I am trying to duplicate Chicago bricks from the 1920s. I have not been satisfied with my results. Does anyone have a mixing formula for one?
WilliekatI am trying to duplicate Chicago bricks from the 1920s. I have not been satisfied with my results. Does anyone have a mixing formula for one?
As a non-Chicagoan, it's difficult for me to offer suggestions...could you perhaps elaborate?I take it that you're not satisfied with the colour - any chance of a photo of some real ones, or even a stab at trying to describe the colour/color?
I paint many of my brick model structures in a colour that I call Hamilton, Ontario orange, as many homes and factories dating from an earlier era have distinctive orange bricks, most covered in years of dirt due to the heavy industry in that city, like Imperial Cotton...
...or this Westinghouse plant, one of several in the city...
This half-of-a-house was my first home as a child, and while it and it's adjoining house are now long-gone, the photo shows its painted version, but the real brick colour is above the awning over the door, where the porch roof was at one time...
Here's a model representing, not-too-badly, the former Tuckett Tobacco factory which was in Hamilton. This is it, painted and with "mortar" (drywall mud) applied...
...and then weathered...
...same paint, less weathering...
...and again...
...and same paint, different weathering...
I also used orange paint for the roundhouse in Mount Forest...
but weathered it more heavily...
20 or 30 miles north and west of Hamilton, buff-coloured brick was more common, and I used it in some other towns...
Whatever colour you're trying to mix, adding pre-mixed drywall mud as mortar will alter the appearance of the bricks' colour and weathering it will change the appearance again. It will also tone-down the starkness of the white mortar, a very common mortar colour in earlier days, due to its high lime-content
Wayne
You do not need to mix colors for bricks. Vallejo makes probably 50 different shades of reddish brown in their various lines.
If you are airbrushing, stock up on Model Master military colors right now! There are plenty of reddish browns there too.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Dunno about Chicago brick. I use Rustoleum and Krylon red auto primer for a red brick look.
This was a rather shabby train show structure. Red auto primer.
A close up of the same structure. It is a little closer than my point-n-shoot can focus.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
I would start with a acrylic brick red craft paint, and adjust via trial and error from that.
But without a pic, it's very hard to get the actual color.
Especially for someone who has never been to Chi-Town...
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
There is one stain that has never been succesfully copied, Floquil Driftwood.
rrebell There is one stain that has never been succesfully copied, Floquil Driftwood.
ricktrains4824 I would start with a acrylic brick red craft paint, and adjust via trial and error from that. But without a pic, it's very hard to get the actual color. Especially for someone who has never been to Chi-Town...
https://www.brickofchicago.com/chicagocommon
Though the '20s would have a layer of coal smoke and soot on everything...
Gary
rrebellnever been succesfully copied, Floquil Driftwood.
Agreed, Doc Ben's is close and I've had good results with it on both wood and plastic, but Floquil it ain't.
SeeYou190You do not need to mix colors for bricks. Vallejo makes probably 50 different shades of reddish brown in their various lines....
I dunno, Kevin, Williekat hasn't mentioned a colour, only a location. Bricks come in just about any colour imagineable. At one time, that depended on the colour of the clay available near each town or city, but nowadays, they can make pretty-much whatever colour a customer wants, and with a much wider choice of surface textures, too.
A quick search, about 10 seconds ago, came up with THIS, which begets even more questions.
Gary and Wayne both got it right. Chicago Brick, or more accurately termed Chicago Common Brick, refers to early 20th century brick made from dredged up clay from the Chicago River. Little or no time and effort was devoted to manufacturing smooth brick. It often was made with a very rough surface.
In Chicago, and Cook County for the most part, clay is the dominant soil. For the most part, black topsoil went no deeper than 4 inches on average, with clay as the dominant subsoil.
As a lifelong "Chicagoan", born and raised in the city, I can tell you that color is the key. Most industrial and manufacturing buildings were built with either dark red or brown brick.
In my experience, Pollyscale colors like Boxcar Red, Dirt, Rooftop Brown or D&RGW Brown would be the most appropriate paint colors to reflect the color and appearance of Chicago area industrial and manufacturing brick buildings.
