Modelling like Constable

 

This article is basically my ramblings about N gauge fine detailing and how, although I love seeing it, I came to the conclusion it was not so important to me.  Some of you may find this article quite controversial so for those who love loads of detail at any cost look away now!

So why ‘modelling like Constable’?

My Wife and I took out an annual membership of a local art gallery at Compton Verney, Warwickshire, and quite frequently went to see some magnificent art work in themed exhibitions. The gallery is well worth a visit just to see the buildings and grounds alone as the building is a magnificent mansion set in landscaped gardens.  They have art on permanent and temporary show which is stunning and also have a good tea shop.

On one of our visits it was the turn of Constable to be exhibited and being someone who appreciates art but is not an art critic I stood to close to the paintings. I then spent most of my time grumbling about the lack of detail and the rough way the paintings were produced, until, to my embarrassment, it was explained I should stand much farther away to appreciate them.

By standing a distance away the picture took on a completely different appearance and to all intensive purpose became more detailed and matching my thoughts on what a Constable painting should look like. I focused on a dog in one picture and at a distance it appeared to be a very detailed and a realistic portrayal but as I got closer it was some simple brush strokes, albeit in the shape of a dog, and when closer still the brush strokes didn’t even appear to resemble anything. I suppose that’s why artists paint at arm’s length and have long handled brushes.

Having railways, model railways and especially N gauge in my head most of the time I thought and puzzled about this for some time. N gauge is being driven down a road that seems to want more and more detail. Yet if you take on board my findings above is there room for less detail? – If Constable can do it then why not us mere mortal modellers.

The Modeller's Eye?

I followed this thought process through to my appreciation of models and layouts. I love John Ahern’s Madder Valley and Peter Denny’s Buckingham Great Central layouts as it was these (and the modellers writings) that set the seed for me to be a railway modeller. However, what was puzzling me was that I loved these layouts more than some more detailed finer layouts that, although more realistic, somehow didn’t draw me in. I realised after some thought that I liked their model status as they were both models rather than an attempt to be a 100% realistic representations, especially when you take into account that John Ahern didn’t even stay true to a particular scale. I felt in these circumstances I was closer to the modeller somehow and I wanted to take in the detail produced for the modeller’s sake instead of for the layout’s realism.

Now some of you need to shut your eyes for this bit as I said I may be controversial. I do not support this constant drive for more and more separate detail being added to rolling stock in some cases as, apart from the ever rising cost and the fragility of the items, I think some details actually look unrealistic and would be better moulded or even omitted. Open a photo of a real locomotive of your choice from the internet and then open a photo of the equivalent modern detailed N gauge model and look at details such as handrails, brake rigging etc. To my eye, some models look more toy like with the over-scale added detail. I think we have a ‘modeller's eye’ which turns over scale or incorrect detail into accuracy not because it is realistic but because we want it to be realistic.

I opened up a photo of a Poole built Graham Farish Pannier Tank and compared it with a real locomotive and I really do think the moulded handrails look better albeit there are no handrail knobs and the model has the wrong proportions and still lack accuracy and detail in other areas. I have 3 of these models and to me they create a good effect of pannier locomotives and I seem to dismiss their failures when running them – is this my modeller's eye? Leading on from this begs the question is there room in the market for a range of rolling stock with only well moulded detail and/or detail omitted at a much cheaper cost? I ask this question as when the cost of models started to rise in price I seriously considered giving up N gauge.  However read on.....

Application of my new enlightenment

Armed with this new, more relaxed, approach I started to re-think things. The period I model is the early sixties and although I was alive at that time I was taking more interest in teddy bears and when I was going to get fed than railways. I can’t then remember any of the rolling stock I model and have to rely on videos, photographs and preserved items. I had already collected quite a bit of rolling stock but as I wanted to model a main line I had a long way to go. I started to look at wagon kits, and, using my new found approach started to consider if I really needed fully detailed and accurate specific models or did a cheaper wagon look close enough to create the effect I was after. Wagons were my Achilles heel in keeping me in the hobby as I really wanted long goods trains but to populate such trains would cost considerable amounts of money.

What I needed was a core ‘pocket money’ range of wagons to cover the bulk of my wagon stock. My attentions moved to the Peco range of wagon kits which are still remarkable value at around £4.50 each.  I already had some ready to run versions and set about reviewing them to see if I would be happy with them. I had been put off some of the models by critical comments on chat pages and the model press about chassis quality, chassis type, incorrect wheelbases, plastic wheels and small buffers but I decided to persevere with my own views on the matter. I spent some considerable, enjoyable, hours comparing the models with photographs and wagon diagram books. With the following conclusions:

The chassis:

