# How about a weathering class?



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

I know I'd find it useful. Even just some proto pix with step by step instructions to show how to achieve various effects with different mediums and why you do it the way you do.
Yes I could buy some book, but some of you guys are masters, and the ability to ask questions would make it SO much better than a book.

I'm even willing to start it off by sharing my handy dandy, bare bones, '15 minute' rattle can weathering technique. Regulars have seen me trot this out before, but for the sake of the newer guys I'll go over it again. It's fast, IMO it looks better than shiny new paint, doesn't smudge, and only costs about $6 to do several models.


step 1: First you paint in with a brush any lime, scale, or rust spots where you want them. Use a brighter color than you intend it to end up. The following steps will mute and hide anything subtle.










step 2: Next mask what you DON'T want weathered (windows, tires, etc.) I fnd it easier to weatherbefore installing windows than try to mask them. So I just put tape on the inside of the openings. Index cards and typing paper cut and taped down at the edges usually make pretty good masks for larger areas.










step3: The first color you overspray with is red oxide primer. Hold the can back about 15-18" use short bursts and keep the can moving FAST. Remember, you aren't trying to 'paint' anything, just dust it with overspray. Uneven coverage is actually a GOOD thing here.










step 4: The next color on your pallette is light grey primer, use the same technique as the brown









Step 5: Next is flat black or dark grey primer, again, same as above. If you get it too dark, a quick super light dusting with flat beige or the light grey again will bring out highlights. When you're done it should look something like this:










If you want to get fancy, you can use other flat (camoflage) spray colors to simulate other types of dirt, dust, and grime particular to the area you model. Just remember to THINK about what direction the colors would be coming from. Ash (grey, brown) and soot(black) rain down from above -- heaviest at the smokestack and tapering off further away, but most dust (grey, light brown, beige) is kicked up from below by the wheels, so it's heaviest closest to them.


These other models were all done the same way. BTW the colors look a lot more even under natural light than with the harsh flash


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## astrayelmgod (Jan 2, 2008)

Well, I can tell you the first problem with a weathering class. It is that you are way WAY, WAY ahead of me. So, where would the class start? One geared for me would put you to sleep. One geared for you would be so far over my head that I would tune out.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By astrayelmgod on 04/20/2009 8:43 AM
Well, I can tell you the first problem with a weathering class. It is that you are way WAY, WAY ahead of me. So, where would the class start? One geared for me would put you to sleep. One geared for you would be so far over my head that I would tune out.

To sleep? Nah.... Especially if someone has an easier way or one that gets better results. We are ALL always learning and improving.









I'll share what little I can. If you're timid about ruining a "good" model, then get yourself a $20 used New Blight or UNScientific Toys cheeser loco or set (or even a Fisher-Price pull toy, lol!) to practice on. Later today I'll start doing some simple weathering on the Falk, Bug Mauler and c-16 locos. I'll take pix to show what I did, and try to explain why. I'm HOPING that, along the way, some of our other posters, whether novices or master modelers, will chime in with stuff to improve my game as well. (hint, hint







)


Remember, the ONLY stupid question is the one that you didn't ask. If I don't know the answer, then someone else might... or failing that, I'll try to make up a plausible sounding pretty lie.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Won't put anybody to sleep. 

Just show how to do it your way. A bit like Chris Walas' figure class, which was great.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

OK. for the novices, we'll start with baby steps. To start, what IS weathering, anyway? And why do we do it? Answer: Basically it's screwing up a perfectly good paint job, by adding touches of other colors to simulate what happens to things in the real world while they are in use. As to why, most do it because it adds another dimension of realism to the models. MOST everyday things, especially around railroads, aren't fresh from the paint booth pristine for very long. Paints fade, bare metals corrode, stuff gets banged up, dusty, splashed, splattered, and generally collects various amounts of 'grunge' (a scientific term meaning " eww, yecch!", lol)..... 

Let's look at some basic properties of different kinds of grunge in general. You should always ask yourself 4 basic questions BEFORE you start slopping stuff on -- What is it? What color is it supposed to be? Where did it come from? How did it end up where it is? -- In a single word, "justify". 

