Out of the box .
Body off -distressed. Compare it to the 'clean' one behind.
Hacking away at the moulded plastic details .
Hacking away at the rungs on the ladders.
Compare the untreated model above with the treated model below. See how the corner bracing has been partially hacked away.

Great models but crying out for a bit of extra detailing. A quick comparison with photographs of the real wagons show just how much the models need to be knocked about a bit and generally abused. See the links in the opposite column for prototype photos. An interesting variation is the end sections where corner bracings seem to finish at different heights. I've replicated this on my models. You obviously need to look at the specific car you're modelling.

Started by hacking off the moulded detail and replacing it with fashioned brass wire.

I also hacked off the ribbing on the ends and replaced it with micro plasticard, to allw daylight through / below (see photos at the bottom of the page for a comparison.

The first stage in the weathering was to simply distress the paintwork with a glassfibre brush. I am very allergic to it but unfortunately - a necessity. It will need weatheirng powders and maybe a bit of air-brushing to finish.

Just awaiting the ladders to arrive from the states, the correct shade of blue paint, a coat of dull coat and some weathering powders to complete.

Is it really worth it in N Scale? Depends what you enjoy doing.

See also the 'British Outline' workbench.