Athearn Blue Box SD-9...
I am not motivated to weather my locos or rolling stock, though I usually do lightly weather the structures. I do weather the trucks on my freight cars, however, as I dislike the shiny plastic look. Never say never but for now that is my balance.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
I really want to, but I'm chicken!
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
I have some that are weathered and some not weathered. To me it is kind of like an artist looking at a piece of canvas, you have to be in the right mood and have a vision.
I weatherize everything!
Sometimes it's just a light wash, sometimes I go off and make fresh paint look 40 years old.
Rust...... It's a good thing !
PruittI really want to, but I'm chicken!
Yep, this is me
Ed
I weather most rolling stock.
I have a couple of Kato locos I haven weathered yet. The CN SD70I is a Genesis from the late 90's, so I wasn't hesitant.
Mike.
My You Tube
I would never weather my locomotives and rolling stock.
There is one exception for one railroad I want to do it too. A fictional railroad I made over six years called SBSO set in up-to-date modern era. Graffiti covered walls, locomotive, rolling stock. Heavy weather roads, cars signs, polls, etc. A few new decorated clean freight cars with a new logo.
A problem with it was to modern. I would need to replace almost every freight car (around 20) every 3-5 years. It wasn't worth it to continue.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Ahhh, another member of the flock!
I really like weathering effects when they are done properly, but when the weathering isn't done well it really turns me off. I don't have an issue with the degree of the weathering. Light weathering can be done badly and heavy weathering can be done quite well.
When weathering gets towards the top of my list I will start with things like soot stains from the exhaust stacks and a light dusting of road grime along the trucks and frames.
I wish weathering was like my face. It weathers itself quite nicely in just a couple of days and I don't have to do anything at all!! The transistion to gray hair has been exceptionally realistic!!
And NO, the accumulation of room dust is not weathering!!
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Most of my diesels get the light black wash treatment to remove the shiny look. Steamers get repainted with a warm black finish. All trucks get repainted... couplers too, with a bit of rust. I practiced on old Tyco stuff. Ruined a few... A few passenger locos will remain pristine.
Simon
I weather everything, most of it lightly.
Sometimes I get good results, sometimes not quite as good.
Someday I might get good enough at it, and then I can go back and add heavier weathering to previous projects.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Think I caught the weathering bug after seeing Malcolm Furlow's San Juan Central layout in the pages of MRR mag and 'Dirt Dippin' my first boxcar.
Regards, Peter
I do not weather rolling stock.
Most modelers tend to overweather. I prefer subtle weathering, and have in the past paid a pro painter friend to do it for me, but none of my current rolling stock is weathered. Actually the dead flat finishes on some of the rolling stock already appear faded and weathered compared to prototype photos.
Given that the era I model is BN rainbow, whether rolling stock is weathered depends. If it's BN green, it doesn't as that is new for the era. Prior freight cars get weathered as seen by (or inspired by) prototype pictures. I probably don't weather my prototype engines enough but it works for me. My protolanced equipment doesn't get weathered at all as that is new paint as well.
I weather some of each, but most of my locomotives and rolling stock are pristine. I expect to change that over time once I have my layout mostly completed.
I am not keen to do weathering unless the item 'looks like plastic'.
I do have a small number of locomotives professionally weathered, but reall prefer them 'clean'.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Funny thing. I don't consider something actually mine....an emotional tie like personal ownership....until I put my personal stink on it.
Until then, its just the factory's product that I took out of circulation and put on my shelf. Maybe even for years.
Only when I add my personal touch does it feel like its part of the family.
Yes, I weather equipment.
- Douglas
Yeah, I don't weather either but it seems that my black IC locomotives really need something to bring out the details. Dark colors really seem to hide the detail without some sort of graying or weathering to bring it out. I'm just too afraid of ruining an expensive locomotive or one that would be hard to replace. If I ever get the the "metal of courage" from the Great Wizard of OZ to try such a thing, I think my benchmark would be Dr Wayne, on the photos of his steam locomotives the details just seem to "pop" and even the ones that would normally be hard to see and it's never over done.
Ralph
I've seen a lot of weathering jobs that look bad to me, so that makes me cautious, assuming I even had the time. My layout construction is putting most other modeling things at the bottom of the to-do list. If I don't have a layout to run trains ... they're only sitting in boxes which ain't no good.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I would like to add that being in N scale now, I really like the way Scaletrains darkens the grills on the radiator screens which makes a huge difference. I think Athearn Genesis does that with their diesel locomotives and they also have the Prime to Grime which has dull paint with brighter patches that look good.
I also remember Blackstone offered weathered locomotives in their HOn3 that looked really good.
I had cold feet in the beginning, but after my first attempt on a $10 boxcar from a train show, I felt confident enough to move into weathering more expensive rolling stock. I used acrylic paint washes in the beginning. If you over do it, it's easily removed.
This was my first try
Got enogh confidence to move to a genesis boxcar
First Loco I weathered ( Sorry about the weird angle )
I now use a mix of washes and weathering powders to acheive the desired look. I say weather everything. Even the freshly painted CN Gevos that run past my house have some dirt on them.
These were my latest 2. MILW SD40-2 (RTR) and MILW GP30 (P2K)
Ringo, great job on the weathering. I too use simple acrylic paints, and I have similar results to what you show above. ( I guess I'm calling my weathering great too...LOL). I have not used powders alot (they're a little messy and harder for me to control.)
PS, love that patched ex SP boxcar. It's an Athearn "primed for grime" edition that I also bought and received a few weeks ago. The factory patching gets us off to a good start on weathering since the factory paint is applied very thin with no layer build up.
The whole thing about weathering is what may be acceptable to one person may not be to another. It does seem to be a talent some are good and and others less so. It's not easy to have a model come out looking like the real thing every time.
As far as modern, there are some very talented railfans and modelers of the 70's and 80's who look at present day trains and say "it's all crap now". I can sympathize with them.
Subtle weathering seems to be the hardest art.
@Ringo, what is the black truck in your last photo?
I don't weather anything. The clean out of the box look good enough for me.
Ulrich I don't weather anything. The clean out of the box look good enough for me.
I agree.
I've had a lot of locos over the years, but never had the inclination to weather them. There are a few reasons.....I like my locos to look like they are just out of the shop or washrack, my weathering efforts would hurt the resale value, and of course I'm just not that confident that I could do a loco justice.
That all applies to my passenger cars too!
However, freight cars (90 percent kit built) all have weathered trucks (black/brown wash, and a spray of dull cote all over.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I do understand that good-enough can mean many things. I've seen on other forums, proud hobbyists showing their layout that looks basically like something a kid could build if they had lots of money and some basic skills and looks like a toy train layout. They are happy and that's fine; it's what matters to them.
But I assume this topic was started partly because many train hobbyists are interested in realism and weathering if done well and appropriately, can add much to the feel and realism of a modeling scene.
I weather using pastel chalks or acrylic paints for the most part, which allows me to start over if I don't like the way it is going. Just wash off what I don't like and start over.
Scott Sonntag
Honestly, I wouldn't even think of such a thing right now. I'm not saying that I never will. But I would have to master the art of weathering on other things before I would even consider it.
TF