I’ve been asked on a few occasions to describe how I weather my freight cars, and since I started another batch of freight car kits tonight, here’s how I did it.
First up the paints - flat earth and black acrylic paints, easily mixed and watered down slightly. the brush is a used ‘#1’, good enough for weathering and painting trucks etc.
I painted the trucks in situ with a mix of black/flat earth. For some reason, I find it easier to start at the bottom and work up.
Once the base coat is dry, I get down to some dry brushing.
I use flat earth, brown sand and pale sand mostly and mix them together to make other muddy or sandy shades. The brushes are definately past their prime, but ideal for this kind of work.
I drybrushed on the darker colours first before going over the raised parts with lighter shades. First up the underframes
Then the trucks
Finally the trucks were mated back with the boxcars
Lastly for tonight some shots of the freight cars with the underframes andtrucks near-finished. When all is done, I will add some pastel weathering powders to dull everything down
Tomorrow night, I’ll make a start on the box and roof
This is a great article. The photos help alot. Thanks very much for sharing. I’ve just finished building a couple dozen kits and weathering is the next step.
Again I express my thanks. I always appreciate it when someone offers here and explanation of how they do a particular portion of the hobby to help others. It is the biggest reason I came here in the first place. Thanks.
Thanks jon, I too am glad to see this post as I am trying to learn to weather my rolling stogk and am sure to learn a lot from your posts. Lookin forward to tommarrow when you do the top sides. Thanks again Mike
Using the black and flat earth acrylics again, I mixed up a dirty wash using copious amounts of water, so the wash becomes the consistency of ink.
Black and brown either side of the wash
This wash is then liberally coated over the bodies of the cars in an up-and-down motion for the panelled sides, and a side-to-side motion for corrugated ends and doors - careful, the paint’s still wet.
The SAL boxcar was shiny to start with and 2-or-more coats are needed for better coverage.
That’s the washes out of the way. Now for some drybrushing.
I use older, stiffer brushes for this task, a range of colours mixed from flat earth, dark sand, pale sand and white, although I NEVER use white on its own.
Here’s the palette
I start by dipping the brush in a couple of colours then mixing them to make a third. Before touching the brush to themodel, I make sure I have removed most of the colour onto a piece of kitchen towel by rubbing the brush vigorously.
Stage #1
The first colour I apply is a mix of earth/dark sand to simulate road dust at the bottom of the sides, thrown up the ends by movement of the train, and on the edges of the roof.
When the brush is almost completely dry, I add some drybrushing to the door and outside bracing
The second drybrushing stage is to add a brown sand/pale sand mix to the lower side edges to highlight the lower edge and any rivet detail that hasn’t already been totally obscured!!
I used shades of brown and sand to represent the road dust. However depending on where the R/Road is that you model, plus the time of year, you may wish to use reds or greys/grays instead of browns.
The next process - weathering powders - will be the last one for these cars. See you then.
I’ve dug out the chalks and powders to finish off the weathering on the freight cars.
Here’s the box of tricks.
I use proprietary artist’s pastel chalk sticks in various colours, either by rubbing an old paintbrush against them, crushing them with the mortar and pestle, or by rubbing them onto medium sandpaper.
Whichever way it’s done, be warned - it does get messy.
I also use the more expensive Railroad weathering powders, although there’s not that much difference, but it’s easier than mixing the colours yourself. I store them in old 35mm film pots.
I find the easiest wayto get weathering powders to stay on a model is to add some water to the powder, apply it with a brush, and when it’s dry, rub off the excess with another (dry) stiff brush.
I concentrated on applying the powder to the roofs and trucks - less chance of it being touched when lifted.
I applied black powder to both the roof and trucks, and finished off with brown/rust powder over the trucks. I didn’t go overboard and tried to keep the finish subtle.
That finishes off the weathering on these freight cars and they’re now ready to enter revenue service on the layout, Once I get it put back up.
