I’ve got a few Rapido cars & would like to experiment with green screen filming but they’re all so…shiny & perfect. Obviously, to get ‘more’ realism I’ll have to weather them, but it’s like gilding the lily - and if it goes wrong, I’ve destroyed a $100 piece of my fleet.
Any tips or suggestions?
Yikes! That is a scary thought. I have 13 Rapido Passenger cars that still look new. Included in those are three baggage cars. Usually 1 or 2 of the baggage cars are left behind on a siding. So when I take that weathering plunge, it will probably be on a baggage car. That way if I really mess things up the passengers in the passing train will see it and understand why it is on the dirty car siding. It’s waiting for a bath.[(-D]
Is it real or is it RAPIDO!
Here’s what I do to weather passenger cars using a wash:
First, buy some Dawn dishwashing detergent. I like the Dawn because it seems to have less foam than other dishwashing detergents I’ve used. Measure out 100 mL (which is about 4 oz), and add 4 to 5 drops of the Dawn with an eyedropper. This will be your stock solution for diluting the weathering color. Next, take about 25 mL of this solution (e.g, 1 oz.) and add some Polly Scale Grimy Black. Stir, don’t shake! I use old Polly Scale bottles for this purpose. I have found three to five drops of the paint to be ideal for a passenger car in regular service but with some over-the-road dirt accumulation. Now brush this over the model using a 1/2" sable brush. Go in the direction that rain would wash dirt over the car, vertically on the sides, and from the center out on the roof. Try to avoid making bubbles when you are doing this. Once the car dries, the Grimy Black will have accumulated along the bottom of the car, around rivets, and in indentations that way real dirt does on the prototype.
You can use Rubbing Alcohol in place of the water/Dawn mix, but there is a chance that the window glass will fog if the manufacturer uses acrylic instead of styrene (Bowser does this on their Baldwin Switchers, ask me how I know); also, if any gets between your fingers and the car side (if you are holding the car to wash the underbody) it will leave a nice, unprototypical fingerprint. But the alcohol somewhat fades the paint and gives a superior finish in my experience.
Greg
[quote user=“bigpianoguy”]
I’ve got a few Rapido cars & would like to experiment with green screen filming but they’re all so…shiny & perfect. Obviously, to get ‘more’ realism I’ll have to weather them, but it’s like gilding the lily - and if it goes wrong, I’ve destroyed a $100 piece of my fleet.
Any tip
I have seen a Rapido car that was beautifully wheathered. The key was that the person only weathered the trucks, underbody components and roof. The car sides and ends were left as new. After masking the sides and ends, an airbrush was used to spread very thin coats of grimmy black, roof brown etc on the underbody details and trucks. These shades reallly revealed the details that are lost in the uniform black of a stock model. Here and there, streaks of rust can be added. The roof can be removed and air brusued a very dark gray or light black to refect sun fading. Bob
Guys,
I am so glad that FINALLY, someone wants to weather a metalized or “plated” car.
I hope these photos are helpful for reference. You’ve likely seen this before. This is a Walthers Baggage-Dormitory car that I metalized with Alclad into the SCL scheme. I used weathering washes on the car’s trucks and underframe. The difference in the final appearance, imho, was amazing:
These are the colors that I generally use for weathering passenger car underframes. Polly Scale acrylics are my preferred choice for weathering, but water based paints from other manufacturers are just as effective.&nb
My good friend who models the CNR got some of the Rapido cars when they were first released, and wanted them “lightly weathered”, much like I do most of his locomotives.
I used Floquil, thinned with about 90% lacquer thinner, and simply placed the cars on a length of track (old Bowser turntable bridge) in the paint booth, then rolled them back-and-forth as I sprayed, aiming only at the trucks and underbody. Naturally, a little got onto the cars’ sides, too, exactly as it should have.
Keeping them moving ensures that the wheel faces get consistent coverage. I don’t recall for sure, but I likely used at least two or three colours - I usually have 8-12 thinned weathering colours available at any time, but not all are appropriate for all cars. All are mixed from left-overs from previous paint jobs, and are usually altered somewhat every time I paint.
Wayne
Doc,
Creative and the results look excellent. I enjoy experimenting and will try your technique in the near future.
Thank you for sharing! [Y][8D]
FWIW I prefer “dry” weathering methods, just because of the issue you describe. If you do a wash of paint or alcohol and india ink etc. and it turns out bad - you’re stuck! If you do dry and it’s not right, you can wash it off and start over.
You can start with powdered charcoal. I usually cover it pretty well, then remove much of it with a soft paper towel. That leaves a light patina of weathering. You can then seal it in with flat finish spray, it doesn’t dissolve like chalk weathering will. (You should remove the window glazing before spraying of course.) Then, you can use weathering powders in rust, brown, tan etc. to add more weathering.
There are levels and levels of weathering. The highest levels require artistic talent far beyond my abilities. The lower levels of weathering mean painting over the raw plastic gloss. Commercial models are sold with unpainted trucks in glossy black plastic and under carriages in the same state.
