I have enjoyed painting up my ties! If the manufacturers would offer several varieties of ties, I suppose that would be useful to some of us, and I would not object by any means. But, personally, I like the revelations that this hobby has presented to me. I like noticing the different bark types on trees, how rock cuts look, how clouds look, and how ties look at various stages of weathering and disintegration. After Joe Fugate's generous presentation on how to make track look realistic, I felt it was a challenge that I didn't want to miss. By my own standard, I think I did okay. Besides, weathering up the ties was not the least time intensive. It was quick and fun. Start painting the mains with a neutral paint for ties, dark umber, say, and then add more white and gray until you have really old ties on sidings and spurs.
Still, though, since "RTR" is increasingly popular, maybe someone like Micro Engineering will eventually offer track weathered three or four different ways. Who knows.
AggroJones wrote: IRONROOSTER wrote: Patience, Athearn has weathered cars coming, I'm sure weathered ties can't be far behind.Dude...those Athearn 'factory weathered' cars are a joke....
IRONROOSTER wrote: Patience, Athearn has weathered cars coming, I'm sure weathered ties can't be far behind.
Patience, Athearn has weathered cars coming, I'm sure weathered ties can't be far behind.
Dude...those Athearn 'factory weathered' cars are a joke....
No argument from me, but it does take RTR to a new place.
Enjoy
Paul
cliffsrr wrote:Why do we paint flex track ties. Why doesn't the manufacturer use an appropriate color?
cliffsrr wrote: Why do we paint flex track ties. Why doesn't the manufacturer use an appropriate color?
Why do we paint flex track ties. Why doesn't the manufacturer use an appropriate color?
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Actually, it makes sense for manufacturers to make everything with the brand new look. It's easier to add weathering to taste than it would be to remove factory applied weathering (which probably wouldn't be practical anyway).
R. T. POTEET wrote: Picky! Picky! Picky! but do you mean locale?
Thanks! Brain fart there!
pcarrell wrote: Ties look different with age and local. It would be very difficult for a manufacturer to be able to please everyone. Micro Engineering found that out when they offered (and still do) weathered flex track and people often weathered it more to suit their needs, or they just bought the non-weathered track.EDIT: Darn, RT beat me to it!
Ties look different with age and local. It would be very difficult for a manufacturer to be able to please everyone. Micro Engineering found that out when they offered (and still do) weathered flex track and people often weathered it more to suit their needs, or they just bought the non-weathered track.
EDIT: Darn, RT beat me to it!
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
Manufacturers already give us some pretty outstanding track that in many cases looks even better than handlaid.
The way to truly regionalize your track and establish a track hierarchy is through color and ballast. High-speed mains have different colored ties (often many more new, dark-creosoted ties) than a siding where they may be sun-bleached or rotting.
Even those flextrack products with brown ties modeled on just don't look as realistic as user-painted ties and rails.
Painting is a very, very easy and almost instantaneous way of vastly improving your track over anything the manufacturers could ever provide for you.
Example from my own layout... This is the most basic Code 80 N scale Atlas track and Peco switches... next to Kato Unitrack, the easiest entry-level stuff. I chose it because I move the layout a lot and take it shows, and wanted robust and damage-proof track.
Notice the color changes between the mains (with the gray ballast), the spur (cinder ballast), and the weedy siding in the back. The rails and ties were painted different colors for each track. It's obvious which tracks serve which function.
Next time I'll be using the finer-scale Atlas Code 55 track... and you can bet I'll bring out the airbrush! Sometimes it's more rewarding to do it yourself.
Modeling the Rio Grande Southern First District circa 1938-1946 in HOn3.
I have seen railroad track in many places. Never have I seen coal black ties.
A light brown to grey would hit more average ties.
Ties look different with age and locale. It would be very difficult for a manufacturer to be able to please everyone. Micro Engineering found that out when they offered (and still do) weathered flex track and people often weathered it more to suit their needs, or they just bought the non-weathered track.
What would you consider to be an appropriate color for the crossties? From my personal observation walking along various stretches of railroad track, the color varies according to age and the amount of deterioration and effects of weather and climate, or even the type of wood from which the crossties have been cut.
I look at the number of posts of some of these guys and I wonder "What am I doing here?"
Then I view some of the best and some of the worst, but still come away with some good!
My Why don't they question: