I would like to add that being in N scale now, I really like the way Scaletrains darkens the grills on the radiator screens which makes a huge difference. I think Athearn Genesis does that with their diesel locomotives and they also have the Prime to Grime which has dull paint with brighter patches that look good.
I also remember Blackstone offered weathered locomotives in their HOn3 that looked really good.
Ralph
I had cold feet in the beginning, but after my first attempt on a $10 boxcar from a train show, I felt confident enough to move into weathering more expensive rolling stock. I used acrylic paint washes in the beginning. If you over do it, it’s easily removed.
This was my first try
Got enogh confidence to move to a genesis boxcar
First Loco I weathered ( Sorry about the weird angle )
I now use a mix of washes and weathering powders to acheive the desired look. I say weather everything. Even the freshly painted CN Gevos that run past my house have some dirt on them.
These were my latest 2. MILW SD40-2 (RTR) and MILW GP30 (P2K)
Ringo, great job on the weathering. I too use simple acrylic paints, and I have similar results to what you show above. ( I guess I’m calling my weathering great too…LOL). I have not used powders alot (they’re a little messy and harder for me to control.)
PS, love that patched ex SP boxcar. It’s an Athearn “primed for grime” edition that I also bought and received a few weeks ago. The factory patching gets us off to a good start on weathering since the factory paint is applied very thin with no layer build up.
The whole thing about weathering is what may be acceptable to one person may not be to another. It does seem to be a talent some are good and and others less so. It’s not easy to have a model come out looking like the real thing every time.
As far as modern, there are some very talented railfans and modelers of the 70’s and 80’s who look at present day trains and say “it’s all crap now”. I can sympathize with them.
Subtle weathering seems to be the hardest art.
@Ringo, what is the black truck in your last photo?
I don’t weather anything. The clean out of the box look good enough for me.
I agree.
Paul
I’ve had a lot of locos over the years, but never had the inclination to weather them. There are a few reasons…I like my locos to look like they are just out of the shop or washrack, my weathering efforts would hurt the resale value, and of course I’m just not that confident that I could do a loco justice.
That all applies to my passenger cars too!
However, freight cars (90 percent kit built) all have weathered trucks (black/brown wash, and a spray of dull cote all over.
I do understand that good-enough can mean many things. I’ve seen on other forums, proud hobbyists showing their layout that looks basically like something a kid could build if they had lots of money and some basic skills and looks like a toy train layout. They are happy and that’s fine; it’s what matters to them.
But I assume this topic was started partly because many train hobbyists are interested in realism and weathering if done well and appropriately, can add much to the feel and realism of a modeling scene.
I weather using pastel chalks or acrylic paints for the most part, which allows me to start over if I don’t like the way it is going. Just wash off what I don’t like and start over.
Scott Sonntag
Honestly, I wouldn’t even think of such a thing right now. I’m not saying that I never will. But I would have to master the art of weathering on other things before I would even consider it.
TF
Honestly, if you simply start off by taking a fine tipped artist brush and nearly dry brushing a little brownish gray into the seams, crevasses, and rivets; trucks included, that improves the store-boughten look a lot, IMO.
I use gray with a little tan. Put in a little orange hue in places to represent newer rust or red clay residue. A very very dark burgandy/brown can represent older rust.
And frankly, other than a good artists brush, the second most important tool is an index finger. It wipes a way the excess on the surfaces and pushes the color into the creases.
And for more truck weathering, I use a small chisel shaped brush and thin the paint dramatically. Hold the car or loco on its side and wash it with the orange/tan/gray mixture and the paint will find the creases.
Trying to wash the main body with the dirt look is where things can get out of hand.
Thanks for the kind words! I’m not perfect and have a few cars in the “re-do” pile that I went too heavy on or brush marks are visable. Once I get or build a new car, the first thing that happens is wheels are painted iron oxide and trucks are sprayed with rustolem camo brown. I feel this gives the look of a nice rusty and dirty look. After that I let them sit for a few days and i decide how to weather them. I’m also a huge fan of Primed for Grime. It really adds variety to the hobby and I hope other manufactures catch on to it! You should post some of yours, I’d like to see them!
@RioGrande, Its a 1972 Chevy C-10 from the movie dazed and confused by Malibu Models. Heres a link to one on Ebay
Carful, they make different scales of the same model, I almost bought one that was 1;55 scale on accident. The HO ones will be in the small box
As a teen I grew up spending my summers in the El Paso Southern Pacific Yard and one thing I do remember was the wash racks always busy. Back in the early fifties the SP kept their locomotives clean
I don’t remember seeing a “weathered” look on any SP locomotives in the fifties. The Golden State and Sunset Limited were always spotless. As a result I don’t weather.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Have you thought about weathering takes away from the resale price if you ever decide to sell the engine? I love weathering but I am hesitant to do it to my expensive engines for fear that it will hurt its value. Not everyone has the same taste for the way you or me weathers a loco.
Just sold 2 weathered engines on FB for a good price. If you find the right buyer, weathering adds value. Personsally I would spend more on a locomotive already weathered, IF its a nice job
Everything I own gets weathered to the degree shown in the 35mm slide of the prototype. Each of my locomotives is renumbered and weathered to replicate a specific prototype on the day I encountered it. This ranges from just a couple of weeks out of the builder’s paint barn to the day after a turbo failure covered in black oil.
Freight cars are treated the same as the locomotives except, the work of the “aerosol artists” will never appear on anything I spend my money on. Some eschew scenes of law enforcement encounters. I will never glorify the criminal trespass and vandalism of private property this represents.
And yes, I weather my passenger cars, including my “Rapido jewelry”. I remember the underfloor equipment and trucks taking on a rusty tinge, similar to that of the track. This was also evident around the steps and on the ends where the brushes of the car washers did not reach. One more note. Pure black paint hides all of the detail manufacturers go to the expense of building into their offerings. Why bother, or pay for it?
As far as “re-sale” value, I buy these things for ME to enjoy, and no one else. If someone else wants to buy them and the price is not what they want to pay-tough, that is not what I bought them for in the first place!
What is the name of that FB site?
My take on it is that I buy locos because I like them not for resale value.So I do what I want!
I don’t weather my locos and cars at all. I like everything shiny and new looking, even though that’s not exactly protoypical. But, that’s just my preference.
Exactly the way I feel. I don’t buy these things as an investment and am extremely unlikely to ever sell any of it. Once I am dead and gone, it can all go in the dumpster as I won’t be around to care about resale.
I have not weathered any locos yet but when I do the Hudsons and FP7s pulling the Canadian will not be weathered but the rest will get some.