Hello.
We have the Walthers Cornerstone ADM grain elevator. What are some recommended base colors and weathering ideas for it? The out-of-package stark white is a bit much. Any photos of what you may have done?
Thanks in advance
Many of the 31 grain elevators on my Santa Fe are white, with a spray of dullcoat. In the area I am modeling, and the time period, the newer elevators had been given a white color vs grays, which may have been a whitewash of some sort, but when the new ones were bult, they were white.
In recent years, gray and concrete color seems more common.
Bob
For concrete, start with a base of Rustoleum light gray primer. After that, fog on a follow up layer of Rustoleum ‘Standstone’ colored textured paint and let dry. Spray with Testors Dullcote. Finally, to add subtle weathering , brush on dilute india ink/alcohol wash of 1 teaspoon ink/pint of alcohol.
Here’s the finished result
http://www.shelflayouts.com/bnsf3.htm
Lance
Layout construction, design, and track plan books: http://www.shelflayouts.com/bookstore.htm
Good-looking elevator complex, Lance. [tup] Who makes those steel silos? They’re probably a bit too modern for my late-'30s era, but impressive nonetheless.
This isn’t a grain elevator, but the same Walthers kit was used to build part of it. [swg] I used PollyScale paint, mixing, if I recall correctly, Aged Concrete, Sandstone, CSX Tan, and Reefer White. I just added colours until it “looked right” to my eye, so I can’t say what were the exact proportions.
As you can see, the colour seems to vary from photo to photo, and sometimes even within the same photo, but I can assure you that they’re all the same in person, as they all used the same batch of pre-mixed paint.
Wayne
Thanks Wayne. I always liked that complex of yours also. The steel bins are Walthers. You’re right though, they are pretty modern.
Lance
Hi!
Well, this topic has been washed around many times… Just what is the color of concrete?
I got really involved in this a couple weeks ago when I started building Cornerstone’s large concrete coaling tower. After a lot of testing and mixing I came to the conclusion that aged concrete comes in two flavors - beige grey or grey and any shade you can come up with inbetween.
I settled on Testers/Master Modelers “sand”, flat white, medium flat yellow, and gull grey. While there was no exact measuring, it was about 50/40/4/6 percent of those colors. I also put together a bottle of grey concrete color, using approximate percentages of 30/30/10/30.
The thing is, concrete isn’t one color. Looking at concrete structures or roads you can see all kinds of shades of beige/grey in a single area.
My thought is to paint it as close to a color that suits you as possible, then give it a wash of black/brown, as heavy or light as you prefer, and then spray the whole thing with Dull Cote.
You’re right: concrete comes in many colours, ages and weathers to many other colours, and may also be painted in yet more other colours, which age and weather…etc., etc.
Wayne