tures were built from forty to fifty years before the time period I model (1942) and thus are far from pristine. The rolling stock is likewise not in the best of shape. In other words, every model on the pike needs some form of weathering. To a lesser degree, any road you model, in any era, will require one degree or another of weathering. The depiction of age and hard usage should, to one degree or another, be part of our modeling pallet.
Colors
Despite the manipulated (bright- ened and enhanced) colors you see on some TV dramas, the world is not that vivid. If our layouts looked like certain crime shows, we would be laughed out of the basement. The world’s colors are far more subtle in most cases, and the brightest colors should be saved for cir- cus modeling. Even at the age of twelve, the Plasticville buildings on my Lionel layout received a dusting of tal- cum powder to tone down the bright shiny plastic, which I found to be total- ly unconvincing. By the advanced age of fifteen, and now into “real modeling” in HO, I even modeled the dark brown tobacco juice stains below the cab win- dows of my locomotives. My mother found this bit of detail particularly dis- gusting.
Most of us, by the very nature of our modeling, replicate the areas down by the tracks; except for the nicer sub- urbs, they tend to be some of the seedi- er spots of the landscape. Wealthier neighborhoods are usually located away from the railroad tracks. The buildings we focus on seem to be dingi- er and not as gracefully aged, the col- ors more muted and subtle. We need to find ways to tone down our models.
Freight cars All my freight cars get “the treat-
ment,” which is an airbrushed under- body dusting of rust, followed by a lighter tan dust. The dust is then throt- tled down to a fine (very fine) mist to dull down the entire carbody. I then dust the rooftops with Grimy Black (again, a very fine mist) to simulate soot from locomotive exhaust. Putting away the airbrush, I grab a sharply- pointed white grease pencil and doodle chalk marks on the car side. These marks are not graffiti, nor the work of vandals; they are marks put on the car by railroaders for many reasons, usual- ly switching or interchange. Often I add tiny scraps of paper on the tack- boards to mimic waybills. Next, with a short-bristled brush, I apply a few shades of chalk powdered rust in various locations. (Scrub this in fairly hard, and it
will stay.) Most
brands have some “tooth” to dig into the surface of the paint. On steel cars, I give the roof walk a chalk rust treat- ment. On wooden running boards I take a swipe or two with the side of the white grease pencil (not the point), and scrub it in with my thumb. Next, I scrub in some dark gray chalk–and I get weathered wood! On some of those wooden cars I use a light mix of india ink and alcohol to highlight the grain and the “woodness.” (Sorry, but there are times when the King’s English is inadequate for the task and I resort to made-up words. F2 in my writing pro- gram is the “add to dictionary” func- tion and it is almost full of made up words. I’m sure Mrs. Cantrell, my high school English teacher, is rolling over in her grave.) I also have three different shades of brown pastel pencils which are great for small streaks of rust. Scrape the side of the pencil down the ladders and across the roof ribs. Follow this with a good hard swipe or two from your best car-weathering tool, your thumb. Paint
the wheels dark brown and spin off the excess paint on the treads with a wire brush placed in a motor tool after they are in the truck. Eye protection is a must when using one of these tools, as it is with many others. One time in a hurry and neglecting same could be the worst mistake of your life.
Buildings
Many of the methods described above can also be applied to structure models. Chalks and the india ink formulations, etc., can all be utilized on buildings. To take weathering a step further, I like to texture some of my more ramshackle works by roughing up all the surfaces of the model. Some of the rougher tool bits made for motor-tool usage can be mounted in a file handle and used to mar surfaces quite well. I do not recom- mend this as a motorized operation, but one done carefully and gently by hand. The back of a No. 11 hobby knife blade works wonders on styrene. Follow up the graining process with a fine emery or wire brush to rid the thing of unreal- istic burrs and strands. Much of this kind of work is best done on the raw materials, prior to model assembly or painting. It is easier to work on a wall flat on the bench than as a cumbersome three dimensional model, particularly if it is of any size. Peeling paint is a wonderful visual
effect and is easily duplicated in a cou- ple of ways. The first involves the spo- radic application of rubber cement over a pre-weathered (usually ink/alcohol) wall, over which is applied a thin coat of final color. The wall is then rubbed with an eraser (or that thumb I previ- ously referred to) to remove the paint where the rubber cement resides. The effect is striking! The other way is with the use of egg tempera paint, which is, without a doubt, the worst paint ever conceived. Like its name says, it is made from eggs. I like to think they were already rotten as well. The coverage is horrible, it dries too fast, peels too easily, flakes off if you look at it sideways, and it gives generally deplorable results. In other words, it is great for replicating a badly worn paint job. With the use of egg tempera, you have to know your color wheel. I have only found it in a set of primary colors (red, yellow, blue, black, and white) from Micro-Mark. It is not cheap, but a little goes a long way. Play with small amounts mixed with a toothpick until you are comfort- able with the color. An undercoat of weathered wood is a must for either method to be successful.
I specifically left out roofs in this
The incredible, always at-hand tool! When applying powder, grease pencil or some types of paint, you can’t beat the effect you get by rubbing in the weathering with your thumb.
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
month’s effort. Next month we will cov- er them in a bit more detail.
59
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