Dakota Modelers Group

Tag: weathering

  • Weather Prototypically

    This assembled Accurail kit was begging to be weathered prototypically.

    I was asked to weather this car for my local hobby shop train guy. Since it’s a local road to us, he asked to go as prototypically as possible.

    OVERVIEW:

    A quick backstory on these Accurail cars – A few of my local modeler friends and fellow club member put in the time to have Accurail produce a minimal run of these hoppers in ex-CNW factory patched for RCPE (Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern – formerly DME) which is our local road. Knowing the folks behind this made this project a little more special.

    My process:

    I looked for a prototype photo because the end goal was to get as close as possible. Thanks to rrpicturearchives I found one before the site became wonky. There was something off between the cars but I couldn’t figure it out until I finally noticed the conspicuity stripes differed than the factory printed ones. That had to change, at least on the one side.

    My first step is almost always the same, I sprayed the car with Tamiya TS-80 flat clear to give the surface some tooth to hold powders.

    To remove the printed stripe I used 600 grit sand paper and slowly sanded them off. I used a super fine microbrush to apply some thinned Testors yellow enamel to replace the stripes. If I was to do it over, I would use Humbrol 99 matte yellow to get a closer match with the factory stripe color. However, the shade is virtually not noticeable after powders were applied.

    I next mixed up a small amount of an off-green color for the small patches below the road numbers and top corner of the side panel ends on each side. I used basic white and dark green acrylic craft paints to make the color. To apply the small patches I used a super fine microbrush, that had been previously used and I was able to remove the bristles easily to make a very fine point plastic applicator. Steady hands helped paint the patches. When they dried I used a #11 Xacto blade to gently scrape the edges square.

    I cleaned up my plastic applicator made from the microbrush and applied a sheer coat of white craft paint around the reporting mark letters on the factory RCPE patches to create the imperfect look from the prototype image. Patience is definitely key while building up the paint to get the effect.

    While I had the white paint going, I used the same applicator to hand draw the two small tag marks along the lower sill. I initially went too heavy, to correct that I went over the paint slowly with a #11 Xacto blade until I was happy. The second is just a bit taller than the prototype.

    Wanting to let the paints fully dry, I turned to the hoppers next. I sprayed some RustOleum ultra flat camo brown on a cottonball and into a small paint cup for use later. I used the paint saturated cottonball to blot on some of the dark brown flat paint, this creates a randomized splatter pattern. I went around the hoppers then followed up with a Q Tip dipped in the paint cup of the same paint. I applied more in random blots where my cottonball couldn’t reach.

    Once the applied paints had dried, I used A.I.M. dark earth powder and stippled in on the hoppers over the dry paint. This resulted in a layered effect with some texture. I worked the powders until satisfied with pattern and look. I also used the A.I.M. dark earth powder to create the wheel spray up the car ends.

    I went back to the prototype image and began with the CNW logo, it needed to be faded. I used 600 grit sand paper to slowly take away the printed layers until it resembled the prototype image look. Then I started adding Bragdon soot powder to the car side in a similar pattern to the image. I had to use soot because the brown looked too brown against the dark CNW green. I was cautious to keep the powders off tge patches as the image shows they are relatively clean.

    Now that the sides and ends were done I moved to the hatches and top. More Bragdon soot was applied along the flat surfaces, while the hatches received a medium dusting of Bragdon green grunge powder along with dark earth powder accents across the hatches. Unfortunately the green looks good in person as a subtle sun faded look, but the effect does not come across in photos well.

    Now that I was happy with how the car looked I sealed everything with another medium coat of Tamiya TS-80 flat clear.

    FINAL TOUCHES:

    While the car body dried, I masked the back sides of the trucks and sprayed the faces with the same ultra flat camo brown RustOleum paint used underneath. This helps pull the trucks and underside together. I did not paint the wheels per the request of the car’s owner.

    I reassembled the couplers and trucks then mounted them on the car and I called it good. Overall I’m happy with how this car came out, I always find a couple things to do differently on the next project and some new ideas will come to the surface too.

  • Weather and Patch a Basic Hopper

    Here’s an overview of how I weathered and patched a basic Bachmann cylindrical 4 bay hopper as a local RCPE (Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern) road car for my club’s HO scale layout.

    TOOLS AND MEDIUMS:

    While not everyone likes powders, I think they can be some of the best products for weathering. I choose powders because I personally don’t like using airbrushes. This is mostly due to the associated cleaning and the need for a dedicated booth or area which I do not have.

    My powder assortment includes products from A.I.M. (now Monroe Models), Bragdon Enterprises and Tamiya. I also use an assortment of Tamiya X and XF line paints, Humbrol and basic craft paints for highlights, patches and tagging. I have been using Tamiya spray paints and their TS-80 flat clear almost exclusively with excellent results for the past few years now. The TS-80 flat clear is lacquer based but does not wash out the powders like Testors dullcote or others I’ve used previously. Model Master lusterless clear used to be my go-to.

