Weathering The Roof Of The Atlas Train Station

[doctorwayne]

richhotrain

Doggone it, Brent, I use that same type of mirror.

Rich

 

A lot of us seem to have the same model mirror, although my wife claims that mine's broken.  I do think that she's mistaken, though, as I don't even recognise myself in recent photos...I mean that literally!  I was looking through some photos that my daughter had taken at Christmas a couple of years ago, and asked, "Who's this?" of one photo, thinking that it was from some other event. 

I'm keepin' my mirror for sure!   I was at a train show on Sunday, and it's really disheartening to see how acquaintances from past shows have deteriorated.

 

I've always liked the Atlas station, and use it as my standard small town station, painting it in my railroad's standard double grey with green...

 

 

 

I used Polly S paint, applied with a brush.  It's been some time since that was done, so I don't recall what colour was used on the roof, but it appears to be the green used for the trim mixed with the light grey.  I added a little dry-brushed grey-ish streaks for weathering.

 

 

I don't know how common it would have been to paint shakes, but it's certainly a job which I wouldn't want to do. 

I think that some sort of grey would be a good choice, then weather it either with a dry-brushed lighter grey, or perhaps some pastels.  For the latter, I use cheap artists' oil pastels, rubbing the stick on coarse sandpaper to create a powder.  I usually dump the powder into the plastic bubble that encloses card-mounted small items, such as Krazy Glue, then use an older brush to apply it.  The disposable container is useful if you want to mix powdered colours, too - perhaps weather the entire roof with one colour, then add highlights in particular places.  I've used this material for weathering freight cars, too, and it doesn't seem to require an overspray or fixative of any type, and my freight cars cycle on and off the layout regularly.  It's unlikely that your station will get handled that much.

 

Wayne

[richhotrain]

Doggone it, Brent, I use that same type of mirror.

Rich

[BATMAN]

richhotrain

maybe that green color on his station is not as ugly as he believes that it is. 

You may be on to something Rich. I know I am much younger and better looking than the guy I see in the mirror every morning.

[marksrailroad]

I painted mine light gray then weathered it with a darker gray and it turned out real well. Anything but green...

[richhotrain]

gmpullman

Hey, Rich—

I was just looking for an excuse to post that old photo I've had laying around! I knew I remembered a green roof from somewhere and it wasn't a Lucy Maud Montgomery book, either 

Hopefully Brent will find a good way to tone-down or change that depot.

Cheers! Ed

 

Hey, Ed, truth be told, I really like that photo of the train station that you posted. Since Brent has revealed that he is somewhat color blind, maybe that green color on his station is not as ugly as he believes that it is. 

Rich

[gmpullman]

Hey, Rich—

I was just looking for an excuse to post that old photo I've had laying around! I knew I remembered a green roof from somewhere and it wasn't a Lucy Maud Montgomery book, either 

Hopefully Brent will find a good way to tone-down or change that depot.

Cheers! Ed

[richhotrain]

gmpullman

 

richhotrain

Yet, he seemed to make it clear that he did not prefer green. 

Sorry... 

I was simply reinforcing the statement that green roofs were somewhat common on some railroad structures. 

I'll keep my nose out of other people's business in the future. 

Ed 

No problem, Ed.

I was just pointing out that Brent appeared to be looking for an alternative color to green, not whether green was an appropriate roof color.

It's all Nittany Lion's fault.  

Rich

[gmpullman]

richhotrain

Yet, he seemed to make it clear that he did not prefer green.

Sorry...

 

I was simply reinforcing the statement that green roofs were somewhat common on some railroad structures.

 

I'll keep my nose out of other people's business in the future.

 

Ed

[BATMAN]

It is next to a grain elevator, so how about lots of pigeon droppings.

[PennCentral99]

Model a winter scene.....paint it white or throw some flour or baking powder on it and call it fresh snow    

[BATMAN]

Now I could live with that green. The green on my Atlas station looked like a bright neon green. I think I will go with a dark gray with an India ink wash. 

It is funny how the brain of a slightly colour blind person works. If I say something is green and someone tells me its gray and I look at it again, I will see gray, go figure.

Thanks all.

[richhotrain]

gmpullman

 

 

NittanyLion

Ah, but like all things, it depends: green shingles are incredibly common in some parts of the country.

 

 

Aye...

RR_views_0039 by Edmund, on Flickr

Regards, Ed

 

Yet, he seemed to make it clear that he did not prefer green.

Rich

[RR_Mel]

I used Plastruct Styrene shingle sheets for a recent scratch built home.  I’d never used Styrene shingles before.  I did a Google search for weathering and several sites advised to use a light grey primer.  Scratch up the singles with a steel wire “Distresser” then India Ink to bring out the wood grain.

 

 http://hon3annual.com/turning-styrene-into-wood/

 

It worked pretty good.

 

 

 

Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

 

[gmpullman]

NittanyLion

Ah, but like all things, it depends: green shingles are incredibly common in some parts of the country.

Aye...

RR_views_0039 by Edmund, on Flickr

Regards, Ed

[BigDaddy]

I did not know that.  If you don't put your opinion out there, you don't find out how little you know.

 

[NittanyLion]

richhotrain

 

 

BATMAN

I am not good with colours, that green roof that is on the Atlas train station is driving me nuts. Can someone tell me what colours to use on it 

 

 

 

LOL

 

Any color but green.

I will second George's recommendation of Reefer Gray.

Rich

 

Ah, but like all things, it depends: green shingles are incredibly common in some parts of the country.  Slate roofs too (you know, like the same kind of material they used to make green chalkboards out of!).  There were definitely B&O and PRR stations with green roofs out there.

[richhotrain]

BATMAN

I am not good with colours, that green roof that is on the Atlas train station is driving me nuts. Can someone tell me what colours to use on it 

LOL

Any color but green.

I will second George's recommendation of Reefer Gray.

Rich

[BigDaddy]

I've not seen green shakers, tho in humid Maryland if we had shaker roofs they might be green.  Go brown with grey or all grey.  I hear there are 50 shades

 

 

 

[gmpullman]

I've had some good results with the old stand-by, India ink wash. 

A few of my structures are the Walthers "Built-ups" that have a factory finish (usually unpainted plastic). My intention is to re-finish these "someday".

In the interim, I have given them the Indi ink treatment and it is a quick way to age the structure and make some of the details stand out.

In some cases I masked the windows and gave them a dusting of Dullcote, then did a light ink wash.

I much prefer kits, of course, but a few of these structures were only available as built-up at the time.

Good Luck, Ed

[tstage]

A weathered shake roof (probably cedar) would be a light-ish gray brown:

Tom

[G Paine]

First I would paint the roof a darker color like reefer gray, then dry brush it with a lighter gray to highlight the detail.

[BATMAN]

I am not good with colours, that green roof that is on the Atlas train station is driving me nuts. Can someone tell me what colours to use on it and maybe post a pic I would be grateful. Paint or powders it doesn't matter. I weathered most of it years ago, everything but the roof. I think it is supposed to be a moss coloured shake roof. I wished Atlas would have made it shake brown instead of that ugly green. Make it look new and we can take it from there. 

It is one of those things on the layout I never got around to finishing even though a few minutes is all it will take. Now is the time!

Thanks.