I read an old forum post (2005) about aged corrugated siding, but it was not applicable to my current model.
I have the Cornerstone Conc. Coaling Tower (933-3402) and am getting ready to paint the styrene plastic coal unloading shed. I looked in my workshop and found Model Master Alum Plate spray, lots of various gray sprays (from primer light to primer dark gray and a bottle of model master steel liquid.
Any advice on what a good paint strategy would be for this portion of the build?
Cedarwoodron
I just finished painting the shed on the 2903 kit (HO modern coaling tower). I did a lot of color research on this and of course found that there are an awful lot of shades of concrete out there.
Basically (IMHO), aged concrete is either a beige or a grey or anywhere inbetween. I played with the various greys I have on hand from various mfgs and was just not satisfied with any of them. Note that new concrete often has a blue/green tint with the grey.
I ended up making my own two blends. The beige blend is part “sand”, light grey, yellow, and brown - all in flat finish of course. All are from the Model Masterpiece (Testors) company. The second batch is just the sand and the light grey. I can’t give you the exact measurements, but on the first batch it was about 45/40/10/5 and the second 60/40.
The real trick to all this is the weathering. I plan on using a wash of black/thinner for the concrete and rust/thinner for the metalworks. And of course, the whole thing will be dullcoated when I’m happy with it.
On structures that have anything to do with locomotive servicing or that are in industrial areas, I usually paint with a black wash after they are complete and painted their desired colors. This represents the dirt and grime that they accumulate over time. It also tones down the paint colors so the structure doesn’t look so new, plus it sort of blends all the different colors together slightly.
Also by using the wash, I don’t have to pay too much attention to the color I use for the building and trim. So the exact color of the concrete is not that important any more.
A wash is usually one part paint to ten parts wet water. I start with one part paint (acrylic) with twenty parts 70% alcohol. I brush it on with a soft camel hair brush about one inch wide.
Weathering powders are a cheap fool proof way of weathering. Fool proof because if you goof you can wash them off with water.
The crane in the background of this pic was my first weathering with powders. And I only got better with time.
