I read here on the forums how to weather rolling stock, but do you weather structures in somewhat the same fashion? I looked at one of the Kalmbach books that had a little bit of weathering info in it but not enough.
Presently I have 3 structures (I’m modeling H.O.) asembled already for my future layout: from Walthers, I have the Merchants Row III; from Bachmann, I have the department store from the Spectrum ‘Cityscenes’ series; and from Atlas I have a ‘Kim’s Classic American Home’ from the ‘Lovely Ladies Series’. These are not weathered, so is there a way to weather them (carefully!) since they’re already assembled?
I know about spraying Testors Dullcote on buildings to get rid of that plastic look before assembling them, but how do you veteran modelers weather your structures?
I took a trip to the local Michael’s today and found India Ink and pastels for weathering rolling stock, but the only chalk I found was street chalk that the kids use. Is there some other type of chalk out there to use? How about 99% iso alcohol? We’ve got the 70% here at the house…do they sell 99% at Wal-Mart or Walgreen’s???
Sorry about all the questions! [8)] Thanks for any info you can pass along!
I’m getting started with weathering for the first time, too. I was at Michael’s the other night picking up some stuff, and found the pastel chalks in the same aisle as the india ink. With the colored pencils, markers, charcoal sticks, erasers, etc. I overlooked them at first, it’s just a small package with 4 little chalk sticks. I think they had two kinds, a package of all black and a package of earthy tones. Oh, and I’ve seen the higher % alcohol out there somewhere, I think it had a red label instead of blue. I’m sure I probably saw it at Walgreen’s.
I also had a question about the alcohol. I diluted the india ink in 70% (which I think some people said they used, and we already had some in the house), but when I wash it on, it seems to dry in such a way that it leaves what looks like black waterspots. So I get blotches instead of anything that looks like real grime. Would this be alleviated by a faster drying (higher %?) alcohol? What’s causing this?
The blotches are usually caused by the water used to dilute the alcohol to 70% – it’s probably not distilled water. Using a 91% alcohol reduces this. Watch out with 99% – alcohol is a solvent, and using almost pure alcohol could wreck havoc on decals and paint. You can find 91% alcohol at just about any drug store; I got mine at CVS, and I’ve seen it in RiteAid.
Remember too that the India ink wash is rarely used alone for weathering, except for very small items like pre-painted figures and scenery details (park benches, fire hydrants, etc.) It’s main purpose is to give an initial grungy/dirty look, and to reduce the plastic shine most OOTB buildings and freight cars have. You’ll usually follow up with additional weathering, such as pastel chalks, airbrushing, or something like the Bragdon Weathering system. A light or medium gray or brown pastel ‘wash’ is great next step for ‘softening’ the appearance of buildings, freight cars and locos. Use a soft, fairly wide artists paintbru***o brush on the pastel powder Then follow up with specific weathering details, like rust streaks, dirt streaks, etc., again using a soft brush.
It may be stating the obvious, but for hints on how to weather buildings, look around when you’re outside. Check out similar buildings in your area when your commuting to/from work, or out for a walk, or driving to the store, or whatever. That’ll give you a good foundation on how various building materials weather in the ‘real world’. If you model a different part of the country than where you live, you can go to the library and peruse the history and travel books that cover the area you’re modeling. Or check the tourist bureaus for the area on the web. Color pictures of tourist areas are a great source for specific ideas, since the tourist areas tend to be older areas, and will better show the ravages of age in that particular environment.
MICRO-MARK sells chalk powder that comes in plastic containers that are called “DOC O’BRIANS WEATHERING POWDERS” also Bradgeon Enterprises sells chalk powder with a little adhesive mixed in so you don’t have to spray the surface to “fix” it in place.
I checked out the Bragdon Enterprises and Micro-Mark websites…these weathering powders seem to be the way to go versus buying stuff from Michael’s, as the O’Brian’s and Bragdon’s contain the actual colors you need. I’ll have to check the hobby shops for these items. The Doc O’Brian’s weathering kit is listed at $19.95, but I couldn’t find a price for the Bragdon powders.
Bragdon has their prices on their website – just go to the on-line catalog there. I haven’t found them discounted anywhere, so I just ordered them direct; shipping isn’t bad, and Joel responds pretty quickly to orders.