I have a question. I am getting into weathering my freight cars and locomotives for my non-existant layout. I know there are a million ways to weather cars and such but since it was my first attempt I figured I'd post some pics and ask for opinions and tips. All of my weathering was done with pastel artists chalks applied directly to the car/loco and then I used a variety of brushes to spread the dust and add different layers. Thanks for any help and feedback.
I would say not bad. The Cotton Belt boxcar is a little "splotchy" as it looks like areas of weathering next to non weathered without something to tie it together. Now granted, I only started weather a couple years ago myself and I have a few cars that will get more heavily weathered to cover the first attempts :) Overall they look pretty god, not too overdone. The big thing is look at prototype photos and see the patterns, especially on the locos where the road grime gets kicked up and the exhaust ends up.
Ricky
The WM car is nice. subtle. The rest are too weathered. Try less.
The BN hopper looks like it was dipped in mud (a common beginner's effect). Try less red colors and lighter washes. If you were going for rust it is usually a darker brown and more streaky. Try putting some black in thinner or rubbing alcohol (depending on the paint type), making a very thin wash. then put several very thin washes over the car to tone down the brown.
I didn't like the thumbnails of the SSW car but they look better in the larger picture. The mix of more dark brown in with the black under the DRA in Hydra cushion is nice. the roof looks good.
The C&O engine needs more dust on the lower portions and the geasy smear on the cab side detracts rather than helps.
You are off to good start. Look at prototype pictures and pick one weathering effect and practice it. Look at the Railroad Line Forum, there is a lot of weathering and detail information on that site. Water washes down and dust blows up. Rust is rough. With weathering less is more.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
The covered hopper looks good. The cotton belt box car looks uncontected. As you apply your powers, work from the top down in a downward motion. Same as the rain washes the dirt down the side of the car. Also the dirt will be more closer to the bottom of the car, and less towards the top of the car. Same for the loco, more around the trucks and fuel tank, and not much on the cab area. You will also have dark or black vents, as they are filters keeping the air entering the loco clean. As for the top of the loco, the fan area would be dirty, and specially around the exhaust stacks. If you get a chance check out my photos on myspace page.
One thing you can do to weather the lettering is sand it with 600 grit sand paper. You will not see the sanding marks with 600 grit.
I was hot for weathering for a while, now I like clean cars. I work the HO people fingers to the bone at night cleaning cars!
I hate Rust
Under the honesty first rule - my opinion - not very good. The Chessie covered hopper is a B-, the others D- or below. The most important tip when it comes to weathering is to study the prototype. Find pictures of the kind of car you're working on and use them as a guide. The BN hoppoer looks like you paint the weathering on and then wipe it with a rag. The Chessie GP30 looks like it was done with shoe polish and a rag. Too much horizontal wiping. Keep trying.
JeremyDavis I suppose the good thing is that I haven't laquered them so the dust should wash off. I'm not overly happy with the Cotton Belt car but it was my first try so I'll try again. Most of the weathering on the GP30 was done before I got it as I bought it used. It's a proto 2000 that I picked up for $45.
I suppose the good thing is that I haven't laquered them so the dust should wash off. I'm not overly happy with the Cotton Belt car but it was my first try so I'll try again. Most of the weathering on the GP30 was done before I got it as I bought it used. It's a proto 2000 that I picked up for $45.
Jeremy, I just bumped a weathering thread for you. "Show us your weathered models II..critique and criticism welcome"
Take a look at it. It should help you with some simple ideas to get going.
Thanks Driline!
One of the things I have done Jerry is with there being no dull coat is rub some of the chalk off with my finger. All so, dull coat will hide about 60% of the chalk.
Weathering is a art, so it takes sometime to master.
Cuda Ken
Are you dull coating them before you start using the chalks? Also, how are you applying the chalk? I dullcoat or base coat (lightly sprayed with thinned paint layer) before using chalks. And then use a soft artist brush and dust it lightly with the appropriate color. I mix the colors at times as well to get a blend I am looking for.
Like someone said above, the clear will take away some of the amount or degree of weathering; however, it won't help with the splotchy look. It does take some time and practice to pick it up.
The two biggest tricks about weathering are not doing the same thing to every car and knowing when enough is enough!
try to vision why the weathering or dirt should be there... dirt will be thrown up from the ground and will be heavyest on the bottom .. water will flow from the top of the car and the dirt will streak down... so to do dirt apply the pastel heavier on the bottom and once thats done , pull the brush downwards... If its just old from the sun, i use a color similar to the color of the car and again pull down ..
the black on the engine cab looks random , to look realistic it needs a reason to be there
Hope that helps a little
Jeremy,
The important thing to keep in mind right now is that you braved the first step of actually "risking" a few nice cars to weathering. Since the Chessie hopper came out the best of your samples, study what you did on that car and try to apply that knowledge to other weathering jobs. Blending the various pastel colors on the other cars should help improve the overall look. Though I myself have not tried pastels for weathering (I definitely need to try), I would stay away from using blacks. Faded paint can be simulated by lightly applying off-whites, light greys and light tans. Rust can be simulated using browns and burnt orange colors (stay away from bright oranges). Dirt can be simulated using medium to darker tans and medium greys. Grime and exhaust can be simulated using mixes of light to dark greys but, again, stay away from black. I typically used various grey colors to simulate grime or exhaust discoloration over areas painted black. I don't know if the same technique would work over pastels, but I usually spray a very thin wash of black over my airbrushed weathering jobs to tone down and blend the various weathering colors per the John Pryke method. This seems to work quite well. As you have not yet applied DulCote, I would first try further blending of the pastels you have already applied. If you are still not happy with your results, you can always wash the shells and try again. Congratulations on your first step. Keep going! You will only get better from here!
Hornblower
You're getting the feel for weathering, take some of the advice on this forum and be on your way, I'm of the "moderation" school, better a little less weathering than the "dipped in mud" method, take a close look at real trains and photos, practice on a few old beaters,wipe it off, try again.
m o d e r a t i o n