Grease. Grease is a semi-solid lubricant. Fresh grease can be many colors, but most often is kind of dark brown, greenish, or black. Old grease is generally black with a bit of greenish tint, AND it is sticky so it often collects other kinds of grunge as well. It comes from bearings or mechanical joints, from which it can drop in gloops, or splatter in radial streaks from rotational inertia (centrifugal force, if you prefer). 

Oil is much like grease, except it is liquid. Fresh oil is kind of translucent honey brown. Old oil looks anywhere from a darker spot on wherever it ended up to pretty much black with a greenish sheen, depending on how much other grunge it has picked up. Oil also comes from various bearings and joints and can splatter, or it can run, drip, and/or puddle. 

Steam oil is another lubricant. When fresh it is a really ugly brown green (like baby poo, only more so). It is someplace between grease and oil, about the consistency of cold molasses. Generally, you won't actually SEE much of this, unless you wish to represent spills (from filling the reservoir) or leaks (lubricator pipe joints - rare). 

Water, everybody KNOWS water is clear, right? Yes and no. It may look clear, but usually there is crap IN the water that will cause it to leave behind various colors in places where it drips, puddles or sprays. If you're just representing a damp surface, make your wet spot about 2 shades darker than the base color. If you need to represent where water has been, then standing, splashed, or drizzled water will leave behind a rusty (lightish red/brown -- again, darker if still damp) color behind after a while. Steam leaks will leave behind rusty drip streaks AND lime scale (white-ish rime on edges, dribbles and sprays). BAD water, or carrying too high a level in the boiler will result in water going through the cylinders and you'll get water mixed with soot and smudge (blacks and dark browns) running in rivulets down the side of the chimney, plus big fat drops falling on whatever is close by. (think of a black rain shower) 

Smoke smudge and soot is basic black, right? Nope. It's usually a melange of colors -- greys, browns, blacks, all mixed together. Generally smoke residue from wood tends to be lighter, with various light greys predominant, with some browns, and very little black. Coal smudge has a lot of blacks and darker greys, with some browns mixed in. Oil smudge is usually somewhere in between. Soot and smudge generally drifts in the air and drops from above. It also leaks out and upwards from anyplace on the fireside there is a tiny gap. around ash cleanouts, firebox and smokebox doors, or badly sealed entry points for preheaters, superheaters or air pump exhaust piping. 

Corrosion comes from the moisture and or air acting upon bare metals. Irons and steels rust. Fresh rust is light colored red brown (about burnt sienna), old rust is very dark red brown (raw umber is a pretty good match) Copper and brass corrode in one of two ways. In very wet conditions you'll get verdigris, which is a really light green. In drier places you usually get a really attractive warm brown patina. (For reference, aluminum oxide is a powdery white) Metals get bare to corrode by being left unpainted, or by having the paint scratched, scraped or rubbed away.Paint will also burn off surfaces subjected to extreme heat-- firebox doors, ash pans, smokebox doors, chimney pipes, etc. 

Paint oxidizes too. Generally it fades to a lighter color. Really old paint gets powdery whitish blotches and streaks as well. 

OK, lets talk dust. What color IS dust anyway? Dust is little bits of who knows what that is carried by the wind and kicked up by the train's passage. The color all depends on what KIND of dust it is. Coal dust is black like coal, flour dust (around grain elevators and grist mills) is a white tan. Rock dust (from a quarry or breaker) is whatever color the original rocks were. Then there is good old "dust" dust. Generally it's some shade of brown "earthtone", which varies by region... if in doubt, beige or tan usually works fine. 

Mud is just liquid and dust, as such it's just a darker version of 'dust' color when wet and will dry back to a thicker version of dust. It gets splashed and splattered (and sometimes smeared or tracked elsewhere by a hand or boot). 

Damage can be scrapes, scratches, splinters, holes, dents, and rot. Or it can be patches, repainted spots, or even grafitti. Please take a look around at the real world (and take pictures!) before you try to model this. Try to figure out how and why it happened where it did. (there's that 'j' word again....) 

Anyway, enough blathering for one post. You guys really just want to look at pix, anyway. Try to see if you can figure out why I did what I did in each pic. HOW I did it was with a fine semi-dry brush (remember, the colors are brighter than 'natural' because my overspray technique mutes everything) Also, this isn't high art, just about anyone can do it.


