Hey ya’ll, I have currently 4 Corrugated Steel buildings on my layout and I am going ot get a ton more I am buying the whole walthers Grain Industry set for my 60’s layout. I just cant get the right look, I used Flat Alum. on the first 4 and weathered with chalks, and I wanted to ton down the silverness so I used a light wash, of india ink, I just hate the look of it. How do you guys do it? I am terrible at thinking of what pollyscale paint would work, I use all all pollyscale. So could you guys please give me some real detailed way of doing this cause I am blind, with pics if possible. Thanks guys a bunch, Mike
Congregated siding using plastic can be a challenge. First off, congregated siding is made up of panels. I’m not really sure of the standard size, but 4x8 comes to mind as does 5x10 and 6x12. The congregation lines run lengthwise on the long dimension. Once the panels are applied, each starts to weather independently of the other, thus each can be a different shade. Sometimes congregated buildings were painted. And again, each panel can take the paint differently causing a different shade.
So, the first thing that I would do is scribe some panel lines if the building doesn’t already have them. The next thing is pick about three different shades of the same color paint. You are probably going to have to mix these yourself. For instance, for a non painted building, take your basic silver and make up three shades in three small containers. You don’t even have to save the paint once mixed and used because the more variation, the better. Anyway, leave one as it is straight out of the bottle. In the second, add a little black or brown paint. Not much, just a drop or two to change the SHADE, not the COLOR. For the third, add a drop or two of a light color like white or gray.
Now start painting each panel a different shade of the basic color. Try not to paint the same shade next to each other although you may have to in some places. You can use the same brush if you don’t load it up to heavy with paint each time. Once you have the building painted and it is dry, if you want some rust, dry brush some roof brown on some of the panels at random. The rust will occur at the bottom of the panels first, darker at the bottom. The best technique that I have found is paint them with the brush stroke from the bottom up. Lastly, use chalk for an overall weathering effect and clear coat the building with a clear flat to fix the chalk weathering on the building.
This is one of those things that you are going to have to experiment with and develop your own variations of the technique
I just got through scratch building a fairly large grain elevator. The plan was out of the Kalmbach publication “HO Lineside Industries you can build” (Maxon Mills). The plan called for Campbell #804 corrugated siding, which comes in scale 4’ wide strips (and they are a thin metal). Hats off to the author, who individually applied these strips; I just didn’t want to go through that much brain damage on a structure this size. I opted for Scale structures Ltd. #1401 corrugated siding, which came in, I think, 5" x 8" sheets but they are a stamped paper with a silver finish on the surface, This was not the greatest material as the corrugations ranged from none at all to a good, noticeable groove.
I took some pictures of some corrugated siding grain elevators in the area and I noticed that these panels are nailed on in rows. Generally the rows are consistent but the individual corrugated sheets were inconsistent in the way they fit together, thus showing some vertical seams here and there. I scribed this material after applying it to the walls, making consistent horizontal “rows” (I arbitrarily went with 1/2" spacing, or roughly just under 4 scale feet), then making random vertical seams.
To weather this I used a technique employed by George Selios. I first dry brushed on a rust color (using red, brown and some yellow, mixed, I used liquid acrylics), then I used a dilute wash of the same color and isopropyl alcohol asnd brushed it on (remember to keep your brush strokes vertical), thus giving the whole structure a general rusty look yet preserving the “silver” look. this technique also covered up the inconsistencies in the corrugations.
I then used Bragdon’s “Old Yeller” weathering powder around the area where the hopper cars are unloaded (or loaded) to simulate grain dust on the building in this area.
Corrugated Metal?? The previous suggestion of cutting panel lines in the plastic is a good one. I would overspray with flat grey and weather with chalk and paint. Here are several approaches to corrugated metal:
- This is a Walthers building that has been weathered with rust and gramy black and sprayed with dullcoat.
- This roof is a Paper Creek printed paper roof that already has the weathering on it All you do is cut and glue down.
