Hi Folks,
After practicing and practicing with my airbrush, using scrap engine shells and rolling stock, I’m ready to try weathering an engine. I wondered if some of you experienced guys could answer a question.
Do I need to remove the plastic sides from the trucks and paint them or can I just spray the sides of the trucks as they are? The reason I ask is because I wondered if the spray paint might get behind the trucks where there is electrical pick-up from the wheels and cause problems.
Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.
Mondo
I prefer to airbrush with the side frames on as the trucks and fuel tank areas of prototype locomotives generally receive the same type of dirt and grime in the terrain it operates.
I’m assuming you have Proto or Athearn units. If you are concerned remove the side frames, apply small pieces of masking tape on the metal plates, reinstall and fire away.
It will only take you an extra minute or two.
I’d leave them on as well but[#ditto]about the masking I’ve always masked and have yet to have a problem. More recently though i’ve been mistinf the roof with a 50/50 grimmy black soot mix and done the rest of the weathering with bragdon chalks i suppose doing it this way has given me more control on how much and where the weathering goes, just my personal preference but I thought I would pass it on. Cheers TB
He creates paint washes that can be airbrushed on. For locomotive bodies, he mixes 50% Isopropyl Alchol with a 50/50 mix of engine black and gray colors. Spray in vertical strokes from end to end. The mixture appears semi-transparent yet, the results on his HO SCL locomotives are stunning! He cautions not to go overboard in spraying and to allow each coat to “flash off” thoroughly. You weather as lightly or heavily as wanted.
Dark colored locomotive paint schemes, such as: Norfolk Southern, MRL, C&O, B&O, SCL, PC, N&W, on models look “too clean” out of the box. The above technique makes it easy.
I don’t want to heavily weather my road locomotives, however, I would like to have them appear as if they’ve been on the road at least 2 to 4 years. Switchers, on the other hand, will look like they’ve been through the trenches.
Thanks. It was easier then I thought. Just do it lightly and spray it in the direction the real dirt would fly onto the engine. It’s a mix of SAND & MUD.
Are you talking about the weathering or the paint. If you painted that you did a nice job.[tup]. If you did paint it what did you use to tape it off with?
The way the athearn and p2k locos are built, its hard to cover the contacts unless you drench them in paint. I have airbrushed several athearns, a couple pretty heavily, with the sideframes and wheels on with no problems.
The last time I weathered a loco, Dio-Sol was the only way to thin Floquil. I would use a very thin mix, say 10 parts thinner to 1 part paint. Then start laying on the coats. Its very easy to over weather a model. By laying on a very thin coat then letting it dry you can step back and make sure its not too much. You can always add more paint, its not easy to remove it afterwards.
Suggestion: Practice on a “junker” models or plastic that’s dark in color. You can then determine if you need to add more or less of the gray family colors.
I seen the Badgers model paint lineup with the RR branded names. I see they have all the other paints, rust, earth, mud and so on, looks to me like stealing my kids cars and giving them the practicing phase when I get into it
