Help!!!

[Anonymous]

OK so I've been working on my railroad for about 14 months now. I have come to the conclusion that I need help with weathering my models. I have asked people before and all I get for an answer is practice with an airbrush! Help, I'm only 15 and without money I can't afford to buy an airbrush does anyone have any great websites that could help me???

Also I would like to try and super-detail my CN GP9 any ideas???

Thanks Josh

[BRAKIE]

Josh: Frist you do not need a air bru***o weather with!You can weather by hand,this is how I to do it.Frist you will need some empty containers,empty paint bottles or you can use CLEAN lids from jars.You will need these to mix the paint.Paint you truck side frames as usual,also paint the fuel tank.let dry.Now start with rust paint pour some into your container,thin with water (polly scale paint)not to thin,but,like a wa***hen,by using light strokes with the paint brush rush your truck side frames and fuel tank to the way you want them.let dry.Now do the same thing to the fuel tank. Now make a dust wash,and repeat the proceedures as you did with the rust.Finish.Now to weather your body I suggest using chalk.I don't use chalk myself,but am told that you can get this chalk at art supply stores and it comes in different colors.I use the bru***o do all my weathering,if you have a old car you no longer use you can pratice on that.All you do is the same as before,by making washes and lightly apply the wash untill it suits your tastes.Once you get the hang of it is easy.You can do freight cars and buildings the same way.

[Anonymous]

About weathering -- Go to http://www.the-gauge.com
, especially the section called The Academy.
Bill K

[Anonymous]

Those are both good answer's but what i have done in the past is use chalk!You can get numerous colors for a few dollars.All you have to do is get a file or sandpaper and turn the chalk into powder.Use a brush of some type and apply it to the model be careful what u touch till after u have added a coat of dullcoat to set everything.Cheap and effective!

[Anonymous]

Like devin said,!Chalks. One can go to a art storeor craft store and pick up PASTEL Chalks and apply like devin said and apply dullcote lightly at 18 distance so as not to blow the chalk off the car. I have also done it in reverse, dullcote first before it dries, fine powered chalk(I filed mine down) spread across a sheet of paper, my own self generated hot air, blowing the powder onto the sticky dullcote. This is a shotgun approach, with a shotgun finish,not very scientific. Also consider acrylic paints in a tube or in the jar,keeping the water based paint very-very thin. Depending on the color of the car will determine the color of the paint. For instance, box car red,use burnt umber,raw sienna & burnt sienna. These are some of your inexpensive choices.

[Anonymous]

Josh, one further suggestion. Introduce yourself to John Patton of Myersdale Pa who has many years in the hobby at [e-mail] He has a simple-effective method of chalks-dullcote application. When I do a car, I do the worst one to practice on. MR did a brief article on Chalks and I'm trying to find it now.

[Anonymous]

Josh, I also use chalks to weather with. They are inexpensive and effective. There are two things I must suggest that I haven't seen mentioned. First, be careful what you buy when it comes to chalks. In many art supply stores the chalks and artist's pastels are sold in the same section. What you want is chalk that is dry to the touch. If you pick up a stick that has a somewhat oily feel to it, thats a pastel which really won't work as well. The second thing is to wa***he models in warm soapy water, rinse, and let air dry. Minimize the amount of handling (pick up and hold by edges or inside ) or use rubber gloves prior to using the dullcoat or chalk. Otherwise you could see oversized fingerprints on your models.
Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Josh, You do not need a airbrush. You can weather
with chalks and paint. You can dry brush paint on
and it does a great job of for larger areas and
for engines almost anything else. Just dip your
brush in the paint and then dab it until just
all the paint is off and go from there. Remember
that light colors like white and others go a long
way. If you make a mistake you can cover them up.
Chalks are good. You can get many different colors
of chalks. I wear rubber gloves when working with
chalks so that I don't smear the chalk. Use
Dullcote to set your chalks. Also cover windows
because dullcote will cloud them up.
When weathering buildings the weathering will be
different on the different sides. North sides of
buildings might have a green moss where as south
sides normally don't. To me the big thing about
weathering is what looks good to you. Look at
buildings outside new buildings and old buildings,
metal and brick. The older your building the more
weathered it will be. Look at all side of the
buildings. In model railroading there are always
things to learn. No question is stupid. Some of
us have been railroading for a long time and we
still learn everyday. So just take your time and
enjoy yourself. You have many more years of
railroading ahead. Good Luck Ross

[Anonymous]

Josh, one last idea & then I will board another train.Consider graffiti. MR July 2000 did a brief on
replicating graffiti (Kilroy was here, Class of 04)
by using Gel Pens with the MILKY gel roller obtainable at office supply or Sams Club-perhaps Wal-Mart.