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

If I may make a gentle suggestion: your models would look WAY better if you would take them outside and shoot them in natural light. The flash is nothing like the light most of us see by--it's harsh and mostly unidirectional and it highlights detail in a very artificial way. I think you are doing your excellent work a dis-service


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

I would have, and might come Thursday... today it's raining cats and dogs. Also, for some reason I end up doing most of my model stuff at 2 AM, when I can't sleep. The natural light all seems to be in Oz then.

The one 'good' thing about looking at a flash pic, especially these close ups, is I get to see all those ittle bitty spots and boobers that that I missed that just don't show up any other way..... Usually after 5 people have replied.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By Mik on 04/20/2009 12:56 AM


step 2: Next mask what you DON'T want weathered (windows, tires, etc.) I fnd it easier to weatherbefore installing windows than try to mask them. So I just put tape on the inside of the openings. Index cards and typing paper cut and taped down at the edges usually make pretty good masks for larger areas.




I find it easy to use a Q-tip to smear a little vasaline on windows and lights and just air brush away. Use another Q-tip to remove it afterwards. I don't worry about the "tires" as this always comes right off when the wheels are cleaned.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By toddalin on 04/20/2009 6:36 PM
I find it easy to use a Q-tip to smear a little vasaline on windows and lights and just air brush away. Use another Q-tip to remove it afterwards. I don't worry about the "tires" as this always comes right off when the wheels are cleaned.



Cool suggestion! I'd think it might help put a shine on the windows as well, at least for a while... Before I try, though, do you know is there are any surfaces it reacts with? Mylar? Brass?


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By Mik on 04/20/2009 7:11 PM
Posted By toddalin on 04/20/2009 6:36 PM
I find it easy to use a Q-tip to smear a little vasaline on windows and lights and just air brush away. Use another Q-tip to remove it afterwards. I don't worry about the "tires" as this always comes right off when the wheels are cleaned.



Cool suggestion! I'd think it might help put a shine on the windows as well, at least for a while... Before I try, though, do you know is there are any surfaces it reacts with? Mylar? Brass?




I've not found anything it hurts. It is made for use on humans. Be careful not to get it on what you _do_ want painted.


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## Fritz (Jan 11, 2008)

Hi,

I read a few books and some articles on the Art of Wheathering 20 years ago. I don´t have the impression, there is anything about it new in the internet. 
OK, there are quite many links with good examples, telling you how to.

Basicly those books recommened to go out and look at the real thing. Or at least on some good pictures. Than try to paint your model, so it resembles the real thing. 
We register our surrounding by sseing light and shodows. Our brain compares the information with its experience.
d
If working on LGB toys, this means paint the chrome plated parts first, than work in some shadows and highlights. In most cases you have to slightly overdo it. It depends, on what distance you plan to see it. Browse through some art books, to get the idea. 

Working prototype locos are normally kept in good order. The crew cleans the machine after work with hot steam and rubs the metal parts with oil.










You only find heavy dirt and grease, where the rags of the crew does not reach. That´s for example behind or between the spokes or on roofs. 

Wagons, esspecially goods wagon normally are not too well kept. They are dusty, sometimes and have faded paints and lettering. If they are in service, they always have fresh grease or oil running out of the axleboxes. 

When writing about weathering techniques, one should not illustrate it with pictures of models on wrong rails. An American 3 footer does not look too convincing on overseized brass rail, representing Swiss metre gauge. Flashlight pictures show well the mistakes one made, but definitely do not show, what mood the artist tried to archieve. 


Study the work of the masters in magazines, books or in the internet. better even at exibitions. Look for artists like MacMcCalla, Chris Walas, Peter Jones or others. Even checking the work in smaller scales helps. One of my favourites http://www.rbadesign.net/TERRAPIN/index.html

Have Fun

Fritz / Otter 1


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2009)

i would like to read more about weathering and see more pics (even on vrong rails) 

Mik, 
i would be specially interested in a pic of that streaked steamdome, after being oversprayed. 

thanks


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Fritz, first thank you for the pic and link. However, books and articles are a different breed of cat than a give and take "live" discussion. I've read bunches of articles, and they often still left me wondering exactly how and why something was done that way (Writing the publisher, and waiting a couple months for a response can be a bit tiresome, especially when the reply, if you get one, doesn't quite answer your question). "Looking around" only works so well these days! Tourist roads, and derelict plinthed locos don't tell you how it actually looked in regular service in the teens, the twenties, or even the fifties. Colors in black and white photos are open to 'interpretation', even when the parts you really NEED aren't fuzzy or in deep shadow. Colors shifts on old color photos can lead the unwary into easily preventable mistakes. 