• The plastic wheels are fine but the disc wheels have a narrower ‘back to back’ which works fine on Peco track but not on finer tolerance track.  The only reason I will fit metal wheels is if I think the wagon is light which most of the open wagons are.
• The buffers are small but the wagons do couple up closely and I think this is a good compromise.
• The 10ft wheel base (wb) chassis was fine for my purposes and although there are many designs of brake gear etc. I felt the look of the Peco chassis was good. I found when I weathered it the moulded brake lever stood out so a stroke of matt black on the top of the solid moulding reduced its impact considerably.  A tie bar, if required, could be fitted easily, as described by articles in back journals.
• The 15ft wb chassis is too modern for my period and no matter how I ‘squinted’ I could not bring myself to accept it as it was.  I felt it could be adapted quickly and easily however to create a good effect of an older chassis by removing everything under the sole bar apart from the brakes and the brake handle. This modification makes a massive difference to the overall look of the chassis giving it that older less complicated look and I was pleased with the effect. When removing these details you have to be careful not to cut into the sole bar although if you do it can be made to look like a rusted through section. I will not add any more detail as I am looking to build a large fleet which means a lot of work
• I did dismiss the kits based on 9ft wb chassis as these were more expensive but I also could not get these chassis to run well so felt the 9ft wb wagons may still have to be bought ready to run or squint a bit more and use 10ft wb chassis stock.

The dismissed bodies:

• The KNR-8 Box Van, Pallet, KNR-67 Grain Whisky Wagon, KNR-50 Tank Wagon were all to too modern for my period but the 15ft wb chassis as it stands suits these models much better.
• The KNR-10 Open Wagon, Tarpaulin was dismissed, after some research, as I could not find a wagon that looked similar in the period I modelled and although the model as it stands would fit my period well there were so few produced it never appeared in any photos of that period that I had. It does seem strange that Peco should have this wagon in their range.

The acceptable ones:

The wagons I decided to use are described in the table below, the reasons I chose them and some tips when making them.  I bought a lot and my wife thought I was becoming obsessed until I gave her a lesson in train lengths – the Pendon Dartmoor scene coal train came in handy for that.

Type of Wagon	Comments	Tips/Adaptations
KNR-4 Open Wagon, Bolster KNR-5 Open Wagon, Plate	Both look good to me on the correct chassis.	Buy the bolster wagon as it is the same wagon as the plate wagon but you get free bolsters.
KNR-7 Open Wagon, Tube	Another rare prototype.  Most tube wagons have a level top edge but the Peco version has a slightly dropped centre which is an over emphasized detail from the prototype.  The arrangement of doors is different to most tube wagons. Tube wagons were mainly on 12’ or 18’6’’ chassis so the chassis is wrong but with this, the dropped centre and differing door arrangement I still thought it conveyed a tube wagon so I accepted it.	None
KNR-9 Box Van, Parcels and Fish	The body is too long but it looks a good representation to me.  I bought a few but realised later they probably didn’t run in the area I model.	If the kit is moulded in white plastic just letter and weather it.
KNR-20 Conflat Wagon, single plank	The Flat, bolster (see below) and Conflat wagons are an old timber built design and do not look like the steel made BR versions being much chunkier in appearance. However, it looks acceptable to me if toned down with weathering. The Container is a good representation of a type with vertical planking.	These wagons and containers need a lot of lettering and although transfers are available they need careful application to look good.  Because of this I may buy the ready to run models.
KNR-28 NE/BR Brake Van KNR-29 SR Brake Van KNR-48 LMS Brake van KNR-49 NE Brake Van	The brake vans are all good models and as you probably expected by now I accepted the moulded handrails! (Even expensive ready to run models have retained the moulded handrails). They all make up into very nice models.	My tip with the handrails is apply paint sparingly to the face of the rail only and then weather with some burnt orange rust coloured wash prior to weathering the wagon generally. Weather or paint the floors including any verandas in a slightly darker shade as it gives the model some relief.
KNR-39 Single Bolster Wagons	See KNR-20	I have paired many of these, as many were, by cutting off the buffers on the inner faces and then cutting off the bulk of the Elsie coupling leaving the flat rear face only which is then brought together with double sided tape.
KNR-40 5 Plank Open Wagon KNR-41 7 Plank Open Wagon	Really nice models.	Paint the upper edges, which are too thick, with half body colour and half inner timber colour as this reduces the effect of the thick side. It is easier than it sounds to mask but unless you are super human the line between colours will not be perfect but this only fools the eye (modellers eye remember!) even more.  Keep the inner timber colour close to the shade of the wagon colour as the line is even more indistinct. Many wagons are finished with the timber inner faces far too dark.
KNR-42 Refrigerator type Box Van	Good model but not perfect.  There were a number of Banana vans that looked very similar to this with some on a 9ft wb chassis.	It can have corner reinforcement and extra strapping added using micro strip. This makes it more accurate as it was the 10ft wb wagons that mainly had these improvements. If you search on the internet there is a really good article showing how these adaptations can be done. I’ve kept some as the kit and will add the 2 forms of strapping/reinforcement to some later. You can make up a yellow spot template with a leather punch. If you then use some well diluted yellow paint and dry brush the spot it looks like it has faded considerably.
KNR-43 Standard type Box Van	Goal!  A nice little model based on a GWR design which is perfect for my layout.	None
KNR-44 Butterley steel type Open Wagon	Peco really did choose some rare prototypes!  I toyed with this one for some time but in the end it does look like a mineral wagon and if I squint a bit it is OK – just.	See comments for open wagons above. Don’t leave the inside body colour as it rusted quickly. I use a white fineliner pen to add the white line on the wagon.  Make sure you start the pen on scrap first to avoid the blob which forms at the start of a line.  You will also need to weather with acrylic paint as the solvent in enamel paint will make the ink run.
KNR-45 Cattle Truck	It is short as it should be on a 12ft wb chassis but the detailing is good and it looks like a BR cattle wagon – just keep it away from the Graham Farish model as it will show up its failings.	Paint the inside a dark colour, run black paint all over the horizontal rails and then wipe the face before the paint dries which leaves a thin line of the livery colour. This disguises the over scale rail remarkably well.
KNR-120 Salt Wagon	KNR-41 with a roof.  I have no need for salt wagons but did buy some and the roofs are in my scrap box.	None
KNR-167 Tank Wagon	A very nice model. I only have few of these in simple liveries as the complex petroleum companies’ liveries are difficult to replicate.  I may still have to buy propriety models to get the complex livery.	Be careful when weathering these as if you use a wash it puddles in the nooks and crannies and powder will do the opposite and can create a very patchy effect.

