If you are looking for spray paint (the kind that comes in a can), KRYLON Ruddy Brown Primer looks great on my layout.
Modeling the Maine Central in N scale.
Here's another vote for a collection of rattle-can primers. Different hardware stores will carry different brands, giving you a variety of colors for a few dollars a can. I've also used brush-on acrylic craft paints on small buildings, to give even more variety to the shades of brick.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Without even following the thread, I can guarantee you you will get as many answers as there are red colored bricks!!!
ANY brick colored red will do.
SOme use MRRing specific small bottles, others acrylics bought at WallyWorld, others still the Red auto primer in rattle spray cans to colored pencils!
SOme will do a solid red for background and basic brick, and will use various colored pencils {reds, oranges and the like} to highlight certain brickst o make some variations!
SO pick a {cheap} red paint and give it a shot.
DO a community wide search for "mortar" in the "search our community" feature in the right hand margin to further get ideas on how to "mortar" the bricks after you have selected your red.
If you do a "search our communtiy" for "brick" you will be astounded at the number of threads dealing with this subject in both the General forum and the Layout forum..check both!
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Bricks seem to come in colors and shades ranging from an almost yellowish tans and straw colors to bright reds. and dark browns. Often their shading is modified by tiny dots of blacks and greys. After painting the base "brick" color, one might try dry brush stipling with a black or grey .
I use anything from a bright red to tan. It can be gloss or flat. Once the bricks are painted, I use a white wash over the whole building and let it settle into the mortar joints as mortar. This tones down the paint and causes a slight color change. Then I over spray the building with a clear flat before putting in the window glass.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Depends on what you want.
Red, Polly Scale Mineral Red.
Tan, a cream color will work.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Route of the Black Diamond Express, John Wilkes and Maple Leaf.
-Jake, modeling the Barclay, Towanda & Susquehanna.
Krylon red primer is my favorite. Krylon Boots Brown is my second. Hobby paints tend to be more expensive, so I use them only to add variety.
The key is to NOT get paints that look too red. Brownish reds, and occasional tans look best, IMO.
- Douglas
Not an answer for colors, but I had a real eyeopener concerning a local building in our town. It has been sort of a local landmark for decades as it is basically triangular in shape and seven stories tall, which is tall for our downtown area. It was built in 1907 as a wholesale distribution warehouse and was just recently converted to apartments after standing empty for several years. I've lived here since 1965 and it was always a really dark, dark red color with black window frames. When the developer of the apartment project cleaned the exterior brick, it was a wonderful reddish orange. When the sun shines on it, the building seems to glow after all these years. The net of this is to remember when the building might have been built and what era you are modeling.
Jim - Preserving the history of the NKP Cloverleaf first subdivision.
Auto primer paint has often been suggested. Even the inexpensive brands seem to work well and each brand is a slightly different shade of red, giving you a variety of colors at a reasonable price. Some folks use a gray primer on both sides, then do the red primer over it on the outside. Use some of the above ideas to get variations in the individual bricks. There are then a number of ways to do the mortar lines between the bricks.
Have fun,
Richard
I use Mobilman's technique and have found Testor's Signal Red makes for a nice brick color---at least to my eyes but then again I'm red-green color blind.
Wayne
Modeling HO Freelance Logging Railroad.
Bricks tended to be made in a region or even a locality. The color was partially determined by the source. An India ink wash, or similar, will help with the smaller details and add that grimy look. Any structure close to a carbon source will get dirty over time. Buildings on my layout are rust color, burnt umber, tan, gray, light gray, light brown etc.
Are you modeling a specific era or locality? If so, that should be a guide to brick color and weathering.I've never had good luck with a convincing mortar lines although others have. It's a matter of trying different approaches to see what works.
If you have a Michael's Art Supply nearby, check them out for a really wide variety of colors and paint mediums at decent prices (also a good place to matte medium - on sale).
Co-owner of the proposed CT River Valley RR (HO scale) http://home.comcast.net/~docinct/CTRiverValleyRR/
Hi!
While bricks can come in all the shades of grey, brown, and red, my favorite is any of the many shades of tuscan/boxcar red that are available. I'm also a big fan on painting the mortar too.
My typical procedure is to paint all the brickwork a thin coat of grey or black, and let dry overnight. Then come back and drybrush the surface of the bricks with the red/brown color of choice. This is best done with a thin flat brush, with a light touch. It is much better to come back a second time with two light coverings than a heavier one that will hide all the mortar lines. Oh, after that dries overnight, you may want to come back with a super thin light dirty wash applied vertically.
The first time I did this was with an inexpensive plastic engine house. I was totally amazed at the transformation of the structure.
ENJOY,
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
LION buys cheap acrylic paints at Walmart. There are several shades that look brick-like enough. I put a glob of each on a snip of plastic and use them all at once. Even if the bricks were uniform when they were built, they gain stains in different ways over the years.
Try blowing a little green foam around the base to represent ivy or something growing on the wall.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
My favorite color for painting brick structures, which for me are from the 1930 to 1950 era, is Polly Scale Box Car Red Acrylic paint, available in both a 1 ounce bottle for brushing or a spray can.
Rich
Alton Junction
I typed "bricks" into the search thingy and got these:
looking for correct paint...
Painting brick walled structures
Painting brick structures
Hello,
What are some really realistic paint colors/combos for brick structures. I see a lot of amazing looking brick structures in the pages of Model Railroader and especially on the Franklin and South Manchester but I never seem to find any information on colors/combos and weathering for brick structures.