- This is a scratch built structure using Campbell’s corrugated metal siding cut in 4 x 8’ strips and applied to a styrene shell with double sided tape. The metal was then sprayed with gull grey and flat grey to produce a base color that was then weathered by applying thinner to blend the paints and the chalks to simulate rust and dirt. Here is a shot of the base paint coat:
Here is a shot with the weathering:
I hope that this gives you some ideas. There are other methods such as etching solution weathering of the Campbell’s metal and dullcoat over sprays if you want to delve into the area deeper.
Guy
Cheap silver spray paint. Let it dry and hit it with some matte or dullcote. Completely changes the silver color to a flat grayish galvanized color.
[quote user=“gandydancer19”]
Congregated siding using plastic can be a challenge. First off, congregated siding is made up of panels. I’m not really sure of the standard size, but 4x8 comes to mind as does 5x10 and 6x12. The congregation lines run lengthwise on the long dimension. Once the panels are applied, each starts to weather independently of the other, thus each can be a different shade. Sometimes congregated buildings were painted. And again, each panel can take the paint differently causing a different shade.
So, the first thing that I would do is scribe some panel lines if the building doesn’t already have them. The next thing is pick about three different shades of the same color paint. You are probably going to have to mix these yourself. For instance, for a non painted building, take your basic silver and make up three shades in three small containers. You don’t even have to save the paint once mixed and used because the more variation, the better. Anyway, leave one as it is straight out of the bottle. In the second, add a little black or brown paint. Not much, just a drop or two to change the SHADE, not the COLOR. For the third, add a drop or two of a light color like white or gray.
Now start painting each panel a different shade of the basic color. Try not to paint the same shade next to each other although you may have to in some places. You can use the same brush if you don’t load it up to heavy with paint each time. Once you have the building painted and it is dry, if you want some rust, dry brush some roof brown on some of the panels at random. The rust will occur at the bottom of the panels first, darker at the bottom. The best technique that I have found is paint them with the brush stroke from the bottom up. Lastly, use chalk for an overall weathering effect and clear coat the building with a clear flat to fix the chalk weathering on the building.
This is one of those things that you are going to have to experiment with and develop your own
- This roof is a Paper Creek printed paper roof that already has the weathering on it All you do is cut and glue down.
Wow… love that roof!
Jarrell
Use the buffing metalizer paints offered by Model Master and available at any chain hobby shop. Several colors are available such as graphite, silver, aluminum, titanium etc. Simply spray on undiluted with an airbrush, let dry 24 hours, then buff with a soft cloth to the desired finish. Makes excellent metal finishes and should solve your problem easily. Here is a link to help you out http://www.hobbyplace.com/tools/MetalizerInstructions.php
Mike
I built the Walthers Glacial gravel and kitbashed into a gravel plant for my HO module. I took a 1/2 inch wide brush and washed it with the waste from my brush cleaner bottle. Then added some rust here and there. It looks good for a plastic model. Some cracks painted into the foundation walls and grimy black spots where people would place their hands and details like barrels and crusher parts just adds to it.
Pete
Guys, For what it’s worth ----------
At most any lumber yard in farming country, corrugated sheet iron comes in 26"x 8’, 10’, 12’, 14’, 16’ lengths. When applied to a building the edge is overlapped so that what shows is 24" wide by however long. The sheet iron (that is painted) used in most modern steel buildings is 36" wide by however long you want it. I’ve used 24’ lengths of this. I don’t know what the maximum length is — whatever the manufactuer has the equipment to produce, I suppose.
John T. in the un-roofed cow pasture
While on the subject of corrugated sheet iron. Does anyone know when they stopped using the 1 inch ripple sheet for siding? Also for a 1930 to 1949 era corrugated sheet iron clad sugar mill, what size would the sheeting be? Also would it be the standard 3 inch pitch used nowadays?
CHEERS
MT Hopper
MT,
Since about 1950, I’ve never seen the 1" corrugation sheet metal on anything but old buildings. After reading your question, I went out and counted the ridges on the last sheet iron I bought. In 26" there is 10 ridges and 9 valleys plus 2 half valleys (1 on each side).
