Smallbrook Studio, Nellie

Yesterdays photo showed Nellie painted, but looking a bit flat. The colours were there and all very pretty but I felt there was no life in them. That's not unusual, especially for matt black. There is only one solution - weathering!

First up, all the black was dry-brushed with dark grey (Humbrol 69). This works for anything black and immediately looks better.

After that, I wanted a dirty loco that had been cleaned so worked around the model using Lifecolor Rail Weathering paints and some MiG acrylics. Little squirts of brown were put on a palette (plastic lid from the swwet'n'sour sauce pot from my local Chinese takeaway) and then painted on the model.

After the paint had dried, a matter of a few minutes, it was wiped away with a paper cloth. Difficult to reach areas got the cotton bud treatment. If anything seemed to be sticking where I didn't want it, a brush with some water tackled that.

After this, there was grime around the rivets and in one or two areas where the resin surface was a little pitted. This could have been a problem but I quite liked it.

Emett's cartoons showed careworn locomotives so that's the effect I've tried to replicated. Working in a large scale (this is G gauge) is different from the smaller ones but in this case not much.

Finishing touches were to fit a jewel in the lamp and glaze the windows with Krystal Klear. Now all I need is a driver, and I have a kit for one of those...