I agree with your comment about how much detail some of the “cheap train set“ stuff. After stripping some AHM, Tyco, Bachmann, etc I’ve noticed far more detail than originally visible. They must’ve used really thick paint “back in the day”.
Im taking care to repaint with thin coats. So far the spray bomb primers have left much detail exposed.
I've had problems keeping paint from flaking off the delrin trucks when benging them outward to remove and/or inserte wheelsets. You can do all the weathering operations with wheels in the trucks, but you will need to remove paint from wheel treads before it dries. to do this, I apply a little solvent to a paper towell, lay it over a piece of flextrack, and run trucks (wheels) back and forth over the solvent until the paint is removed from the wheel treads.
As an alternative, you can use a toothbruch and cleanser (grit) to rough up the delrin prior to painting. That seems to help alot.
K4s_PRR,
Thanks for sharing your method.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Dave I brush paint the trucks and wheels weathered black or grimy black. I use a wheel mask since I paint the backs and axles of the wheels. I then dry brush the trucks with various shades of rust. You can also use some oily black if you want.
Magnaflux Magnetic Particle Inspection Machine. That does sound right. i thought it was a neat thing.
Cracks in the wing spar/strut not good, as it is what holds all the weight/strength of the wing. Suprized they let the C-130 fly. Belive the Air Force C-141 was retired early because of that proeblm. I worked on the C-5 myself.
Modeling on the cheap
OK, while we are off topic (and having a good discussion I might add), I had a rather disconcerting experience with structural cracks in a C-130 Hercules transport. I was supposed to fly from the Canadian Forces base at Lahr, Germany to Sweden, and the Swedish Air Force had sent a C-130 Hercules transport to take us there. We waited on the tarmac for what seemed like hours before being allowed to board the plane. After we were airborne one of the crew apologised for the delay. He explained that they had discovered some cracks in the main wing strut and had to figure out if the plane was still safe to fly! We made it so apparently they were right.
Hey! Its my thread and I will do what I want!!!!
again!!!
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I have read that also about not painting the wheels couplers, so they can see cracks. When i was in the miltary they did NDI inspections on the aircraft, which was just a protable x- ray machine. One time using a truck that serviced liquid nitrogen to the plane i had the hose connection was leaking around the bend in it. We could not see any cracks, so we took over to the place that did the inspection, they diped it in some dye and ran it through some machine you could see the crack all around the connection. It was neat to me, cant remember what they called that process.
Hey, guys, I seem to remember reading (in MR, of course), 'way back when, that real life rules forbid painting couplers and wheels because paint will cover up cracks, which often can be spotted before they get too severe. That being said, I usually airbrush my old-time trucks with grimy black, cutting strips of masking tape to cover the treads (paint will usually migrate from wheel treads to the railheads, don't you know)--but of course, I model in O scale. Also, I figure anything is better than black plastic--and as I said in my stream, acrylic paint does stick pretty well, even on Delrin and other "slippery" plastic. Have Fun!
Deano
CNSF
CNSFSorry to go off topic here but I don't watch cooking shows
Thanks for bringing us back on topic!
I like your ideas, especially about not using the airbrush. I'll have to give your method and doctorwayne's (with an airbrush) a try to see which works better for me.
Thanks
Thanks Larry.
Ya, Rachael Rae is good! Her recipes are much more 'North American' than Nigella's so they are easier to relate to. We buy her cooking magazines all the time.
hon30critter Larry: How do you clean your paint pen tips? Thanks Dave
Larry:
How do you clean your paint pen tips?
I pour a tad of thinner into a lid and dip the tip of the pen into the thinner and wipe clean with a shop towel.
And guys,I prefer Rachael Ray over Ramsey. She doesn't go into fits like Gordon.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Bear, like you, I am not offended by people adding some spice to my threads, but thank you very much for being considerate.
I'd take Nigella over Ramsey any day of the week!!! I think I'd have a hard time just being in the same room as him. I dislike nasty people enormously no matter how skilled they are. I'd rather have a bad meal from a good person than a good meal from him.
