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Since a few people have asked how to use powders and other weathering products i think i should give everyone a few ideas.
Firstly i am no expert at this but i try my best. I found myself first off looking at pictures of the real rail. The more you know about the cars the better. I am at work at the moment so there are no pics but maybe tonight i will get out some stuff and take some photos to show some of the steps.
Look for things like colour of the rust, the size of the shapes, where abouts it is on the car and other built up grime and where it occurs.
Some basic supplies: artist oils (earthy tones normally), pastels, chalks, powders such as AIM products, rubbing alcohol our normal model paints as well. All of these are used in different ways and can produce a number of effects.
So we have a new car out of the box. Where do we start. The first thing to do is tone down the car get rid of the toy like look. There are several ways to do this. Some people use a straight dulcoat to take of the shine, a thin wash with a white paint thinned out a lot can be air brushed on if you like.
I was using the second method for a while and starting very thinly doing several coats until i like the look. lately i have been using white powders with a very soft artist brush. Firstly i spay the car with a dulcoat so the powder has a base that isn't smooth to stick to. I then apply a light layer of white powder and dust it on with a soft artist brush until im happy with it. Remember less is better because you can always add more. i seal the first coat with dulcoat then apply another layer until im happy with the fading. REMEMBER you will be putting more layers on top so it could become rather dark.
Once i have toned down the car i think about rusty areas and where i want this to appear. I have been using aim powders for my rust spots. You can mix the powders with paints itself if you like or water until it has a paint like consistency or liquid hairspray is recommended by alot of people ( it sets better and stick better then mixing with water but is still water based). You can use artist oil paints to do small dots or rust pits on the cars but remember to seal them. Start with the darker colors first. Rust tends to be darker in the center and fades outwards. Keep in mind pictures you have seen. Most rust pits or spots tend to have a an earthy coulour streak that forms below them. As your become happy with your work don't be afraid to spay with a dulcoat again. You will find adding more layers will gradually build up more texture. I am yet to get the rust look right but it all takes time. I found some very nice HO work on modeltrainsweatherd.com and some very useful reading.
Once i have an overall look i am after i add the road grime that builds up over time from general use. I use fliquil mud and rust to show this and lightly airbrush the lower half of the car. Don't forget the underframe either.
Trucks and wheels are another important area. look at pictures and they don't look black like our out of the box ones. They build up the most grime out of all our equipment. I tend to pull them apart and either hand paint or air brush them to get a colour close to what i want. I then mix powders and paints to build up texture inside the wheels and around the trucks. You can also dry brush the powders to bring out more detail.
Don't forget the roof and ends. Unlike our real railroads we see the roof of our equipment. I am yet to find a good way to do the roof or more so yet to focus and spend time on them.
There are other techniques out there like salt masking and rubber cement masking to produce pealing paint and other things that i am yet to have a go at but i think they tend towards larger scales. I will have a play with it sooner or later as i am expecting a few on30 locos this week. I will try and get some pictures of some of these steps and i hope this gives people some ideas as to where to start. The best thing you can do is get some stuff and jump in and have a go on some old equipment. And keep reading and looking at pictures of real life stuff.
Cheers Adrian
Joined: 2007-07-06