I also have a lot of kits from various sources and as an example of my new approach I have a 10ft wheelbase Shark Van and a 10ft wheelbase shunters Truck. These were much easier and quicker to build this way, retains the reliability of the chassis and with my modellers eyes look the part. I never fit the vacuum cylinder to fitted stock which leads me to a another controversial question – do we really need detailed underframes?  The knock on effect to making allowances like this means the kits leave my stash quicker and are on the layout not in boxes waiting to be built.

I intend ordering my trains into running trains and stopping trains with the running trains having my hand numbered wagons and the stopping trains having proprietary rolling stock or stock which have properly applied transfers and are of a more accurate type.

Creating the Constable effect

You may find this a little funny, bearing in mind my views on detail, but I always spray paint wagons to get a good finish as firstly I find it easier and secondly the effect is better looking with a much flatter matt appearance from a distance (using the Constable theory). I always seem to see hand painted surfaces on wagons, unless they are done very well, from a distance.

I never use colour straight from the tin/jar as I think the manufacturers are using paint which is too dark so I will lighten the colours and this seems to lift the appearance no end.  You can also vary the tone and colour across wagons and when you see a train made up of a mix of wagons in different tones it looks very good and balances some of the lacking accuracy as your eyes are busy interpreting the changing tones.

For unfitted stock the black lettered boxes are hand painted starting with a small box but if thid is not that tidy I extend it until you have a box that is acceptable.  The boxes varied so much across wagons so varying sizes give a better look.

The numbering is applied with a fine brush using magnifying clip on glasses. This is quick but it looks awful close up.  You need to practice and don’t expect to be consistent if you leave time between batches of wagons.  Rest (wedge) your hand against the wagon to steady it.   Copy a photograph for the general arrangement of lettering but don’t try to do individual letters as a simple line will suffice.  Strangely the quicker you do the stroke the straighter and usually horizontal the line is. Dilute the paint a lot as the line needs to be translucent and dab off excess paint before applying on to the wagon.  It is half way between normal painting and dry brushing.  This process only works if you weather over the lettering as it fools the eye by producing a ghost of lettering.

I always weather the wagons using an acrylic paint wash over sprayed enamel paint as I prefer spraying with enamel.  I let the acrylic paint down with liquid window cleaner, as it contains Isopropyl alcohol and a surfactant, until it is almost like water.  Never use black always stay with lighter track brown colours (I use a proprietary ‘grime’ paint) and always one or two tones away from the wagon colour to add subtlety.  Very light and very dark wagon colours need careful weathering so that it is not over done with obvious streaking.  Also beware of complex wagons such as tank wagons as the wash will pool in some areas and look patchy.

My technique is to apply the wash with a loaded brush liberally from the top of the wagon all over.  Quickly before it has had a chance to dry roll a cotton bud along the lower edges and you will see the paint magically drain until there is only a film over the wagon.  You may need to touch lightly some crevices etc. to clear some areas of wash.  This is quick and I have yet to add any other weathering to the bodies as I think this general covering works well in N Gauge.  It will dry lighter but if you think you have made a mistake wash the model quickly under a running tap.  If you leave it for even a short time the acrylic paint will dry and you will not be able to remove it without proprietary paint remover.  This technique is messy so plenty of newspaper and old clothes or an apron.

The ratio of paint to thinners will vary the effect and as I do not measure the ratios the effect varies considerably as the quantity of paint not only effects the depth of weathering but also effects the flow across the wagon increasing and decreasing the settling into crevices.  This is what I like as it gives a similar but varied look to the stock.

Damaged and rotten planks etc. can be simply painted in with the wash and shortcomings of the wagon can be disguised by additional weathering.  Also if the effect is not weathered enough then just apply another coat.  However, leave the first coat to thoroughly dry first.

I only weather the bodies this way as I will revisit the weathering of the completed wagon using an airbrush on the roof and underframe.  With all the wagons I have I’ve not got to this phase yet!