My small switching layout is under construction and I have kitbashed a few small structures for a railroad service siding. I din’t have an airbrush and plan to use a drybrush method for weathering using Floquil grimy black,rust,concrete. I also have various shades of gray.These are Testors Model Master paints. My question is this-When is enough-enough? I want them to look old but not overdone. Also on engines and rolling stock what usually gets weathered and what color(s)? I have read where it is usually sand on the trucks and part of the lower carbody along with rust a grime.
Is this the usual colors used?
Thanks for any ideas. Bob
Bob, your Testors paints will work just fine For weathering. The two colors I use the must are Light Earth and Burnt Umber. The Light Earth Simulates bust very well, and the Burnt Umber Is a good one for a dark rusty worn look. Both look good on the lower parts of the cars and on the trucks. NOW, I use WATER COLOR ACRYLIC found in arts and craft stores. The cheeper the better for me. I still use those two main colors and put them on in washes, somethime real thin and sometimes a little on the thicker side. They dry in absolute flat and within about ten minutes and can be easily washed off if you don’t like how it turned out. If you like it and want to make it permanent, a LITE coat of Dull Coat DUSTED ON will keep it there. When is enough, enough on a well used loco? That is all up to you. However you weather it, Start light. You can always add more. Hope this helped…Jamie
Here’s a tip from Athearn on faded cars.
Dullcote the car, let it dry overnight, then hit it with a spray of regular isopropyl alcohol.
It’s a chemical reaction and probably works best on darker colors.
Don’t like it, it’s reversible, just re-spray with Dullcoat and it’s like nothing happened at all.
Bob,
With respect to “when is enough enough:” Two tips: 1. place the car or loco or structure at eye level. Look at it closely. Does the weathering look caked, too heavy, too “fake?” If so, then it’s probably overdone. 2. I “learned” this from articles by John Allen, Jim Findley, and others many years ago: take pictures! There’s nothing like a photo of your model to show up flaws, over-done weathering, or other defects. But use the photos as a guide to improvement, not extreme self-criticism and discouragement.
Here are some more tips: don’t rely on just paint for weathering. One of the best things you can do to improve your modeling in this area is to get a set of earth-toned pastel chalks. They’re available in craft stores, art supply stores, etc., as well as in the MicroMark catalog. They are great for weathering AND adding texture (something paint can’t do - at least not easily). Also, mix 1 or 2 teaspoons of India ink with a pint of plain rubbing alcohol. Use this solution to “weather” stripwood, scribed siding, even rock castings in your scenery.
If you’d like to see the results of these techniques, I have a number of photos of my layout and dioramas posted on my web site. I think the results I’m getting are fairly credible.
Go to
http://homepage.mac.com/michael21
Click on “See the Choo-choo”
MikeC, I gotta agree with you about the chalk adding texture. I was never really impressed with weathering outcomes using just paint. Then I tried a set of chalks, What a difference!!! I’ll never go back to just using paints for weathering again. Plus it looks even better if you combine the two. Use some paint for some streaks or something and then feather it or blend it in with a grimy, or rusty color chalk and it really looks nice.
One more thing too, to fade paint I like to dullcote the model, brush white chalk on the entire model, and then take a brush and plain water and lightly bru***he sides and ends of the car to smoothly blend all of the chalk together. Let it dry, spray it again, add your rust streaks or whatever else you want and then spray it one last time and it looks really nice!!! Proto 2k’s CNW SD60’s in the Zito yellow scheme look really nice with this technique added. (Mine does anyway.)
Thanks guys-great tips. Some really good ideas.Looks like I may have to raid my wifes crafting supplies and see what she has in the way of acrylic paintsand chalks.I’ll keep you posted on how things are going when I start the weathering process.I like the idea of diluted india ink and alcohol for weathering wood. I have a lot of wood fence left from my last layout and they look pretty good the way they are. When I had finished building them I used the paint thinner that I washed my brushes in to weather the wood and then added some additional grime etc.Came out pretty good.
Thanks again-Bob
Hey Bob,
Be careful! Women are territorial about their things. LOL! I “borrowed” some of my girlfriend’s ceramic chalks and brushes one time, and she found out about it. She never complained about it. She just kept quiet. Till, one day I came home from work and had a PINK diesel in place of a green BN GP40, and a note saying “to ask before borrowing”.
Needless to say I have MY OWN chalks and brushes now. The “pink” diesel found its way into the locomotive shops for a re-paint before anyone could see the “embarassment”! Whew!
-Wolv33
Point well taken. Will have to secure my own supplies so I don’t have happen what happened to you. I did try one thing.I have a lot of balsa fences from my old layout that I am using.A couple of sections did not match color wise so I took a paper towel and put some Floquil grimy black on it and rubbed it into another towel until it was almost dry and then rubbed it on the off color fence scetions and to my surprise they came out pretty good.Bob