[Anonymous]

I'll 2nd what Ross said. Dry-brusing is my method of choice for weathering. I never use an airbrush for weathering anymore, because I was spending more time cleaning the airbru***han I was working on my models. I still use the airbrush for covering large areas with a base coat, but then I revert to a combination of thin washes, & dry-brushing for weathering.
One thing to keep in mind is that weathering needs to be subtle. I've seen modelers who turn every piece of rolling stock into a rust bucket. This is just as unreallistic as the shiney, out-of-the-box look.
Always start very lightly. If you want something weathered heavily, build up to it. That's the way it happens in the real world. You'll be amazed at what a difference some very light weathering can make.
Good Luck!

[thirdrail1]

Josh, I see you have received quite a few excellent replies about weathering. I would add one suggestion. Use different techniques on your cars and do not weather some at all. If you observe a passing train, you will find cars in all sorts of conditions. Not only are they not uniformly "weathered", but the nature of the grunginess is different on different cars depending on the service they are in and where they spend most of their time.

Now, about superdetailing your CN GP9....Before you start, pick a specific CN GP9, and try to get photographs of both sides, the ends, and the top of that particular locomotive. Then, make a list of all the parts you find on the real one that you can't find on the model. Armed with the list, get out your Walthers Catalog and look in the locomotive detail parts section for each of the parts on the list. If you can't find some, figure out how you can make them from scratch. Finally, get the parts and work from the prototype photographs. Enjoy!

[snowey]

I have some more suggestions about weathering, if you care to hear them. (as if you haven't had enough already!) If you use chalks, either spray the surface after you're done with Testors Dullcote to seal it. BUT, put on TWICE as much chalk as you think is right, because after you spray the Dullcoat (or another clear, flat, finish-like Floquill "Figure Flat"-half the chalk will dissapear. (don't ask me why). Also, Grimy Black paint-I use Polly Scale, but any brand will do-mixed with brake fluid at a 5/1 ratio (5 teaspoons paint, 1 teaspoon fluid) makes a nice black wash wich can be brushed on fans on a loco, and running boards on cars. Then, dry-brush some white paint on them, & they'll look see-through. Also, bru***he same wash on the side of a car, wait about 20-30 seconds, then wipe it off. It makes a good weathering coat either by itself, or with other weathering applied over it. I find it ecspecially looks good over lettering. To dry-brush, dip a stiff, or semi-stiff brush in paint, wipe off as much as you can on paper, or cardboard or something, then "drag" it across the surface. Don't get discouraged; it takes some practice. I've been trying for 5 years to master it! Finnaly, you can also use spray paint if you want. Get hold of a couple of the exellent weathering books from Kalmbach (WWW.KALMBACHBOOKS.COM). Oh, and one last thing, good luck! Weathering is so simple, yet does so much to enhace a model!

[snowey]

one more thing I forgot about. Both WALTHERS & BLAIR LINE make some graffiti decals.

[BRAKIE]

Joe:more thing on the graffiti.That will depend alot on the era he is modeling.I have a Video on the Chessie System that was shot from 1979-1985 witch shows alot of cars in the train,most of the cars of that time was graffiti free.But if he is modeling todays rail road then he needs alot of graffiti.

[Anonymous]

Drew is right a little is a lot. Do not over do
it Josh. Put a little on and look at it. You might
want to run it on your layout and see what it
looks like. Not all rolling stock looks the same.
Different parts of the country have different
soil types and rail yards have diiferent ballasts
under the track. Smoke from engines can also
weather on the cars behind the engine. The rolling
stock can have splatters from the wheels from
the car in front,so look at the ends of the cars.
Graffiti is a good idea, Again a little goes a
long way. Rolling stock could have different
graffiti depending on where the car resides from
New York to California can be different. Josh I
was going to tell you in my last post that your
mother and or grandmother maybe a girlfriend
will have makeup brushes that they might not need.
Ask them if you can have the old brushes. They
make great weathering brushes, old tooth brushes
work too. You can use them to splatter paint
and work it into other materials.
I hope my suggestions are a help. I think everyone
that has replyed remembers when they asked some-
one for help. Do not be afraid to ask.
I hope you have fun. Ross

[thirdrail1]

Speaking of makeup brushes, I have an old makeup kit with eyeshadow and stuff that I also use for weathering, putting the colors on with a Q-tip. There is a blush or rouge in it that is somewhat the color of boxcar red. This, applied with a Q-tip over lettering blends it very nicely into the car color, so the the lettering looks faded. Like I said in another post, I use chalks, dry brushing, air brushing, bounce weathering with Floquil's Instant Weathering, Rust-all, and India Ink. What I use depends on the effect I want and the material (actual and modeled) involved.