is a great help. It doesn't stick the resin to the resin though, so go figure!
Again, in the similar area, the other bit I wasn't happy about was the etched handbrake wheels included in the kit. You can just about get away with those in 4mm scale, but it's not going to cut in 7mm scale. Giving it a bit of thought, I hit upon the idea of using the kit etched centre with an outer rim of wire.
The rings were formed by wrapping copper wire around the top of the glue in the foreground - a couple of turns for each, like a small spring, which were then trimmed to length. The rim was then cut away from the etches, leaving the centre. The glue was the only thing I could find to hand that was the right diameter, various pens and pencils were tried before and deemed too small.
A quick dab of solder later and they're looking the part! The prototype wheels have the 3 spokes made of rod, but again I didn't fancy that much, so this is an acceptable compromise in my mind.
The next forming job that required some thought is the hoops that sit around the hood stops at the end of the wagon. They're quite a noticeable feature of the design (to me at least) so needed to be included.
Eventually I hit on the idea of forming these in a similar way to the handbrake wheels, although in this case plastic strip was used as I've got a selection to hand. The 3rd size I tried turned out to be the right size (2mm x 4mm).
When these are cut and twisted slightly to square them up, this is what you end up with:
The one on the right has been trimmed to fit around the stop, the others were subsequently trimmed to the same size, and secured to both the stop and the side of the wagon with superglue.
The end result. They are possibly a touch wide, but close enough for me. The bracket sticking out at the end is for the handrail to mount into, and as it's going to be prone to knocking off, I've made that from a bit of brass angle with a 0.45mm wire soldered in, which is then secured to the body with superglue.
I'm very much in the 'adding more detail while frantically trying not to knock off what's already been added' part of the project now. There's not a huge amount left to do on the bodies though, the door gear being the biggest task outstanding before buffers and couplings, although I may add both of those after painting.
Then I'll have to get on with the bogies...
First up is the top steps on the side of each wagon. On the real things, they're rectangular strip, formed into a square and welded, with a mesh tacked on top. I didn't fancy that approach in 7mm scale much, so I've cheated and cut them out of plastic sheet and then stuck fine mesh on top with Plastic Magic.
The theory is, once painted and weathered, they should look the part, even if you can't see the ground through them!
In roughly the same area, I've also added the brake changeover valves on both side, these again are cut from plastic sheet. For the detail parts, I tend to draw the parts in Corel Draw, print them onto A4 paper and then use Pritt Stick to stick that on the plastic, to give the cutting outline. I find I can generate a thinner line that way and it stops me cocking up the marking out.
The levers are little bits of microstrip cut to length. The rails that the hoods run along have also been added in the pic above, just Evergreen 1.5mm channel.
I much prefer working with plastic to brass for these small details, it's so much easier to shape and form, and stick together. Plastic Magic does a great job of sticking the styrene to the resin as well, which is a great help. It doesn't stick the resin to the resin though, so go figure!
Again, in the similar area, the other bit I wasn't happy about was the etched handbrake wheels included in the kit. You can just about get away with those in 4mm scale, but it's not going to cut in 7mm scale. Giving it a bit of thought, I hit upon the idea of using the kit etched centre with an outer rim of wire.
The rings were formed by wrapping copper wire around the top of the glue in the foreground - a couple of turns for each, like a small spring, which were then trimmed to length. The rim was then cut away from the etches, leaving the centre. The glue was the only thing I could find to hand that was the right diameter, various pens and pencils were tried before and deemed too small.
A quick dab of solder later and they're looking the part! The prototype wheels have the 3 spokes made of rod, but again I didn't fancy that much, so this is an acceptable compromise in my mind.
The next forming job that required some thought is the hoops that sit around the hood stops at the end of the wagon. They're quite a noticeable feature of the design (to me at least) so needed to be included.
Eventually I hit on the idea of forming these in a similar way to the handbrake wheels, although in this case plastic strip was used as I've got a selection to hand. The 3rd size I tried turned out to be the right size (2mm x 4mm).
When these are cut and twisted slightly to square them up, this is what you end up with:
The one on the right has been trimmed to fit around the stop, the others were subsequently trimmed to the same size, and secured to both the stop and the side of the wagon with superglue.