Then there is the different levels of care. A European road, or a mainline US loco would probably be MUCH cleaner and in better repair than a backwoods operation teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. European and 19th century locos also sported much brighter colors and polished more than most steam stuff in the US was after WWI. 

All this is also WONDERFUL,* IF* you want to make your main hobby research, but doesn't help much if you just want your toy trains to look a bit more "real", while avoiding obvious boobers.


Anyway, what I'm saying is, MY personal preference is an open dialog whenever possible, both for ideas and feedback, it's almost as good as having a mentor at your shoulder. (And really great if, like me, the closest Garden RR club is 50 miles away, and the local HO club is mostly a bunch of cliquish 70-somethings) And isn't sharing knowlege and ideas the whole point of having the foruii?


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By kormsen on 04/21/2009 10:49 AM
i would like to read more about weathering and see more pics (even on vrong rails) 

Mik, 
i would be specially interested in a pic of that streaked steamdome, after being oversprayed. 

thanks




I learned from watching Mac McCalla, a master of weathering with an airbrush. He used to have a web site showing off his work (do a search). Some of his stuff as displayed on the Del Oro Pacific modular:


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## Fritz (Jan 11, 2008)

Hi, 

I was lucky enough, to be able to buy one of the locos last year, which Mac treated in Germany. 









For a few years he was working at the Nuernberg Toy fair, demonstrating his skills. I believe for Badger Airbrushes. 
It is photgraphed on overseized LGB track on my ex-gardenrailway. 

Meanwhile I prefer lower track and suitable sleepers 










Every once in a while, I give painting and weathering lessons for small groups. Normally lasting 8 - 10 hours, a complete day. I don´t use spraycans or airbrushes. 
Most customers say, they have read and seen a lot, but never dared for themselves to start, because of fear, doing something wrong and maybe ruining a model. - In most cases it is almost impossible to ruin a mass made model. If a loco looks like plastik, paint until it does not like like plastic anymore. It might take a few layers of paint, powders, chalks, chemicals, but sooner or later, it looks better than everything out of the box. 

So give it a try. Start right away and if you need advise during your work, make a picture and ask at a forum. In most cases there will be people willing to give some advise or make a suggestion or two. Very often is is useful to use the search fuction and archives of the various forums. Most of the qustions have been answered before for a few times. 

Have Fun 

Fritz / Juergen


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

This my Accucraft Shay that I used the "rust-all" treatment on.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

That's GREAT stuff guys, Thanks for sharing!THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! My stuff looks kind of cheesy by comparison, but each is a little better (I think) than the last. 

Which brings me back to bombing the Aristo... 
I decided to use the tried and true masking tape on the windows. Stick it on, cut around the edges with a sharp hobby knife, peel the excess, then gently buff the edges down with the knife handle. 

















Primer brown. it was a real bad day to try to paint because it's raining, but the next nice day is supposed to be Thursday, and I gotta work. Didn't help that this was the tag end of this color in the can either, so please forgive the largish droplets. 









Primer grey, I almost quit after the brown, but the grey was a new can and went on very well. 









Flat black, then a second super light dusting of the grey to bring out the highlights 









For Mike and Fritz, as close as I could get to "natural light" during an all day pouring rain 'shower' was what came in the north facing sliding glass door. See, no unprototypical 332 brass rail, either! It probably needs just a tiny touch more black from straight down to look like soot. But I'll leave it be for now. No where near a 'master' job, but maybe a journeyman's?


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## Fritz (Jan 11, 2008)

Hi,

Great job so far and precisely the right attitude. Don´t let any critics put you off, simply do your thing. Layer for layer. 

