Well, after getting LOTS of help and advice, I decided to try techniques for enhancing brick walls on plastic models. On the REA, I rattle canned Krylon Ruddy Brown first, then a light grimy black wash, then applied white spackle to dry and wiped/rubbed off the excess with vinegar. The warehouse I used the Ruddy Brown, then spackle and then the light wash. It made quite a difference in coloring, in spite of looking past my too aggressive weathering after that.
One of the nice things about modeling brick, there is so much varriance. Great progress, next building you will have to come up with a third look. Keep up the good work.
Like the REA building more than the warehouse (too much white). I’ve tried the spackle route, mortar washes, wiping on tube paint to varying degrees of success. As coman said, keep trying different techniques.
I have tried to pay attention to what brick buildings look like in real-life. Mortal is not always visible, is not always a light color and bricks are never really uniform. You can see examples of this in some pictures I took of local towns here in CT on my layout website [link1], along with pictures of structures that I have build [link2] [link3].
Also, depending on the material used for lintels and sills, concrete is not always appropriate. Stone sills often are darker color due to weathering or dirt accumulation, they may also have been painted. But this is a good thing as it leads to variety in the final product.
One of the things we get into (eventually) in our hobby is “what is the color” of various things we see every day. In example, what is the color of concrete, dirt, rock surfaces, asphalt drives, grass, etc., etc., etc.? I’ve done some traveling in the US and am always amazed at the variances of color of these common “things”. I guess my point is you could have a hard time using an incorrect color, and secondly, there is a world of variance in a given color that would be just fine.
Now, where it gets difficult is matching a specific color of a specific object - particularly if that object is outside and subject to the influences of sun/rain/heat/cold.
You really did a nice job, and now you need a home for it!
Thanks to all for the comments. Yes, I agree that colors are hard to predict. I was using out-of-the-bottle Floquil concrete for the REA ramps and casements. It seemed a little green as it went on but shows up alright in photos. Not really the concrete that I visualize though.
I will try to do more varying in my next, Doc/Alan. Thanks for the pics of dark grout. I am going back to my birth home Akron, OH and will look at more brick.
nw_fan - If you look carefully at the REA, you will see that I tried that and was wayyyyy too aggressive. (You should see the other side! [sigh]).
I tried to replicate the effect of water runoff and got too much and didn’t sop it up before it dried. Now it is too tough to do more. As to the whiter warehouse, I kind of like the appearance for now.
