Creating a varied appearance on a fleet of identical vehicles is quick, easy and realistic. TIM SHACKLETON shows how to mix it up and create real variety on some Bachmann tank wagons.
A lot of weathered models have an almost identical appearance, which is fine in isolation but glaringly obvious when in a train of similar vehicles – so how can you avoid this effect?
As an hour at the lineside will soon confirm, real weathering runs the gamut from immaculate to completely filthy and all points in between. But if you’re not confident straying beyond concepts as light, medium and heavy weathering, the results can be monotonous. The outward appearance of rolling stock in particular is highly variable and very dependent on the traffic it handles and the environment in which it operates. That’s why I like to pitch the weathering of successive projects at different stages and varying intensities to reflect what happens in reality.
Above: Short trains of tank wagons have been a feature of rail operations throughout the privatised era. On October 18 2016, 66566 heads through Copley's Brook cutting near Melton Mowbray with six empty green TTA fuel tank wagons on the 10.27 Ipswich S.S. to Lindsey oil refinery. The fuel tanks were retu…
