Hello all, I have question.
I am currently building Walthers Centennial Mills Cornerstone kit, and I would like to know how to apply the paint, would you use a standard brush, a special brush, or a type of spray on paint. Also any tips on what colors to use would be helpful. This is my first time building a kit that needs to be painted, and I could use all the help I could get.
Are there any recomendations for a worn out red or brown.
~Eastrail
On styrene buildings I usually light them inside. So I wash with soapy water then rattle can primer in and out. The inside paint prevents light showing through the wall if light colored. I often paint inside tan or other with acrylics using a brush. Outside an acrylic color I like or blend a couple. I dilute the paint if thick so it flows ok. I usually weather lightly with gray or blackisk thin wash. Lastly a sprap can application of Dull Cote.
I usually rattle can buildings or use an airbrush. I don’t care for the color Walthers has painted there model. This is the old Montgomery Ward warehouse in Baltimore
http://mht.maryland.gov/nr/images/nr1251p.jpg sorry I can’t get the picture icon to work.
Walthers did do a decent job of weathering. I use pan pastels, washes for that. I also spray the windows and doors a different color. I don’t want my building to look like every other Centennial Mills building.
Thanks, I don’t plan to light the interior of the building.
The grey on that old warehouse looks pretty good. I didn’t think Air Brushes would be so expensive.
Thanks for the help so far.
Eastrail, whatever you do, paint the pieces first before you assemble the building, even if you are going to hand brush them. I use rattle can paint myself dries inside of 20 minutes.
Well, by currently build, I meant removing the peices from their holding things, what every they are called, Nothing has been glued or connected yet. I have looked over the instructions, and I started layout out peices (that I have cut out) so they would be easier to find when the building starts. 
Then you are well on your way to success
This is a large building with flat smooth walls. I would look at Rustoluem taxtured paint in a rattle can from the hardware store. The paint will give you a sandy surface which doesn’t reflect light evenly, thus eliminating the “plastic” look of sheet styrene.
I use Rustoluem textured speckled spray paint in black for roof painting. It gives a nice asphalt appearance.
Stealing some knowladge from my wargaming hobby, while pricey I have been known to use The Army Painter brand primer, it comes in a variety of colors and can really speed up your paint time if you are doing more or less one color with some details and highlights, if your new and dont have an airbrush yet, I highly recomend chalks and washes for weathering.
-Tom
On the smaller details or trim I use a paint brush. If I try to paint large areas with a brush I always end up leaving brush marks so I perfer to use spray paint. My new favorite color is an off white color called Modern White made by Krylon. I use the flat matte finish, not the gloss. You can find it at Hobby Lobby. I try to paint the parts before I assemble it to make it easier.
Here is a walthers kit I recently did. I washed the parts in soapy water. Primed with my airbrush. Glued it together and then applied pan pastels.
Heavy Feather here are some other takes on the Heritage Furniture building
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/202923.aspx
They are called sprues, rhymes with glues and there are sprue cutting tools which are useful for cutting free really tiny bits. I use and xacto knife. Do not bend the parts back and forth to break them free, it sometimes leaves small chunks of the piece on the sprue.
Yes, airbrushes can be expensive and many here will insist that you MUST pay for a top line airbrush from the very beginning. Having no experience with airbrushing at all, I did not want to spend a small fortune only to damage the airbrush because I didn’t know enough about it to avoid such damage. So, I bought the Harbor Freight Tools single action airbrush ($5 on sale) and an in-line regulator to hook it up to an old portable air tank I charge with my large compressor from my auto racing days. I found this airbrush to be great for “general service” painting of rolling stock, structures and scenery. I used this airbrush for over three years until the trigger rusted out. I guess I didn’t dry it out well enough after each cleaning. I replaced it with another HFT single action airbrush at the regular price ($10) and I’m still using it to spray mostly acrylics and craft paints. The important thing is to keep any airbrush as clean as possible. You will spend more time setting up, tearing down, and cleaning your airbrush than you will actually painting with it. However, the quality of the paint finish will be so much better than you can achieve with a regular brush that you’ll never want to go back. While a rattle can may be more convenient, the ability to spray any color paint you can mix with the most consistent and thin finish possible makes an airbrush worth all the effort.