There was once what was called “V” groove (a 2" squared rudge on each edge and a 1" ridge down the center) designed to simulate a “Standing Seam” roof. Also in the '50s there was a sheet iron shaped to simulate “Clap Board” siding.
For your sugar mill of the 1930 – 40 time frame, I’d go with the current standard 26" width sheet iron in what ever length to cover the walls, not to exceed about 12’ in length per sheet (about all that 2 men could handle in a breeze while installing). If your walls are 14’ high, I’d go with 2 – 8’ sheets overlapped a foot or so. On roofs where one sheet wouldn’t cover from eve to ridge, 2 or more sheets were used and the upper sheet overlapped the lower sheet by at least a foot or more.
Hope this helps and at least give you some ideas --------
John T in the cow pasture
[quote user=“NSlover92”]
[quote user=“gandydancer19”]
Congregated siding using plastic can be a challenge. First off, congregated siding is made up of panels. I’m not really sure of the standard size, but 4x8 comes to mind as does 5x10 and 6x12. The congregation lines run lengthwise on the long dimension. Once the panels are applied, each starts to weather independently of the other, thus each can be a different shade. Sometimes congregated buildings were painted. And again, each panel can take the paint differently causing a different shade.
So, the first thing that I would do is scribe some panel lines if the building doesn’t already have them. The next thing is pick about three different shades of the same color paint. You are probably going to have to mix these yourself. For instance, for a non painted building, take your basic silver and make up three shades in three small containers. You don’t even have to save the paint once mixed and used because the more variation, the better. Anyway, leave one as it is straight out of the bottle. In the second, add a little black or brown paint. Not much, just a drop or two to change the SHADE, not the COLOR. For the third, add a drop or two of a light color like white or gray.
Now start painting each panel a different shade of the basic color. Try not to paint the same shade next to each other although you may have to in some places. You can use the same brush if you don’t load it up to heavy with paint each time. Once you have the building painted and it is dry, if you want some rust, dry brush some roof brown on some of the panels at random. The rust will occur at the bottom of the panels first, darker at the bottom. The best technique that I have found is paint them with the brush stroke from the bottom up. Lastly, use chalk for an overall weathering effect and clear coat the building with a clear flat to fix the chalk weathering on the building.
This is one of those things that you are going to have to experiment
Printed graphics can simulate an amazing array of building materials in different lights and conditions. I have used actual photos of stone siding and foundation work, reduced in size and printed on cardstock, to make stone terraces and walls in HO scale that looked good, and cost only pennies to print. Brickwork can also be simulated well and easily with printed graphics.
[quote user=“gandydancer19”]
Congregated siding using plastic can be a challenge. First off, congregated siding is made up of panels. I’m not really sure of the standard size, but 4x8 comes to mind as does 5x10 and 6x12. The congregation lines run lengthwise on the long dimension. Once the panels are applied, each starts to weather independently of the other, thus each can be a different shade. Sometimes congregated buildings were painted. And again, each panel can take the paint differently causing a different shade.
So, the first thing that I would do is scribe some panel lines if the building doesn’t already have them. The next thing is pick about three different shades of the same color paint. You are probably going to have to mix these yourself. For instance, for a non painted building, take your basic silver and make up three shades in three small containers. You don’t even have to save the paint once mixed and used because the more variation, the better. Anyway, leave one as it is straight out of the bottle. In the second, add a little black or brown paint. Not much, just a drop or two to change the SHADE, not the COLOR. For the third, add a drop or two of a light color like white or gray.
Now start painting each panel a different shade of the basic color. Try not to paint the same shade next to each other although you may have to in some places. You can use the same brush if you don’t load it up to heavy with paint each time. Once you have the building painted and it is dry, if you want some rust, dry brush some roof brown on some of the panels at random. The rust will occur at the bottom of the panels first, darker at the bottom. The best technique that I have found is paint them with the brush stroke from the bottom up. Lastly, use chalk for an overall weathering effect and clear coat the building with a clear flat to fix the chalk weathering on the building.
This is one of those things that you are going to have to experiment with and develop your ow
Yea, well this one slipped past my spell checker and I didn’t catch it. [#oops]