The end result. They are possibly a touch wide, but close enough for me. The bracket sticking out at the end is for the handrail to mount into, and as it's going to be prone to knocking off, I've made that from a bit of brass angle with a 0.45mm wire soldered in, which is then secured to the body with superglue.
I'm very much in the 'adding more detail while frantically trying not to knock off what's already been added' part of the project now. There's not a huge amount left to do on the bodies though, the door gear being the biggest task outstanding before buffers and couplings, although I may add both of those after painting.
Then I'll have to get on with the bogies...
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
It's widely accepted that you can't polish a turd, however, I propose that you can roll them in glitter. So behold! Two glittery turds, awaiting paint:
I wish I could be nice about this kit, but I can't. It's truly awful and I've really struggled to get a decent model out of it. It's very reminiscent of the MTK kits of old, where you could spend a lot of time and effort on making something that will never look quite right. Castings don't fit, instructions are non-existent and somehow one of the bufferbeams is a good 1-1.5mm higher than the same end of the supposedly identical wagon!
Save your money and, if you really want one of these wagons, build it from sheet styrene and Evergreen strip. I think I've even got a basic dimensioned diagram for these, that I can send you, somewhere.
I know we're supposed to support these cottage industries that produce these niche products for our hobby, but the product should at least be easily buildable by someone who has an Airfix kit or similar under their belt. I accept that I've chosen to add all of the small details, which is what I enjoy doing, but the base model should be of reasonable quality and not require extensive sanding, filling and filing to fit together. It's no wonder that, sometimes questionably shaped, RTR has been welcomed with open arms in 7mm scale.
With that rant now over, I've decided to add the buffers and couplings once painted, which I'll do in a few weeks once the weather, hopefully, gets warmer. I should also sort that squiffy step - nothing like a photo to bring out the bits that you miss with the naked eye!
I've also made a start on the bogies, which as described in an earlier entry, have their own issues, particularly in the width department.
I've taken the first one back apart and set to it with my trusty vernier! The wheels and bearings are 39.9mm over the bearing flanges and working to that dimension, the narrowest I can get the bogies in their current state is 4mm wider than they should be based on the drawing.
I've also drilled the sideframes out as much as I dare to recess the bearings as a part of that trial. Having given it some thought, and given that I don't like the way that the cross-member fits into the sideframes and that they were a complete sod to assemble square in the beginning, I'm going to design my own inner frame and have it laser cut in brass. That way I can make it the right width and incorporate slot and tab construction so it's much easier to assemble square. The sideframes will need reducing in width by 2mm before being stuck to the brass inner, I've still got my mill so will be able to use that rather than trying to file them down accurately.
I had contemplated drawing up my own sideframes and getting them 3D printed - I already have the basic axleboxes drawn for the Cargowaggon Twins project, but at least this way I get to use some of the things that I've already bought.
Onwards and upwards!
I wish I could be nice about this kit, but I can't. It's truly awful and I've really struggled to get a decent model out of it. It's very reminiscent of the MTK kits of old, where you could spend a lot of time and effort on making something that will never look quite right. Castings don't fit, instructions are non-existent and somehow one of the bufferbeams is a good 1-1.5mm higher than the same end of the supposedly identical wagon!
Save your money and, if you really want one of these wagons, build it from sheet styrene and Evergreen strip. I think I've even got a basic dimensioned diagram for these, that I can send you, somewhere.
I know we're supposed to support these cottage industries that produce these niche products for our hobby, but the product should at least be easily buildable by someone who has an Airfix kit or similar under their belt. I accept that I've chosen to add all of the small details, which is what I enjoy doing, but the base model should be of reasonable quality and not require extensive sanding, filling and filing to fit together. It's no wonder that, sometimes questionably shaped, RTR has been welcomed with open arms in 7mm scale.
With that rant now over, I've decided to add the buffers and couplings once painted, which I'll do in a few weeks once the weather, hopefully, gets warmer. I should also sort that squiffy step - nothing like a photo to bring out the bits that you miss with the naked eye!