Alton Junction
doctorwayne SeeYou190 You do not need to mix colors for bricks. Vallejo makes probably 50 different shades of reddish brown in their various lines.... I dunno, Kevin, Williekat hasn't mentioned a colour, only a location. Bricks come in just about any colour imagineable. At one time, that depended on the colour of the clay available near each town or city, but nowadays, they can make pretty-much whatever colour a customer wants, and with a much wider choice of surface textures, too. Wayne
SeeYou190 You do not need to mix colors for bricks. Vallejo makes probably 50 different shades of reddish brown in their various lines....
I totally agree. I lived in a small town in western PA for ~3 years. Brick houses around town ran the gamut as far as color. Reds and browns were dominant but light tan brick with a glossy surface was not uncommon in that region.
Googling "brick color" and clicking the "Images" option in your browser pretty much supports that all brick is NOT the same color - even on the same building:
https://www.google.com/search?q=brick+colors&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjQqtGsmJ_pAhWFZM0KHTqyBDsQ_AUoAXoECBAQAw&biw=2432&bih=1187
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
While industrial and manufacturing buildings and factories were almost without exception dark red brick or some shade of brown, residential homes and apartments could be lighter shades. Here is the apartment buidling where I spent the first twelve years of my life on the south side of Chicago. Same exact color and shade now as it was then.
Rich
More single family and mult family residences on the same block. I used to trick or trick the folks in those apartments. LOL.
richhotrainMore single family and mult family residences on the same block
All those colours should be easy to match from the various military camoflage lines with no mixing. Vallejo's "Panzer Aces" line would be my go-to.
A couple of good representations from the old Chicago Manufacturing Dstrict.
Finally, some good color photos of manufacturing buildings on this site.
https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/zlup/Historic_Preservation/Publications/Spiegel_Administration_Bldg.pdf
I modified the Panzer Aces colour chart to just show the brickish colours. I hope this helps a bit.
While brick color is fairly easy to reproduce, I find that the mortar and weathering effects are the difficult aspects to model when it comes to brick buildings. The mistake I did when I started to model brick was to look at model railroad pictures in books and on the Web. Many if not most modellers do the red brick/white mortar combination. The end result can be quite nice, and there is nothing really wrong trying to model brick walls that way. Then I started looking at real brick buildings in my area (Eastern Canada), to realize that many if not most buildings don't have the heavy white mortar coming out. In fact, mortar color is highly variable once the building ages a bit: I've observed white, grey, black and brick red. In some cases, the mortar has practically disapeared due to weather conditions. So I try to bring in a bit of variety (very well demonstrated by the pictures above) in my structures. And to obtain a variety in brick color, I will use various intensities of black washes.
Simon
SeeYou190I modified the Panzer Aces colour chart to just show the brickish colours. I hope this helps a bit. -Kevin
I think you narrowed your palette a little too much, Kevin. There's still a few more colors from your original that could be added back in. The yellow brick in western PA is a yellow creamy tan and none of these hues come close.
Suffice it to say that studying prototype color photos of a specific region (e.g. like what Rich supplied) is your best bet for color-matching brick in the area you are interested in modeling.
In Rich's photo, the "red" brick building on the left is almost a dead ringer for Americana brand Heritage Brick craft acrylic paint. Just a slight adjustment, and it would be spot on.
The "brown" brick on the right, is closer to a raw umber color. Again, just a slight adjustment, and it's going to be hard to see the differences.
So, without knowing for sure which brick color the OP is referring too, it's kind of hard to give a formula or color to "get close" on a model with.
tstageI think you narrowed your palette a little too much, Kevin. There's still a few more colors from your original that could be added back in. The yellow brick in western PA is a yellow creamy tan and none of these hues come close.
Absolutely I did Tom... I have learned from driving all over the USA that bricks come in all colors. I have even seen some dark olive drab bricks.
ricktrains4824Dead ringer for Americana brand Heritage Brick craft acrylic paint.
One of my favorite craft paints for a generic "brick red" is Delta Ceramcoat's "Barn Red". It looks right to me.