weathering diesels

[DeadheadGreg]

Hey, I was just wondering what you guys did to weather your diesel engines.  Specifically, I'm hung up over weathering the body behind the handrails.  i've got a bunch of engines that have the handrails already glued on, and I don't feel like cutting them off and then trying to re-affix them. 

Do you think any spray cans would be able to be used?  I don't have an airbrush, nor do i plan on getting one anytime soon; its not one of my priorities due to monetary restrictions (unless someone wants to...  'donate' one, lol) 

but yeah; i want to get the shell body evenly weathered but those darn handrails are in the way....

[camaro]

 

 Try Lance Mindheims "Voodoo & Palmettos" website for pictures and procedures for weathering.  Check under the FAQS section and definately look at the model railroad photos.  

 www.lancemindheim.com

Larry 

 

[gandydancer19]

I use chalk applied with a dry, small, paintbrush.  Then spray with a clear-flat of your choice, spraying from a couple different angles to get behind the handrails.  Don't spray too heavy.  The clear spray will tone down the chalk, so if you think you got too much on, it may be just right.

[delray1967]

I've seen airbrushes at Harbor Freight Tools for like $10.  Otherwise, use the pastels or thin paint washes, or both.

[Packers#1]

I used a paintbrush to apply paints, then wiped off most of the paint with toilet paper. The finished product:

[cudaken]

 Packer, hum, what was the look you where looking for? Boy this is going to sound mean! But I cannot help my self! Was the toilet paper new or used?

 

 Devil made me do it, just took my finguers over.

 

         Sorry Ken

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I try to keep the weathering of locos a low key affair. This is an exception. Some rust paint for the trucks and some alcohol with a little black leather dye goes a long way.

 

[steinjr]

I used a paintbrush to apply paints, then wiped off most of the paint with toilet paper. The finished product:

 Well, you have certainly created a look that is uniquely yours. You won't be seeing many engines weathered like that on other layouts.

 Stein

 

[Red Horse]

I noticed by checking out his profile that he is a middel grade student...he will improve given time and information and maybe a little encouragment!

stay with it kid!

[Packers#1]

F7, modern day, was trying to make it look like it hadn't been washed for a few years.

[Packers#1]

 Packer, hum, what was the look you where looking for? Boy this is going to sound mean! But I cannot help my self! Was the toilet paper new or used?

 

 Devil made me do it, just took my finguers over.

 

         Sorry Ken

new

[Gary UK]

Greg, first off, take a step back. First things first, do some research and get yourself some good 3D pictures of your chosen prototype. Dont whatever you do use those spray cans, you'l end up with a right ole mess that looks like a pebble dashed wall.

Find some old junkers that it wont matter if you make a dogs dinner of it to practise on, dont expect to get it right first time. You'l have to experiment with mixing differant colors. I use an air brush normaly but sometimes il use weathering powders. The 2 units below were both air brushed with a qaulity air brush, its realy the only way if you use paint. The SD50 was treated to thinners based washes until i got the effect i was after. The AC6000 was basicly air brushed. I always closely follow a good picture of the real thing, this is very important, you need to paint what you see, not what you think it looks like in your head.

The SD50 has pronounced streaks of grime where the rain will have washed the dirt down the sides.

Notice the subtle tones of exhaust carbon near the roof line. Its all about being subtle!

The GP9 has only recieved a light coating of grime on the trucks and frame and is a work in progress

Apologies for the poor depth of field in the pictures, ive yet to master that one

 

[Red Horse]

Gary UK,

Those are some great examples of weathering, this is what he needed some solid advice on how do begin, thanks for helping him and me out!

[Gary UK]

Gary UK,

Those are some great examples of weathering, this is what he needed some solid advice on how do begin, thanks for helping him and me out!

Thanks. As i said above, the golden rule is to paint what you see, not what you think you see. A good picture of your chosen subject is paramount to success.  

Practise is the key and be prepared for some bad outcomes along the way. If your unable to run to a good qaulity airbrush just now, good results can be obtained using weathering powders, dry brushing or 'dirty' washes with thinned out paint.