Maybe it is the time now, to get out a big brush, apply very much dilluted dark grey or even black paint and use a hair dryer to drive it into the remotest corners to give some shadowing..
If you use acrylics, it drys in seconds and you can see the results and/or decide to apply annother layer. 

The pictures in natural light look much better. Sometime it helps to use a tripod or simply place the camera on a box, a pile of books or something similiar to keep it steady. . switch off the automatic flash of course. 

I think, this is a fine example of weathering. A LGB Stainz, more or less. Done by Magnus Hoehne a few years ago with an airbrush










He offered a service, according to which you could send your model and choose how old it was supposed to be. This one is supposed to be approx 40 - 50 years old.

Have Fun 

Fritz / Juergen


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## Guest (Apr 22, 2009)

Mik, 
the new set of pics is very interesting for me. 
my aproach was allways, to use very little paint. - and i am not satisfied with the results. 

toddalin, 
thanks for the tip. (even, if i knew that url 4 long. but it is allways fun to browse through the photos at the modelling mount olympus) 

korm


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

My first suggestion--find a medium you're comfortable with. Some people are wizards with an airbrush, I'm rather afraid I'm a squib with one in my hands. I have better luck with washes and powders, and since I do most of my modeling at night (between 11 and 1am) making loud noises with an air compressor isn't an option anyway. 

Next, (and this has been mentioned above) practice on sacrificial stuff (like the loco your buddy brought over for you to install sound into.  ) Seriously, dig into your scrap box or find some scratch-and-dent stuff at the local train show. It needn't even be the same scale, old Lionel stuff will work well. Practice, practice, practice. If it gets too ugly, repaint have at it again. 

On colors, I always start with colors that would be what was on the prototype when it was painted. I'm not a fan of artificially lightening locos (such as painting them dark grey instead of black) as a base coat. No matter what the "experts" say, the locos just look grey, not weathered (especially outdoors in natural light). Unless I'm trying to replicate a very weathered car where the paint has faded noticeably, I match the original color then work from there. If I'm going for a faded paint, I'll use a color just a shade darker than what I'm looking for in the finished product, and let the weathering bring it the last step. 

More later. 

K


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

I was asked backchannel about my 'acceptable looking gold' that I found for painting 'brass' stuff. It is Delta Ceramicoat Gleams brand gold with a tiny bit of barn red stirred in (into the whole bottle, color matching in small batches is an exercise in futility for me) to look more like the red brass you see on valve bodies. It covers well over whitemetal, and many plastics. To tone it down I'll use several real thin mineral brown washes to get the nice aged brass patina. Whistles also need a tiny band of grimy black around the bell lip to look right to me. Real ones turn dark there (from crud in the water or oxidation by the steam?) older unpolished pop valves often have this same discoloration around the body where the steam vents up the side. 

There are a few main difference between my weathering style and many of the above master's... Mine won't win any awards. They look really good (to me anyway) from a few feet away, but kind of speckled when you view them close up. Which brings me to the second big difference, I don't think the 'learning curve' is nearly as steep with the rattle can overspray technique as it is with all those realyl cool chalks and airbrushing. The third difference is that the color palette for primers and camo stuff to overspray WITH is rather more limited than with artist pastels


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## Dr G (Jan 16, 2008)

I know I mentioned this on another thread, but it bears mentioning again--cause' its just too cool. 

Kalmbach's new book "Done in a Day" has step by step weathering projects that are simply beautiful. All are baised on chalks and airbrush and are very realistic, and simple. Of course all are HO but weathering "knows no scale." 

I keep going over and over the book--probably going to wear out the pages. 

Trust me you'll like it. 

Matt


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

I've said before that I'm a big fan of fast and easy. Kim saw this stuff on evilbay that promised "instant aging" for models, so I looked. To me, the end result in the ad was so 'over the top' that it looks like crap.... Has anybody here used this stuff? Is it more controllable than the demonstration shows? Have any pix showing how your model came out? 
http://www.debenllc.com/servlet/the-2394/Doctor-Ben%27s-Instant-Age/Detail (click 'detailed description' to see the demo pics)


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## Fritz (Jan 11, 2008)

Hi,

Very often I have the impression, only very few people have an interest in hints or advice which costs money. They want free advise. 

