A spot of caravanning

Hexworthy is modelled in the preservation era, and I want the scene to be recognisable as a modern era preserved railway that might be running steam engines rather than a period layout with some modern anachronisms. One characteristic feature of many preserved railway station yards is an old caravan that has seen better days, used as accomodation for volunteers. I got an old Oxford Diecast caravan, and I want it to look old as though it has been there many years. 

First I gave the shiny white glossy finish a rub down with a fibreglass pencil to reduce the shine and allow the weathering to stick. Some details were touched in with paint - gunmetal on the steps, hinges, handles, hitch, and jockey wheel, matt black-grey on rubber parts, and subtle dry-brushing of rust colours in some places like wheels and hitch (but caravan bodies are aluminium). The first weathering coat is a well diluted dirty brown, streaked with a brush dampened with thinners, worked into joins and cracks, and stippled on the roof. A further coat of dirty green was used to add traces of mould. It's intentioally a pretty heavy weathering. 

The carvan would have its legs down, but the model didn't have any, so I added some. Small holes were drilled in each corner of the floor, staples cut and bent to make the angled legs, and superglued into the holes. There should be secondary arms forming a triangle back to the body but I figured they wouldn't be visible from normal angles. Small "wood" blocks were cut from plasticard and superglued to the bottom of the legs. 

To fix the caravan in place, fine wire was looped around the axle behind each wheel and twisted together. Two holes were puched through the scenery, polystyrene and foam-core base, the twisted wires coated with glue (well I used matt Modge Podge) and pushed into the holes. The blocks under the legs and the bottom of the wheels also had a dab of matt modge-podge as it was pushed into place. 

Here's the caravan in place under the trees and surrounded by undergrowth, which explains its dirty and slightly mouldy state. It sits in a corner of the station site past the end of what would once have been the goods yard but is now part car-park, and part playground, I guess the caravan was put there before the playground was built. It's accessed through a gate at the end of the playground. I chose not to fit lighting partly as I want it to appear empty but possibly still occasionally used, it could do with a little clutter around it though. Still, it does add a little visual interest at this end of the station.