Weathering/Highlighting

[Anonymous]

I have a Stewart FTA/B set and I want to weather/highlight the ckicken wire intakes on the side. What's the best way to do this. I've seen this technique before but cannot find my reference. Should I use thinned black paint, or india ink. What do I thin them with and what is the best ratio?

THANKS

[Anonymous]

I'm certainly no expert, but I'd try a coat of weathered black paint and a wash with a rust color followed by another wash with an earthy color for the effects of dust and moisture. I think that would work great. If a wash isn't appropriate for the model you're working on try dry brushing with a rust color, then the earthy tone.

[sumpter250]

If the screens are not "see through", paint grimy black. When dry, dry bru***he "screen color" over the black. this highlights the screens.When that is dry, dry bru***he "dirt color" of the area the engine operates in over the whole engine,lightly. Apply extra amounts in areas where intakes are located. Keep in mind how clean the prototype kept their equipment.

[sumpter250]

Dry brush,,, The technique I use is basicly:
use a short bristle stiff brush. dip the tip in a drop of paint on a nonporous surface(foil,or glass,or tile,etc.)and brush out most of the paint. Scrub the brush lightly over the raised surfaces. You are literally scrubbing dry color off the brush, and on to the "edges" of detail.
Practice, Practice, Practice first!

[Anonymous]

dgoodlander:

The best way I have found for painting air intakes is to start with a layer of the darkest black I can find (such as "Engine Black"), making sure it gets right down into the background of the cast-in "opening". Then, I use the color for that part of the model itself, dry-brushing it on, so that it only reaches the actual "chicken wire" cover-material representation, the way the railroad would have actually painted it. The darkness of the black, visible through the lighter highlights, gives it depth, as though it is a real screened opening. On top of that, an even fainter dry brushing of some local dirt color would look good too, streaking down a little below it as well. As with any weathering, I would use vertical brush strokes, because accumulated dirt gets carried downward unevenly, forming vertical streaks. After all, along with the incoming air goes some suspended dust too.

David E.

[snowey]

The best way I have found is to use windshield washer fluid & grimy black (I use Polly Scale) and a 5/1 ratio. This is also a good "over all" weathering wash. For that, you brush it on, wait about 20 seconds, & wipe it off. I find it ecspellialy looks good over lettering.

[Anonymous]

Why do all you people out there weather like there's no tomorrow ? I mean , most of this stuff looks like it should be in a junk yard not on a set of rails ! The same seems to hold true for scenery . Man ! some of the trashest places seemed to get modeled . Growing up in the transitional era , I can tell you - it never looked that bad all over . How come every one seems to want to model a ghetto ? You know , some of us grew up in houses that were painted & didn't have blistered , chipped , cracked , or generally deteriorated walls , roofs , & surroundings . I think that the perception that any thing old was a junk is a falsehood brought on by media coverage of current conditions . Damn ! the place really didn't look that bad ! Honest ! ! Let's give society a break here . Those that came before us weren't total slobs ! As a matter of fact , if you look at proto. pic's , you will find most of the areas were taken care of better than they are today . People of past times were more image oriented than they are currently . Basically we're slobs . Look at the dress when these people would go out to shop or travel . They wore there best clothes ; unlike today - ever seen the attire of the folks who travel coach or 2nd class airfare lately . Give the people & the times a break . Get real if your going to be a proto. modeler / freelancer / protolancer. Those people wore dress shoes , not joggers .

[Anonymous]

I agree with Phillip, current culture has a self centered me mentality and they think that anything done in the past was wrong, trashy, and cheap. It's the culture today that is really cheap and trashy and if they look at the past as a dark glum dirty time it makes them feel better about the dark dirty glum present. We also look at the future the same way. Look at popular "future" movies like Mad Max, Terminator, Species, Alien, Waterworld, 28 days later, The Matrix, ... on and on... The only positive future movies I can think of, StarTrek, has also taken a dark turn in the last three. We are no longer the class act we use to be and the media is slowing breaking it to us so we will not be so shocked when the terrible future arrives. FRED

[CBQ_Guy]

Greetins,

I agree to a point with what Phil, Fred and others have written about the "good old days" not necessarily being the "filthy old days". I recall those on my side and my wife's side of the family, the old-timers to us, talking about the Depression era and such, proudly stating that they may have had little money and second hand, old clothing, but they were clean, and proud that they could do that much.

Having said that, I think that possibly the industrial, down by the tracks area, and that is the area we are primarily modeling on our layouts, may have been DIRTIER back then compared to now simply because of EPA mandates and liability issues taking center stage in the past couple/three decades. Railroads and industries have to clean up their act, er, property much more today than in past generations due to the punitive ramifications of not doing so nowadays. That's my take on it.

[Anonymous]

Greetings- Thanks for the responses to weathering . As far as dirtier by the tracks - I don't know about that . I grew up next to the Wabash R.R. yard over here in northwest Indiana ( southeast of Chicago ) . I still don't remember it looking that bad . When I went to some old family photo's that I inherited from by Father - circa 1940 thru about 1955 ) - I took a special look at the scenery , outbuildings, stores , & residencies ; there did not seem to be the dilapidated structures & neighborhoods that are modeled . This situation seems to be more of a trendy type depiction . CB&Q - I think that we have more of a situation that flee 307 stated . Kinda' like a fashion thing - not necessarily a depiction of truth , or if you will , " The way it was" .