You can make a substantial improvement in the looks of a commercial model by paintng the trucks, either flat grimy black or for freight cars, rust red. Rattle car auto primer in dark gray or red looks right. For the undercarriage, mask off the topsides of the car with wide painters blue masking tape and spray the bottom of the car with gray auto primer, either light gray or dark gray. Even though you don’t directly see the undercarriage when the car is on the layout, killing the gloss on the bottom of the car is easy and inproves the looks.
If the topsides of the car are too shiny and glossy, give the whole car a shot of DullCote. Remove or protect the window glazing, the DullCote will make the “glass” look all sorts of cruddy. The rest of the car will look less glossy and more realistic for just the DullCote.
I have weathered one of my Turbos and several passenger cars. Below is a photo of the Turbo. I tried to match prototype photos as best I can but upon reflection I think I need to move the smudge a bit higher up on the nose.
I use a custom (i.e. random) mix of grimy black and various shades of brown in an airbrush. I used diluted grimy black in the grills to give them some more depth. On the roof where I needed the exhaust sludge to obliterate the yellow I held a piece of card stock a few millimetres from the roof so as to feather the weathering edge. I probably should have masked the front windows as they look too dirty.
The “masking tape” around the sandbox is white applied full strength with a tiny brush.
I see this as a work in progress. I will probably make some changes once I get it on the layout. But seeing as construction on the layout has only just started, that could be a while.
I don’t like unweathered equipment in service - I am a big fan of weathering. The key to remember is this: when you think it needs just one more spray or one more wash, STOP.
-Jason
You tracked me down, Jason! (Paul Minard). Any thoughts to releasing factory-weathered versions of the current catalogue?
Mr. B&O, when you say ‘measure out 100 mL’, do you mean ‘of water’?
Thanks…
Excellent work guys, stunning models!!!
I have a Rapido car I bought for a kit bash & Repaint but I like it so much, I may not do that.
I agree with others these should be very lightly weatered, most roads kept them clean to the public & their image.
Again great models, & thanks for the advise!
Yes, 100 mL of tap water. Sorry 'bout that.
Greg
Hi Paul!
I’m not sure the demand is high enough for factory-weathered models of passenger cars. Freight, yes - but a lot of guys don’t weather their passenger trains at all.
Best regards,
Jason
Sorry guys, but I’m 6’2, 230 lbs and not scared of much,but I am scared of weathering my D&H Rapido cars. They are just too darn perty![:$]
I’m 6’7’, 240 - & I started the thread…!
I’ve often noticed that a significant number of passenger rail modelers seem hesitant to apply weathering to their passenger cars; especially if they’re “plated” or metalized.
For those that are, I will always suggest that they can “play it safe” by weathering their underframes, whether by airbrush or paint brush.
When you’re ready to take it a step further, weather the ends of your cars. Even Santa Fe units (which were frequently washed) got pretty grimy there.
I recently metalized a Pullman Standard unit that, hopefully, you’ll see. In addition to the underframe and trucks, I also weathered the the ends and it does add “flavor” to the overall appearance, imho. I can’t post photos of it yet as I have to wait and see if whether or not MRH accepted the article. If MRH (hopefully ) accepts it, I’ll post a link. If it’s not accepted, I’ll post the photos on a new thread.
High Greens [8D]
I don’t see Rapido passenger cars as requiring anything different, in the process of weathering.
Every time the process of weathering is brought up and the fears of doing so related, I tell people the absolute fool proof method is with pastel chalks. If you don’t like what you’ve done, it’s a simple matter of using a little dish washing detergent and water to wash away what you’ve done. Passenger cars are the easiest to weather, as the car body of a passenger car was kept clean by the railroad, anyway. Really, the weathering should be confined to the trucks and that small portion of the under body, that is visible when the car is on the track. If there is any weathering of the car body, it should be very light.
I use acrylic paints to weather my trucks, over all gray on the side frames and wheel faces with light rust on the springs and top surfaces and randomly on the wheel face. Maybe a little black here and there, to represent small patches of oily dirt. I use the same colors and the same process on the under body.
If you have doubts about your ability to weather your passenger cars, make a practice car from a passenger car-size piece of 2"x2" lumber mounted on some spare trucks. Use well-thinned paint (I like it to be at least 90% thinner, whether using water- or lacquer-based paints) and learn to move the car and airbush at the same time. The well-thinned paint helps to avoid the tendency to overdo the weathering in a single pass, as it often requires multiple passes to even become noticeable. Spray from down low - I place the car right at the front of the booth and spray upward - you can even tilt the car away from yourself, exposing more of the underbody and less of the car’s side.
If your “practice car” becomes too weathered to see your latest efforts, re-paint it in an appropriate colour and begin practising anew.
I agree. If you’re still uncomfortable weathering with an airbrush, the suggestion to use pastel sticks is a good one. I rub them on coarse sandpaper to create a pile of dust, then use a suitable brush to apply it to the car - simply dip the brush into the powdered material and give it a try. If you don’t like your first effort, dish soap and water should remove it, and once you get the effect you want, you shouldn’t need to bother with a clear overspray, as you would with chalk, since the binders which originally kept the powder in stick form will help it to adhere to the car. The ones which I’ve done are handled regularly, with no loss of material or any fingerprints on the car, either. [tup]
Finally, don’t limit your weathering techniques to just a single medium. Washes, powders, and airbrushing all offer different effects and some suit certain cars better than others and some methods will complement others when used pr