Weathered by Philden Showcase 21

I've just spent the past three weeks downstairs in the garage weathering a small empire of Australian HO scale models. Many were simply over-purchased ahead of sitting down to write my Model Railway Weathered Wonders book. With the project now finished and the book available in leading hobby stores around the country and online, I simply needed to make time to airbrush them up and move them on.

Ahead of this weekend's first outing for my new layout at the Redlands Model Railway Show in Brisbane, I was tinkering around with what to run, and discovered much to my disappointment that my 46'6" refrigerated containers and my recently purchased NQKY 63' foot container wagons just wouldn't pair together on the container stirrups. I'd also thought that an SCT logistics PBGY van and matching G Class locomotive might work on my short bookshelf layout. Turns out that as awesome as they looked once weathered, the PBGY van was almost as long as my shortened Walthers Cold Storage building. The ex-V/Line G Class loco G513, without the added QR National and SCT traffic, soon left me with buyers remorse...

So in an afternoon of commonsense prevailing, I rounded up anything that just wasn't doing it for me on the layout, and listed them on eBay over the weekend alongside another batch of models that I had just completed weathering. Here's a look at the latest, and possibly last for a while, of Weathered by Philden models that I have for sale...

The waaay too long PBGY van. At 28.5 cm over the couplers, this model is a Trainworld release.

All four 63' foot NQKY's from Auscision Models pack NCW-37 are now weathered and available...

...as is this 46'6" Wilmot Freezehaul refrigerated container...

...and the Breeze Logistics equivalent, both by Auscision Models.

This Pacific National repainted VLCX van was a leftover from my Melbourne layout...

...as were the West Coast Railway VLCX vans, all by Auscision Models.

The subtle rust effects really stand out on these models, as do the mismatched doors.

And of course the sliding doors mean that I have to weather these things inside and out!

Click on the eBay banner above to view the weathered HO scale railway models I currently have for sale. The time for me to weather any further models is quickly coming to a close. So if you've been umming and ahhing for a while, now's your chance. Each model will come with a mini certificate (see below), signed by myself as a way of saying thanks for enabling me to be able to write full-time over the past 18 months.

So my layout changeover is now complete, and any unnecessary items from my personal collection have now all been weathered and listed on eBay. All that remains for me to weather are a few packs each of SDS Models WGX open wagons and FX flour wagons to finally put my 18 month long project behind me. I want to thank each and every person who has purchased a model/models this past year. For your kind words, and even subtle pointers that along the way have culminated in me producing a book to be proud of.

I have a busy month ahead of me with 2 model train shows I am exhibiting at, plus the British Model Railway Association (Australia) Convention I will be speaking at in Brisbane late in September. On top of that there is one final Philden Model Railway book I am about to sit down and start writing ahead of a well earned holiday, (our first since a short getaway last year), that will also culminate in me starting a new job. Oh. and did I mention I am about to become a Poppy for the first time any week now? Life has just become sooo busy!

Until next time...

Each model comes with a certificate signed by yours truly.

For my own record...

Models sold 166/220