Dapol, weathering, and progress... (or: 2 steps forwards, 1 step back)

[NeMo]

Having just purchased one of the weathered 'Westerns', I was surprised at how rough the equivalent 'Hymek' is. Check out the pictures on the Rails website.

https://railsofsheffield.com/dapol-class-35-hymek-d7024-two-tone-green-syp-powered-weathered-2d-018-004-JJJA26947.aspx

I'm not going to say the 'Western' is a Mercig work of art, but it's pretty darn good by anyone's standards. But the 'Hymek' seems simply to have been held up in front of an airbrush splattering blobs of brown paint all over the place. So far as I can tell, the bogies received the same treatment, and the roof a couple sprays of grey.

I have the original weathered BR blue 'Hymek', and in the end chose to get it re-weathered by Steve Johnson at Grimy Times, it was that poor. Looks like the current crop of 'Hymek' models are much the same.

Shame really, when we look at what Dapol can do when it comes to weathering, as with their 'Western', china clay tanks and the rather attractive (if not very well built) 9Fs.

So Dapol, either weather your models to the same standard as the 'Western' or don't bother. Spraying them with brown and hoping for the best doesn't seem very worthwhile.

I don't want to overanalyse this, but Dapol sometimes strike me as lacking an overall master plan. Sometimes they blow me away by the way they raise the standard while maintaining reasonable prices. The 'Western' epitomises this for me. Surely one of the best RTR diesels produced for the UK hobby. But other products seem rather lacklustre, and even after many years little/no effort seems to go into improving them beyond reissuing such models in different liveries. Why raise standards if you're then going to ignore them.

Cheers, NeMo

[bluedepot]

"I have the original weathered BR blue 'Hymek', and in the end chose to get it re-weathered by Steve Johnson at Grimy Times"

Can we see a picture please?

Cheers


Tim

[NeMo]

"I have the original weathered BR blue 'Hymek', and in the end chose to get it re-weathered by Steve Johnson at Grimy Times"

By all means. Steve was obviously a bit constrained by the weathering Dapol had already done, but I think you'll agree he improved it!

Cheers, NeMo

Dapol weathering:


Grimy Times revision:

[Elvinley]

I like Steve's work - had a few done myself some time ago.

Some of Dapol's stuff is weathered in the factory at Chirk and some of the weathering has been done as part of the paint job. I think most weathered wagons, but not the Silver Bullets are done at the Chirk factory and it is simply a matter of a brown spray to the chassis and a blackish coloured spray to the top.

[Chetcombe]

I nominate the weathering on the Class 22 to the 'successful' column - clearly the same process is used here as on the Western.

Shame about the new Hymek, i was looking forward to see if it had the Western touch. I too have the weathered blue one and share NeMo's views on it!

[NeMo]

I nominate the weathering on the Class 22 to the 'successful' column - clearly the same process is used here as on the Western.

Any pictures? Not seen this beast in the flesh. Was this the one that came with the exclusive Dapol club pack with the weathered milk tanks?

Shame about the new Hymek, i was looking forward to see if it had the Western touch. I too have the weathered blue one and share NeMo's views on it!

Shame, because the 'Hymek' is otherwise quite a good model. A bit prone to losing teeth on the top gear of each bogie, but these are cheap and easy to replace.

Cheers, NeMo

[johnlambert]

I nominate the weathering on the Class 22 to the 'successful' column - clearly the same process is used here as on the Western.

Any pictures? Not seen this beast in the flesh. Was this the one that came with the exclusive Dapol club pack with the weathered milk tanks?

Here's a recent photo of my weathered class 22.  I'd certainly say it was a good effort at weathering.

[Ensign Elliott]

I normally try and avoid any factory weathered models, prefering to weather them myself. The few I've got in both N and 00 are done to a very poor standard and as others have said, have 1 or 2 shades of paint airbrushed over the top of the livery.

I did give into Dapol's Western though and bought a maroon one with full yellow ends, which I have to say is most impressive. Even the oily patches on the buffers have been added but hand!!

[bluedepot]

cheers

yes the hymek looks much better esp roof I think

I just like models dulled down a bit - not filthy!

Tim

[NeMo]

I just like models dulled down a bit - not filthy!

Generally I agree. But there seem to be some locomotives that never looked clean! It seems to me that the early 70s was sort of a low point for locomotive cleanliness, but by the 80s (when I went 'spotting') generally locomotives seemed to be in pretty good condition. So BR blue 'Westerns' always seemed to be filthy unless they'd just been overhauled or something.

Back on topic, the 22's are the best weathered I have purchase Out The Box from Dapol, I did do a 22 myself and it was only marginally better than the one from the box!...

Your Class 66 looks nice and greasy! I've not see a close-up photo of the weathered Class 22s, so can't comment on those. But as I said earlier, at its best Dapol weathering is excellent. Certainly better than anything I've so far seen from Farish.

Cheers, NeMo

[Newportnobby]

I've not see a close-up photo of the weathered Class 22s, so can't comment on those. But as I said earlier, at its best Dapol weathering is excellent. Certainly better than anything I've so far seen from Farish.

Cheers, NeMo

From the book set with milk tanks.......

[NeMo]

As you said, looks very nice!

Were the milk tanks weathered to the same standard? Or dunked into a grey-brown spray like the ones that came with the 'Hymek'?

NeMo

[Newportnobby]

As you said, looks very nice!

Were the milk tanks weathered to the same standard? Or dunked into a grey-brown spray like the ones that came with the 'Hymek'?

NeMo

Most folks agree the tanks have not been to the same standard as the loco
Apologies for the poor pic

[NeMo]

Most folks agree the tanks have not been to the same standard as the loco
Apologies for the poor pic

Agreed. I've yet to see a photo of a post-war milk tanker in service that wasn't absolutely filthy. Still, together with that 'Baby Warship' that's a really nice train pack. 

Cheers, NeMo

[Chetcombe]

Here is the Class 22 in (very weathered) blue from the milk train pack. I got it from a certain Liverpool based e-tailer rather than from the Dapol club.



The milk tankers were weathered, but to nowhere near the same standard. Just the usual brown spray from an airbrush.