First Weathering Attempts

[2-8-2]

Part of my weekend modeling plans included getting started on weathing some of my NKP rolling stock. I bought a couple books on the subject, but have been hesitant to take paint to my shiny new cars for fear of ruining them. These aren't 100% done, but enough is finished to submit here to show what I've done so far...

Light weathering:

Medium weathering:

Heavy weathering:

Any thoughts? Sorry for the fuzziness, my digital camera isn't the latest and greatest.

[EDIT] Changed image hosting for pic #2. It wasn't loading properly.

 

[eightyeightfan1]

Nice job.
But thats the idea of weathering...ruin nice shiny cars.

 

[60103]

I can't make out the medium weathering -- on that black car.
Some folks buy cheap cars at shows or shops (used RTR) and practise on them. You've jumped in at the deep end.
Looks OK so far.

 

[GeorgeHO]

I love your weathering on all the cars. I weathered some of my hoppers similar to yours, though not as good a job as you did. I weathered the insides with leftover coal dust, but at the train show today the Western Maryland Historical Society guys told me that they are now modeling the insides of the hoppers with heavy rust, very heavy rust, which is supposed to be true to prototype.

 

[Ralph]

Looking good! The box car looks especially road weary. Very nice. Are you using chalks, paint...? Chalk is more forgiving and you can wash it off if you're unhappy with the results.
Ralph

 

[2-8-2]

Looking good! The box car looks especially road weary. Very nice. Are you using chalks, paint...? Chalk is more forgiving and you can wash it off if you're unhappy with the results.
Ralph

Ralph -

I'm using Floquil paints for the most part. The caboose was done using an india ink wash, but I did the others a little different. I started with a fairly heavy wash of water and Grimy Black. As this began to dry, I used a stiff brush to scrub off the areas I wanted to appear more clean. I found that (for me anyways) it was easier to take paint off to get the look I wanted, opposed to trying to detail an N scale car by adding layers. After the initial grime was dry, I added some spots of rust (Floquil Rust) and dirt (Floquil Dust). The hopper has some streaks of white as well.

For the boxcar roof, I used Floquil Silver to simulate where paint had worn off showing the galvanized roof underneath. When this was dry, I did a wash of Grimy Black and did the same process as above with removing paint by scrubbing with a hard bristle brush until it looked right. I added rust around the edges and some Floquil Roof Brown as well.

 

[Will_annand]

First Attempt?

That last one looks like a pro did it. :thumb:

 

[sumpter250]

:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: Excellent work!

Please do not take the following as criticism, rather, it is intended as information only.
The box car, with the very nicely rusted wheels: The trucks have journal boxes with lids. The lids are there so that the journals can be oiled at regular intervals. The oil has a tendancy to leak, and not only drip on the ties and ballast, but run out on the face of the wheel. As the wheels turn, the oil is slung out to the edge of the tires, maintaining a continuous oil coating on the wheel face. This oil coat will "attract" and hold dust and dirt, and will have a dark color, and rough texture.
A car that has been sitting for a prolonged period of time, will eventually begin to show rust on the wheel face.

Modern cars, with roller bearing trucks, have sealed bearings, and little or no lube leaks on to the wheels. These wheels will be rusty, and dirty, so will be lighter colored.
Pete