As a novice model railroader I’ve tried a couple of methods to get convincing mortar lines between bricks on HO scale walls. This is my first ‘brick’ building using vinyl spackling and after getting to the second wall, I think I’m finally getting the hang of it. One thing I learned was that, for me at least, don’t let it dry to long before brushing it off, maybe only a couple of minutes. Another was to not put too much on, just make sure it’s covered, and that doesn’t take much. One little tub of this stuff would probably do every brick building on every layout in the country… [:D]
Below is my attempt, I guess it’s not too bad.
I used an old artist brush that has very stiff bristles and as you can see I didn’t quite get it into all areas, but I’ll go back for that.
and here’s a closeup of an completed spot.
I’ve been smearing it on with my finger, trying to get it thinner and thinner. The area on the left in the photo below has been cleaned and the area on the right has a fresh coat on waiting to be brushed off.
Below are a couple of photos of the trial side of the building with India Ink/Alcohol wash added to the very right side section…
A closeup, left side without right side with… of course…
Jason…thanks for the tip. I’ve been using a light wash of white ink with similar results but next time, I’ll try your suggestion for something differnt. It looks pretty good.
Make certain the ink is really thinned down. After applying, wipe off the excess from the brick faces, such as with your method. Application is with a paint brush. This is like using a black ink wash to highlight rock ledge or locomotive truck details.
To my eye this spackling method yields mortar that is too intense. I think that your first photo demonstrates this as the left hand side of the wall has far too much white on it. I think that there are a couple of issue; first the spackle is too white. Mortar lines are usually darker than that. The second issue is that IMO the mortar lines are too thick when made with an applied material like spackle. The effect from a distance is far too intense. Goggle image search brick structures and you can see that in most photos you really don’t see the mortar lines from distance they are much more subtle.
The reason for this is that on most HO scale brick sheet or molded brick structure part the gap for the mortar lines are way out of scale. Each brick is surrounded by about 2 scale inches of mortar. This makes the mortar far more dominant to the eye, overpowering the brick faces, especially with a bright white color.
If you are keen to continue with the spackle method, see if you can tone down the color before application. Perhaps the solution is to weather it well after the application with an ink wash for example. What ever you do, I would try and do it before the windows are installed. It will be hard to go back and clean them up.
I, like you, have tried several methods and keep falling back to the old standard, the use of paint washes flowing into the mortar lines. This way I have more control over the color and feel that a more subtle effect is obtained.
Thanks for your suggestions, Simon. I had thought about using an alcohol/india ink wash on the building to tone it down some but was a little leery about how the vinyl spackling would take to that, in other words, I’d end up with it washing out. That might be a good thing though if some of it did… I dunno. I think I’ll give it a try on the backside of the building anyway, even though the windows are already in place. Maybe I can control it somewhat with a small brush.
Thanks,
Jarrell
[quote user=“simon1966”]
Jarrell,
To my eye this spackling method yields mortar that is too intense. I think that your first photo demonstrates this as the left hand side of the wall has far too much white on it. I think that there are a couple of issue; first the spackle is too white. Mortar lines are usually darker than that. The second issue is that IMO the mortar lines are too thick when made with an applied material like spackle. The effect from a distance is far too intense. Goggle image search brick structures and you can see that in most photos you really don’t see the mortar lines from distance they are much more subtle.
The reason for this is that on most HO scale brick sheet or molded brick structure part the gap for the mortar lines are way out of scale. Each brick is surrounded by about 2 scale inches of mortar. This makes the mortar far more dominant to the eye, overpowering the brick faces, especially with a bright white color.
If you are keen to continue with the spackle method, see if you can tone down the color before application. Perhaps the solution is to weather it well after the application with an ink wash for example. What ever you do, I would try and do it before the windows are installed. It will be hard to go back and clean them up.
I, like you, have tried several methods and keep falling back to the old standard, th
The way to tone down the mortar lines is to set the building on it’s side and air brush ever so faintly, the brick color so the spray is parallel to the walls.
This method works nicely. Of course you have to do this before the windows and doors are applied to the building.
Thanks for the tip! One of these days I’m going to buy an airbrush and learn how to use it. It seems that an awful lot of things in this hobby benefit from having one and being good with it.
I use Squadron Model Putty. Never use spray paint. It hides and covers detail. Remember your modeling rough brick, not wood.
First, Paint your brick with oil color of your choice. Example would be Oxide Red or Depot Buff. Let this dry for a few days.
Second, paint water base Roof Brown or Rust. DO NOT cover second coat like the first coat. Paint second color randomly. Let this dry for a few days.
Third, apply a thin coat of Squadron Putty into mortar joints and let set for a couple of minutes. Wipe off with an old t-shirt. Remove the white putty so only left in joint. Let dry for a few days.
Sorry. I don’t own a digital camera to post photos. Try this method and you will be happy with the results. Practice on a modular wall and see the various ways to color/mortar brick. Then weather with your favorite washes. DO NOT over apply weathering.
I wanted to try your vinyl spackle method on a DPM building I just started working on. I took the lid off of the plastic jar and there was some kind of mold all over - yyukkkk. I guess I’ve had it a while. Anyway, I thinned down some cheap white acrylic paint and brushed it on, then wiped it off with a rag. It doesn’t look half bad - I’ll post some pictures when I have a chance
I have an airbrush but it’s still in its original box - I have to build a small paint booth. So far I’ve been using spray cans for the base coat and a large cardboard box, but you’re right, I think the airbrush will do a nice job when mastered.
Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. Since I’d already started with the spackling I may as well finish this structure rather than change horses in mid stream. It don’t look too bad, once a little india ink/alcohol is applied to tone down the white. On my next one I think I’ll try the paint method and see how it does. Man, there’s a LOT to this hobby… and I thought it was just runnin’ trains… [;)]
I just wish I’d started 30 years ago, I might have a nice lookin’ layout by now!
Anyway, I thank you for contributing to the subject. I’ll bet some people learned something reading it.