A while after I bought the first single action airbrush, I also bought the HFT dual-action airbrush ($15 on sale). I also bought the HFT braided hose. Though I have not used the dual-action airbrush as often as the single action, I quickly found that it is much better suited to fine detail painting. The first time I tried it, I found I could sign my name in lines about 1/16" wide. I have since used it to paint r
I read that thread prior to building the kit. It was my first kit, and I am happy with the way it came out. I have since ordered more details for it.
I was showing it as an example of a beginner can make a nice building with a little work. It took me literally a few minutes to build. I have spendmuch more time on the scenery around it and detailing the structure.
OP, I think you can get a similar effect with a rattle can and some pan pastels.
Hello all,
Not necessarily, check out this current thread…
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/270979.aspx
Hope this helps.
Personally, I like to glue walls together before painting if they are going to be the same color. That way you don’t have scrape off paint at the glue joints to get a good bond. Nor do you have to worry about any glue squeezing out of the joint and ruining your paint. Lastly, if you glue the walls together first, you can file or sand any joints if they don’t quite fit together perfectly.
Jim
I’ve spent a lot of money over the years on airbrushes and I agree with Hornblower, the cheapo Harbor Freight airbrushes work fine. I have several of the HF $9 single action that do just as good as a $100 aribrush. I also use the HF braided hose.
When I’m going to be painting several colors I use multiple airbrushes off a manifold so that I don’t need to stop and clean the airbrush to change colors.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
I prefer to use Tamiya spray cans (and small bottles of the same color for touch-up). They come with a fine-spray nozzle, much better than the traditional hardware rattle cans meant to paint outdoor patio chairs and other big things. Even if I’m going to use an airbrush for a particular color I can’t get from Tamiya, I’ll still use their primer gray from the can.
Thanks you guys for all your answers! Would a dual-action unit be worth it for future projects? Like weathering engines and cars. (I have never used a Airbrush before)
My next question. What are pan pastels? Everyone mentions them, but when I look them up, it looks like normal water color. Is it a dry paint? what type of brush would one use?
Some random unconnected thoughts.
The biggest reason not to leave buildings as they come from the box is that waxy look raw plastic has. The late Art Curren almost always tried to retain the color of the original kits, but created a much more realistic tone and texture (and better base for weathering) by vigorously scrubbing the parts before assembly in hot water and Ajax cleanser. His results speak for themselves in his out of print Kalmbach book on kitbashing.
Pan Pastels are solid and slightly oily which is why they adhere so well. Indeed I have heard some people say they are nothing but overpriced shades of women’s makeup which you could often get cheaper by going to a dollar store or Walgreens beauty department and just actually buying the cheapest makeup.
What I use are the sticks of soft pastels put out by Artist’s Loft. Michaels craft store has this box of 36 pastel sticks and they are really cheap – $7 or so – per box and even cheaper with the 40% or 50% off coupon from Michaels in the Sunday newspaper. I take an old knife and rub the back of a blade againt the stick creating a powder of the slightly oily pastel color. Then I use a wedge shaped sponge that I bought a pack of cheap) at Walgrees and apply it. It applies very much like Pan Pastel and for all I know is the same stuff. I think Pan Pastels are absurdly overpriced myself but they work well I do admit. But so do the Artist’s Loft sticks.
In certain applications I actually rub the stick itself on the model, then use the wedge shaped sponge to work the color into the model. For example when capturing the look of white paint on a freight car logo that has started to go chalky and “melt” down the side of a car, I carefully use the white pastel stick to outline the logo then use the sponge to pull the color down the side of the car.
I do the same to make rust spots on galvanized freight car roofs.
Dave Nelson