I have 11+ yrs in model makeing and weathering and it has given me some awards from Jr. High to College. Paint fumes was a killer, back then I had no brain! Now it is totaly gone. [;)]
You can build a tilted L shaped tilited holder for a car or loco that holds it at a angle so you don’t have to bend/streach/or just plain make your eyes bug out for seeing what your doing. Lighting is a must. Yeah, buy the lights that have “real sun” type lighting unless you want to keep taking it in and out of spray booth.
Oh yeah, did I say spray booth??? Make it! A/C blower with filter and out the window it goes! Also you can attach a dryer vent exit if you worry about bugs. Still wear a resperator though.
Buildings, the best paint you can buy, check to see if they will apply to your wood or what ever you made it out of.
I would use also a wood primer.
What type of roof? Wood, metal, tile? Wood ages well and remeber there are streaks that run down that roof like in metal also. Just metal is more rustic.
Railway I like to coat my new SS track with dark red and hit it up with abit of black. Remember where engines sit they drip oil/gas/grease. That takes it to the next level I feel.
The loco, which ever it might be, is complex you have to look at all “sides” and under stand where a guys hand goes, foot, door hits, rocks hit, gas over spills and don’t forget them trucks and wheels. Only thing shinny on the wheels are the contact points on the wheels to the rail. You can even rust the top of a cab the sides and remember that dark smoke!
Reefers. Rust the hinges and foot holds grab irons, wheels. If there wooden ones then paint peels better off them. Steel just a matter of rust.
Box Cars and other. Mostly steel they rust and can have what they carry in them still on them or inside of them so the color has to be copied.
Tankers. Tankers are a neat subject, go take a look at the ones running now! I looked today and saw I wo
Nice tips on weathering. I notice many of the GR layouts the rolling stock looks “brand new” of course this could be recently purchased stuff and the owner hasn’t had time to age it up…but what percentage of big train runners age their equipment?? Will we ever know that answer? Its obvious the trend is toward realism in these layouts but sometimes the aging is overlooked.
It is true that everyone has there thing.
Some want there cars/locos not touched.
While others like to skate on the edge and make it as real as anything. [bow]
Myself I reather by new looking plastic then weather it myself unless I know who weathered the plastic then I would buy it.
Now Capt. [4:-)] is doing a great job as I have been watching his progress.
To bad we can not just upload our photos. [2c]
Yes, I know a lot of LGBers that don;t weather their stuff, they like it shiny and toylike. But a aged LGB model really looks like its prototype (esp. the steam engines)
I guess there is still that “collector’s value” philosophy with lots of GR users still cling to–the idea that a shiny new car outsells a aged one.
I can’t really discount an aged model if its done right, ie., good light weathering paint job, so I would consider paying MORE for a weathered model in some cases. I have seen some LGB forney locos with lots of weathering and I wouldn’t mind paying MORE for the “beaten up” forney.
I do my weathering on a very basic level.
First I paint, letter and detail the car (I haven’t done a loco yet) then I spray it with a flat finio give the surface some “tooth” for the weathering to hang onto. Then I use a 2" bruo apply some powdered brick mortar pigments with vertical strokes.
Last, I give the car a final coat of the flat fini***o seal it all in place.
Not counting drying time, the entire weathering process takes about ten minutes per car.
LGB is a different story I would say.
When I see a LGB and like them “as they are” truthfuly.
But when they do show them in photos when weathered there great!