    I also use an assortment of brushes from Hobby Lobby or Michael’s Crafts, specifically the Royal & Langnickel brand with a cushion above the bristles. I have also acquired a few ELF brand cosmetic brushes such as their concealer and foundation brushes. I use micro brushes of various sizes in conjunction with the cosmetic brushes to create varying effects on the car body.

    FIRST STEPS:

    Before doing anything, I found a few cars that were close to what I had in mind. I decided to drive the 3 miles over to the RCPE yard in town for more inspiration. The local road has a large fleet of these ex-Santa Fe cars but there weren’t any exact. I ended up spotting a few cars close enough and went home. I also use images found on rrpicturearchives, where there is typically an assortment of angles.

    My first step on this and nearly all my projects is to disassemble the car as much as possible. If doing a locomotive, the disassembly is subjective to how much I plan to weather it. This specific Bachmann car took me a bit of time to take it apart without damage. The end ladders are also stuck into the car floor and are tricky to remove.

    Getting to the disassembly, I try to make a plan before starting to weather. This helps determine how much I need to disassemble the model or not. As mentioned above, locomotives are more finicky for a variety of reasons. If I can weather a locomotive with the handrails on even better.

    PREP FOR WEATHERING:

    I started by using 800 grit sandpaper to sand down the large Santa Fe lettering. It didn’t take long to get through the lettering as Bachmann’s printing on their cars is thin. Working from the top down, I sanded off most of the lettering and in some areas went through the gray base paint which left random patches of the raw plastic car body in an off-whiteish color.

    Once I was happy with the fade and a few other areas that were faded, I masked off the car and left a single panel exposed. Many of these cars have had a panel or two repaired/replaced and I wanted to create that look. To emulate the look, I selected a shade of gray spray paint just a touch lighter than the car body. I sprayed the panel by slowly building up the color over 4 light passes then let it dry overnight.

    Once dry, I unmasked the car side and gently sanded the edges of the panel to knock down the thickness and keep powders from accenting the hard edge.

    For the reporting mark patch, I sanded off the factory printing and using scraps of 3M blue painters’ tape, I masked around the original ATSF markings. A basic black Sharpie was all I needed to color the area and fill the inside of the small mask. This creates a faded paint appearance without additional work, I did the same for both sides.

    The final step to prepare the car for applying powders was to spray the entire body with Tamiya TS-80 flat clear. Doing a base coat of flat clear provides tooth for powders to grab, it also helped blend in the previously sprayed panel. I wait about 30 minutes at a minimum before applying any powder or wash.

    WEATHERING:

    I mostly used Bragdon medium rust and a touch of dark rust on this car. The rust was applied with the ELF cosmetics concealer brush in a soft side-to-side motion while dragging downwards to create a random look. I built up the color in 3 layers with the top third being darkest and fading lighter to the bottom third.

    The panel lines, lower sill and underside got a gentle dusting of A.I.M. dark earth powder. I used a regular size microbrush on the panel lines to keep the lines thin. I also chose a ¾” standard brush to dust the underside and afterward dusted the sill.

    I hand painted the graffiti, while not based on any prototype image it’s just a basic arrangement of random large block letters. I used a pencil to draw an outline, traced the outline with an ultra-fine black Sharpie and filled them in with white craft paint on a fine microbrush. I used a sky-blue chalk marker to accent the letters. After about 20 minutes everything was dry enough to clean up the black Sharpie outline. I used the same ¾” brush to dust over the graffiti and soften the colors some.

    PATCHING:

    For the new reporting marks, I brushed Micro Gloss over both black patches and let it dry for around 12 hours. Using individual Microscale white letters I applied the RCPE reporting marks. This step offered an opportunity to more closely match the prototype where the stenciling is not square. Once the decals were placed and blotted, I brushed them with Solvaset and let the area cure for about 24 hours. I sealed the new lettering by brushing them over with a light coat of Micro Gloss then let dry for another 12 hours.

    FINAL TOUCHES:

    The hatches were painted with a brush using white craft paint. I kept one clean and painted it with matte Humbrol signal red colored over with non-metallic gold to duplicate the oxidized red look other Santa Fe cars have. Before these paints were completely dry, I used a ¾” standard brush to dust them and obtain a grimy effect. I also touched up the walkways with some to accent them as well.

    Making the trucks blend in was straight forward on this car. I masked the bolster top flange and backs of each truck where the wheels fit. I then sprayed them with RustOleum ultra flat black and highlighted the faces with light gray powder from A.I.M.

    To complete the project, I sprayed all parts with 2 light coats of Tamiya TS-80 flat clear to seal everything, waited overnight then reassembled the car adding metal wheels and Kadee #5s.

    Michael ‘Mike’ Thoreson