I've also made a start on the bogies, which as described in an earlier entry, have their own issues, particularly in the width department.
I've taken the first one back apart and set to it with my trusty vernier! The wheels and bearings are 39.9mm over the bearing flanges and working to that dimension, the narrowest I can get the bogies in their current state is 4mm wider than they should be based on the drawing.
I've also drilled the sideframes out as much as I dare to recess the bearings as a part of that trial. Having given it some thought, and given that I don't like the way that the cross-member fits into the sideframes and that they were a complete sod to assemble square in the beginning, I'm going to design my own inner frame and have it laser cut in brass. That way I can make it the right width and incorporate slot and tab construction so it's much easier to assemble square. The sideframes will need reducing in width by 2mm before being stuck to the brass inner, I've still got my mill so will be able to use that rather than trying to file them down accurately.
I had contemplated drawing up my own sideframes and getting them 3D printed - I already have the basic axleboxes drawn for the Cargowaggon Twins project, but at least this way I get to use some of the things that I've already bought.
Onwards and upwards!
Pugsley
Western Thunderer
The steel carriers are still awaiting primer, although they may receive that this weekend all being well. I've also finished drawing up the bogie frames, which I'm planning on having laser cut in 0.5mm brass. This is a new method for me, so it'll be interesting to see how it turns out. It took a while to get my head around a CAD program again!
In the meantime, I've set about weathering some Heljan VAA Vans that I bought when they first came out, 2015 ish? There's 4 in total and the first one is at a point where I'm happy it's complete.
I wanted this one to look like a van that's fairly recently been repainted but has seen a bit of use. I've applied a coat of Johnsons Klear (original formula - I stashed some when it was discontinued) to the body to give it a sheen, except for the roof, they never seem to be shiny. And the chassis, which is the original Heljan semi-matt finish.
The roof then had washes of heavily thinned Tamiya Flat Earth applied using a round brush (No 1 I think), which you build up in layers, painting between the last set of lines. It's easier to do than it is to explain! I then normally tone the effect down by moistening a large flat brush with Tamiya thinners and dragging it down from the centre of the roof to the edge.
This link expalins it far better than I have:
I've also used the same flat brush and thinned Flat Earth to run the wash down the sides as well, representing rain washed dirt. It's a very subtle effect, but it is just visible in the pictures (and slightly more visible in person).
The underframe dirt is water washable oils, a mix of raw umber, burnt sienna and white, with talc stippled in to flatten the finish. On top of this, weathering powders have been used to give that dusty look in the relevant areas.
The next 3 will appear over the coming weeks, as I summon up the courage to break out the airbrush, which is something that I haven't used for a very long time!
In the meantime, I've set about weathering some Heljan VAA Vans that I bought when they first came out, 2015 ish? There's 4 in total and the first one is at a point where I'm happy it's complete.
I wanted this one to look like a van that's fairly recently been repainted but has seen a bit of use. I've applied a coat of Johnsons Klear (original formula - I stashed some when it was discontinued) to the body to give it a sheen, except for the roof, they never seem to be shiny. And the chassis, which is the original Heljan semi-matt finish.
The roof then had washes of heavily thinned Tamiya Flat Earth applied using a round brush (No 1 I think), which you build up in layers, painting between the last set of lines. It's easier to do than it is to explain! I then normally tone the effect down by moistening a large flat brush with Tamiya thinners and dragging it down from the centre of the roof to the edge.
This link expalins it far better than I have:
Missing-lynx.com - Rarities World - Rain Marks
Dedicated to AFV model builders and historians. This website includes a model gallery, articles, reviews, discussion groups, and vendors area.
www.missing-lynx.com
I've also used the same flat brush and thinned Flat Earth to run the wash down the sides as well, representing rain washed dirt. It's a very subtle effect, but it is just visible in the pictures (and slightly more visible in person).
The underframe dirt is water washable oils, a mix of raw umber, burnt sienna and white, with talc stippled in to flatten the finish. On top of this, weathering powders have been used to give that dusty look in the relevant areas.
The next 3 will appear over the coming weeks, as I summon up the courage to break out the airbrush, which is something that I haven't used for a very long time!