For large projects I use rustoleum flat red. This is just the base. As others mentioned, brick is local clay and of course you want a little variation. So the next step is I buy these charcoals from the art store in reds and browns, rub that on a piece of paper towel and the wipe the surface of the painted wall with that. I've been extemely happy with the realstic appearance. Somtimes, I'll get a little more complex and use spraypaint, then apply spackle compound to make mortar joints and then do the charcoal application at the end
Another way to do it is to spray paint the chimney gray or tan (I like to use Tamiya spray can paint), then color the bricks using an art marker. Brand names may differ from store to store, but you usually can find one called "Brick Red"; some brands have an "English Red" that's very similar. The tip of the marker is fairly stiff, so unless you press down super hard it only colors the bricks, leaving the recessed areas where the mortar would be as gray or tan.
ChrisVAI'm trying to find a suitable red acyrlic paint for metal chimney castings that come with some kits. I've not been able to find a suitable color yet that looks realistic enough.
There's only a zillion-or-so versions of red brick, so all you need to do is select the one which looks the most convincing to you.
Here are a few...
This one was originally red brick, but I changed it to orange, and added some mortar detail (pre-mixed patching plaster, applied using a rag over my fingertips).Once it dries, use a cloth over your fingertips to remove excess plaster from the face of the brick...work outdoors if possible, as the clean-up can create quite a bit of plaster dust...
Wayne
cv_acrThere are a number of buildings including several of the older churches in town here that were built with a yellow brick that was common/popular in this area in a certain era. A station on my railway that I just finished scratchbuilding was also built from a yellowish buff coloured brick.
Roughly 40 or 50 miles north of here, yellow/buff coloured bricks are quite common. I used a similar colour for the station in my version of Mount Forest...
Also, in my version of Mount Forest, is Tucketts Tobacco, which is not far from here, in Hamilton, Ontario.
While the real one is still existent, it's no longer a cigarette producer, but like many of the buildings in the city, it was built with orange bricks...
I also used orange brick for the Mount Forest roundhouse...
...but since it's an older structure, the orange is less pronounced.
Westinghouse had several factories in Hamilton, so I decided to add one in Mount Forest, too, and again used orange brick...
This one, where I spent my first six years, was orange brick, too, but it's been painted-over with red....
It's now gone, as is the missing other half of it, along with another structure, to the left, where the home owner operated a barbershop in his livingroom. Next door to it was this one....
...gone, too.
Here's a very small portion of what's left of the former Cockshutt factory in Brantford, Ontario, where they made tractors and other farm machinery. A lot of structures there were built with the buff-coloured brick...
This is only a small part of one of the five Westinghouse factories in Hamilton, Ontario...
This was the Hamilton headquarters building of Westinghouse....
...currently being restored and re-purposed.
This one was the Imperial Cotton Mill, one of several in the city, now being re-purposed for various smaller businesses...
And, somewhat oddly, the American Can Co., in Hamilton, Ont.
ChrisVA I'm trying to find a suitable red acyrlic paint for metal chimney castings that come with some kits. I've not been able to find a suitable color yet that looks realistic enough. Any suggestions on specific red colors you have used that look realistic?Thanks!
I'm trying to find a suitable red acyrlic paint for metal chimney castings that come with some kits. I've not been able to find a suitable color yet that looks realistic enough.
Any suggestions on specific red colors you have used that look realistic?Thanks!
I use red auto primer, from a rattle can. Either Krylon or Rustoleum works well.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
wrench567The color of brick is variable to region, how long it was fired, content of ingredients, and also where the brick is cooled. So there really isn't one color of brick.
There are a number of buildings including several of the older churches in town here that were built with a yellow brick that was common/popular in this area in a certain era.
A station on my railway that I just finished scratchbuilding was also built from a yellowish buff coloured brick.
Use cheap red/orange/yellow craft paints and choose or mix a colour that "looks right" to your eye.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
richhotrain I have used Boxcar Red in the past with good results. Rich
I have used Boxcar Red in the past with good results.
Rich
I have used that as well but more recently I've found basic oxide red primers to be a suitable base color for brick. To vary the color I use dark and light rust colored weathering powders.
As others have noted, bricks come in many colors and shades so there is no one right color. If it looks right to you, it's right.
I use this paint for brick. https://www.homedepot.com/p/DecoArt-Americana-2-oz-Heritage-Brick-Acrylic-Paint-DA219-3/203709445
After it dries brush a little dry plaster powder brushed on and then spray one light squirt of warm water with a spray bottle. I have also used black brown or grey ground chalk to vary the color. The powder tones down the brick color and also leaves mortar lines Sometimes a second application of the plaster powder helps with the mortar lines.Again avery light one squirt spray of warm water . I usually use an empty household clear or window cleaner that has bee rinsed.
With the water spray the powder will stay in place but you can clean it out with a tooth brush and water if you wish. Then try again.
Ron High
Vallejo has a red terraccata. which is iin the brick color range. plus they have a bunch of similar shades that work with the different brick tones
SHane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
I use out of the bottle 'brick' colors for brick work but I mix (small batchs) with a drop of other shades I know it will look like my photos. I have many photos of the same object taked at different times of the day and seasons.
Have you noticed, at least around here, some of the chimneys (at least over 100 years old) lean towards the EAST. Something to do with cold damp bricks and the rising sun I have been told by the 'Old' guys.
Oh and I do not forget to have a 'soft' brick here and there. Kinda like the top self Model trains now a days that have under rigging, nice to see when newly done but forgotten about in a few months.
I quoted two above posts (wrench567 and Robert Petrick) that I agreed with but of course they did not show up here.
I start with burnt sienna and add some brown for variation. If it's too bright, I just apply a black wash. There is also variation in mortar color, from grey to brick color, and even some black. Check out some pictures using google.
Simon
ChrisVAAny suggestions on specific red colors you have used that look realistic? Thanks!
I'm sorry I can't give you any specific colors.
I've always been disappointed in how the brick looks with out-of-the-bottle colors, and I ended up mixing reds with browns and blacks to get the color I wanted.
The mistake was not mixing enough. I could never mix exactly the same tint. I finally made sure to mix more than I thought I needed (much more) to get what I considered the right brick color.
York1 John
wrench567 The color of brick is variable to region, how long it was fired, content of ingredients, and also where the brick is cooled.
The color of brick is variable to region, how long it was fired, content of ingredients, and also where the brick is cooled.
Pete is right.
I know a guy who collects bricks. Don't laugh! He has hundreds, and every one is a different shade of red. The only color that has more variations of shade is white.
What I'd do is start with Tamiya Hull Red XF-9 (the stuff ship modellers use). It is a fairly dark brownish-red. To brighten it a little, add a drop or two of Tamiya Flat Red XF-7. To brownen it a little, add a drop or two of Tamiya Red-Brown XF-64. Tamiya paints are very easy to work with. There are also some good flat shades of brick red in Tamiya rattle cans.
It doesn't matter if your mixing process gets a little haphazard from one batch to the next. Subtle differences and mottling help add to the realism. Plus, chimneys are notoriously weathered and dirty, so how bad could it get?
Good luck.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
Alton Junction
The color of brick is variable to region, how long it was fired, content of ingredients, and also where the brick is cooled. So there really isn't one color of brick. The only suggestion I could give is to start with a basic red and mix in a drop of yellow, black, brown and even green for a mossy covered brick.
My brick walkway came from the same company made the same time and the colors very wildly from a reddish orange to a dark brown. I even have a few with a blueish brown color.
There are a vast number of YouTube videos on modeling bricks. Some look awesome.
Pete.