Use good ole cotton buds with thinned paint, these are a great tool for streaking the dirt like on the SD50 above. After dunking the cotton bud in your chosen 'dirt' mix, blot some off on some kitchen roll, then streek it up and down the sides remembering to keep it vertical. If you have to much paint, simply add thinners to dilute and vice versa. I also used a fibre glass burnishing pencil to partialy remove the U.P lettering, just as the sun and rain does over time on the real thing.

Just to give an idea what i used for the SD50, below is one particular picture i used to help me. Hopefully you'l see some simularity.

 

[DeadheadGreg]

Greg, first off, take a step back. First things first, do some research and get yourself some good 3D pictures of your chosen prototype. Dont whatever you do use those spray cans, you'l end up with a right ole mess that looks like a pebble dashed wall.

Find some old junkers that it wont matter if you make a dogs dinner of it to practise on, dont expect to get it right first time. You'l have to experiment with mixing differant colors. I use an air brush normaly but sometimes il use weathering powders. The 2 units below were both air brushed with a qaulity air brush, its realy the only way if you use paint. The SD50 was treated to thinners based washes until i got the effect i was after. The AC6000 was basicly air brushed. I always closely follow a good picture of the real thing, this is very important, you need to paint what you see, not what you think it looks like in your head.

The SD50 has pronounced streaks of grime where the rain will have washed the dirt down the sides.

Notice the subtle tones of exhaust carbon near the roof line. Its all about being subtle!

The GP9 has only recieved a light coating of grime on the trucks and frame and is a work in progress

Apologies for the poor depth of field in the pictures, ive yet to master that one

 

 

 

Hey, thanks a lot.  I appreciate the response and pictures.  Thats exactly what I'm looking to do right now, what you did on the SD50.  So you used a ball of cotton just dipped into thinned paint?  I'm wondering if a q-tip dipped in a mix of paint and water would work.  I don't have any paint thinner.

[Red Horse]

Your pics inspired me to go into my train working room and try my hand at weathering a box car and a delivery truck for practise, I'd like it if you would check out that post on my progress and let me know what you think, please keep in mind I'm very new at this MRR hobby (4 months?) and that box car and truck is my first wack at weathering.

Thanks for the inspiration and tech knowledge to get me out of my rut and trying new things.

Your awesome Man!

Happy Rails!!!

Jess.

[cudaken]

 Darn it Packer you now made me feel like a Pice Of Caboose. I as well should have checked your profile. Hope you don't hold it aginst me! There are many mean sprited people here at the site, I like to think I am not one of them.

 I am not that far of head of you in this hobby. I just started Wreathing say 6 months ago. I have found chalk to be more forgiving than paint. If you like to learn more about wreathing with chalk start a posting about it. I be more than happy to help, but far more skilled folks than I will help you as well.

 Problem with the internet? You never no the age or skill level of the person posting.

 Sorry again, Cuda Ken 

 

 

[Packers#1]

Don't worry about it, I know what guys are annoying. main reason I used paints and such: i only have ten bucks, and I plan to sink that into flextrack. I was going for a really old F7 look, ya know, like its been on display for a while and nobdy has cleaned it.

[Driline]

  There are many mean sprited people here at the site, I like to think I am not one of them.

 

Congratulations and welcome to the club!

As the newest member of "The Train Nasties Club" you will recieve the following items:

• Monogrammed towel with the TNC logo!
• His and hers rope on a soap
• And last but not least a years supply of "Rice a Roni" (The Sanfransico Treat)

                                

[Gary UK]

 

 

Hey, thanks a lot.  I appreciate the response and pictures.  Thats exactly what I'm looking to do right now, what you did on the SD50.  So you used a ball of cotton just dipped into thinned paint?  I'm wondering if a q-tip dipped in a mix of paint and water would work.  I don't have any paint thinner.