For years I work with some rusting stuff from modern options, made in the USA. Cheap and easy. Probably too easy. 










I must be the only idiot in this world, who actually buys it in the next shop for artist´s supply. 

Have Fun 

Fritz / Juergen


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

To me, the hardest thing is to realistically make a model look new, or even just very lightly weathered. Shiny surfaces don't scale well, which is why a shiny model locomotive tends to look very much like a model and not so much like a real loco. Heavier weathering works so well because it breaks the surfaces down into a smaller, finer texture. 

I've been looking at photos of new and restored locos trying to figure out what it is that makes them look more "real" than a model. A lot of it has to do with tiny imperfections in the surface itself -- for instance, subtle ripples in the boiler jacket and other sheet metal parts. These effects can't be achieved with paint or weathering, it's something that has to be built into the model itself. That's often difficult to do on a scratch-built model, and virtually impossible to add retroactively to an existing model. 

Another feature that _can_ be replicated is variations in texture/sheen. Especially on a steam locomotive, there are some areas that are shinier than others. Using matte, satin, and glossy paints on different parts of the loco might go a long way towards making a model look more realistic as a "new" or well-maintained loco. (I think Peter Jones recommended this in one of his columns.)


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

I Always use a picture. Chances are if you dont then you are going to produce something that you think looks right is nt. Think about where and when. Is your subject going to be exposed to unusually harsh conditions ? Is it near the end of its service life. Is the railroad broke etc. 

This is a loco thats worked on the dockside for 30 years and exposed to the salt air. You would nt see this sort of weathering in the dry warmer climes. It is near the end of its service life and does n't recieve much attention, prob was tatty when bought as surplus from the previous owner. The smoke box door is burnt because of the cleaner's failure to secure the door properly. As a result the paint has been scorched resulting in the slat air getting at the metal underneath. Also he has spilt ash all down the front of the loco. 










The lamp carelessly hung on the front handrail is battered from years of use and the handle paint worn away. A tiny leak sometime from the blower pipe has caused some acretion on the smokebox. As Kev says, washes and powders are a usefull option. (must dull down that bell and whistle too, I forgot about them.)


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

LOVE it. Might want to bend the ends on the smokebox front grab ring (safety first!, wouldn't do to have a crewman get impaled, it's bad for business, and makes a mess!) When you do the brass generally salt air= verdigris, so think green.


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

The smoke box ring has lost its end knobs. Verdigris is for copper.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Some of my favorite bits... 

*Finish* 








I hate dull-cote. (Not just the brand, but the entire concept of a matte finish). By and large, the paint on the locos was glossy, the dirt not. By using a wash, and wiping away the wash from where don't want it, you allow the original sheen to show through. 









The same effect, but on a passenger car. Note the buildup along the edges, but the main panels remain largely glossy in finish, as can be showcased with a bit of sunshine: 









*Wear and Tear* 
One advantage of using wood in modeling is that it's very easy to simulate wear and tear on a painted surface. You just paint it, then sand off the paint where it's supposed to be worn. 








A little dilute black paint, then, gives the newly exposed wood an appropraitely weathered look. 









Weathered wood isn't quite so easy with plastic, but the premise is similar. Instead of sanding away the paint, the key is to apply the wood-colored paint on top of the color, using a drybrush technique. Once that's dry, then you can go back with some dilute black paint and tone things down a bit. The unpainted wood deck was coated with a dilute black wash, which settled into the grooves and cracks. Compare that to the natural wood on the endgates, washed with the same dilute black paint. It's difficult to tell the difference between materials. 

*Environmental concerns* 








In the steam world, coal dust gets everywhere, especially on a tender. This bit was just sprinkled in place, then held in place with some dilute white glue with a bit of dish detergent mixed in to soften the water. The white glue allows the shine of the coal to still show thruogh, despite being something of a matte finish. 









The deck of the tender around the water hatch would also be quite cluttered with coal debris, to say nothing of a copious coating of soot and dust. Bragdon's powders work well for the nice, dull coating of dust. 









