In this episode at Shelvington (my OO/HO garage layout here in Wellington, NZ), I have my very first proper go at weathering model wagons—and I’ll be honest, it’s a bit of a rollercoaster. I start with a box wagon that someone’s previously “weathered” with what looks like a black brush and a whole lot of regret. It even wobbles on the track thanks to a deformed wheel, so before I can make it look nicely grubby, I’ve got to strip it back and get it running right. IPA didn’t touch the old paint, but methylated spirits did the job and lifted the messy coating while leaving the original lettering intact. Once I’ve got a cleaner base to work from, I try a simple brown paint-and-water wash to knock back that shiny, toy-like look. Then I crack open my Tamiya weathering powders for the first time (orange rust, gunmetal, silver) and start picking out the underframe details—especially the leaf springs, which actually come up pretty cool. In the end though, my verdict is pretty clear: weathering isn’t really for me. I like nice clean shiny wagons, and when I do the maths on doing a whole rake, it’s just too much time for something I don’t love—although I do get why the experts enjoy it.