There! Rant over!!
All the best,
BRAKIELooks like a large brush.................Gordon Ramsey would have a fit if that was food
hon30critter I'd suspect the paint pens are toast given the nature of their design. However, some brands allow you to remove and clean the felt tips, so if the paint is still liquid you may be able to ressurect them. Messy job though. Dave
I'd suspect the paint pens are toast given the nature of their design. However, some brands allow you to remove and clean the felt tips, so if the paint is still liquid you may be able to ressurect them. Messy job though.
I been using paint pens for around four years with no issues. Like a fine brush you clean the tip when you finish the job..
In the process of weathering some trucks right now. Bad thing i could not remember what i use for a base coat. Think i use raw umber. I have never tryed the paint pens, somewhere along the line i picked up a gloss black and flat black they are still in the plastic. Do they have a life span? or should they still be good? They are at lest 10 years old.
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions! Sorry I didn't respond sooner but my back is not happy these days.
I'm going to go back and re-read your ideas to see which ones I want to try out. I like the idea of not having to remove the trucks from the cars or the wheels from the trucks. I'll have to practice my coordination though!
Regards
Bear,Looks like a large brush was overloaded and paint was applied a tad to thick. I have some trucks that needs painting and if I find time today after my two doctor's appointments I'll paint one and take a photo.
Gordon Ramsey would have a fit if that was food.
Great topic and many, many great responses.
For wheels, I've been using the Laserkit jig, and I like the results. I had a ton of wheels painted one night in a short amount of time. Most of the time, I just use paint brushes. Grimy black for trucks, or sometimes the body color if I'm going for a newer car, plus I love the look of the latter. I'm going to start dry-brushing earth tones and grimy black to bring out the detail and age the trucks. For wheels, I paint the surfaces, back and front, plus the axle, a rust color. I'm going to start using rust as a base-coat, and add some grimy black to the wheel faces. Virtually none of my rolling stock have roller bearing trucks.
Alvie
CBT For weathering, I use a paint pen from my local craft store. I just use a brown and it looks good enough for me! It isnt the most professional way to do it, but it works out in the end! Hope this helps, Chris
For weathering, I use a paint pen from my local craft store. I just use a brown and it looks good enough for me! It isnt the most professional way to do it, but it works out in the end!
Hope this helps,
Chris
I too use a paint pen. My current ones are Floquil but obviously I won't be getting any more of those. The second I set I got was from testors railroad colors. It comes with Rail Brown, Rust and black. I hardly ever use the black. I start with the Rust color and then once its dry I go over it with the Rail brown color. The color combo is good enough for me. I use all Intermountain wheelsets for cars that go on the layout and paint them in batches so. The painted wheel faces indicates that the car is equipped with resistor wheelsets.
As for the plastic trucks. I have used a mixture of Acrylics and Floquil. I like Floquil for weathering because it has a good tooth into the plastic because it is an organic (as in chemical) based paint and actually etches into the plastic.
I usually will have a certain layer of color on the trucks (either airbrushed or painted on) which is similar to the car's color. I then use an airbrush (when I am weathering the whole car) to weather the car and trucks at the same time. I use a set of dummy wheelsets to protect the needle-point housing from getting painted.
Here you can see one of the cars I weathered with the combo colored metal wheels I mentioned previously.
The trick I use to weather the trucks is to actually set the car on a scrap piece of track and actually aim for the ties. This cause the paint to richchet and only leaves a controlled amount.
Colorado Front Range Railroad: http://www.coloradofrontrangerr.com/
The key thing is to kill the plastic gloss of wheels and sideframes. I brush paint the wheel faces. Friction bearing truck journal boxes leaked oil onto the wheel faces, giving a dark gray tone. I paint then with grimy black. Roller bearing trucks don't leak oil, and the wheel faces go a light brown color, partly rust and partly mud kicked up and dried on the wheel face. I paint them various shades of brown.