You could try a pharmacy for the cotton buds, i think you guys will call them the same in the U.S? Their the things ya mom would poke in your ears to get the cabbage's out of when you were a kid There a great tool for this job. I find it easier to use enamel paints. White spirit or Terps is realy very cheap from your local hardware store. Thin the paint to the consistency of milk in a spare plastic desert pot or the like. Dip the bud in and blot off some on kitchen towel before applying the cotton bud to the sides of the model in vertical movements. You'l soon see how the 'dirt' lays in the molded detail of the model, just like it does on the real thing. You'l also learn quick how much to apply and vice versa. If you over do it, just blot some off with towel or toilet paper and have another go. If you use oil based thinners like i mentioned above, it will not effect the paint on your model. Do not under any curcumstances use a car paint thinner etc, it will melt your model!

[Driline]

 

 

Hey, thanks a lot.  I appreciate the response and pictures.  Thats exactly what I'm looking to do right now, what you did on the SD50.  So you used a ball of cotton just dipped into thinned paint?  I'm wondering if a q-tip dipped in a mix of paint and water would work.  I don't have any paint thinner.

You could try a pharmacy for the cotton buds, I think you guys will call them the same in the U.S?

We call them "Q-tips" in the U.S.

[Gary UK]

We call them "Q-tips" in the U.S.

Yeh, that'l be the ones

I just had a thought, there's a section on weathering diesels and cars in this book http://kalmbachcatalog.stores.yahoo.net/12416.html

He also uses weathering powders as well as paint. It realy is a great book, no conection with Pele the author, just a very happy customer. It realy is a great help if your starting out.

[DeadheadGreg]

oh yeah Pelle is amazing.  You crazy non-Americans are better at modeling our country than we are!!  lol 

Do you think water would work okay though?  I have water colors, but the results I got when using those on some freight cars weren't all that satisfying....  

i mean, dry brushing is fine, but I need something that will get realistic looks down behind the handrails of my engines, because getting a brush in there with paint or some powder is realllly hard to do properly

[Gary UK]

oh yeah Pelle is amazing.  You crazy non-Americans are better at modeling our country than we are!!  lol 

Do you think water would work okay though?  I have water colors, but the results I got when using those on some freight cars weren't all that satisfying....  

i mean, dry brushing is fine, but I need something that will get realistic looks down behind the handrails of my engines, because getting a brush in there with paint or some powder is realllly hard to do properly

Im not sure Greg. I find water colors are only any use on rock castings and stuff. Plastic engine bodys just seem to repel the water like a ducks back kinda thing. Thats not to say it cant be done but i find that enamel/oil based paints are easier to work with. If you use the cotton tips, you'l find that you can get behind the handrails like i did on my SD50, I never took them off! Alternativly, you can also use the tips to apply weathering powders in hard to reach places on a locomotive.

[DeadheadGreg]

Sorry if I wasn't clear; I wont be using water colors.  I tried that on a hopper and...  no.  haha.  i mean, the result isn't that bad, but it was a pain in the ***, to be sure. 

What I'm still confused on is if I can just thin my regular Pollyscale/Floquil paints with water.

[AggroJones]

I take it this wouldn't be acceptable if he was a grown man? Keep at it kid.  

[loathar]

 

 

 

Nice! That's my favorite CSX paint scheme!

[alco49]

  There are many mean sprited people here at the site, I like to think I am not one of them.

 

Congratulations and welcome to the club!

As the newest member of "The Train Nasties Club" you will recieve the following items:

• Monogrammed towel with the TNC logo!
• His and hers rope on a soap
• And last but not least a years supply of "Rice a Roni" (The Sanfransico Treat)

                                

You forgot to mention the t- shirt and hat!

[wjstix]

Personally - and it is just a personal preference - I don't like to weather with paint of any type. My standard M.O. is to give the model a good coverage of powdered charcoal (usually with a 1/4" brush), then wipe most of it back off with a paper tower (or Q-tips for hard to reach areas). Then I seal that in with a spray of flat finish (dullcote or flat acrylic finish, both are available in spray cans). Then I add a little gray, rusty red, brown etc. with chalks.

A nice thing is that before you seal in the powdered charcoal, you can wash it off and start over if you don't like the way it looks!!

[wedudler]

Here're two examples, an old and dirty SOO, now WT and a nearly new WT engine.

 

 

 

I think, at least at the trucks there should be some weathering.  

Wolfgang