Dapol Mk1’s -weathered in O Gauge.

This is the third batch of Dapol Mk1’s I have weathered – that’s over 20 coaches in total. This time they are the BR Crimson and Cream variety. I have to say that these are the best Mk1’s ever made – seriously better than those that came before.

All coaches were re-numbered using HMRS Transfers.

The work I carried out was as follows:-

1/ I put dilute matt black in all door creases and then wiped off any excess with a cotton bud.

2/ I did a wash and wipe on the roof to highlight the vents etc.

3/ I hand painted all the wheel rims with a matt black and brown mix.

4/ I masked all windows to avoid overspray.

5/ Out with the airbrush and attacked the sole bar, bogies, under chassis and buffers – I used three different colours, Frame Dirt, Brake Dust and Matt Black.

6/ I then dry brushed a dark rust on all springs to highlight.

Three new DAPOL coaches.

These are the first of Dapol’s new O Gauge Coaches I have weathered. Here we have a BSK, SO and a CK in Blue and Grey, all have been given a light weathering.

The first thing I did was to get a black wash into all door grooves and creases, this is what I call shadowing and it’s the main method I use to make rolling stock look less plasticy and more 3D. I wiped away any overspill after about five minutes.

I painted the wheel rims black to blend with the rest of the wheel. The next job was to blacken the very bright buffers.

Now out with the air brush and the use of Railmatch Frame Dirt, Brake Dust, Roof Dirt and Humbrol Black. After this I dry brushed a little self mixed dark rust on the main bogie springs and secondary springs, I also added greasy blobs to the buffer faces. Finally I air brushed a small amount of roof dirt and matt black on the roof with special attention to the vents and piping.

Well the verdict on the Dapol Coaches and how they weather – 9.5 out of 10 – super models. My only advice is be careful with the glazing, it does mist very slightly, but compared to other makes they are brilliant.