All sideframes get spray painted with a rattle can. Dark gray auto primer for locomotives and passenger cars, red auto primer for freight car trucks. I wash the trucks with hot soapy water, scrubbing with a toothbrush. I mask the axle holes with tape. The rattle can lacquers stick well to the sideframe plastic.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
I find that a black or brown Sharpie pen makes a solid base color and goes on very quickly. A rust colored acrylic wash can then be applied to create a more weathered look and cut any remaining sheen without having to worry about covering every last bit of the wheel.
Hornblower
riogrande5761To avoid unrealistic brush marks, I've shot mine with grimy black paint using an airbrush.
Jim,I been brush painting for years and the main thing to do in order to avoid brush marks is to have a quality brush and paint. Just dip the tip of the brush into the paint and not to overload it. Any excess paint can be removed by brushing a thick paper towel.
A lot of today's quality paint can be easily brush on.Doesn't hurt to have several sizes of micro brushes on hand for detailing-edges of steps,step handrails etc. If one has a study hand he can use a micro brush and paint the brake cyclinder rods.
However,I find a paint pen for painting wheels is hard to beat.
I remove the wheels from the trucks, otherwise it is just a big bother to get the entire wheel. For best results, I think it is worth the time to take the wheels out of the truck.
For wheels, in common with Larry I use a Minuteman painting jig (one for 33" wheels, one for 36" wheels) where the thick acrylic of the jig protects the wheel treads from being painted. I put a tiny amount of an Ambroid masking product on the tips of the axle bearings - I can flick that off with a fingernail when the paint is dried.
WARNING: I tried removing some of the gunked up paint on my Minuteman jigs because I could no longer read the imprinted 33" or 36" size. Bad idea - acrylic reacts very badly even to rubbing alcohol and it became brittle.
I made my own similar jig out of styrene for some wheels which appear to be smaller than 33" that I found on some Roco flatcars. By coincidence a regular paper punch was the perfect size. Some intermodal flatcars also have smaller than 33" wheels.
For truck sideframes, I have a board of wood with holes at intervals which hold a series of 8 or so large skewers or dowels pointing up (dowels sharpened in a pencil sharpener) and I simply rest the truck's bolster hole on the tip of the dowel or skewer. A bit of masking tape covers the bearing openings. (By the way that same jig can be used to paint freight car frames and even bodies, since the dowels are removable and can be slightly bent this way or that to accomodate various spacings for mounting holes.)
For paint I use a variety of rattle can flat reds or browns or even dark olive greens, Krylon or similar Camoflage colors. Sometimes I paint two colors at the same time. I have never had problems with rattle can paint sticking to wheels or sideframes, even those made of slippery engineering plastic. Of course I don't go picking at them with a fingernail, nor do they have to flex like hand rails. I do my painting outside although I do have a vented spray booth.
For certain cars (certain loads for example such as Kaolin or sand) I add some weathering powders to bring out the details a bit more, sealed with DullCote.
I did see an article either in MR or the NMRA magazine where the guy took box type cardboard and cut slits into it and the truck sideframes are pushed into the slots. That way the back of the sideframe would not be painted. Clever idea. The same corrugated cardboard he used to paint Kadee couplers - the shafts would be pushed into the corrugations to avoid being gunked with paint.
Editorially, I would just say that painting the wheels and sideframes is one of the easiest things you can do to improve the realism of freight cars. I am putting together a weathering clinic using some cheap train set quality cars as guinea pigs and it is impressive how much detail was molded into even old Bachmann or AHM cars--detail that you just don't see if they are left black. Indeed I would say the biggest benefit is to the N scale cars I am testing things out on, because in N if the sideframes and wheels are left dark black it is almost as if the cars are floating in space rather than rolling on wheels. And again there is impressive detail even on trainset quality N freight car trucks.
Dave Nelson
Sometimes, I remove the wheels from the cars and other times I keep them there. I use a combination of artist paints burnt unber and sienna for the wheels. I also put Dullcoate on them to bind chalk powders such as brown or orange. Those colors make great rust.
The amount and colors of weathering varies to avoid uniformity.