Road dust and grime coats everything, but the elements also wash it off, leaving run patterns under things such as rivets and other areas where dust accumulates. This is simulated by wiping away a wash, wiping in the direction that water would logically flow. This leaves a trail of "dirt" under the appropriate outcroppings. That same dust and dirt tends to settle along edges and corners, as can be seen along the bottom edge of teh cab, and in the angles of the C-channels of the frame. 

Compare the finish on the Heisler, representing a loco that sees a bit more frequent cleaning to the side of this cab: 









Locos running on longer journeys tended to get dirtier, just through the nature of their daily use. A loco working hard mountain grades, burning somewhat "dirty" coal gets a lot dirtier than a loco that sees fairly light duty, and may be burning cleaner coal. 










A light coating of dust (via Bragdon weathering powder) highlights the details on the running gear. Ballast dust, cinders, ash, and other light-colored elements are the ususal culprits for this effect, as the motion of the train stirs them up. 









Rust and stuff. Generally speaking, a good coat of paint is the best protection against rust, but we all know how long a good coat of paint lasts. Metal bits on the prototype got rust spots no differently than the family car would. Depending on how often your loco was shopped would likely dictate how rusty the parts would get. Also pay attention to wear. The ends of coupler lift bars, foot plates, and handrails that frequently saw use would have the paint worn away much quicker than something like a coupler pocket. 

The grunge under the smokebox door comes from ash, cinders, and other things collecting in the space between the smokebox door and the plate that makes up the front of the smokebox. As the rain washes down, it flushes out the minerals, etc. still left in that debris. 









Soot and ash usually rain down on even the most freshly-shopped locomotive. I saw D&RGW #346 the week after her debut after her restoration, and from one weekend of running at the museum, she had a healthy coating of black and brown "stuff" adorning the top of her boiler. Compare this loco, where the entire boiler has a healthy coating of soot and whatnot to the boiler of EBT #1, which sees a lot less hard work: 









The effect is a lot lighter, allowing more of the plannished iron finish of the boiler jacket to show through. 









When's the last time you saw clean windows on a locomotive? Heck, even with washer fluid, my car winshield looks dirty 10 minutes after leaving the car wash. I use a mix of powders and washes for my windows. Paint it on, let it dry, then go back with a Q-tip to "clean" each window. The ones that are looked out of most often would obviously be cleaner than the ones where seeing out of them wasn't nearly as critical (such as the center windows on the front wall of a steam locomotive cab). Remember--these guys didn't use Windex. They used a wet rag, if that. They weren't worried about a "streak free shine." 









Splashback. It's not something that many people think to model, but it's quite common on the prototype. Rolling stock doesn't have mudflaps, and in the rain will kick up the mud onto the end wall of the adjacent piece of rolling stock. This results in two vertical streaks pretty much right over the rails, extending up a few feet. 

While not an exhaustive list, those are the kinds of things I look at when I'm weathering a locomotive. As Rod mentioned above, give a lot of thought as to the age of the piece you're modeling, the environment in which it runs, and even how the crews operate it. In most cases, less is more. The tendency to "overweather" has dominated the model contests for decades. Weathering doesn't mean "on its last legs." At the same time, even the most well--cared-for equipment had some degree of dirt and grime on it, if only in the deep recesses. 

Later, 

K


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Rod Hayward on 04/27/2009 12:27 PM
The smoke box ring has lost its end knobs. Verdigris is for copper.

*"Verdigris* is the common name for the green coating or patina formed when copper, brass or bronze is weathered and exposed to air or seawater over a period of time. It is usually a basic copper carbonate, but near the sea will be a basic copper chloride.[1] " 
Call it what you will. I had a whistle once, an 1880's piece with a huge finial, that came from a steam launch down near the Maryland shore area. The fellow had clear coated it. It corroded UNDER the clear coat. It was basically black, with powdery light green/blue speckles and blotches almost completetly covering every exposed part. Trying to polish it with normal means simply turned it a rather attractive emerald green.


And find the ends, man, OSHA and the FRA is looking " align="absmiddle" border="0" />


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## Bob Pero (Jan 13, 2008)

Some of my weathering techniques: 

http://www.liveoakrr.com/tips/weathdiesel.htm 
http://www.liveoakrr.com/tips/steamweathering.htm


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